I headed to Tarleton on Saturday without realising both the first and second teams were playing at home. The pitches looked in excellent condition, though the strong wind coming in from the west was likely to have a say in both matches.
I walked towards what I assumed was the first-team pitch, then stopped to ask myself: Is this the first team? It wasn’t. Tarleton 2ndXV were playing Firwood Waterloo 2s
Among those on the pitch was old Huttonian Matthew Mahon. At first, I couldn’t tell whether he was playing full-back or scrum-half. He was at nine, and looked in good form from what I saw.
There was plenty of pace in the game, particularly from the wings. Two tries I caught on video were scored by Firwood Waterloo players.
First their left wing Ben Griffiths, then their scrum-half Will Jackson. Both showed excellent side-steps, shifting their feet quickly to beat defenders. They were the kind of moments that make even a brief spell watching a second-team game worthwhile.
I then walked over to the other pitch, where Tarleton’s first team were playing Bolton in Counties 1 adm Lancashire & Cheshire - Tier 7 of the English game.
Bolton had, I believe, recently been promoted, and were facing into that strong wind on a relatively narrow pitch. Some of their kicks seemed to go backwards.
Around 25 minutes in, though, one kick caught the wind and held up. It bounced awkwardly, giving Bolton the chance to pounce and score a fine try under the posts.
For much of the first half, Tarleton applied the pressure. Fly-half Andrew Bushell, an Old Huttonian, helped steer the attack, while he and centre Elliot Burton were prominent in the home side’s most attractive rugby. Tarleton’s centre pairing offered a real threat and gave their side a good platform to play.
The final score was listed as Tarleton 14-21 Bolton on the RFU website, while The Rugby Paper reported it as 14-19. It was a small discrepancy in the numbers, but the afternoon itself offered something more enduring: two matches taking place side by side, players bringing real energy to both, and the simple pleasure of turning up to watch local rugby.
That is the pull of grassroots rugby. You can arrive expecting one game and find two; watch a familiar face, catch a couple of excellent tries, and then move across the ground to see how the first team are getting on.
On this Saturday, Tarleton gave me all of that. Some of you will have sat at home and watched Bath v Northampton; what a game. I recorded it.
