Rochdale 28 Vale of Lune 32: Vale get their new season off to a strong start

Vale of Lune’s winning streak continued as they kicked off the new season with Saturday’s 32-28 victory at Rochdale, writes BARRY LEES.

The first XV’s first meaningful encounter of the NW1 adventure had seen livewire flanker Sam Walton leave early for treatment to an eye injury.

Reorganising ensued and the skill set of the crew on the bench began to kick in.

Rochdale stepped up production and pressed into the Vale 22, where they powered over the tryline to open the scoring.

They soon added a second to reinforce their intent as Alex Ryder came on to bolster Vale’s forward effort.

From a sustained period of possession, Jordan Dorrington made the crucial break for Ben McGarvey to strike in the right corner.

However, Mike Bradshaw infringed the rucking rules and was dispatched for a breather.

It was time for Vale to dig deep and Eddie Abdelghafar led the backs’ charge, earning a chance for Jamie Mayall to slot over a penalty kick which left Vale six points behind the home team at the break, trailing 14-8.

With Alex Briggs making a welcome return to first-team rugby after injury, a high clearance from the Vale fell to Rochdale’s nippy centre.

They darted through the gaps to set up the next Rochdale try before more Vale changes saw Ben Gould come on for his debut in place of scrum-half Matty Kaye.

A Rochdale foot in touch was flagged by the touch judge but overruled by the referee, with the resulting possession setting off a passing phase across the pitch for their fourth try of the afternoon.

Sam Wallbank also transgressed the tackling laws, which meant he headed for the bench.

With 17 points in it, a man down and 15 minutes remaining on the clock, it was no time for the faint-hearted.

The Vale squad showed it is anything but that, starting with the flamboyant Jack Macfarlane pulling a try back and Mayall adding the garnish.

Grafting together with increased energy, the Vale pack enabled prop Tadgh Butler to register his first try for the club.

Three points behind and with the bit between their teeth, Vale rose in confidence and cancelled out all of Rochdale’s earlier advantages.

The final word was delivered in the form of a relentless spell of Vale forward possession, well past 80 minutes, in the Rochdale 22.

The ball was moved out to McGarvey, who then finished under the posts.

Amidst the visiting crowd’s jubilation, Mayall - sporting a head bandage - kicked the conversion for Vale, whose first home fixture of the season comes against Leek RUFC on Saturday (3pm).

Vale of Lune: Crompton, Verlaque, Butler, Sutcliffe, Procter, Walton, Ayrton, Wallbank, Kaye, Clifton, McGarvey, Mayall, Abdelghafar, Macfarlane, Dorrington. Replacements: Bradshaw, Taylor-Smith, Ryder, Briggs, Gould.