MATCH REPORT: Vale of Lune 9 - 11 Macclesfield RUFC

Vale of Lune slipped to defeat in North West Division One at Powder House Lane.

In the ten minutes between Storm Austin and Storm Boelo, the Vale of Lune staged a NW1 league match. Lying in eighth place in the table, newly promoted Vale faced another of the league's Goliaths.

Macclesfield, in second place, had taken an unconventional path into NW1, nevertheless, both sides had another challenge to face. Weatherwise, this was not an afternoon for the fainthearted.

The initial fifteen minutes play took place in the Vale's half. The high winds made each clearance and placekick a lottery. Playing towards the clubhouse, scrum-half Billy Swarbrick's box kicks from the base of the rucks repeatedly soared into the sky, only to return disappointingly close to where they had been launched.

Macclesfield took the first points with a penalty kick from 30 metres out. The ferocious winds abated for the ball to fly straight. This gave hope to both teams, and soon after a Jamie Mayall 50/22 kick to the right corner, he took a similar penalty to equalise.

Ben Gould came on at full back, but in the Vale front row, Archie Fowler made way for Tadgh Butler, who put his power to good use in gaining the hard yards. It was looking promising for the Vale to strike prior to the break, but, despite a prolonged phase, the crucial lead went missing. Three points apiece at half-time said more about the weather than it did about the participants.

The restart brought on the Vale's top try scorer from last season, Harm Dokter, making his first outing since knee surgery. He was soon in the heart of the action as though he'd never been away.

Macclesfield regrouped well and created a break for their athletic left winger to dart fifty metres to register the game's first try. The wind took the conversion awry and the scores remained close.

The northerly wind now gave the impetus to the Vale. Jamie Mayall kept his focus and found the target with the boot. When he did it again, the crowd forgot the dismal weather and revelled in the possibility of a win against prematch expectation.

With both teams chasing a win, the stakes were elevated, and tensions rose accordingly. The eternally physical Vale No 8 Sam Wallbank felt Mr Ainslie's ire and was dismissed for ten minutes of reflection. In the meantime, Macclesfield followed the Vale's tactic and kicked a close-range penalty to retake the lead.

The final whistle brought a mixed sense of achievement. Whereas the four points for a win were denied to the Vale, they showed a tremendous disrespect for the form book. If there was a need to demonstrate that the Vale of Lune deserve to be in this league, it was there on the pitch. A single league point for a close finish was the numerical consolation.

Captain Jack Ayrton led the charge with composed authority, and Jamie Mayall kept his cool under meteorological pressure with placekicks. It was, however, prop Tadgh Butler who earned his first Vale Man-of-the-Match accolade for his vital carries and committed set-piece and support play.

Next Saturday sees the Vale take their NW1 campaign to Wirral RUFC, kick off will be at 2.15pm.

Team: A. Fowler, M. Bradshaw, J. Crompton, J. Sutcliffe, M. Goodman, J. Ayrton (C), J. Lashley, S.Wallbank, B. Swarbrick, J. Mayall, B. McGarvey, H. Clifton, S. Walton, I. Cook, J. Macfarlane. Reps: T. Butler, H. Dokter, J. Stevens, B. Gould.