Clitheroe 1st XV
Matches
Sat 02 Oct 2010  ·  Division 2 North
CLITHEROE RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB
Clitheroe 1st XV
Penalties: M Lafranceschina (3)
9
31
Pendle 1
Pendle too good this time bt there's always the return fixture.....

Pendle too good this time bt there's always the return fixture.....

Phil Isherwood3 Oct 2010 - 19:20
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Clitheroe come up against a well-drilled outfit at Littlemoor.

Clitheroe 1st XV entertained unbeaten league leaders Pendle at Littlemoor in front of a bumper crowed of former players who had been the inaugural Past Players Association Lunch earlier in the day – it was good motivation for the current squad to turn in a gritty performance for a knowledgeable crowd and heartening to see some of the old club favourites being wheeled out of the clubhouse resplendent in tartan knee blankets to watch the game.
Pendle kicked off and placed the ball deep into the Clitheroe half and the Maroon & Gold just about scrambled the defence to hold out Lafranceschina putting in an excellent last minute tackle to deny the score. The home team weathered the storm and kicked their way into the Pendle half, with Bartle taking some good crash ball up the middle of the park, Peel as ever on his shoulder in support but just dragged down short of the line. The onslaught from the home team continued with the usual excellent driving from back rows Rigby and Cowgill. Twenty minutes in scrum half Smudge Smith flicked up the blindside of the ruck in his typical darting, dynamic style and popped to McEntyre then in turn to Peel who was high tackled to win a penalty which was duly taken and Clitheroe had the lead 3 – 0 in a tight opening quarter.
Pendle has been coasting to easy victories in recent weeks and trailing in a match is not something they are use to – it spurred them into action and from the restart they were quickly into the Clitheroe half. Bone crunching tackles from the front row of Graves Smith and Andrew Thornber help stave off the try, but from a clearance kick deep into Pendle territory they ran the ball back at full tilt to the Clitheroe line – the touchline crowd screamed for a forward pass to no avail as the referee awarded the touchdown and Pendle converted to take a 7 – 3 lead into half time.
At the re-start the 2nd row combination of Chamberlain and Ed Thornber reclaimed the ball in fantastic style to put the Maroon & Gold on the front foot. As dashing run from Watson at 10 and backed up by the winger Railton cutting in at pace resulted in a penalty in front of the posts and Lafranceschina duly converted – 6 -7 to Pendle. Ten minutes later after again looking to all bar the referee like a forward pass within the move Pendle crashed through for a touchdown, again converted, to move their score on to 14 against the Clitheroe 6 points. The Maroon & Gold lost two key players within minutes – that of Chamberlain & scrum half Smudge Smith – who were replaced by Holmes and Ben Rigby respectively, in what was becoming a tough physical encounter. Pendle sneaked another score to move their points tally on to 19. Clitheroe were still in the hunt even as the clocked ticked down and a typically electric run from flying wing Redfearn pushed the home team into the Pendle half, Holmes crashed the ball right down the centre from the resulting ruck and Pendle infringed – Lafranceschina slotted the resulting penalty to move the score to 9 – 19 in Pendle’s favour. By now both McKenna and Gretton has taken to the pitch and while Clitheroe defended from deep with both subs immediately in the thick of things in defence with some big tackles.
With 8 minutes to go, the Pendle winger slid home for a converted score and Clitheroe were effectively squeezed out of the game numerically but still competed manfully at every opportunity. Captain McEntyre was becoming more and more frustrated with the lack of reward he felt his players were getting for their endeavours from the referee, but in rugby only one opinion matters and the referee sent the skipper to the sin bin for the final 5 minutes of the match after a further questioning of a decision. Pendle scored at the death of the match to give the score line a somewhat unjust look of Clitheroe 9, Pendle 31, however Pendle did earn their victory and it will be a bold team that beats them this season. The players in Maroon & Gold fronted up well and played with their highest level of power and aggression of the season so far – attributes that will stand them in good stead in the coming months. Their competitiveness in every aspect of the park was not rewarded with victory but all of the squad should be filled with pride at the performance. Next week the 1st XV travel to Ashton on Mersey while the Cavaliers host PGH 4ths at Littlemoor at 3 pm.

Match details

Match date

Sat 02 Oct 2010

Kickoff

15:00

Competition

Division 2 North
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Main Sponsor 22/23 - Steel & Son with Bagot Heyes
Pitchside Sponsor - Whalley Corn Mills
Teamwear & Pitchside sponsor - MEDIA VILLAGE
Player Sponsor - LANX SHOES
Player Sponsor - WINTERBOTHAM DARBY
Player Sponsor - Cherrytree Bakery
Player Sponsor - X. & P. Mcguigan Civil Engineering Ltd
Player Sponsor - Fellside Farming
Teamwear & Pitchside sponsor - BOWKER BMW
Pitchside Sponsor - BOWLAND BREWEY
Pitchside Sponsor - The Emporium
Pitchside Sponsor - BYRNES & Co
Pitchside Sponsor - Harrisons Engineering
Pitchside Sponsor - HUNTER TREE SERVICES
Pitchside Sponsor - MITTON HALL
Pitchside Sponsor - NETTLETONS JEWELLERS
Pitchside Sponsor - NJD SPORTS INJURIES
Pitchside Sponsor - PT TRAINING GROUP
Pitchside Sponsor - RIBBLE FM
Pitchside Sponsor - SALAR MEDIA SERVICES
Pitchside Sponsor - SPIROFLOW
Pitchside Sponsor - A & R Plant Hire (NW) Ltd
Match Sponsor - ITUS SECURITY SYSTEMS
PRINCIPAL SHIRT SPONSOR 2016=17 - JONES HOMES
Pitchside Sponsor - SIGNTEC
Beer Festival 2014 - Spar
Kit Sponsor - Caterpillar