However, this Easter weekend also saw what some may claim to be another act of god, a miracle, an unheard of feat! Personally, I call it the coming together of our glorious 4th XV, the reaping of the benefits gained through training and yep, you guessed it, another fine win for the boys - and we couldn't have chosen a side we would have preferred to win against.

Local rivals Bury have provided tough opposition on numerous occasions over the years, including earlier this season when they won by just one point on the main pitch at Park Lane and no one was under any illusions going into Saturday's match that the fight would be easy. Neither of Bury's senior two sides had scheduled fixtures and somewhat unsurprisingly, they arrived on the field with a veritable army of a squad from which to chose their starting 15 and myriad of replacements. The Tigers also took to the field with a full 15 plus two replacements. When compared to the dwindling numbers earlier in the season, this is testament to the fact the team are now enjoying their time on the pitch, win, lose or draw and also to the hard work expended by our gallant leaders Steve Harrison and Mark Knight in attracting and retaining players.

With a brutally icy wind blowing across the fields at Bury, the Tigers began their warm up and also their team selection for the starting XV. The pack was a different eight players than last week but some feature players remain; Jason Routh propped alongside Jonny Allen & Ben T (half each with the rest of their time spent in the back row) with hooking duties falling to colt Bradley. In at Scrum Half was Tigers leg-end and tremendously well endowed (?!) Chris Hays with the no 10 jersey again sported by Tony Jones. Colin Hart and Joe took position in the centres with the wings being monitored by Jamie, Ben Tooley and Chris (I know there's only two wings - replacements used!) and the full back position was occupied by none other than Chris Livesey.

As we came together for the pre-match huddle, passions ran high as the emotions of the derby rivalry took hold and from the first whistle, the Tigers fought with pride for the club they love. The first half saw some great attacking play from both sides and some equally determined defending. The stalemate was broken when Bury scored the first try but missed the conversion attempt. With all the strength they could muster, the Tigers hit back and from the kick off hit back at the Bury side. The Tigers forwards gathered the ball and gathered momentum, picking and driving from the rucks making hard but quick yards and the defending side couldn't do a thing to stop it. The try was scored by scrum half Chris Hays after picking from the back of a ruck at the 5m line and crashing through. The conversion was missed and the game levelled.

However, Bury struck back and in a momentary lapse of concentration, the Bury backs opened up the Tigers defence to score again with the conversion again being missed. Once more the Tigers hit straight back and again with the forwards driving the ball up the pitch, the try was scored in a similar fashion to the first only this time the ball was grounded by wing forward Danny Stefanuto. With Tony Jones neatly putting the ball between the uprights, the half time whistle rang out and the Tigers led 12-10.

Knowing that the Bury defence couldn't handle the pick and go, the half time talk demanded more of the same and the Tigers delivered, even in the face of a much changed opposition. Bury had made numerous changes to their line up, mostly in the forwards and from the first scrum of the second half, the changes were evidently well made.

The pressure was put on the SP pack but with grit and determination, they held strong throughout. With the tactics used in the first half still being implemented, the Tigers drove forward into the Bury half. Following a string of phases in the forwards, the ball was spun out to the backs with the centres making a great deal of ground and taking the Tigers to within 5m of the try line. The ball came out of the base of the ruck and was passed by Chris Hays into the hands of Ben T who, with a deft hand off, touched the ball to the ground beneath the posts allowing a simple conversion for the fly half. 

Some determined defending and outright determination saw the match through to the final whistle and the boys walked off the pitch victorious having scored 19 points to Bury's 10. With two wins on the bounce, the Tigers are looking to make it three of a kind against Duckinfield (away) on Saturday. We meet at 13:00 at SP and with the boys having won the home fixture, they are looking to replicate the victory and further increase this winning streak. Easter is a time for some to remember the resurrection of one man.

Here at SP, it is a time to witness the resurrection of a team dismissed by its opponents as weak opposition, the revival in playing numbers and the resurgence of pride and enjoyment on the pitches.