Chester 30-13 Huddersfield
Huddersfield RUFC face a mountain to climb at the bottom of the National North II division after a 30-13 loss away to Chester. Tries from captain Alex Battye and Lewis Workman weren’t enough as Gareth Lewis’ side still wait to register their first win in 2016.
Chester were soon ahead after a good spell of pressure down the left allowed their winger Rhys Hayes to score the first try of the match, but the Field were back into it when Chris Bell scored a penalty minutes later.
The home side regained their lead with another try, and added more woe when Callum Bennett added the conversion and a further penalty.
Nick Rhodes had to be forced off with a knee injury in the first half but Huddersfield ended the half positively, and came firing out in the second half when Battye got a try within minutes of the restart.
Chester again replied with another penalty, and although Huddersfield controlled much of the second half, they could only score again with 10 minutes to go when Workman broke through the middle and surged over to score a try.
An uncharacteristic penalty miss from Bell meant Huddersfield needed a converted try to win the game, but Chester gained momentum and scored two late tries of their own with a conversion and put the game to bed.
“The final score line certainly flattered Chester. After conceding a try within five minutes I felt we dominated large parts of the game, particularly the second half,” said coach Lewis.
“Once again I thought we played with plenty of heart and desire but failed to turn pressure into points and that has been one of the recurring themes this season to be honest,
“We came out of the blocks in the second half. Our scores came through excellent build up play and both Alex (Battye) and Lewis (Workman) took their tries well. Our line really showed up well as the game developed and I thought Adam Malthouse, Tom Hodson and Lewis Workman were pivotal to what we did well today”
Lewis also gave an update on the first half injury sustained by regular second rower “Nick Rhodes hyperextended his knee but hopefully it’s not as bad as first feared as he’s having a good season.”
Adam Tamanis gave his thoughts after the game too. “It’s obviously a big disappointment again. I felt we were strong in the middle which was very good, but we need to be taking our chances after the large spells of possession we had.
It sadly seems to be the same week in week out but all the lads are putting everything into it. We won’t throw in the towel though, there’s still seven games left and we’ll fight right until the end.”
Huddersfield now face another week break before a do or die home fixture against Luctonians on the 19th March at Lockwood Park.
Lewis said, “We are not denying the odds are now firmly stacked against us following another win for Luctonians. However, when in adversity it can define you as a player and more importantly as a person. We must stick together and ensure our standards remain high until the very last whistle.”
Huddersfield XV:
15- Tom Hodson
14- Tom Kanauros
13- Tom Owen
12- Chris Bell
11- Lewis Workman
10- Joel Hinchliffe
9- Daniel Jeffrey
1- Alex Battye
2- Ross Thornton
3- Adam Tamanis
4- Austen Thompson
5- Nick Rhodes
6- Ben Hoyle
7- Liam Parfitt
8- Adam Malthouse
Bench
Tom Baxter
Henry Ward
Elliot Knight
Danny Grainger
Lewis Bradley
Replacements:
25’ Bradley for Rhodes
29’ Baxter for Tamanis
58’ Knight for Jeffrey
60’ Tamanis for Baxter
64’ Ward for Thornton
68’ Grainger for Owen
74’ Owen for Workman
