The One Where Aaron Played For The Opposition

On the back of 2 solid wins, Stockport made the short trip over to local rivals Marple who unbelievably (like last season) had no 1st XV game and so were the only game to feature at Wood Lane. With skipper Jimmy Finnigan unavailable and vice-captain Daniel Cockersmith on the bench, it was left to lock Mel "What's This White Sticky Stuff In My Hair" McCaughey to lead the troops from the front whilst Brad Pearson started at 10 with Chris Seal into the centres after Duncan Hedar had sold us down the river in pursuit of glories with the 2's!!!

With the game being played on a pitch that hasn't seen a lawn mower since the 70's, Stockport played downhill with the wind in the first half and after what was discussed beforehand, started from the off throwing themselves into every collision like their lives depended on it. Marple fielded ex-Stockport Colt Archie Bateson at 15 and the pre-match speech involved not giving him any space cos he can side step in a phone box!!! With the game being played either side of the half way line, it was Bateson who made the first blow when he kicked into the backfield for what seemed like a regulation collection for full back Aaron Hussain however (and not for the first time) his trusty hands deceived him and Marple were on the attack with a scrum. Like much of the game, there were mistakes aplenty and for the first 15 minutes every scrum was reset with a lecture to the point where both sets of backs may as well have gone home. Eventually from broken play that man Bateson got the ball and executed a perfect chip and chase leaving him one on one with with Hussain who lined him up for the hit but was clearly hypnotised by the snake hips and ended up catching fog as the Marple 15 streaked in under the posts for a try he converted himself to give the home side a 7-0 lead. This seemed to galvanise Stockport who calmed down and began going through the phases which nearly led to a try for wing Oye Oyewumi but for a knock on however opposite wing Elliot Smith then came to the party, taking a great catch on the touchline from a Marple clearing kick and returning it with interest going over in the corner (minus his head) which saw Stockport reduce the arrears to 7-5 and Marple full back Bateson off to the bin. Oyewumi was then in at the corner only for it to be pulled back for a forward pass before further pressure led to a Stockport scrum inside the Marple 22 from which centre Jason Holmwood barged his way over for a try converted by Pearson to take the away team into half time with a slender 12-7 lead.

With the restart delayed due to injury, it gave McCaughey a chance to gather the troops and the feeling was that we were doing well but had so much more to give. Once the 2nd half began, Stockport spent most if not all of it in their own half through a combination of mistakes and not being able to win a single line out. Marple in turn managed to unload their 'bench' which brought some firepower up front and a series of entrances into the Stockport 22 resulted in a yellow card for a high tackle from scrum half Keith Warhurst. Despite being a man down (and some would say in a better position) Stockport were still having a go and a lovely floated pass from Holmwood to Hussain WOULD have seen a 3rd Stockport try however this was knocked on by Hussain who had 3rd XV debutant Paul Knowles waiting outside of him on the wing. With the sin bin served, Stockport were back to 15 however Marple were soon down to 14 for some high tackles of their own and sensing the opportunity Stockport tried to find the killer move. The ball again found its way to Hussain who again dropped it however this time it went backwards so he decided to fly hack ahead. Now fly hack ahead would have been good as he's pretty quick and with a swing of his boot we suddenly saw the ball flying towards OUR line with Hussain and Smith in hot pursuit to rescue the situation, putting Stockport back under the cosh. A further flurry of Marple mauls saw one held up by MOTM Henry Carolan and the next attack saw Pearson into the bin (saved me from DOTD there) with his own high shot however I assume the Marple player was kneeling for Brad to get a high shot in???

The pressure eventually told as the mighty Marple maul crashed over in the corner during the final play of the game. With the scores locked at 12-12 it was left for Bateson to seal his moment of glory by banging over a touchline conversion............however he missed and with that came the final whistle and a well played out draw by both sides.

Special mentions to Knowles and Elliot Lee for their 3rd XV debuts as well as Pearson and Hussain for helping me avoid Dick of the Day!!!