Richard McNeil

Latest articles from Richard McNeil

RUGBY UNION Sandbach 24 v 37 Wirral - Brooks kicks Wirral to victory

Sandbach had a large crowd watching this game as they needed to win to reduce their chances of being relegated from this league. They started confidently with a converted try after 6 minutes, although Wirral quickly drew level with a try from Rhys James. In the period leading up to half time Sandbach scored two more tries and a penalty to lead 24-14 at half time, having taken advantage of playing with the wind and the slope and also aided by 3 yellow cards against Wirral. In the second half Wirral applied more pressure on Sandbach and after 20 minutes had equalised following a converted try by Ben Brooks and a penalty from Mark Williams. With greater pressure from Wirral play was now contained in the Sandbach half and a bonus try from Adam Don combined with 2 long drop goals from Ben Brooks took the game away from Sandbach. In the end the visiting referee had given out 9 yellow cards (5 to Sandbach) yet the game had been played in a good spirit and the result was not helpful to Sandbach in their quest to stay in the league. Next week Wirral are at home to Penrith with a 3.00pm kick off

RUGBY UNION Wirral 18 v 10 Anselmians - Wirral win hard-fought local derby

This was the second match of the season between these two local teams played in front of a large crowd at the Memorial Ground with both teams seeking points on an urgent basis. The match was evenly balanced in the first half with Anselmians having the advantage of the wind but it was Wirral who took the first points with firstly a break in mid field by Mark Williams which split the Anselmians defence and he ran in from 50m to score under the posts, duly converted by Jimmy Annetts. This was followed by a penalty from Jimmy who took his points scored for Wirral over the 1500 mark- a great performance for the team. In the rest of the half, Anselmians came back into the game with a forwards try from Sam Gregory duly converted by Dave Morley, the latter adding a penalty with the last play of the first half to leave the score 10 each at half time. In the second half Wirral used the wind to better effect but it was not until the 66th minute that Wirral went ahead with a try from Tom Akehurst, after Anselmians had missed an easy penalty to take the lead. Five minutes later a poor clearance from Anselmians was caught by Ben Brooks and a long pass to Mark Phillips enabled the player to drop kick from 35m to score and put Wirral two scores ahead at 18-10. Anselmians worked hard to get back into the game but a try was disallowed on the basis that it was not touched down and eventually cleared to then seal the game. Wirral now move up to 4th in the league whilst Anselmians remain in the relegation section of the league.

RUGBY UNION Manchester 33 v 28 Wirral - Visitors lose top five battle

In a tight contest between teams 4th and 5th in the league it was the stronger set of forwards at Manchester who won the day. Wirral with a much changed side built up after 20 minutes a lead of 0-18, thanks to try from prop Joe Adnams and scrum half Tom Akehurst aided by the kicking of Jimmy Annetts. In the period up to half time Manchester responded with two converted tries of their own greatly assisted by the weight of their forwards who made gaps in the Wirral defence near the try line to leave the score 14-18 at half time.

RUGBY UNION Penrith 23 v 24 Wirral - Last gasp try wins game for visitors

With few games being played in the North of England, Wirral travelled to Penrith to play on their 3G pitch, with the rain pouring down throughout the game along with a strong wind to contend with. It was Wirral who made the best start whilst playing against the wind and rain and took the lead on 9mins when Tom Akehurst raced through a gap to score duly converted by Ben Brooks. The lead was doubled to 0-14 when Rhys James crossed close to the posts. Gradually Penrith came back into the game and scored two tries before half time to leave Wirral ahead; 10-14 at half time. In the second half, Penrith were more controlled as they built up a 20-14 lead through 2 tries. Eventually Wirral used their forwards to make progress up field and after pressure managed to score through Ben Brooks in the corner. A further penalty by Penrith gave them a 23-19 lead meaning Wirral would have to score a try to win the game. In the last minutes of the game, Wirral were in play close to the Penrith line, turned down a kick at goal and took a 5m line out which they won and applied pressure on the Penrith line and after a couple of minutes of chances, Joe Adnams had the ball and forced his way over the line to score the winning points. The game was then over.

