Saturday Matchday 2: Carlisle (Home)

The day of the game had arrived and it was the first home game of the season, New Roker Park had been prepared for this momentous occasion as the pitch had been marked and the rugby posts erected.

The Carlisle team had arrived in blue and white Umbro tracksuits, they were slightly jet-lagged having arrived in Hikarizaka the night before and as an result they were tired. A TV presenter from the Rugby Special had arrived to interview the teams manager before they entered the stadium.

"What do you think your chances are here today" said The presenter

"Well firstly I think we shouldn't have to play a long away fixture at 3pm considering the team are tired and due to many flight delays, we couldn't get to the hotel until last night and even then the hotel we received was of poor quality" said the manager as he rushed inside.

In the Dangos changing room.

The Dangos were all ready and pumped up for the first home game of the season, The Dangos were in their black and green striped Umbro jerseys that they wore in the last game.

Youhei had brought his boots that he had stored for years with him in his kitbag, he had eaten with Kyou and Yuna at home before arriving at the stadium.

Akio and Norafumi had arrived at the changing room, Akio was wearing an late 1970s Western Suburbs Magpies jersey and Dango tracksuit bottoms, whilst Norafumi was wearing an suit with the Dangos tie and the suit jacket having the Hikarizaka Dangos logo on it.

"Right, today is going to be crucial with regards to the season and momentum, same XV as last weekend except for Shiori at full-back instead of Nagisa, this side is going to play like a League side as it is an former League team, so they are going to be fast, hold your defensive line and win all set pieces" said Norafumi

"Dangos on 3, 1.2.3" said Akio

"DANGOS" yelled the team as they ran out onto the field.

Team Rosters

Dangos

1. Tomoyo Sakigami (Prop)

2. Jun Kitagawa (Hooker)

3. Mai Kawasumi (Prop)

4. Tomoya Okazaki (Second Row)

5. Kaori Kitagawa (Second Row)

6. Yuichi Aizawa (Flanker)

7. Yukine Miyazawa (Flanker)

8. Yoshino (No.8)

9. Youhei Sunohara (Scrum-Half)

10. Ryou Hiragi (Fly-Half)

11. Nayuki Tskagawa (Winger)

12. Ayu Aizawa (Inside Center)

13. Kyosa Tskagawa (Outside Center)

14. Kappei Hiragi (Winger)

15: Shiori Misaka (Full-Back)

Finishers:

Nagisa Okazaki (Backup Full-Back)

Kotomi Ichinose (Backup No.8)

Fuko Ibuki (Backup Winger)

Mei Sunohara (Backup Scrum-Half)

Haruto Tsushima (Backup Second Row)

Carlisle RLFC

1. Barry McMorgan (Prop)

2. John Webster (Hooker)

3. Phil Longbottom (Hooker)

4. Neil Sutherland (Second Row)

5. Andy Turner (Second Row)

6. Neil Donovan (Flanker)

7. Henry Penelope (Flanker)

8. Phil Longstaff (No.8)

9. Simon Cooper (Scrum-Half)

10. Ryan Asherton (Fly-Half)

11. Johnny Goodman (Winger)

12. Adam Goodman (Inside Center)

13. Rodney Trotter (Outside Center)

14. Haruki Shiga (Winger)

15. Dougal McGuire (Full-Back)

Finishers

Jay Cartwright (Backup Scrum-Half)

Jim Wilson (Backup Prop)

Kickoff

The Dangos were receiving in the 1st half, the crowd was roaring with excitement, over 20,000 people had turned up at New Roker Park which meant the stadium was virtually packed to the rafters. Carlisle played in vibrant blue Umbro jerseys that looked like it came from the 90s, it was sponsored by a Vauxhall Car Dealership.

The ball was caught by Shiori Misaka who proceeded to run quite fast with the ball before colliding with the Carlisle line, however it was clear that the Dangos were winning the rucks and mauls as their players had better aptitude for them than the Carlisle squad whom were more experienced at Rugby League.

After 10 minutes of dominant possession, Kyosa and Nayuki managed to use an 2 on 1 manoeuvre against winger Johnny Goodman which allowed Nayuki to run 45 yards to gain an try which was then converted by Shiori Misaka - Dangos 7-0 Carlisle.

Carlisle's stamina actually kept the Dangos on there toes for most of the 1st half and many of the Dangos try scoring opportunities were stopped by players that were fast enough to track back and tackle them.

However Carlisle went down to 14 men in the 35th minute when Ryan Asherton high tackled Yoshino and got sent off, the high tackle injured Yoshino's shoulder and as an result he was subbed off for Kotomi Ichinose whom looked eager to play.

Just before half-time, Shiori smashed a drop goal that extended the Dangos lead: Dangos 10-0 Carlisle

Half-time went where the Dangos was cheered off as they left the field, however as they approached the changing room, they ran into an pretty irate Norafumi.

"You may be winning, but your letting them into this game, Carlisle look awful and we are making it look closer than it should be and playing Carlisle's strengths, Changes will be: Shiori your off for Nagisa and I can't believe I'm going to make this interchange, but Kappei off for Fuko, go out and dominate them" yelled Norafumi

Carlisle made one change as Simon Cooper came off for Jay Cartwright at scrum-half.

The second-half saw the Dangos pile on the pressure on a fairly weak Carlisle side who were already dealing with both jet-lag and game-related exhaustion and the Dangos would go on to score a another 2 tries with successful conversions, both of which were from Nagisa who had the best game of her career.

The game ended 24-0 to the Dangos.

The Dangos team entered the changing room in good spirits as they felt like they had stepped up and this also could be reflected in Norafumi's expression which seemed far more positive than at half-time.

"You looked absolute dominent out there, Carlisle couldn't even get any offence in during the game and I'm proud of that. We need to rest up though as we have Colony 3 Qubeleys next week at home and there going to be coming off a big win against the Viola Buffalos" said Norafumi

On the TV was Rugby Special which had the scores of all of the Premiership games:

Northern Alliance 40-0 Yucipica Aliens

Colony 3 Qubeleys 24-7 Neriema Viola Buffalos

Hikarizaka Dangos 24-0 Carlisle

Orrell 7-0 Casval Red Comets