Moral victory at Hawcoat

Rugby date 15/1/11 away against Hawcoat Park score 10-10

Hi Guys,

What a fabulous day at Barrow in Furness playing Hawcoat Park 2's, at the beginning of the season this was a game I thought I would have difficulty with fulfilling. But it shows how far we have come this season as a team when we not only travel but take 3 substitutes as well. The team spirit is really shining through for the mighty thirds, with some superb support play on the pitch and some strong friendships off. This display was typical of how well bonded we have become as a team, with strength up front and new stars shinning in the backs.

We dominated the set piece once again not only winning our ball in the line out but all of the opponents, much to the annoyance of the Hawcoat supporters and linesman. We commanded the rolling maul with Braddy steering us up the pitch, time after time we made crucial yards by applying this tactic. Although the weather conditions were not favourable to champagne rugby, the backs stood solid in defence and on the occasion they got useful ball made good ground. Adam "Ollie" Alstead scoring a superb try after weaving his way through Hawcoats defence and making 50 meters to score the opening score. This hard fought game where we ground out a result through hard work ,support and a team effort, against a side peppered with first team players was in fact a moral victory for the mighty thirds. Hawcoat not used to teams travelling to them due to the lengthy distance, must have thought we would turn up and take whatever they dished out. As it was we where the team doing the dishing and could of won this fixture.

There is still room for improvement however, and mistakes were made. And this means we need to work harder in training, fitness was an issue on Saturday as the tough battle took its toll on the forwards. P.G. Works hard on a Thursday night with the training program, and we must support him and get numbers down to the sessions. Also discipline could of been a issue with a stronger referee, at times it seemed a shouting match to influence his decision. I know he was been barracked from the Hawcoat touch line and players on the pitch, but we need not sink to that level as our game is strong enough to overcome.

A couple of dates for your diaries, are February 5th we travel to Barrow in Furness again To face Barrow, we are looking to arrange two mini buses for this game and would want to fill them. Supporters are welcome and a charge of £5 will be applied, players will pay subs as usual. The venga bus will be making a stop or two on the way home for refreshments, lets make this a memorable day out by fielding a strong side and having some fun as well. Secondly we are at home on February 12th in a cup game against Knutsford 2's, this team put Fylde out in the first round and will be a tough opponent. However we look for our best side again and will do our best, the day will be a theme day as it is near Valentines day. The theme I have chosen for you is The Love Boat, You have been notified in plenty of time to make an effort, please try and support the day as fines will be made.

This coming weekend we are without a fixture and I have decided that we will have a rest day, the first team are at home and I would like as many third team members to come along to Ramsgreave and show our support. Also the 2's have a trip to Wilmslow, and would be grateful of any players who fancy making the trip with them to help them out. That's it for now see you all soon.

Regards Carlos (captain).

Mighty Thirds Smash Bolton

Rugby date 8/1/11 home against Bolton score 39-0

Hi Guys,

A superb start to 2011 with 2 wins out of 2, after the festivities, the latest win was a thoroughly good thumping of local rivals Bolton. A fantastic performance from all involved with a superb line up I felt we had such an abundance of talent, from the kick off the mighty thirds pack took the challenge to the visitors. A good chase from the kick soon had Bolton under pressure, which the pack kept on especially at the set piece. The first scrum was tentative as we new Bolton had no front row cover, however it wasn't long before our strength and dominance started to show. The pack pushing Bolton off most scrums and taking half a dozen against the head, we worked well together as a unit. And it wasn't long before Johnny Banks was touching down for his first try of the match after been set loose from a superb assist from number 8 Paul Schofield. John went on to score three try's in total, and this shows the dominance of the Blackburn forwards. The line out was working well and evenly competed, but the Burn jumpers were gaining the majority of the possession. And therefore giving a solid base for scrum half Richard Bradford to work, keeping the backs on the front foot.

With a new partnering of Ollie and Marc Grimes, in the centres the burn defence was solid and the backs had room to work. At times it may seem the ball doesn't move out to the backs quick enough, however champagne rugby only comes after the opposition has been crushed. We worked well together in a tough game, supporting one another round the park and communicating at the breakdown. It showed we still have a lot more to come and if we manage to maintain this momentum can have a superb season. Enthusiasm in the squad is great and the feeling of being part of the team is infectious, however we still have a long way to go in the season and a we are still involved in the cup. So we should not start getting carried away with ourselves yet and keep building towards the end of the season.

This week we travel to Barrow in Furness to play against Hawcoat park, they where a stiff opponent when they visited us and we must be at our best for this challenge. Gladly we are looking OK for this game at the moment with several players already stating that they are available to travel, however we still need some extra numbers and therefore advisability please as soon as possible to myself or Keith. In readiness for the game lets get plenty of numbers down training on Thursday P.G. will be taking the session and there is plenty for us to work on.

the last point I would like to mention is the discipline shown on Saturday, as I said before the game Saturdays referee can be a little awkward and up to now this season we hadn't played him well. This Saturdays performance from a discipline point of view was much improved, there are still a few points we can work on but everyone played their part this week and well done. Penalty's can change games as we all know to well and we must strive to be as near perfect as we can, this weeks efforts were as good as we could do and thank you

Regards Carlos (captain)..

NEW YEARS CHEER

Rugby date 2/1/11 home against Carnforth 2's score 32-0

Hi Guys,

Let me begin by thanking everyone involved with the game from Allen Carnforth's fixture secretary, to Carnforth 2's and all players supporters and bar staff at Blackburn. This was a great day at the club among friends and family, made special by the efforts of some special people.

The game its self was a hard fought event with both teams putting in maximum effort, the thirds pack was at its best even after a long lay off. there was mistakes made but we knew there would be, what mattered was how we reacted to the mistakes. The heavy forward machine of the thirds started straight away to grind through the gears,from a good kick we set up a strong position in the opponents 22 and came away with an early try scored by Schoey. We continued to dominate up front giving quick ball and a solid platform to launch a superb back line. At times though we got carried away with ourselves and white line fever set in once or twice, however we managed to convert the possession we had into points and keep extend the lead.

Carnforth had travelled well and where up for the game and where extremely good opponents coming close them selves on several opportunities, but a good defensive display from Burn meant they went home empty handed. Tackling was top draw and putting in the hard hits from the off for the whole 80 mins, meant we managed to keep a clean sheet. A good atmosphere was enjoyed afterwards in the bar with plenty of beer been supped, and a big thanks to Pat Walmesley for the effort and time she put into making the food and dishing it out for us. It made the afternoon a really good one with as I have said good friends seeing in the new year together.

We now look forward to the rest of the season and it starts this Saturday with a home fixture against Bolton, this will also be a test of our character, as we will have to build on this win. Training will start again this Thursday at the usual time 7pm till 9pm, lets get numbers down and work hard on the mistakes we made this week. Putting together a good training program isn't easy and a big thanks to P.G. for his efforts, lets get down and support him and work hard on taking this win forward.

Regards Carlos (captain).