Hoylake 1st XV v's Bowden

Hoylake 35
Bowden 14

Hoylake bounced back from last week's heavy, yet spirited defeat at the hands of local rivals Anselmians with a creditable victory against usually difficult opposition, Bowden.

In truth, the visitors were virtually unrecognisable from recent seasons but the hosts still had to work hard for what was a comfortable victory in the end.

Hoylake fielded the same side from last week with the only exception being in the 2nd row, where Ian Griffiths returned for the injured Phil James. There were other changes on the bench where veterans Richard Young and Mark Wylie were available following their absence the previous week.

The hosts started the stronger but were pegged back by a long range, breakaway try by the Bowden number 11. The try was converted. The rest of the half was dominated by Hoylake who scored 3 tries through flyhalf James McLaughlin, centre Dan Baldock and 18 year old winger, Matty Ross. Skipper, Steve Young, converted one and also struck a penalty to give the hosts a 20-7 half time lead.

As attention turned to the bonus point, Hoylake became increasingly frustrated by their lack of possession. Young did hit a penalty to extend the lead but Bowden came back strongly. After a period of sloppy defence, they crashed over under the posts. At 23-14, Bowden were too close for comfort and the match wasn't settled until the closing 10 minutes, when the bonus point was finally secured.

A well-worked move saw Richard Young (on for Baldock) cement his place as the club's top decoy runner by drawing in two opponents. His younger brother then released pacey fullback, Joe Lavin, who did the rest from 20 metres.

With just seconds remaining, Lavin pounced again following some stirling defence by the Hoylake forwards. A breakdown in Bowden's midfield saw Lavin gather and sprint home from 40 metres. Young converted to give a final score of 35-14.

Hoylake's pack played well, led by the diminutive Matt O'Hanlon who was deputising at number 8. Vice Skipper and prop, Matt O'Neill, also put in some strong runs and led from the front. Jake Woods added another dimension at hooker, making up for his lack of size with his general play and skill around the park.

Next week, the Hoylake pack will need to dig out their long studs and be prepared for a lung-busting 80 minutes at Glossop, who are renowned for their big pack of forwards. Hoylake know that if they can get the ball to their backs, they have a good chance of taking the points.