Richard McNeil

This was the second game in the Papa John’s competition and Wirral were away at Derby, who they have played once before some years ago. It was Derby who took the lead with a try after 8 minutes but Wirral soon retaliated with 2 tries from captain, CHRIS CROWLEY, further good play by Wirral resulted in tries by DAN HARVEY and LEWIS HAYES, coupled with conversions and penalties. Wirral had built up a lead of 8 points by half time to lead 19-27 as Derby played hard to improve their position. Following their defeat the previous week. The second half was played with greater determination by both sides and Wirral increased their lead to 19-37 following tries by Rhys James and Hayden Long. Wirral had given all their substitutes a run out before the end of the game and in the closing minutes a further penalty by BEN BROOKS extended their lead to two scores and even with a lead of 14 points, Derby strove hard to win the match. A great performance by the young Wirral team as they prepare for the final round robin game next week against Burton (who have also won both their games), kick off at 3.00 pm next Saturday.

THIS was the first of a series of games for Wirral in the Papa John’s plate against Syston from Leicestershire, who are in the equivalent Midlands League.

Wirral were up against the second team in the league Rossendale and in the first half were playing against the strong wind, with much of the play being played in one half of the pitch. In the first half, Rossendale using the power of their forwards built up a 0-14 lead after 20 minutes and Wirral were working hard to combat the Rossendale team as they worked hard to control this strong team. In the minute before half time, Rossendale scored their third try to lead 0-19 at half time. Within 5 minutes of the second half, Wirral had scored two tries through leading try scorer, TOM AKEHURST each converted by Mark Williams and James Annetts to bring the score back to 14-19. Much as Wirral worked they could not break down the Rossendale defence again and in the 60th minute the away side scored their bonus point try to lead 14-26. This was the final score of the game as Wirral tried hard to again breakdown this strong Rossendale defence. Rossendale finished second in the league with Wirral securing fourth and will have to meet again next season. Wirral are well pleased with their season in this highly competitive league.

Despite the rain we have had recently the Memorial Ground was in good condition for the first ever visit by Penrith in this penultimate league game of the season; however the strong wind made its own difficulties. Playing with the wind in the first half, Wirral had the territorial possession and in the first half of the game scored two tries through their forwards, Chris Speed and acting captain, Hayden Long. The issue was had Wirral scored enough in that first half when Penrith would have the advantage in the second half of the wind.

Sandbach had a large crowd watching this game as they needed to win to reduce their chances of being relegated from this league. They started confidently with a converted try after 6 minutes, although Wirral quickly drew level with a try from Rhys James. In the period leading up to half time Sandbach scored two more tries and a penalty to lead 24-14 at half time, having taken advantage of playing with the wind and the slope and also aided by 3 yellow cards against Wirral. In the second half Wirral applied more pressure on Sandbach and after 20 minutes had equalised following a converted try by Ben Brooks and a penalty from Mark Williams. With greater pressure from Wirral play was now contained in the Sandbach half and a bonus try from Adam Don combined with 2 long drop goals from Ben Brooks took the game away from Sandbach. In the end the visiting referee had given out 9 yellow cards (5 to Sandbach) yet the game had been played in a good spirit and the result was not helpful to Sandbach in their quest to stay in the league. Next week Wirral are at home to Penrith with a 3.00pm kick off

In heavy and muddy conditions at Northwich, Wirral achieved a league double over Northwich to continue their 4th placed position in the league.

This was the second match of the season between these two local teams played in front of a large crowd at the Memorial Ground with both teams seeking points on an urgent basis. The match was evenly balanced in the first half with Anselmians having the advantage of the wind but it was Wirral who took the first points with firstly a break in mid field by Mark Williams which split the Anselmians defence and he ran in from 50m to score under the posts, duly converted by Jimmy Annetts. This was followed by a penalty from Jimmy who took his points scored for Wirral over the 1500 mark- a great performance for the team. In the rest of the half, Anselmians came back into the game with a forwards try from Sam Gregory duly converted by Dave Morley, the latter adding a penalty with the last play of the first half to leave the score 10 each at half time. In the second half Wirral used the wind to better effect but it was not until the 66th minute that Wirral went ahead with a try from Tom Akehurst, after Anselmians had missed an easy penalty to take the lead. Five minutes later a poor clearance from Anselmians was caught by Ben Brooks and a long pass to Mark Phillips enabled the player to drop kick from 35m to score and put Wirral two scores ahead at 18-10. Anselmians worked hard to get back into the game but a try was disallowed on the basis that it was not touched down and eventually cleared to then seal the game. Wirral now move up to 4th in the league whilst Anselmians remain in the relegation section of the league.

In a tight contest between teams 4th and 5th in the league it was the stronger set of forwards at Manchester who won the day. Wirral with a much changed side built up after 20 minutes a lead of 0-18, thanks to try from prop Joe Adnams and scrum half Tom Akehurst aided by the kicking of Jimmy Annetts. In the period up to half time Manchester responded with two converted tries of their own greatly assisted by the weight of their forwards who made gaps in the Wirral defence near the try line to leave the score 14-18 at half time.

With few games being played in the North of England, Wirral travelled to Penrith to play on their 3G pitch, with the rain pouring down throughout the game along with a strong wind to contend with. It was Wirral who made the best start whilst playing against the wind and rain and took the lead on 9mins when Tom Akehurst raced through a gap to score duly converted by Ben Brooks. The lead was doubled to 0-14 when Rhys James crossed close to the posts. Gradually Penrith came back into the game and scored two tries before half time to leave Wirral ahead; 10-14 at half time. In the second half, Penrith were more controlled as they built up a 20-14 lead through 2 tries. Eventually Wirral used their forwards to make progress up field and after pressure managed to score through Ben Brooks in the corner. A further penalty by Penrith gave them a 23-19 lead meaning Wirral would have to score a try to win the game. In the last minutes of the game, Wirral were in play close to the Penrith line, turned down a kick at goal and took a 5m line out which they won and applied pressure on the Penrith line and after a couple of minutes of chances, Joe Adnams had the ball and forced his way over the line to score the winning points. The game was then over.

This narrow defeat could have been avoided if Wirral’s final play was allowed to continue but this was not the case. It was the home side, Stockport who used their scrum to their advantage in the first half as they built up a 22-0 lead having scored their try bonus point. In the second half, Wirral reacted strongly with first a try by Matt Ringer followed by two tries by Mark Williams and another from James Annetts, three of which were converted. This left the score 27-26 to Stockport with the closing minutes to come, as Wirral attacked again, broke through the defence only for the referee to bring play back and instead of allowing advantage to Wirral then one has to ask why wasn’t the advantage allowed to stand.