Ormskirk RUFC

Next Saturday (4th February) we’re holding a ‘Past, Present & Future Players Day’ at Green Lane. The committee extends an invite to all those who have represented the club in the past to be our guests of honour!

We’re hoping to see as many of our alumni as possible on the day to be part of a celebration of Rugby.

The day will KO at 1pm with a curtain raiser between Ormskirks stars of the future as our U16’s take on their counterparts from Liverpool Collegiate. This curtain raiser will be followed by our 1st Team as they take on the 1st XV of Liverpool Collegiate and the 3rd XV play host to New Brighton 3rd XV.

The bar is open, there will be a buffet, presentations and to top it off ENGLAND v SCOTLAND in the SIX NATIONS will be on the club’s Big Screen from 5pm… what better way to spend Saturday!!!

We hope to see as many of you as possible on the day.

1st XV v Hoylake (Away)
Meet @ 12pm

1.V Gately
2.D Salisbury
3.H Hirsimaki
4.D Hitchlock
5.I Merrill
6.G Roberts
7.M Rothwell
8.B Davis
9.G Prytherch
10.J Illingworth
11.J Hodson
12.M Johnson
13.J Curley
14.A Lambie
15.A Healey

Reserves: G Bowling, A Croft, P Davis

2nd XV v Upper Eden (Home)
Meet @ 1.15pm

1.D MacCready
2.C Parlour
3.S Foggarty
4.S Clarke
5.T Harper
6.S Tasker
7.R Williams
8.G Dawson
9.A Kirk
10.P Armstrong
11.S Lambie
12.J Thomas
13.A Glover
14.A Frost
15.Joe Hodson

Reserves: R Pope, R Gregg, J Bennett

3rd XV v Formby Vikings (Away)
Meet @ 12.15pm

1.T McDermott
2.D Jonsson
3.N O’Donovan
4.T Gladwin
5.B Green
6.M Chesworth
7.J Lyon
8.A Povey
9.D Price
10.R ward
11.P Jamieson
12.M Waterhouse
13.P Keech
14.A Bennett
15.S Staniforth

SUBS: P Waywell, P O’Malley, P Mathers, C Sinclair

4th XV v Hoylake (Home)
Meet @ 1pm

1.B Stevenson
2.J Kendrick
3.R Allan
4.R Gibbon
5.J Williams
6.J Robertson
7.E Szymanski
8.D Compton
9.E Quirk
10.R Brennan
11.I Critchley
12.S James
13.G Ford
14.N Grant
15.D Baillie

Reserves: P Robinson, A Rees, A Cheung, A Smith, A Morrison

Ormskirk RUFC is very proud to announce that another of their players has received an international call up. 18 year old Eddie Webster from Halsall has been selected for the England Colleges squad to play matches against Portugal u18, Irish Exiles and Welsh Colleges. The squad’s first game is a daunting warm-up against Leicester Tigers Academy on 5th February.

Eddie joined Ormskirk in 2005 and quickly became one of the star players in the squad, being recognised by Lancashire, who he has played for since the u14 age group. He has also been a member of Sale Sharks Elite Player Development Group since 2007. In his six seasons at Ormskirk he scored over 70 tries and following his GCSE’s he moved to Myerscough College to study the AASE rugby course in conjunction with Sale Sharks. A member of the Myerscough 1st XV squad, Eddie has played a number of times for Sales Sharks’ Academy team.
Everyone at Ormskirk wishes Eddie the best of luck when he pulls on the white shirt for England.

The England Colleges RFU, as part of British Colleges Sport is not funded by the RFU so unfortunately all players selected for the England Colleges sides have to pay a fee. This fee covers the full cost of their playing kit and contributes to overnight accommodation, venue and pitch hire, after match food and referee expenses.

Sponsorship of an England Colleges squad member like Eddie is not only an opportunity to raise the profile of a business or organisation, but a genuine investment in the future of English sport. Without this support young talented individuals who have the potential to play professional rugby would in all likelihood be unable to fulfil these aspirations.

In return for your contribution, British Colleges Sport can offer website acknowledgement as well as program advertisement space.

Further information can be obtained by contacting Philip Llewellyn, England Colleges Team Manager on 07825598308 or at britishcollegessport@yahoo.com

And if they stare
Just let them burn their eyes on you moving
And if they shout
Don’t let them change a thing what you’re doing

Hold your head up, hold your head up
Hold your head up, hold your head high
Argent, Hold your head up, from the album, All together now, 1972.

