Wasteful Hoppers Lose To Westoe

Hoppers lost for the first time at home this season in an embarrassing display to a Westoe side that offered little in attack but capitalised well on several key mistakes. All four of the visitors tries came from an error or piece of poor play by Hoppers which must have infuriated players and coaches as much as the home crowd. With both sides falling foul of the referee’s whistle of many occasions the game never really found a rhythm.

Things did however start well as Tom Ashton made a scything break up the middle of the Westoe defence in the opening minute, he was well supported by Mike Millward, Cameron Berry and Tom Bell who carried the ball up to the try line and after a few forays by the forwards Hoppers were able to suck in the defence and Matt Hughes took advantage of a vacant blindside to score.

Hoppers then proceeded to allow Westoe into the game through a series of penalties, two of which were well converted by the impressive Mark Bedworth who was successful with 6 of his 7 kicks at goal. Bell put Hoppers back into the lead with a penalty on the half hour mark when visiting back row Aaron Myers, who was sin binned for the offence, was guilty of killing the ball at a ruck.

Those who thought Hoppers would press on with a man advantage like they had done in the opening game were surely disappointed to see them go behind within seconds of the restart. After gathering the kick Hoppers did not chase Mark Edwards clearing kick well and allowed Westoe to launch an attack first through full back Charlie Rayner and then James Clark who found a huge hole in the midfield to sprint in untouched from 30 yards. Bedworth added the extras and the visitors went into the half with an unexpected 13-8 lead in a half where they had been on the back foot throughout and with only the intelligent directional kicking of Bedworth to cling on to.

If the first half was poor by Hoppers then the second half was downright abysmal, three minutes into the half Hoppers were down to 14 men, with the sin binning on replacement Sean Hall, and had conceded a penalty try. A mistake in the Hoppers midfield on half way resulted with the ball going to ground, Clark and Gareth Kerr hacked on for Westoe and with the ball in the in goal area and Kerr looking favourite to reach it he was pulled back by Hall giving the referee no option but to award the penalty try and send Hall to the bin.

Hoppers tried to get some territory with the man disadvantage but Bedworth did a good job of pinning the home side back into their own half and from this Westoe took advantage of a stolen line out and when Bedworth ghosted through the line all that was left to do was draw the full back and lay off a well timed pass for Clark to score his second.

Westoe wrapped up a bonus point win in typical style as they pounced on yet another turn over to score. From a set move on half way Hoppers midfield did not look in synch and Scott Manning, who had looked shaky since coming on, delayed the pass but only managed to find Westoe’s Kerr who intercepted and raced away to secure all five points.

Hoppers will have to improve on these simple errors, especially as the travel to Loughborough to face the Students.

Hoppers put up brave fight against all star Fylde

Hoppers put up a brave fight but ultimately went down to a dangerous Fylde side that ran away with an exciting contest at the Woodlands. Fylde unleashed the icon that is Jason Robinson on National League rugby in front of a packed crowd and the former England star showed glimpses of the kind of rugby Fylde are paying.

The weather tried to help out the visitors as a huge downpour half an hour before kickoff made early conditions a little tricky but both teams handled them well. However, Hoppers were starved of the ball for the majority of the match and put in a huge effort in defence but the star quality of Fylde came into its own in the last 15 minutes.

Fylde started well and completely dominated the opening 20 minutes, their forwards were able to recycle the ball quickly and the backs looked sharp from the start. They took the lead from the boot of Mike Waywell and finally broke the determined Hoppers defence after 13 minutes, the forwards executed a punishing catch and drive deep into the 22 and while Hoppers were able to stop the first backs move the ball was moved back quickly and winger Oli Brennand had too much pace for the scrambling defence.

Hoppers started to get into the game after the try and got on the board with a Mark Edwards penalty, but the gap was soon back to eight points when Waywell added his second.

The referee then made his first substantial impact into the game as he reduced both teams to 14 men in a matter of minutes. Hoppers Mark Irving was first to go and he was followed by his opposite number Pete Altham.

On the stroke of half time Hoppers dragged themselves back into the game as a well weighted kick through by Edwards was touched down by Tom Ashton by the post, Edwards added the simple conversion and for all their superiority Fylde had just a one point lead at the half.

