Colne and Nelson.....12 Eagle..........................6

Colne and Nelson 12, Eagle 6

Colne and Nelson took on Eagle, a team which always brings a very physical game, and Saturday was to be no exception.

With Colne winning the toss and opting to face a heavy wind in the first half, Eagle’s first kick sailed deep into Colne territory, but a clean catch saw Colne using forward power to drill the ball up field and into the Eagle half.

Colne’s forwards recycled the ball well, and with Callum Kinnane linking them with the backs, it wasn’t long before Colne started to add real pressure to the visitors’ defence.

But the wind was against Colne and it proved difficult to get the ball accurately from hand to hand, and Eagle used the wind well to clear their lines and force Colne back down field.

Both teams found the physical aspect of the game frustrating, battling hard for ball possession at the ruck, and it wasn’t long before a case of handbags left both teams a man down in the sin bin.

The visitors struggled to break the Colne defence, with Jason Wade putting in a great effort, and the only option was for Eagle to use the wind again, and Colne gave away two penalties which were converted to leave them 6-0 down at half-time.

The second half put the wind behind Colne and within minutes of kick-off Andrew Grinrod received a well-timed offload from Pat Smith and crashed through the Eagle defence to touch down next to the posts, which was converted to give Colne the lead.

A one-point lead wasn’t good enough for Colne, so the home side started again to work the ball down field to pressurise the Eagle defence, but the strong head wind left the visitors without the option to kick, and Colne maintained pressure.

A great kick and chase downfield left the Eagle winger exposed, and he had no option but to throw the ball out of play on the five metre line. The subsequent penalty left Nathan Singleton an easy crash ball through the defence to cross the whitewash to make the score 12-6.

With the visitors finding it hard to break the Colne line, and the wind causing the Eagle attack problems, all Colne had to do was hold out and keep the pressure on until the final whistle.

And the home side maintained good form and came away with a excellent win in hard conditions.