13th February 1999
Anselmians IXV 22 Port Sunlight IXV 6
By Chris Randles

It was almost a Saint Valentines Day Massacre, as a Sunlight team, apparently coasting to an easy victory was ambushed in ten devastating minutes either side of half time by an Anselmians side that had largely been anonymous up till that point.

Port Sunlight -Team of Destiny (TM) had arrived for the local derby match full of confidence. Finally identifying the missing link in their back division captain Robin Ward had called up chubby second team winger Chris Randles to provide a much needed match report for the firsts.

Looking back on the opening half Sunlight will be amazed that they ultimately ended the game as the losing side. The forwards controlled all possession, with, particularly, the scrummaging outstanding. Outside half Pete Jones moved the ball intelligently along the three quarters were both MacGrath and Duncalfe in the centre made good ground.

What looked to be the first of many points for Port Sunlight duly arrived courtesy of Lee Parnell's boot, after Ansies were adjudged to have been off side. Then Sunlight nearly scored a try, the ball squirting out of the hands of rampaging second row Steve Stockford as he drove over the line. To his disbelief more than anyone else's!

Sunlight doubled their lead with another Parnell penalty and continued to press Anselmians back. Adam and Mayo Metcalfe, Nicky Garrett, Steve Sillo and fiery hooker Simon Ward all almost getting the decisive break through.

Then tragedy struck. In what was to prove the turning point of the match Planet Sunlight was sent cruelly spinning out of orbit a minute before the break. A missed tackle in centre field finally allowed Ansies a chance to move out of their own half. A try saving tackle from full back Parnell, aided by Terry MacManus stopped this attack but a hopeful punt saw Sunlight facing a lineout on their own five metre line. Somehow panic gripped the composure of the Sunlight forwards and a hurried ball was fed back to scrum half Karl Taylor who was afforded no protection and so ended up having his kick charged down for an unconverted try by one of Anselms' Wookie forwards.

Momentum had firmly swung Ansies way and from the restart Sunlight were again on the back foot. A missed penalty in front of the post gave Sunlight some respite, but this was to prove only temporary as the Anselmians Stand Off and Inside centre started to take advantage of lax centre field tackling to create two quick tries, both unconverted.

Sunlight attempted to regroup but the flowing moves of the first half were a distant memory as handling errors by the backs wasted good possession. Anselmians pumped ball after ball deep into the Sunlight twenty two, though these were capably dealt with by Parnell and Girven Sunlight were unable to clear very far. In the end more poor tackling allowed the Anselmians inside centre to dance through for the final score of the game, a try that was finally converted.

On the plus side Sunlight didn't fold when the pressure was applied and should hopefully learn to kill off a game when they have the ascendancy. Another plus was the capitulation of the catering managers at the club to the intense lobbying by the Pro Pie Faction. Pies and pasties were back on the menu - Long live the pie!

One final point. I got called, and I quote "A Fat Wanker" by The Ansies second row; the question here is how did he know?

Sunlight team : Parnell, Girven, Duncalfe, MacGrath, Randles, Jones, Taylor; Silcock, MacManus, Metcalfe A, Metcalfe M, Stockford, Garrett, Ward S, Ward R (Capt.).

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Saturday 16 January 1999
Report by debut jornalist Pete Jones.

On a cold windswept afternoon on the Leverhulme playing fields it was obvious that controlled forward drills would be the key to success, and so it proved.

To win 32 - 22 was not a good result given the quality of the opposition but was acceptable enough bearing in mind Halton had led for virtually the entire match.

A mixed pattern to the game developed early on. Sunlight's forwards dominated. Halton's backs excelled. As usual Sunlight's tactics appeared to follow the perverse trend of either, holding the ball in the tight well past the point after it should have been released when on top, or flinging it out as soon as possible when under pressure and being driven backwards. Who said a decent platform was important to attack anyway.

Inadequate tackling by persons unnamed in the midfield defence allowed Halton to touch down first. Then a break by Outside centre Ross Lewis (showing he can be an effective performer when he applies himself), took the black & whites well upfield from the restart. After which 2nd then 3rd phase ball gave Liam, the tricky lightweight at no 11, a chance to cross for his first score of the season following some deft handling by his team mates inside.

As heavy weight skipper Robin Ward correctly identified at half time it was clear that the home forwards were in charge but exciting handling by Halton's back division meant they remained a constant threat when they had the ball. QED possession was paramou nt. And so through the rest of the game scores were exchanged by both sides accordingly. Adam Metcalfe jumping at no 2 secured the ball with ease. This invariably led to a rolling maul and drive for the line to gain the score as Blakeborough did on 2 occasions. The sneaky hooker Lister gave everyone a laugh by trying to claim one of these tries. M.O.M. my arse ! 'Silo' the big no 8 benefited from two pushovers scrums to complete the scoring. Ex guardsman Stockford soldiered on after a nasty eye injury, and fell over.

The blustery conditions meant it was always going to be a difficult day for those given the kicking duties. Mind you with no 15 John Skerrit's football ability, the weather is always going to be immaterial. One out of six for him, - the demand to give the clubs outstanding prospect Pete Jones a run at flyhalf is becoming more difficult to ignore with each week that passes. Finally Sunlight gained the upper hand in the last quarter and to the joy of the chilled supporters never looked like conceding the game from there.

The conclusion. Not a bad effort on balance. Well stuck at it everyone. The win consolidates Sunlight's upward trend .It seems the Club's in good health. In the meantime, for those wanting real thrills check out Cullens' 2nd XV.