COLNE and Nelson travelled to Liverpool at the weekend to face Crosby St Mary’s, a team who are always tough opponents on their own turf, and the All Blacks expected just that.
Crosby took control early on, and after a mistake Colne found themselves five points down in just a few minutes.
From the restart Colne edged forward and started to get into the game and apply some pressure to the Crosby defence, which paid off as Aaron Denton slotted over a penalty from just outside the 22-metre line.
Crosby retaliated, and some poor tackling from the All Blacks let the home side gain a foothold back in the game and work some moves on the Colne defensive line.
But a close range tap and go penalty saw the home side crash over to increase their lead to 10-3 at the half-time marker.
Colne were definitely up for giving as good as they got as the second half got underway, but a fumble left them on their own try line desperately trying to defend, quickly leading to another try from the home side to give them a greater cushion.
The All Blacks knew that mistakes happen and didn’t let it faze them out of the game, as the forwards rumbled the ball up field and created pressure on the Crosby defence, and the pressure told as Crosby gave away a succession of penalties which were taken quickly, and great forward play fromf Jack Wiper and Mark Britcliffe allowed Rob Demeter to punch his way over the line.
Colne were having a much better half, and the plays started to work out as the All Blacks gained ground with every move, but mistakes allowed Crosby to capitalise and get points on the board, leaving Colne playing catch up.
A scrum midfield allowed Colne to claw some points back when Gavin Spencer offloaded to Matty Tindall, who left his marker standing and crossed over for Colne’s second try.
Again it was Colne who had the possession as the All Blacks managed to close the gap with a couple of penalties, but again Crosby seemed to find an answer.
The closing stages saw Tindall again use his pace and create gaps as he crossed over again for his second of the day, but it wasn’t quite enough as the final whistle blew leaving the scores at 29-25.
Colne are back on the road again today as they face Ashton Under Lyne.
Final Score: Crosby St Mary’s 29, Colne and Nelson 25