Cast your minds back to Sept 17th 2011, to a sunny, early, autumnal Saturday which saw the newly compiled Kirk Lions, led by captain Taff, take on Wirral 4 in their 1st home game of the season. Hopes were high for a first victory of the campaign, with a team blended with youth and experience which had no fear of the big outfit in front of them. Alas for the high hopes of the fledgling Lions, beaten black and blue off the park, 75-3, a dark day for the team, and lesser mortals would have walked away after such a nadir. So harsh was the beating I really did wonder if I was cut out for such trials and tribulations as captain. It was a fleeting, foolish notion that now seems worlds away from where I see myself and my team today. Yes we still lost, but performance-wise and spiritually I walked off the pitch today as if we had won. Such is the gorgeous beauty of rugby, captaincy and aged lunacy that dominates this Welsh head of mine. Rod Argent’s words above are a fitting tribute to the lads I call my team, my friends, my Lions. The match report follows thus.
On a damp, soggy pitch with a howling wind, this game was never going to be a feast of running rugby, and this was proven to be the point in the first 20 mins with the rugby being mostly a war of attrition between the forwards, sometimes punctuated by brief dazzling back-play, only to see promising moves scythed down in the mud. No quarter asked, none given, in brave tackling displays by both sides, defences stout and even.
But something had to give, and unfortunately Wirral’s bigger pack held the advantage in the difficult conditions which led to them scoring the opening try in the 20th minute to lead 5-0, and this score was farcically increased to 12-0 when the referee awarded Wirral a try after the ball had clearly come straight out of a 5 metre scrum, and was touched down by a keen Wirral flanker, who must have had arms like Stretch Armstrong to still be bound on at the scrum! C’est la vie!
Some recompense was granted when after another ferocious Wirral attack, Russ Brennan magically ushered a certain Wirral try scorer over the dead-ball line, the look of embarrassment and foolishness was enough to raise Kirk spirits, and the Lions had their best period of the match, camped on the Wirral line, but despite great close range efforts by Taff, Richmond and Quirk, the Lions just could not get the ball grounded and the half ended before the Lions could charge again!
The second half began much the same, but with Wirral making several changes at the break, their superior forward power once again threatened to overwhelm the Kirk men, especially when they crossed for their 3rd try with 20 mins left, which when converted left the Lions trailing 19-0. But the Lions made Wirral fight all the way for every inch of coveted soil, with all Lion defenders putting in the hits to hold the hordes back, and occasionally going on a sneaky counter-attack, but defending takes its toll and Wirral finally broke through late on, scoring from a nifty back-row move from a close-range scrum, making the final score 24-0.
The last time I had seen defending like this was in the Michael Caine film, Zulu. As stated above, 5 months ago we crumbled against this team, this time we made them work for everything, and had we not lost Dan Baille after 20 mins, who knows what would have occurred. His constant surging runs allied to the great support work and graft of the forwards gave Wirral a ton of problems to cope with as did centres Waterhouse and Quirk, and when Baillie went off, Shafi played a blinder at full-back. The difference between the teams was that they took their 4 chances, we did not.
Other performances of note, Ed Szymanski looked assured in his first start at 7, and Nial O’Hagan had a more than useful first full game at hooker, Josh Williams didn’t score this time but is still a big presence on the pitch, and even his more aged 2nd row partner was seen to be putting in the tackles, 7 apparently as counted by Shafi, another 7 may have stopped Wirral winning. Message to self: must try harder…… The mighty atom, Nick Grant, continues to defy his stature with some useful tackling of the Wirral big boys, I bet they had a shock as they fell like trees in the forest at the hands of the Lions’ diminutive axe-man. Alan Rees made his first league appearance with a ten min cameo, as did new boy Peter Robinson, both looked confident and neither let the side down, great effort chaps, keep it up, and Graeme Ford played most of the game this wk which is another bonus for the Lions, and he left the pitch smiling.
This week, the captain’s pick goes to the Big Dog himself, Si Richmond. Vocal, effervescent and back to his best. Sniping and aggressive, he kept the Lions going forward, cropping up like the Hydra’s long lost child on several occasions to halt unsuspecting Wirral would-be attackers. Mate, it’s great to have you back, deserved man of the match.
Lions, the title of Fat Boy Slim’s epic 1998 album, you’ve come a long way baby, seems very appropriate don’t you think?
Hold those heads up lads.
Green Army!