RUGBY UNION Stockport 27 v 26 Wirral - Visitor's second half comeback not quite enough

This narrow defeat could have been avoided if Wirral’s final play was allowed to continue but this was not the case. It was the home side, Stockport who used their scrum to their advantage in the first half as they built up a 22-0 lead having scored their try bonus point. In the second half, Wirral reacted strongly with first a try by Matt Ringer followed by two tries by Mark Williams and another from James Annetts, three of which were converted. This left the score 27-26 to Stockport with the closing minutes to come, as Wirral attacked again, broke through the defence only for the referee to bring play back and instead of allowing advantage to Wirral then one has to ask why wasn’t the advantage allowed to stand.

RUGBY UNION Wirral 27 v 7 Sandbach - Hosts gain bonus point win

Following the last minute defeat last week, Wirral were determined to defeat South Cheshire side, Sandbach. With a number of changes again, Wirral quickly settled into playing open rugby and within 20 minutes were already 12-0 up through well constructed tries by RYHS JAMES and captain, CHRIS CROWLEY and one conversion. Sandbach then came back into the game and used their forwards to make progress up the field and were rewarded with a push over try duly converted to leave the score 12-7 at half time in Wirral’s favour. The second half saw Wirral extend their lead with a penalty from JIMMY ANNETTS. However Sandbach were working hard to progress but stern tackling my Wirral kept the away team at bay. After 60 minutes, a third try by Wirral from RHYS JAMES gave the home team some comfort. Stern tackling by Wirral kept Sandbach out. In the last minute of the game, Wirral extended play from 60m out, the ball reached EVAN ROBINSON who ran some 30m before kicking the ball ahead which caused some confusion to the Sandbach defence who allowed ROBINSON to race through to kick the ball over the line and he was first to touch down giving Wirral their try bonus point. They remain 4th in their league and next week play a Cheshire Cup game against Stockport at home. The second and third team also won yesterday which made a jovial clubhouse on Saturday night.

RUGBY UNION Kendal 31 v 30 Wirral - Visitors defeated by last-gasp kick

The conditions in Kendal were ideal for rugby on a well drained pitch played under the sun. Wirral despite a number of changes to their team scored a penalty in the first minute of the game and through the next 20 minutes built up a 0-13 lead with the help of goal kicking from Ben Brooks and a try by Evan Robinson. Kendal came back into the game to score two converted tries to lead 14-13 before on the stroke of half time; Evan Robinson went in for his second try to leave the score 14-18 at half-time. The second half started well for Wirral with a try from captain, Chris Crowley and then another by Nick Hearn to increase the Wirral lead to 14-30. In building up this score Wirral had opportunities to score further points but strong Kendal defence kept them out. There were a number of injuries which resulted in a weakening of the Wirral pack and in the last quarter of the game, the heavier Kendal pack took advantage with 3 push over tries, the final one coming in the last minute of play where the Kendal kicker managed a difficult kick to win the match much to the surprise of the large home crowd. Wirral still remain 4th and play Sandbach next week at Clatterbridge kick off 2.15pm

RUGBY UNION Wirral 15 v 7 Northwich - Hosts get revenge with hard fought win

In heavy conditions, Wirral played Northwich in a league game, eager to reverse the loss they incurred at Northwich 3 weeks ago. Wirral had a stronger team out last Saturday and took the lead with a Jimmy Annetts penalty in the first half when playing against the slight breeze. Wirral were 3-0 up at half time having also had a try disallowed. In the second half Wirral played with greater intent and moved the ball quicker and for a long period were camped in the Northwich 20m area but could not force their way over the line until from play 20m out a long pass from Jimmy Annetts to young Rhys James who beat two defenders to score to extend Wirral’s lead to 10-0. After a number of team changes towards the end of the game, a kick through from a scrum enabled Evan Robinson to beat the defence to score in the corner, which gave Wirral that necessary winning margin. In the last play of the game, Northwich charged down a Wirral kick and they won the race to touch down for their only score.