THE BATTLE OF THE CAKES

A question and argument that has long been raging at both ends of the M61 is, which is better, the Chorley cake or the Eccles cake? Chorley cakes use a shortcrust pastry to encase the fruit filling, which makes it more solid, whilst Eccles cakes use flaky pastry which can crumble easier but adds to the sweet taste. The Chorley cake has less sugar inside, but It's still plenty sweet enough to enjoy with a nice brew. Me personally, I’d rather go with a nice cream tea if I’m honest. 

The solid Chorley defence is something that definitely encases teams, but that’s where the similarities end. Our defence is definitely not sweet like either of these cakes, in fact its bitter, aggressive, ruthless, relentless and at times brutal. Today it was yet again shown why we have the best defence in the league, big hits, organised defence and a mental attitude to never give up, ever!

As we kicked off the game with a strong head wind and the sound of the M62 buzzing in the background, I could see and hear we were going to start well. Within minutes we looked to go forward at pace and intent, Matt Lago took the ball in to contact with good support to then see Chris Highton feed Stu Hammond who again made good ground. From the next phase though we gave away a penalty and Eccles kicked out to take them into our half for the first time. From the lineout though, Sean Livingstone managed to get a hand to the ball and flick the ball back. Ellery Hodson then fed Rob Gatefield who made a good run as he fed Gwil Jones, from the breakdown Lancashire representative player, Dom Anderson powered the ball in to the Eccles solid defence, which then resulted in a penalty to us. A quick tap by Chris Highton saw him dart through a gap in the defence, which had quite clearly switched off. Kev Rothwell was in support and again took us forward. 

Michael Jessiman was his powerful self and he made 20 metres which took us 30 metres from the Eccles line, Jake Peake and James Fisher were in support and secured the ball as Jess was still trying to break the tackle, Jess put in a great offload to Jake but he was tackled just as he looked to break free. Minutes later Eccles pushed forward with some good backline work from the strong running Eccles number 12, but good defence saw the attack stopped. From the next phase Matt Lago, who was constantly trying to turnover ball final won a penalty for us, that resulted in Ellery Hodson kicking us 15 metres from the Eccles line. From the lineout, a set piece saw us catch and drive with such pace that Eccles were never going to stop us and it was Chris Highton who scored in the corner, which was well deserved after his great start to the game. The conversion was basically against the touchline and with a strong head wind the kick looked near impossible. Ellery Hodson’s consistent kicking though has been part of the reason we have had consistent results and this one he caught so sweet, just like the sugary Eccles cake and it sailed over to make it 0-7.

The Eccles scrum was totally dominating ours, something that had not happened all season. To look at the front row looked small, but technically there were very good and we just couldn’t get on top of them. Twice in a row Eccles turned over our scrum but good defence from the back row always stopped any threat. Andy Swales and Joe Laddle made two great damaging runs, which took us deep into the Eccles half, Chris Highton looked to send Michael Jessiman through a gap, and just as Jess looked to again break through, he was tackled. From the ruck we looked to go wide but some great cover defence saw James Fisher Smashed into touch. 20 minutes had now gone and Eccles were starting to get frustrated when in possession. Our defence was constantly pushing them back and the only player who was looking dangerous was the Eccles number 12 who always looked to penetrate the line. They again looked to push wide but as they did, they looked rushed, unorganised and under pressure, it was inevitable the ball would be lost, which they did twice in succession as they knocked on twice in as many minutes. One thing that was building besides pressure on the Eccles attack was our penalty count, the referee was constantly lifting his arm towards the M62 and the Eccles team. It was actually quite frustrating stood on the touchline, but when you are in the moment on the pitch these things happen. sometimes frustration with the referee and yourself due to making the mistakes, can actually make you give away more. 3 penalties in quick succession, 5 metres from our line in the end finally took its toll. To be fair we did really well to keep them out for so long but in the end, it was inevitable and Eccles went in 15 meters from the touchline. The conversion was missed to make it, 5-7. They again attacked, looking to push us wide but something we have worked on and spoke about so much was yet again working and Eccles again, forced the ball only to get turned over or knocked on, on this occasion a pass was made but it just bobbled in to touch. From the lineout we smashed up the middle with Stu Hammond, Chris Highton gave quick ball to Sean Livingstone, who smashed forward, from that we won a penalty on the 40 metre line. Again, the confident Ellery Hodson stepped up to make it 5-10 by sliding the ball through the uprights.

From the restart the ball was kicked straight into touch. From the scrum we actually won a penalty despite the Eccles domination. One thing we were actually dominating was the lineout, Dom Anderson was really accurate with Sean Livingstone and Kev Rothwell despatching clean ball to Chris Highton. 30 out and off the top of the lineout, Chris Highton made a break and fed Michael Jessiman, Jess offloaded to Stu Hammond who was in support and just as he looked to break free, the cover defence stopped the attack, but we were controlled in attack and always making breaks. The number 12 for Eccles was constantly a threat in attack and was very vocal with the referee, something unfortunately he was failing to address. As Ellery Hodson kicked a penalty into touch just past the halfway line where I was stood, I decided to send a message to Stu Hammond, it was simple, “Stu, your job in defence is the number 12”, that was all I had to say. The number 12 actually heard that and made some remark about how fat I was, which I thought was actually quite witty and funny, unfortunately I can’t share it on here. A few minutes later the 12 was taking the ball in at pace and Stu put in a huge hit, sending him back 2 metres, a few minutes after that and again the same result but this time the ball was spilled and we gathered the ball to send Jake Peake dancing through a gap to make 30 metres, good work from the very quick winger though put Jake into touch.

