Bees 21 - Macclesfield 17
Nov
AT the start of this season Russell Earnshaw declared he had based his
recruitment on a guiding principle of attitude rather than aptitude.
Epithets such as 'mercurial', 'talented' and 'gifted' were, like, sooooo yesterday
and what Earnshaw wanted to go to war with this year were the game's less-
heralded honest triers, boys who would take one for the team.
Whether that turns out to be the correct policy only time will tell but it
certainly paid dividends as Macclesfield were out-worked at Damson Park by a
Bees team that actually played like a team.
Nowhere was that more apparent, and nowhere has Earnshaw's prioritising of
endeavour over endowment been more applied than in the centres where Alex
White, once of Sutton Coldfield and John Ford, of Camp Hill, worked their
fingers to the bone to secure victory.
Not that either did anything spectacular, although White's third try in five
games hints at a growing comfort at this level, they just did the basics of good
honest tackling and carrying.
"As a forward pack to look up and have John Ford and Alex White in the
centres kind of suits our team, that gives our forwards confidence," Earnshaw
said.
We just had a mindshift of a majority of players who now want to do
everything they can for this club and who are willing to work hard for this club
in the week and willing to work hard for this club at the weekend.
"Hopefully we have reached a bit of a tipping point from where we were.
"We have had little errors that were killing us and one off missed tackles and
it's easy for guys at that stage to then criticise, blame and moan and a few of
those guys have been left out the side today.
"We have picked some guys who want to work hard and they have done a
job."
Chief amongst those job-doers was Jack Preece, the young captain who doesn't
so much lead as inspire by example.
Given his head by an indulgent referee and restored to his bolt-hole on the
openside Preece was a right, royal pain in the posterior to a limited visiting
team who were left to curse his presence.
Turnover followed turnover, tackle followed tackle and carry followed carry. It
was an indomitable performance from a little lad hewn from the same rock as
Neil Back.
However, if the quality and commitment of Preece's displays have long been a
constant for Bees, the ease with which Ross Hawkes won the kicking battle was
a pleasant surprise.
Unusually the former Jersey fly half couldn't hit a Jersey's backside with a barn
door when going for goal but some of his positional punting was excellent.
And with Jon Lowden sniping effectively from full back Macclesfield were
irritated to distraction.
Indeed it was Lowden's up and under which caused such confusion in the
visiting ranks which led to Hawkes' first minute penalty.
Macc replied when Lowden allowed Tom Eaton's punt to bounce which set up
an attacking lineout in the home 22, from where Ed Stobart dived over in the
opposite corner.
Hawkes' second penalty made it 6-5 in the 24th minute before Josh Fowles
tracked a break through the fringes by Eaton to regain the lead.
Bees reclaimed the initiative five minutes before the break when Lowden and
Jack Pons went deep into Macc territory and set up position from which White
glided past lock Mathew Owen. Hawkes' conversion made it 13-10 at the
break.
Three minutes after the restart Mitch Todd plunged over and at 18-10 and with
Preece nicking anything on the floor Bees looked comfortable.
Especially when Hawkes caressed over a drop goal that for an 11-point buffer
on the hour.
However, Bees love to make it hard and soon after Earnshaw was sent off after
an incident at a ruck.
Another defensive lapse gave the gangly Fowles room to cut the deficit to 21-
17 and Alan Marsh looked to have won it for the Cheshire outfit only to lose
the ball as he went for the line late on.
Although he wasn't on the pitch to contribute Earnshaw's yeomen saw it out
for him and in doing so justified their director of rugby's faith.
BEES: Lowden (Sadler 74); Winter, White, Ford (Evans 73), Pons; Hawkes,
Stajka; Tau (Long 54), Sammons, Darkintis, Quarrie, Todd (Webster 73),
Earnshaw, Preece, Hopley. Replacement: Padian
MACCLESFIELD: Stobart; Moorehouse, Hughes, Davenport (Taylor 70), Fowles;
Mulchrone, Eaton; Woods, Read (Moss 40), Mantell (Luckett 50), Marsh, Owen
(Roddy 68), Scott-Sugden (Williams 40), Parkinson, Jones.
