Starting our Elite National Touch Series with a blast by finishing 4th in the Premiership Cup! It was great to see 9 players making their Elite NTS debuts with us over the weekend!
On Saturday 15th June Manchester Chargers started their Elite NTS campaign on home soil at Trafford MV rugby club. After winning the first 3 Development NTS tournaments, it was an opportunity for the team to line up against the best mixed teams in the country. The team included 9 Elite NTS debutants, including some friends from Yorkshire Thorns.
After some video analysis of their opponents the night before, Manchester Chargers started the day against an experienced Oxford side. A close first half saw scores from Corrie, Georgia, James and Dave. In the second half the Manchester team Charged away with a further 3 touchdowns from Corrie, Tom and Georgia, finishing the game with a 7-4 victory.
Next up was a young Exeter side, who came firing out of the blocks, Exeter took the half time lead. After the break, Chargers started a comeback and won the second half. Unfortunately, they could not close the gap, and lost the game 11-5. Scores from Jordan, Tom, Gregg and James x 2. The third and final game of the day, was also the toughest, playing last year’s champions, and eventual tournament winners, BBR. A hard fought game saw Chargers losing 15-5. This placed the Chargers third in Elite Pool A.
Day 2. Chargers progressed into the Premiership division, with games against local rivals Crewe and Nantwich Blaze and Chester Cheetahs. After a slow start against Crewe, the Chargers were inspired by their half time team talk and blew away Blaze in the second half. Final score 11-7.
It was another high scoring game against Chester, with scores from Neil, Sammy, Corrie, Bruce, James and Gregg. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough, Chargers losing 7-14.
It was time to re-group, and prepare for the last game of the weekend against CSSC 2. The previous week’s rain was starting to take its toll on the pitches with players slipping and sliding. It was end to end stuff, with both teams held at 4-4 until the dying seconds, when CSSC went over for a score. It was a great weekend of Touch for a new and developing team, with lots learnt to take to the final round in Oxford.
Roll of Honour
Take a look at our highlights reel...