Manchester Chargers tap off Touch season with a bang

Its Manchester in February, for regulars to Charger’s Annual Touch tournament, rain and lots of mud is to be expected and this year didn't disappoint. But the conditions didn't deter teams from pulling on their thermals and showing off their close season skills for a shot at some silverware.

For the elite teams this was a chance to iron out any lingering creases as the countdown clock to Oz ticks loudly on.

With 28 teams across 5 divisions this was Manchester Chargers biggest invitational tournament to date.

Winners

There was some close run contests in the Premiership Division, which was won by Bulldogs who dug deep to hold off the Scots, Touch Ecosse 3 – 1.

Despite their name Six on the Slack were anything but, to take home the Men’s Division trophy, beating Polar Camels in the final 5-2.

There was fierce local rivalry in Championship Division, between Manchester Chargers and Wigan Warriors. It came down to the wire in a nail biting final, which saw the hosts take a 3-1 victory and the silverware.

The growth of Touch in the UK was evident as a number of new teams entered this year’s tournament. Many were displaying some impressive skills in Division 1, so much so the final was won in a drop off with Chester Cheetahs beating Orrell St James 3-2.

MVPs

Congratulations must go to the players who gave their all on the day, to be awarded MVP, here are the winners by division:

Men's - Ben Meakin

Premiership - Marshall McLeod

Championship A - Nan Thomas

Championship B - Colin Scott

Division 1 - Alastair Teager

Referee upgrades

The tournament would not be the success it is without the skill, quality and effort of all our referees. Huge thanks goes to each and every one of them, and congratulations to all those who upgraded:

Adrian Fear

Sam Cutler

Tim Osborne

Jon Francis (Wales)

Thanks!

A huge thanks goes to those who helped out, prior to and on the day. Namely Sarah Poole, Nigel Parkin, Kevin Hill and Shelley Grace.

Also, a huge thanks to Audenshaw School, we hope that as well as delivering further events at the school in the future we can also provide support to the school in terms of Touch introduction to the pupils/teachers as Touch grows in the junior age groups over the coming years.

Gregg Cropper, England Touch President and owner of Fully Charged Events said: “It was fantastic to see such an impressive turn out this year and the quality of play keeps on improving. It bodes well for those teams travelling to Australia in April for the World Cup, but also, more generally, for the continued development of Touch throughout the UK. A massive thank you must go to the referees, physios and other volunteers who helped the day run smoothly. See you all next year!”