It was a typical grey November day and a typical TMV 3rds team - assembled by basically stealing everything that wasn't nailed down, against lively locals Village Spartans. The result was a mix of steely grey veterans, plus some young lads with a point to prove and one knock off Samoan order from Temu (aka Big Jon). It would turn out to be a potent brew. MV got the scoring underway early with a nicely worked forwards to backs transition and, buoyed by early success, tried to repeat the move minutes later. The Spartans lived up to their reputation however and countered with a try of their own. But in any clash of armies, surprise is what wins and MV had a secret weapon.
Our backs may not be able to grow a moustache between them but when it comes to scoring tries, they've figured out the secret early. 'Feed the backs and they shall score' became the mantra and MV began running into the scoring zone with alarming regularity. The commanding lead at half time was a testament to the power of youth, but there were a smattering of tries by the forwards looking to emulate their success. The second half was more of the same, with thrilling back interplay being backed up by judicious forward power leading to a strong final MV tally.
Let it never be said that the Spartans go down without a fight however, exploiting a rare defensive lapse to run home their second try of the day.
A big thanks to everyone who made it and special mentions for the Boyd's and the Knighton's for putting the family into rugby. And also a shout out to Will Hope on his debut.
Please make yourselves available for the Mighty 3rd XVs next outing v Littleborough. Get those minutes in before the break over Christmas and if you're new to the area and looking for a team come along and enjoy our rare brand of bottom shelf champagne Rugby !
Try Scorers - To Be Confirmed
MOTM: F. Howitt
Creative Writing: AFH and Big Jon
