Sometimes you just have to stop, just for a moment, and celebrate. If you have the opportunity you should praise as, I am told, a little praise goes a long way!
As I now have more time on my hands I am back again, after a 12 year sabbatical, supporting the club in a “Facilities” role. I have also begun again, taking over from the ever green Barry Fisher, in being the custodian of our history. It is in this capacity I want to celebrate.
In 2012 I left all the digitised club history and photographs on a computer and I-Pad, which are now long gone! Luckily I know the club well and back-ups were always kept safe, just in case!! As I prepared the photo’s for loading to our new platform, one photo caught my eye, the person I want to celebrate!
The photo was dated 24 November 2012 and reminded me of one of my very last decisions as Chairman, all those years ago! It was the appointment of two player coaches Rick “Jonah” Jones and Richard Hughes. More on “Hughsey” on another occasion.
Jonah, fresh out of an illustrious career with Macc (at their very best), choose to join us. And, not surprisingly, he is still here as committed and motivated as ever. What Jonah, and Hughesey, have done for our club is often unspoken. But we all know that we owe them both a huge debt of gratitude. So thanks Jonah, you are my hero and always will be. The decision all those years ago was one of our finest. Long my you continue to inspire and motivate the Wolves #WWIMH
To reflect a little more you might be interested in that game, a close lose 13-19 (Conversions: R Longmore Penalties: E Armitage (2): Penalty Try) to Carlisle @ The Memorial Ground. Below is David “Pikey” Pikes match report and programme for the game.
With the Wolves not in action this weekend maybe this will help remind us all how lucky we are!
On The Trial - 24th November 2012 - The Wilmslow Magazine - Author David "Pikey" Pike ( 
Download)
Photographs of Game (Link)
CLOSE BUT NO PRIZES
It was an unusual looking Wilmslow side which took the field against Carlisle.
No Mike Clifford, no Bob MacCallum and several other influential figures all missing through the toll of injury taken by the nature of modern sport. In their places were young aspirants still finding their way in senior rugby. Only six of the side could be said to be experienced first teamers. Of the other nine, at least three are still under twenty and the others are all hovering either just below or just above twenty one.
In the circumstances, you could say that they didn’t do at all badly to hold Carlisle, lying in third place in the table, to a six point margin. It is first XV North 1 rugby though with league points at stake and against the standards of that benchmark, they just came up short in a game on home territory that you would normally have expected them to win. It’s an unforgiving league though if you’re not spot on with what you’re trying to do. The Wolves lineout was second best on the day, the scrum was uncertain, at times very solid but more than once being marched briskly backwards, clearing kicks and penalties too often missed their mark and some of the tactical kicks for position just didn’t work out as intended. Add to that a surfeit of penalties given away in kickable positions mainly for technical infringements on the ground in the first half and the Wolves were always having to come from behind.
It wasn’t as though Carlisle hadn’t had selection problems themselves. They had lost a first choice prop and been compelled to draft in the back row player Calum Hermiston. I don’t know how much prior front row exposure he had but the Carlisle scrum didn’t seem to be much inconvenienced by this change. Number 8, Ryan Feeney, moved into the second row, also had a profitable afternoon as he dominated the lineout. They also had Glen Weightman at fly half. Weightman has struck a rich vein of form in recent weeks and he scored all nineteen of Carlisle’s points. Four first half penalties were struck with unerring accuracy, others from the edge of his range went close, and he delivered an outrageous dummy to run round his man and saunter in under the posts after twenty five minutes. His tactical kicking was also in a different class as he frequently exposed the Wilmslow left field defence throughout the game with long punts, eating up acres of ground to create good attacking positions for his side. Overall Carlisle were competent and well organised and lived up to their record of having conceded fewer points than anyone else with the meanest defence in the league but nor were they totally out of reach.
The game had started with the Wolves immediately defending in their twenty two, where they were soon penalised by the unforgiving referee, Mr. Barclay, for a ruck offence and within a minute Weightman had opened his account. After five minutes, the Wolves failed with a penalty attempt from similar range and this was followed by a promising handling move which ended when the final pass went awry. Weightman then kicked Carlisle from one twenty two to the other and as the Wolves then lost two lineouts in succession, the initiative passed to the visitors. Almost inevitably an offence gave Weightman a second shot at goal, from which he made no mistake. The second quarter started with the Wolves on the attack. A catch and drive attempt was held up and two handling moves ended in frustration when the final pass just wouldn’t go to hand. Carlisle then broke out of their twenty two and only a fine covering tackle halted the move. It was just the prelude for a scrum from which Weightman scored his try. Soon after Ed Armitage got the Wolves on the scoreboard with a penalty, which was almost immediately cancelled out when they were unable to properly clear their lines from the restart, allowing Carlisle to set up a tidy phase of play, which ended with that man Weightman kicking his third penalty. From the restart, Carlisle second row Tom McCullough must have thought Christmas had arrived early as he was waved through and only halted inside the Wilmslow twenty two at the cost of a penalty, from which, yes, Weightman again took the points on offer.
The Wolves started the second half with a determined forward response, earning several penalties close to the Carlisle line, all of which they opted to scrum. Tim Hughes, the visitor’s No. 9 was rightly yellow carded for cynically sticking his boot into the scrum as the Wolves drove forward and at the next scrum referee Barclay’s patience ran out as he awarded the Wolves a penalty try. Whether it was probable that they would actually have scored a try was debateable but it was due reward for a decent passage of play. There was still thirty minutes on the clock but despite having the better of the period with a spirited showing, the Wolves just lacked the precision to put sufficient pressure on a resilient Carlisle defence to make the breakthrough.
As no side approached, a final penalty was awarded to the Wolves from about thirty metres on the left. Rohan Longmore stepped forward and knocked it over the bar with such nonchalant authority to earn a losing bonus point for his side that you wondered why he hadn’t been charged with the goal kicking duties before the match. Was it possible that a Wolves kicker to match Weightman could have made a match winning difference?
