Exemplary Eccles Erode Novos Winning Ways

The bus down to Manchester was pretty calm and collected, possibly a bit too calm and chilled as Eccles came out of the starting blocks faster than Usain Bolt. The game started with Novos kicking in to a blustery and swirling wind. Eccles caught the ball cleanly and straight away drove it up the pitch with a series of good drives, getting over the gain line as Novos defence looked a little lacklustre. Good continuity led to Eccles scoring in the first five minutes with the ball going wide to their speedy wing. 5 nil down after 5 minutes….well we’ve been here before….

Time to wake up and get playing. Unfortunately Eccles had other plans with some excellent ball retention and offloading out of the tackle, it was not long until their second try came. And again, nothing new for an away game for Novos.

When Novos got the ball in their hands, they managed to string a few good phases together, but fast defence by Eccles forced errors, handing the ball over to a clearly determined Eccles team. Before we knew it, another score from Eccles was on the cards and Novos were 17-0 down half way through the first half. Could we re-create a second come back that dreams are made of……?

Facing down the barrel of a gun, the women shook themselves into action and started to use their shoulders and bodies to tackle instead of the flailing hands of the first 20 minutes. With little ball, Novos held strong defensively to end the first half 17 nil down. Half time was quite calm. We know we can play better and with a few changes in the back line, the mood was optimistic that we could change things around.

The second half looked much more like the Novos we are used to. Spirited, determined, fighting for each other and the team. Finally getting some territory thanks to some ‘‘ave it’ kicks from Helen Kane, Novos found themselves in the 22 with a lineout. Catch and drive was the option as we steamrolled over the Eccles forwards, Sarah Kilby at the back touching down to get us on the scoreboard. PHEW! 17-5 here is the comeback. However, Novos then backed off and some missed tackles around the breakdown allowed Eccles to march up the pitch, continuing with their offloading game which Novos just could not handle. Eccles continued to build the pressure and the inevitable happened, one more try. The last 10 minutes saw Novos throw everything at the Eccles defence. In their 22, Novos went through several phases but never really looked like breaking the Eccles wall of steel. Eventually, the pressure was too much and a loose ball was picked up by Eccles who kicked it out for full time. 22-5.

Eccles were clearly the better team on the day. Aggressive, determined and committed to winning, all of which was lacking from Novos on this day. The girls were visibly distraught after the game, but the hurt and pain from this loss is something we will take and learn from. We know we are better than this which is probably what makes this loss all the more frustrating. Special mentions to Steph Barratt for her first start in Novos colours. Jenny Cox too debuting from the bench and Louise Partridge having only started playing rugby in July came on in the second half to put in some crunching tackles.

Novos have intentionally looked forward not back this season, and thus this game is put to bed and we move on to Loughborough. Back on our home turf ready to re-build our fortress. With lots of players available this weekend, competition will be tight for selection, as we also hope to get out a second team again. On another positive note, the last two weeks has seen record breaking numbers at training with 38 last Tuesday and 43 this week.