Manchester 2nd XV curise to successive Halbro Cup Win
| Published: 8th May 2008 22:53 |
Manchester Rugby Club Second team cruised to a second successive Halbro Cup Win on Saturday when the holders beat Preston Grasshoppers 3rd's in the final held at Blackburn RFC.
Manchester were hot favourites to retain the trophy but didn't find it all their own way in the first half thanks to a resilient Preston. The deadlock was finally broken when quick hands from the Manchester backline saw winger Rob Wellock cross over in the corner for his first try of the afternoon. The try was successfully converted by Dave Rees Manchester soon increased their lead to 12-0 when backrow Ian Barnes crashed over the line from a lineout. Stout defending from Preston coupled with some sloppy play from Manchester saw Manchester pinned in their own half for most of the first half. But Manchester managed to break out and capitalise on their score when Wellock crossed the line again to give a 19-0 half time score.
The second half saw Manchester increase their lead when Wellock again managed to beat his opposite number for pace to cross the line for his hat trick. With the Manchester forwards winning the battle up front it wasn't long before centre Danny Carlton crossed the line under the post to increase Manchester's score. By now Manchester's superior fitness was stating to take its toll on Preston and when Wellock crossed the line for his fourth try of the day the Halbro Cup was certain to return to Manchester for another 12 months. In fairness to Preston they never gave up and were determined to get on the score sheet when they were awarded a penalty. Unfortunate for Preston the kick was pushed wide and with the clock counting down Manchester put the final nail in the coffin when Carlton bagged his second try of the match. Rees finished off an impressive day with the boot by slotting the conversion to give him 6 from 7 attempts and to make a final score of Manchester 47 Preston 0. The victory was a fitting send off for team manager Terry Lucas who announced his retirement from managing the seconds a few days earlier.
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