Vale of Lune off to flier with victory over Northwich

Match report: Vale of Lune 30 Northwich 20

The widely anticipated Indian Summer promised a scorcher, but the clouds came along to moderate the air and allow a free-flowing game to take place.

This initial NW2 fixture brought the Cheshire visitors to Powder House Lane after several years in different divisions, therefore neither team knew what to expect. 

Preseason outings had resulted in some minor injuries in the Vale squad, hopefully curable in the near future. With half of the pack in sickbay, adjustments were called for as well as other availability issues which had to be managed by Dan Williams' coaching team.

The revised lineup did the club proud. 

Early promise came from the Vale back line. With Damon Hall's high kicks and Busby's probing runs infield. The forwards soon gained dominance in the scrums and mauls.

Each side opened with a penalty goal, but the first crossing of the line came from nimble flanker Sam Walton, following a pitch-wide passing phase. Damon Hall kicked cleanly and the lead was established. 

The Vale pack gelled to good effect, pushing Northwich back off the ball repeatedly. The driving maul worked and the try was scored by hooker Harm Dokter.

The Vale's third try was a real showpiece. On the half-way line, right winger Ryan Busby anticipated a pass to his counterpart and snatched it like a hawk in mid-flight. The interception took all by surprise and the turn of speed that followed left the defences far behind. Hall's boot added another two and the half-time score was 25-3 to the Vale.

Some personnel amendments from the restart upset the equilibrium. Northwich made the most of this as they asked questions of the Vale's defences. The visitors from Cheshire notched up two tries, closing the gap to a worrying degree.

A head injury to flanker Callum Hall resulted in his departure from the field, and more changes were made in the pack. The productive tactic of the driving maul came back, and once again Dokter finished it with a try.

A final try from Northwich made the final ten minutes interesting. The Vale held off the threat to claim all five league points, whilst denying Northwich the consolation points for a near score and four tries.  

Stand out performances came from Busby and Dodge, but two front row tries earned Harm Dokter the accolade of man of the match. It was a fine start to the NW2 campaign, giving clear cause for a confidence boost to take to Bowdon next Saturday, kick off at 3pm. 

Team:   A. Fowler, H. Dokter, M. Mount, M. Goodman, J. Wallbank, C. Hall, S. Walton, S. Wallbank, J. Fern, H. Clifton, H. Dodge, C. Ramwell, C. Murrell, R. Busby, D. Hall.    Reps: G. Oyston, R. Pillow, J. Silverwood. 

*Below, the new Vale shirt sponsors - PBS Financial Services and Dan Baines Plumbing for the first team: CRW Plumbing and VM Flooring & Kitchens for the 2nd team; and Mardon Ltd. for the 3rd team. Pictured are Vale director Barry Lees, club captain Paul Scott, the gentlemen from VM Flooring and Kitchens; and Sponsorship Officer Karan Banga.