Rugby Union: Littleborough Thirds 17 - 12 Burnage

Matthew Hayden - Littleborough Rugby Union Third team

A first half brace from Konrad Hill in horrendous conditions at Rakewood helped Littleborough Rugby Union Thirds to victory and sent them to the top of the table.

Strong gale force winds and heavy persistent rain caused by Storm Brian played a hugely significant part in the game and ensured that whoever played with the wind at their backs would have the majority of the possession, territory and chance to win the game.

That was how the first half panned out. Littleborough scored three unanswered tries in the first 40 minutes.

The Littleborough pack took the rolling maul from the line-out from the 22-metre line to the try-line, and as Burnage grimly tried to halt their progress, hooker Steve Hat was the man in the right place at the right time to go over for his first Littleborough try.

It would soon be 12-0 as fly half Hill scythed his way through a hole in midfield metres out from the Burnage line, after good build up play had the visitors defence scrambling.

Littleborough failed to break down Burnage again until the last play of the first half. Good hands in midfield by James Muir and Aaron Jones sent Corey Chaplin free down the right. He had the wherewithal to offload to his back three partner Leigh Nolan who beat three men and offloaded to Hill to race clear of the covering defence.

In the second half, with both the conditions and the hill favouring Burnage, it was the visitors who would spend the majority of the time in Littleborough territory.

Clegg blasted his big frame through a number of tackles to touch down at the base of the post.

The Burnage number 10 finished off a flowing move down the right-hand side to give his side five minutes to level the scores and take something from the game.

Burnage nearly did just that on several occasions but both the outside centre and the openside flanker guilty of dropping the ball metres from the try line.

Littleborough hung on and continued their good start to the season.