On a day when Saints’ pre-match preparation wasn’t the best, given that team physio, Connor Mac, was stuck in traffic on the M56 for hours and Dai, Anselmians’ resident points kicking machine was hobbling around in the warmup with an injured quad.
Coupled with a Bowdon squad that was prompt and going through a thorough warm-up you could be forgiven for thinking this might not be Saints day. All whilst Nick Buckley the President of Bowdon and his fellow blazers were enjoying some fine Anselmian hospitality upstairs.
Degsy had rotated his squad for this one, Kosta started at loose head, Harry Graham came into the back row and Liam Sadler started in the unfamiliar position of full back with younger brother Ben on the bench.
Saints won the toss and chose to face the moderate breeze in the first half. the game began with Bowdon matching Saints for determination and intensity. Saints scrum went well in the opening 25 minutes as they managed to drive Bowdon back on their own ball to win a few penalty decisions and it took until the 33rd minute before the deadlock was broken.
A penalty was awarded on the edge of the Bowdon 22, Will G opted for the corner, a fine catch and drive saw Niall cross near the corner 5-0. Immediately from the restart Saints recycled the ball to Ewan who had all the work to do from the halfway line, beating two defenders before chipping through and gathering the ball three metres out and taking the last-ditch defender over the line with him 10-0.
The half drew to a close and Saints knew they were in a game, a few stern words later and the second half began with Sam Greggory coming on for Harry in the back row and Rob O’Donnell for Danny Salisbury.
Saints went up a gear and from a five metre scrum in the 45th minute and a well-worked move saw James O power over, Dai converted and Saints were 17-0 to the good.
Bowdon probed when they had possession, but the Saints’ defensive line was strong and resolute. An unfortunate incident purely accidental saw Dai leave the field on 50 minutes with a nasty facial injury when trying to take a high ball, thankfully he was fine.
Ben Sadler entered the fray at 10 and produced an accomplished performance showing great awareness with his distribution.
Saints continued to win excellent lineout balls through Will Grabe and Jack Sanders. Having worked their way up into the visitors’ 22 on 58 minutes, James O picked another strong line that saw him barge over under the sticks, Ben added the 2 and Saints had bagged another bonus point 24-0.
Further pressure in the right areas of the pitch with Niall, Kosta and Jack R carrying strongly into the opposition midfield saw Ewan worked into space to go over in the corner after 65mins for his second try, excellently converted by Ben and Saints lead 31-0.
The game was won, but Saints were determined to keep the visitors off the scoreboard, it was a game generally played in the right spirits and it wasn’t until the 66th minute that the ref had to produce a card when Jack Richards and the opposition 7 were sent to the cooler for 10 mins.
On 72 minutes Tommy Banks exploited a gap in the Bowdon defence and powered through from 30 metres on a diagonal run and over the line to bring the score up to 31-0.
As the game was closing the ball was now being moved left to right as the hosts weren’t finished and an overlap on the right wing saw a miss pass find Campbell in space to go over in the corner to finish the game 41-0.
Bowdon were better opposition than the score line suggests, Saints were clinical in taking their chances and know their opponents will be looking forward to the return.
Saints take a well-earned rest next week before travelling to Broughton Park a week later, having taken maximum points in their opening five games they will be keen to maintain momentum but mindful that complacency must be avoided.
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/- | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anselmians | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 202 | 53 | 149 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| 2 | Firwood Waterloo | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 186 | 107 | 79 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| 3 | Birkenhead Park | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 171 | 98 | 73 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
| 4 | Rochdale | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 159 | 109 | 50 | 4 | 2 | 18 |
| 5 | Glossop | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 141 | 147 | -6 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| 6 | Bowdon | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 147 | 124 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| 7 | Broughton Park | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 93 | 142 | -49 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 8 | Vale of Lune | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 104 | 145 | -41 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 9 | Altrincham Kersal | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 93 | 135 | -42 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 10 | Wilmslow | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 97 | 160 | -63 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 11 | Winnington Park | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 111 | 210 | -99 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | Douglas (I.O.M.) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 80 | 154 | -74 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Anselmians
15 Liam Sadler
14 Campbell Clayton
13 Ewan Nolan
12 Ransford Otutaha
11 Thomas Banks
10 David Morley
9 George Manger
1 Kostja Vezanovs
2 Daniel Salisbury
3 Derek Salisbury
4 Niall Cavanagh
5 Jack Richards
6 Jack Sanders
7 Harry Graham
8 William Grabe
Anselmians Subs
S1 Robert O’Donnell
S2 Benjamin Sadler
S3 Samuel Gregory
Bowdon
15 Callum Ramsey
14 Terence Longworth
13 Matthew Kilcourse
12 Matthew Calvin
11 Luke Rink
10 Jonathan Edwards
9 William Lever
1 Alex Bellingham
2 Billy Stirling
3 William Cartlidge
4 Matthew Hulme
5 Osian Hayneys
6 Clive Van Rensburg
7 Thomas Fitzgerald
8 amuel Haley
Bowdon Subs
S1 Lewis Kitchiner
S2 Patrick Fitzgerald
S3 Ben Thomas
Image: Derek Salisbury Snr
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