A solid start to the 2019/20 Season against Ormskirk

Toc H 1st XV put in a solid opening day performance against a committed Ormskirk side to get their league season off to a winning start.

There was no bonus point for Didsbury - but enough encouraging signs to take in to some really tough early season games, starting this weekend against Liverpool Collegiate.

Defensively here, as the 22-0 scoreline suggests, Toc were organised and relatively untroubled, testament to the good work new coach Sean Phillips has been doing during pre-season.

Conversely, Didsbury’s attack has been unusually blunt and predictable. So a combination of that and a good defensive shift from the visitors meant the home side had only Ben Platt’s try to show for their efforts at the break.

Ormskirk, who earned promotion last season, seemed to acclimatise comfortably enough to life in the ADM Premier Division in the first period.

The conditions were perfect for running rugby, so Toc would have expected much more from a half which they dominated in terms of possession and territory. Fortunately the team stayed patient.

Platt’s try was neat enough, coming on the half hour mark, when he slid into the right corner to finish off a flowing backs move.

Until then Toc had kept things pretty direct, with big ball carriers operating up the middle against a well-built green wall.

It was clear a bit more subtlety would be needed after the break and the players changed things around at half-time and played a bit wider.

Scrum-half Josh Vize, winger Rory Gibson and full back Jake Hunter added the creative impetus after the break.

Seb Sheratte at inside centre also looked the part, as he invariably does, and Toc looked more comfortable attacking in the open spaces.

The new-look back line was complemented by the relentless work of the back row - the efforts of flanker James Plested, debutant Jack Coyne and number 8 Harry Rigby really helped the home side to turn the screw.

Fly-half Ben Jeffrey had already slotted a penalty shortly after half-time to ease the nerves and make it a two score game.

And not long afterwards, impressive new Kiwi full back Hunter laid a try on for Vize to run in unopposed.

By this stage, with an hour or so gone, Didsbury were more or less camped in the Ormskirk half.

They remained a bit too easy to read with ball in hand, though, and the stats back that up: Toc had 18 visits to the Ormskirk 22 over the course of the game and only scored from four of them.

Captain Rigby eventually broke through a tiring visitors’ defence to put a bonus point within sight but there wasn’t quite enough time to get that over line.