TraffordMVRFCC

 

Playing downhill in the opening 40 minutes, the hosts set an aggressive, high-tempo pace early on. Rossendale breached the defensive line through some powerful direct running to open the scoring, though the conversion drifted wide to leave the score at 5–0. It was clear early on that Trafford were in for a serious battle and needed to adapt quickly to the game. TMV gradually built a platform, stringing phases together and establishing dominance in the lineout through some good takes from Frazer Goodwin and several lineout steals from Jacob Grant. Trafford’s opening score came after sharp work out wide from Jordan Rigg, saw a kick through for Oscar Livings. Livings scorched past the Rossendale cover to touch down, with Jason Alexander slotting the conversion to nudge Trafford ahead 5–7. Recognising their struggles at the lineout, Rossendale changed tack and exploited a series of Trafford offside penalties with quick tap-and-goes, shifting the ball rapidly from left to right to slice open gaps and cross for two quickfire tries. Trafford’s pack dug deep late in the half, grinding their way up to the home try line through tight phases, but an unfortunate knock-on on the final play preserved a 15–7 lead for Rossendale at the break.

 

The scrum contest proved a gruelling affair for TMV all afternoon, but a huge steal against the head from hooker Axel Kilpatrick Moreno handed Trafford vital second-half momentum. The backs spun the ball wide on the front foot, enabling Rigg to power over for a well-earned try, narrowing the deficit to 15–12. Trafford kept the pressure high, with Neil Wright making a couple of thunderous carries, one which took him across the line however the hosts managed to get underneath it to hold up the ball. Moments later, more drama unfolded when a deep kick settled into the Rossendale in-goal area. As the home defender waited for it to roll dead, Livings unleashed incredible acceleration to pounce and ground the ball before the defender could react. Crucially, the referee was unsighted and unable to award the grounding, which was a huge reprieve for Rossendale. The contentious decisions continued when Dave Carpenter, making his first appearance for a few years, crashed over the line. The referee initially awarded the try, but after protests from the home side, reversed his decision and called another goal-line dropout. Rossendale capitalised on the swings in momentum, working their way uphill into Trafford’s 22 via penalties and using their heavy runners to stretch the visitors' line for another try, moving the score to 20–12. Trafford refused to fold. In a cracking sequence of end-to-end play, Ben Rogerson burst through midfield on a storming run. After being hauled down short, he kept his composure to release the ball to Charlie Hignett, whose quick support play saw him cross for his first try for the club. Alexander added the extras to bring TMV within a single point at 20–19.

 

Rossendale hit back promptly, exploiting a gap on the left flank for a converted try that pushed the margin back to 27–19. Trafford launched one final effort in the closing minutes, with Alex Salisbury (who had been a constant threat in midfield) and Timi Philips (who had been tormenting the Rossendale backs in the second half) breaking deep into host territory. However, the ball went forward and Rossendale regained possession and got the ball downfield. With not much time left, the home side were happy to let the clock run down, eventually winning a late penalty under the posts. Though the kick missed, the final whistle blew to end a frantic, physical encounter.

 

Player of the match: Oscar Livings.