Windermere at home too strong for Clitheroe

Having played no rugby in 5 weeks, Clitheroe were desperate to get playing again and build on the winning streak they were beginning to create in mid November. A win away at Windermere would have pushed Clitheroe up the table but this wasn’t to be against a side that merely consolidated their position in 2nd, only 2 points behind leaders Hutton.

Windermere showed their strengths at Littlemoor back at the end of September when they won by a couple of tries- they were significantly stronger around the ruck and had some quick backs to finish things off. At home, the damp conditions on a rather heavy pitch put paid to quick handling but Windermere were still able to put Clitheroe to the sword at the ruck and this time were much stronger in both scrum and lineout.

From the kick off Clitheroe showed how rusty they were and due to lack of communication and lack of bite initially, Windermere were able to claim the ball and drive it upfield with considerable ease. Within 5 minutes they had the first try on the board and following a successful conversion were 7-0 up. To be honest, Clitheroe did fight back and despite not having the ball for lengthy periods, they were able to keep “Mere” at bay with some strong defence, especially around the ruck with the back row of Rigby, Cowgill and Riley showing some resilience throughout whilst prop Carins was ever-resolute in both defence and attack.

Windermere scored again after 20 minutes to take the score to 12-0 and the onlookers surely thought a cricket score was a possibility. The 16 men in Maroon & Gold certainly didn’t think so and set about their task with increasing confidence. The revised half back pairing of Watson and Bartle moved the ball well on the few occasions it came to them whilst Lafranceschina, Dickinson and Keough all ran well off No8 cum centre Curphy, pushed into the backs following the withdrawal of usual centre Callaghan due to a broken alarm clock. Although Clitheroe were beginning to show some promise they still couldn’t manage to break through the strong Windermere defence and finished the half two tries down.

Captain Graves tried to pump up the troops during the break so that they would continue to stay with the hosts, however, Windermere simply proved too strong and much more of a team in scoring two more tries in the first 15 minutes to take the score beyond Clitheroe. That said, Clitheroe did manage to string some classy moves together and following an outstanding break from Dickinson, ably backed up by full back Keough, captain Graves was able to crash over from short range to claim Clitheroe’s only points of the game. One final try from Windermere made the final scoreline 29 to 5.

On reflection Clitheroe will know they have much work to do to be able to recreate the level of teamwork shown by Windermere but they should also be encouraged by the fact that they stuck at their task for extended periods of the game and will undoubtedly be stronger on the next outing.

After the friendly against Burnley on the 27th at Littlemoor, Clitheroe host North Manchester in a rearranged game on the 3rd January. It’s a game they must target as a must-win, not only to grab two points but also to show that the wins achieved earlier in the season were not by chance but were the result of significant improvements in skill and fitness throughout the team.