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But let it never be said that the MV spirit was lacking in the face of any odds. Winning the toss, the magnificently bearded captain for the day David Hopper took full tactical advantage to recruit Wind, Sunlight and Terrain to the MV side as well. The first half was a tense back-and-forth battle with barely an inch of the pitch not being used. Despite the opposition's runners and cunning, a doughty MV side drew first blood with a fine penalty kick from stalwart Camillus Smith. Not to be outdone, Stockport responded with a well worked try and at the interval it was a cagey 5-3 scoreline.

 

In the second half though the Stockport numbers took their toll with fresh legs well drilled passing game allowing for a brace of quick tries. It was a setback, but the threes were nothing if not resilient and responded with relentless work to get the home grown Cian O'Grady across the line. Stockport took the initiative straight back however, scoring twice more to put the result firmly in their favour. But, like every good villain, MV refused to die quietly and closed out camping on the Stockport try line. Alas it was not to be and a firm kick to touch ended the contest 31-8 in the home team's favour.

 

The 3rd team were still high spirited despite the result, playing solid rugby in the face of vastly superior numbers (26 players in all). A big shout out to Callum Marshall for playing his socks off in only his second game for MV, and to Conrad O'Connor for a Player of the Match performance.

Match Report by AFH