If Robinson had been quiet through the first half he showed his class in the second, in the first minute he jinked and weaved past three players before setting off down the left wing, he was well supported by Brennand whose ball back on the inside put Craig Aikman over to score just 40 seconds into the half.

Hoppers were able to answer back quickly with a try Tom Hughes will remember for a lifetime. After a solid catch and drive Hoppers unleashed a scything backs move with Edwards finding Hughes who cut a great line and sprinted past Robinson leaving the England man in his wake.

Fylde then took charge of the game and unleashed some scintillating backs moves to score 30 unanswered points in the final half hour. As good as Fylde were they officiating took a downward turn with some extraordinary decisions and non decisions. Fylde lock Grant Ferguson somehow got away with a knee to the head and after Fylde were awarded a scrum in the 22 Richard Kenyon looked to have been held up over the line but the touch judge over-ruled the referee, who had signalled held up, to award the try.

The hosts were reduced to 14 men for the final 20 minutes as Altham was shown his second yellow but it did not slow them down. Waywell added two more penalties to stretch the lead to 31-17 and the referee evened up the number by showing substitute Mike Millward a yellow card.

Fylde scored three tries in the final five minutes, first Waywell was able to squeeze into the right corner and Kenyon was able to grab his second after good work from Robinson and Nick Royle. Then the other high profile newcomer Paul Arnold touched down following a well weighted kick from man of the match Kenyon.

Hoppers Start Season With A Win

Hoppers got the season off to a winning start with a comfortable win against Huddersfield. On the back of a dominant display from the pack Hoppers were able to put together a string of impressive backs moves and will be slightly disappointed not to walk away with a try bonus point.

Mark Edwards got Hoppers off to a good start with two early penalties as Huddersfield fell afoul of the new tackle laws. The reliable boot of Chris Johnson reduced the visitor’s deficit to three points with the first of his five penalties in a near perfect kicking performance.

With the penalty count mounting up referee Dave Edmunds felt the need to assert some authority and sent Richard Morton to the bin reducing Hoppers to 14 men. Huddersfield failed to make their number advantage count and it fell to Hoppers to extend their lead while a man down. Great work from the forwards, starting with an excellent line out steal and continuing with some forceful work around the fringe, took Hoppers deep into the 22 and after Cameron Berry broke the line Tom Hughes showed his typical quick feet and strength to power over the line, dragging a couple of visiting defenders with him. Edwards added the extras to take Hoppers lead out to 13-3.

Hoppers back row again found there selves on the wrong side of the referee just as Morton was due to return to the field, Matt Charters was shown a yellow card for playing the ball on the ground. Johnson was successful with the kick at goal and added a third ten minutes later to take the sides into the break 13-9. Huddersfield could have taken further advantage of their man advantage if not for a superb goal line tackle by Tom Ashton in the left corner and were then reduced to 14 men when Mark Whitehead was sin binned on the stroke of half time.

It was in the ten minutes after half time, while playing with a man advantage, that Hoppers won the game. Hughes grabbed his second try of the game following a good break from full back Tom Ball, Hoppers recycled quickly and Edwards took advantage of the visitor’s blitz defence to put Hughes in space and he stepped inside the full back to touchdown near the posts, Edwards again added the extras.

The pack should take huge credit for Hoppers third try as they obliterated a Huddersfield scrum on the ten metre line to drive the visitor’s back 15 yards and again Edwards and Hughes combined well to this time set up Ashton in the corner who showed great strength and awareness to score.

Huddersfield tried to mount a comeback midway through the half as Johnson clawed back six more points with the boot, Edwards pushed the score out to 28-15 with his third penalty before Huddersfield scored a late try to give home fans a few nervous moments. Johnson kicked deep into the Hoppers 22 from a penalty and the Huddersfield pack executes a catch and drive to perfection with Captain Nick Sharpe touching down at the base.

Edwards’ fourth penalty five minutes from time calmed the nerves giving Hoppers a nine point lead and Hoppers were able to close out the game with some solid defence. Johnson had a chance to capture a bonus point for Huddersfield but he was unsuccessful with a late penalty from distance.

This was far from a perfect performance from the Hoppers but showed signs of an exciting brand of rugby that will be pleasing to watch. A strong mobile pack dominated from the outset with the set piece working well from the start and the backs looked dangerous when given the opportunity.