The first half of this National One season has been very tough for the Blues, and if you were to look at the table without taking a look at any of Macclesfield’s games this season you would naturally feel that this side is a million miles from the rest of the league. But you could not be more wrong.

The Blues have had an up-and-down season so far and are certainly due some luck as they head into the second half of the season.

The injuries Macc have picked up have been debilitating and some of the officiating decisions frustrating, but Giles Heagerty’s young squad have dusted themselves off and given it their all on many an occasion, Coventry at home one example that springs to mind.

On October 18, the Blues travelled south to the capital to face the big spending Ealing Trailfinders, who had not been beaten at this point and boasted a squad full of Championship-level players. The Blues struggled in that match as the hosts looked a cut above and ran out 73-15 winners.

The following week, Macclesfield played host to fourth-placed Coventry, who were in search of their fourth straight win. The Blues were boosted by three dual-registered players; prop Marshall Gadd on loan from Rotherham Titans, Sam Marland from the Cornish Pirates and Sam James of Sale Sharks.

The Blues showed the phenomenal character that they possess in this game to pick themselves up from the previous week and come agonisingly close to their first win of the season.

First-half tries from Jordan Brookes and Josh Fowles and a penalty from the boot of Marland sent the Blues in 13-3 up at half-time, but they couldn’t hold on as a spirited Coventry side came back to win 21-13. Despite defeat in this game, the Blues could see that they were able to challenge the very best teams from within this league.

Since that game, Coventry have gone on to beat the Trailfinders and also put more than 60 points on the scoreboard against high-flying Fylde.

Matt King
 

Three weeks after that Coventry performance, Heagerty’s side travelled to Loughborough Students, still in search of their first win of the season. Three first-half tries from Fowles, Dave Marwick and James seemingly set up certain victory for Macc but a second-half fightback from the hosts seemed to snatch the win, despite a try from Macc captain Mike Finnemore. However, in the dying embers of the game, giant lock forward Dean Williams smashed his way over the line and secured a 29-27 victory to get the Blues off the mark in this National One campaign.

They came close to another victory against Wharfedale, again leading at the break with two tries from Matt King and one from Ollie Fewtrell.

Macc looked to be playing some fine rugby and all looked set for them to come out after half-time and kick on. All did not go to plan however and some ‘indifferent’ refereeing resulted in Macclesfield playing 20 minutes with 14 men on the pitch, despite being the team that were playing all the rugby. Wharfedale ended up as 32-24 winners, but had the man in the middle to thank for an early Christmas gift.

These three examples show that it’s certainly not all been doom and gloom for newly-promoted Macclesfield. There have also been some outstanding individual performances throughout the first half of the season.

Winger King has notched up nine tries so far, extremely impressive given the situation Macclesfield currently find themselves in. And it’s even more so when you consider that King notched 14 tries in an entire season for last year’s dominant promotion-winning side. King will hope to continue his fine form going into 2015, but also hope his scores will now contribute towards more Macc wins.

Team captain Finnemore (below) must also be hailed for his heroic performances at times, a man that never leaves anything on the pitch when he pulls on the blue jersey.

 

Prop forward Shane Heffernan described the performances of his skipper as ‘monumental’ this season and he has certainly been a miss in his injury-enforced absence.

The 21-year-old shows experience way beyond his years and also the beaten face of a man who has played the game for more than 30 years.

Other outstanding performers, to name a few, include Phil Williams, Dean Williams, Shane Heffernan, and Elliot Brierley. It was a summer full of change for many of the Blues’ squad, none more so than lock forward Marwick, who transformed his role in the squad to player- coach, along with Tom Eaton and Chris Jones.

Marwick spoke about the change in approach he’s had to take but also seems to be enjoying the added responsibility.

“In terms of the change of attitude, I have got to put a coach’s head on and think about the team as a whole but in terms of my personal job, it’s a good way of leading the players and making sure we are all focused and heading in the same direction.”

Marwick is one of the more senior members of this young squad, but is a man who has played at Championship level and also represented England Counties.

He therefore has plenty to pass down to the younger heads within the Macc pack.

The Blues head into a very tough second half of the season but I urge readers to stick with their team, good things are on the horizon for this Macclesfield side – they play some sensational rugby under head coach Heagerty and are only going to improve after the break.

This side, along with the support at Priory Park are out to show that this campaign is not over yet, and will look to cause plenty of upsets throughout the remainder of the season.