Hoylake 1st XV v's Collegiate

Collegiate 16
Hoylake 21

Hoylake registered a well-earned victory away to league new comers Collegiate in a close fought contest. Hoylake didn't really play to their full potential with the forwards in particular not reaching the hights of previous weeks.

As it was, Hoylake did enough to put together 20 minutes of rugby in the second half of the first period, which was enough to take the points.

Collegiate were on the scoresheet first following a defensive lapse at a lineout deep in the Hoylake 22. they scored an unconverted try that gave the hosts after a recent run of surprisingly poor results. As Hoylake were looking for inspiration, James McLaughlin popped up to charge down a clearing kick and sprinted in unopposed from 30 metres. Stephen Young converted to give Hoylake the lead. Collegiate hit straigh back with a penalty before Hoylake finally started to perform.

First, a break by the backs put Selby-Milic in the clear. He was scragged from behind 5 metres short but Hoylake were awarded a scrum. Pressure from Byatt and Selby-Milic forced the Collegiate scrum half to pass the ball into the post pad allowing Kurton to drop on the ball which was already over the line. Young made sure with the simple conversion to put Hoylake firmly in the ascendancy.

The next try was the best of the match as McLaughlin released his backs. Fullback, Joe Lavin, was put into space and with a step and injection of pace, he was over the line for Hoylake's 3rd try. Again, Young converted. Had the the skipper not uncharacteristically missed two kickable penalties in the first period, the game would have effectively been over as a contest by halftime.

As it was, Collegiate turned up the pressure in the 2nd period. Hoylake dominated the opening exchanges before silly penalties began to flow and poor decision making put the hosts on the front foot. Hoylake defended well for the most part, leaking one try to an overlap in the corner and another penalty, which made for a nervy last 10 minutes.

As it was, Hoylake showed that they have a renewed determination when defending their own line and held out for the points. Man of the Match went to Joe Lavin who was dangerous whenever he got the ball. Veteran centre, Rich Young, was not far behind with another gritty performance. Guy Byatt was the best forward and was key to Hoylake's imrovement in the first half.

Coach Gareth John was well pleased with the victory away from home although he realised that this wasn't a vintage performance. However, 18 months of hard work is now starting to pay off and the team is finally starting to reach its potential.

Next week, Hoylake host Ashton-on-Mersey. Hoylake won the away fixture but are expecting a backlash from the newly promoted side who have recorded some decent results in recent weeks. kick off is 2:30pm, to be followed by the Ireland/England match on the big screen.