At half time it was all about starting the second half with intensity in defence, Stu carrying on with his job and to be composed in attack. From the kick off we looked so so good and very composed, wave after wave of drives forward from the whole team, with Chris Highton and Ellery Hodson directing, saw us constantly driving forward deep into the Eccles half. 9 phases of play had gone by with us now 15 metres from the Eccles line and as Matt Lago looked to break through, he was just hauled back. We have some very clever players, very experienced and none more so than Chris Highton. He just knows when to do things and when not, he plays off instinct and sometimes I don’t think even he realises what he’s going to do next (though he would say he does lol) or how good he is. From the ruck he was so quick to the ball the defence couldn’t react, and as he looked one way but span and shot through in the opposite direction Chris dived over the line for his second try. Ellery again converted to put us 17-5 ahead. The next 20 minutes was constant Eccles pressure but as before they kept spilling the ball or had nobody there to take the ball in. Stu Hammond had done his job on the inside centre also, in the second half we never really heard him or saw him as a threat anymore, Stu had taken him out of the game. The number 12 was a very good player and if we’d let him carry on doing what he was doing, I really feel the score would maybe of being different, if anything it was a compliment to the powerful inside centre. The penalties were again mounting up against us for various reasons, some unknown and the only thing that was keeping out the attack was fantastic defence, it was ruthless and so aggressive, but more than anything everyone was working so hard. We always say that everyone grafts, everyone gets involved in the hard stuff, regardless of position and yet again everyone was buying in to it. Logan Singleton but in two pounding tackles in succession with second smashing the ball from the forwards grasp as again Eccles couldn’t find composure in attack. 14 minutes before the 40 were up Eccles again moved in to score but Rob Gatefield bravely put his body on the line to keep them out. The referee though after saying any more cynical penalties and a player is going in the sin bin, showed Rob the yellow card. A minute later the pressure told and Eccles scored and converted almost in front of the posts, 12-17. 12 minutes left and we looked, for the first time in the game, tired. A few hands on knees, Sean Livingstone looked like he’d been cage fighting as I took him off for a well deserved rest, Kev Rothwell who’d worked so hard all over the pitch, for the first time looked lethargic, prop Joe Laddle had to come off for a neck injury. As I looked around the lads looked very tired. But, and it’s a very big BUT. One thing I know about these lads, and the lads who didn’t play today is, just as you think they are gone they find something deep within, they come together and refuse to give up or lie down for anyone regardless of score. From the restart we now looked so determined, I don’t know what was said behind the posts, if anything, but we looked angry and very focused. From the restart Connor Parsons put in a great tackle to knock the Eccles number 8 backwards, this spurred us on even more as we smashed into every tackle, Chris Highton and Captain Gwil Jones put in two bone crushing tackles as every attack was relentlessly stopped. Kev Rothwell who now looked totally energised, Andy Swales, James Fisher and Marcus O’Donohoe all put in fantastic ferocious defence in the next few phases of play. Eccles constant attacks were constantly halted and as they looked to push into our 20 and the Eccles players constantly shouting, “keep the ball!!”a tackle from Matt Lago turned over the ball and Chris Highton launched the ball high and far knowing it was the last play of the game. 

I’m actually not sure if I’ve done this performance justice, it was a fantastic display of composure in attack and aggressive, ruthless, relentless, defence. I can’t remember feeling so ecstatic after a game. The difference a performance like this gives you as a coach is fantastic, but the lads deserve ALL the credit, they were amazing and as I looked around the changing rooms after the game I could see blood, bruises, scars, cuts and more than anything smiles. Just like the Chorley cake, our tough exterior had encased Eccles and totally stopped them seeping through that solid pastry defence.

Everyone played fantastic and put their bodies on the line, Michael Jessiman always looked a threat and put in good defence, Kev Rothwell, Sean Livingstone, James Fisher and Matt Lago worked so hard. Captain Gwil Jones was ferocious in defence and potent in attack. Our front row lads, though dominated in the scrum for large parts, never stopped working and Dom Anderson constantly hit his targets. Stu Hammond was immense in defence and was constantly making breaks and supporting others, which he got so much second ball from. The man of the match though was Chris Highton, he constantly harassed his opposite number and pressured him into bad decisions, he constantly made breaks and put in some huge hits. His two tries were typical of him, clever, skilful and full of cheek and experience. 

Our next game is on the 21st January at Home to Kirkby Lonsdale, kick off 2-15pm.