And the sun shone down on Fortress Headlands. The sort of September afternoon that made rugby look deceptively civilised. Clear skies, a good home crowd and firm ground underfoot provided the setting as Ormskirk arrived in Stockport looking to upset the script.

For the opening few minutes at least, they threatened to do exactly that, crossing after four minutes and adding the conversion to take an early 7–0 lead. But Spitfires were in no mood to let the visitors enjoy their afternoon for long. Traditionally, Spitfires don’t really do strong starts — albeit with a few notable exceptions. It’s rather like trying to encourage a teenager out of bed on a Saturday morning: a largely futile exercise. Unless, of course, there is the prospect of a McDonald’s being dangled somewhere near the bedroom door. Then — stand by. The primal ferocity of the teenage years, fuelled by testosterone, suddenly kicks in and the fight is on.
Conceding such an early try in the opening minutes is clearly Spitfires’ metaphorical ‘McDonald’s’.
The summer months have been good. Rest from rugby, growth from gym work and mother nature, strength and (a degree of) conditioning. And on the pitch this really became evident. The forwards worked hard at the breakdown to retain possession, keeping it tight with some powerful runs, tying up a strong looking Ormskirk side in defence. Hughes, Bonner, Nelson, TK and Chadwick worked well in their pods showing real strength and desire to grind down the opposition. And then came Kitchen and Grantham who appeared to have mistaken the Ormskirk midfield for a drive-thru, striding through the centre field like men possessed and consistently breaking through the first tackle and beyond the gain line, drawing defenders into the contact area, recycled swiftly by Hull to release the backs into the space created out wide.

And what beautiful hands those glamour boys in the back have. Silken, deft and crisp.

Parker opened the scoring first with a classic backs try, beautifully worked before going over again 4 minutes later. Communication on the pitch looked good, Loughlin and Howard marshalling the troops well and Hull testing the defence by sending passes back into contact to draw in defenders and creating space on the blind. It was a joy to watch a group of young lads who clearly have a very strong understanding of the game and how to play it well and test the opposition. Parkers personal Tally of 25 points, adding to last weeks tally has really set the benchmark for the season ahead.

Ormskirk were by no means a walkover however. They were strong, physical and up for the fight, but they were outmuscled by intelligent play from spitfires who worked hard and played to their strengths, used space wisely and struck when the opportunity allowed. Tries from Parker (3), Loughlin (2), Roberts(1), TK (1), Grantham (1) and a solo breakthrough from Howard, capitalising on a sloppy Ormskirk pass followed by a 60 yard sprint for the line showing excellent pace to score between the sticks.

Encouragingly, the points did not come from isolated moments, but well worked and intelligent play from all of the players. Good sides don’t wait for the opportunity to score, they create the opportunities and that comes down to good communication, reading the game well and working hard as a team. - Simple rugby, played well.
A convincing home win, nine tries on the board and plenty of players making significant contributions across the park.
Two wins from two matches, an excellent start to the season. There will be harder matches ahead, and undoubtedly days when even a metaphorical McDonald’s won’t be enough. On those occasions, coaches may need to deploy the emergency McFlurry and fries. But for now that’ll do. Well Played lads!

And with the sound of a distant whistle still ringing in my ears as the pen makes its final stride across the paper, there is only one thing left to say…

“I’m Lovin’ It.”

Onwards!