Rugby league: Rochdale Masters v Canadian Grizzlies

Date published: 12 November 2022

The Mayfield Sports Centre played host to an international fixture on Sunday 6 November as the Canadian Grizzlies Masters team arrived in Rochdale to play the Rochdale Masters side.

This was an absolutely fantastic event from start to finish with massive credit going to organisers Carl Abrahams, John Wroe and Neil Wood, also to Rochdale Mayfield.

The Grizzlies arrived on a rainy Sunday afternoon and the hand of friendship was immediately held out to them. While, at the end of the day this is rugby league, it is more about the camaraderie than the contest in Masters games.

Masters rugby is for players aged 35 and older and the Masters motto is 'we don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing'. The aim of Masters rugby is to encourage older players back to the sport and support grassroots clubs whilst having fun.

The teams lined up for the national anthems, which were belted out with much enthusiasm, after being lead out by the Mayfield youth section. The game started at a rapid pace with Rochdale looking the stronger side. The Grizzlies defended well and held the marauding Rochdale forwards at bay, Simon Howe and Adam Baker in the halves ran the show, prompting the pack forward at every opportunity. In honesty their job was made easy with the quality ball they were receiving from Curly Kershaw at acting half. Try as they may Rochdale couldn't get over the whitewash as the Grizzlies kept up the big defence, it appeared that one or two of them were actually bears because they were massive.

With fifteen minutes gone captain, coach, organiser and instigator Carl Abrahams made ten changes, strangely he wasn't one of them. The changes caught the Canadians out as the raw pace of Anthony Greaves and Ian Murgatroyd was replaced with the more sedate Adam Parmesan and Stephen Bambi. The changes worked though and the defence was at last breached after great work down the right-hand side from (man at C&A) Declan Walsh and Komai Nualamatua. Scott Stanley was the beneficiary as he took a great offload from Walsh to power his way over for a try on his Masters debut.

The game carried on in much the same vein with both sides trying everything to get the next score. Try as they might though it would not come. Scoffer Schofield tried his best as he attempted to give his side a numerical advantage by throwing Canadians from the field of play, a little bit over enthusiastic but then again, they're all rugby players. Abrahams again tried to shake it up by ringing the changes, another ten all at once, again he wasn't one.

This was a cracking game with a massive effort from both sides but as the rain increased the errors crept in, with dropped ball and missed passes costing both sides try scoring opportunities. The visitors began to get more of a foothold in the game and threatened on more than one occasion to level the scoring, but the Rochdale defensive line was sharp and direct.

Tex Evans lead the way as he met the Canadians head on every time they came forward, he was ably assisted by Dave Mills and Old Rammy. Both sides gave their all in this encounter and Canada kept plugging away looking for the elusive score that would level the game. Rochdale should have had at least one more try after an uncharacteristic break from Millsy, he reckoned later that he had sprinted at least 75 metres but a review by the video ref proved it to be 7.5 metres. Wiggy Watmough backed him all the way waiting for the pass that would without doubt have put him in for his teams second try. The pass never came as Millsy remembered who he was and went to ground with the ball. The Grizzlies took heart from this and in the next set a neat pass out of the tackle saw their winger tear down the wing at a speed that defied his age and grab a superb individual try.

The game ended shortly after at one try each and both teams and the referee retired to the bar to take light refreshments and talk nonsense. Both of which they did extensively. The Canadians selected Curly Kershaw as their man of the match. The Rochdale side picked Mick Mullen as the stand out player for the Grizzlies. Both received their awards from England star Victoria Molyneux and Masters chairman Pete Duffy.