Crewe & Nantwich RUFC 1sts were narrowly beaten 8-9 by local rivals Whitchurch in their first league clash of 2024.
Crewe, who finished the first half of the season 3rd in league, were expecting a tough game this time out and that’s how it turned out at the Vagrants.
The game, on a quality pitch despite the recent heavy rain, kicked off and the game was stop-start from the outset.
Handling errors and penalties for both sides never allowed either side to get into their rhythm.
Logan Lynch knocked over a penalty leaving Crewe 3-0 up but just before the half, the Whitchurch 15 kicked his first of the afternoon leaving the score 3-3 at half time.
The second half started the same as the first.
Crewe began to create opportunities but failed to convert as handling errors saw a number of chances go begging.
Whitchurch knocked over another three points after Crewe were penalised, leaving the score 3-6 to the visitors.
After some further scrum dominance, Crewe found themselves on the Whitchurch 5-metre line.
After a dominant scrum, the ball was moved blind to Ben Waterman (pictured) to touch down for his first try of the club to cap off a man of the match display, 8-6 Crewe.
In a game of fine margins, the Whitchurch 15 again slotted a penalty, with the ball hitting the bar and bouncing over to take the lead with 10 minutes to go.
Crewe responded with a length of the field attack which looked to result in a try until the final pass went to ground with the tryline at their mercy.
A close game with both teams producing strong defensive efforts saw Whitchurch emerge as victors by 8-9.
Next weekend the 1st team travel to play Altrincham.
The 2nd XV were also involved in a local derby away at Sandbach 3rds.
In a closely contested game, Sandbach ran out winners by 23-21.
Meanwhile, Crewe Ladies made the long trip to Sheffield and but in a valiant performance before losing 53-5
Recent Comments