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Crunch match for promotion hopefuls

Jenny Dixon
26/ 3/2008

A CRUNCH match in Manchester’s bid to rejoin National One after five years out will take place at Grove Park on Saturday.

Manchester take on second-placed Stourbridge, their closest promotion rivals, in a match that head coach Dave Baldwin has dubbed a ‘10-pointer’.

The two sides are level on points and both have four games left in the league.

Though the result will not be decisive as to which team is promoted it will have a huge bearing on whether Stockport-based Manchester Rugby Club can climb back into National One, the league they were relegated from in 2003.

Baldwin explained: "If we lose that game it will be very, very difficult to be promoted. If we win we are right in the mix, four or five points clear in second place."

The top two clubs in National League Two at the end of the season will next term compete at the highest rugby level in England, bar the Premiership.

Although that brings with it a greater financial burden Baldwin believes his young side will be able to hold their own among some of the country’s best rugby sides.

"There are financial challenges in National One but I don’t look at that as a negative," he said.

"We’ve got the cheapest squad in National Two and we are third in the table.

"We’d definitely have the cheapest squad in National One and, although I’m not saying we’d be in third, we would be competitive.

"We’ll see, we might get a good sponsorship deal, but we’ll worry about that when we’re promoted."

Before that Baldwin’s squad have a lot of hard work to do to steer themselves into a promotion berth, starting on Saturday.

Chairman of the club Neil Sykes added: "It’s a very big game for both clubs. Stourbridge have got one of the best defences in the league and we’ve got one of the best attacks so it should be an exciting game.

"It’s not just about this one game though, we have got a tough run in.

"The league is a test of stamina, you can’t just highlight big games.

"We’ve got a very young side who are playing very well and are growing in maturity. They are a joy to watch."

Last weekend Manchester beat Halifax 67-3, scoring 10 tries to take their try tally for the last four home games to 32.

In those matches they have conceded just three.

The scorers on Saturday were Richard Wainwright (3), Andre Wilson (2), Scott Rawlings, Paul Ralph, Matt O’Reagan and Sale players Selorm Kuadey and Stuart Eborall, who are among five Sharks currently on loan to Manchester.

Gareth Wynne scored seven out of 10 conversions.

A large crowd is expected for Saturday’s match against Stourbridge, which kicks off at 2pm.