Taffy.

Each blade of grass has its spot on earth whence it draws its life, its strength; and so is man rooted to the land from which he draws his faith together with his life.

Joseph Conrad, English Novelist.

Not strictly true, as I sing whatever the occasion, and I think you will find the Lions are of the same ilk, and as this was a friendly match, enjoyment was the raison d’etre of the day.

However, after a tasty start for the Lions, which saw centres, Robertson and James, charging the Park lines, aided and abetted by some great forward play from Williams, Compton and Quirk, Park took advantage of some sloppy defence by Kirk to storm into a 19-0 lead after 20 mins which had the Lions collective puzzled and annoyed at this audacious turn around. Didn’t Park know of the fearsome legend that Kirk had garnered for themselves in Div 5 West? Obviously our East division contemporaries had not! Probably not helped by captain Taff letting Si Richmond play for 14 men Park! It was a friendly and it was supposed to be at centre, until they worked out he was a hooker! Message to self: Idiot! Message ends.

The fight back began with once again the Robertson/Shafi combination tearing through the Park defensive line, and once again being ably abetted by forwards Williams, Compton, Quirk and Taff grafting in the loose. And the inevitable try came from winger Grant’s excellent finishing from more great Lions’ play. With the conversion under the posts made by Robertson, the Lions were now back in the room at 19-7, but half-time came too soon and the momentum was lost. However, Richmond was reclaimed by Taff with O’Hagan sent to help out Parks, one error redeemed, though nothing could be done about Richmond’s ludicrous socks!

Throw down those oranges and fight Lions was the half-time opinion and it worked initially, with the usual suspects thrashing away at the Park defence, and an early breach by the irascible Shafi James, put the Lions right back in the mix with Critch adding the extras. 19-14, game on…….. Message to self/Lions: concentrate, defend, and make it hard for the opposition, message ends, and so did the Lions ascendancy. Park are 6th in their league only because of 8 docked points, and it’s obvious they are a class outfit. Their attacking was sustained and decisive, and they tore holes in the Kirk defence whilst scoring 4 unconverted tries to rumble to 39-14!

Lions live in jungles and seek prey, Lions also frequent rugby pitches and don’t know the words, give up, or surrender! The fight back was swift, decisive and splendid to watch. First Robertson scored the try of the match after wonderful work from Quirk, Shafi, (again), and helped on by some Grant magic hands, (a forward tips his hat to you lads), and when a Park attack was thwarted by some great defence and the hand of Taff, the Lions surged forward seeking the line. Critchley made great inroads but was held up 5 metres out, but on fire Josh Williams saw an opportunity and crashed over for his 2nd try in as many games. Every 2nd row partner Taff has had has scored this season; (Taff is rightly pleased and jealous all at once)! Anyway, 39-26 once Critch converted. Alas for the final whistle! A great game played in a great spirit which gave both teams a good work-out, and if the Lions had been more defensively astute could have been much different!

Still, a big thank-you to Kevin O’Brien and his men for a great game, and to Broughton Park for some great hospitality, it was a genuine pleasure for us Lions and we look forward to reciprocating in the future. And to the Lions: go onto the league website and check out Div 5 East and Parks results and league position, you will see you played against, competed with, and narrowly lost to a very good side full of ex-internationals, ex- 1st team players, and some good young talent. Next wk we play a similar team, (minus the international though), Wirral 4 who we lost 75-3 at home early season, I fancy the score to be different this time around.

Mentions in dispatches: Richmond getting back to fitness and playing for both teams, keep it up mate, loving it. Robertson at centre, sublime mate, Nick Grant on the wing, the Shane Williams of the Lions, some nice touches and a well taken try. Adam ‘the Boss ‘Kirk, as we say in Wales mate, ‘crackin’, the forwards played well once again especially Ean Quirk who just seems to get better with every game, and of course Josh ‘the Tank’ Williams, the force is strong in this one. Special mention to Reece Laney-Lane, ex senior colt making his debut, (yes anther one), good to have you on board mate, and Nial O’Hagan who had a very good 40 mins for Parks at hooker, you won’t be given away so easily next time I can assure you.

But the stars of the show, the eighth wonder of the world and Ormskirk, Costa Coffee’s favourite son, the Brighton basher himself, Shafi James: Eco Warrior. Back in the Lions by personal and public demand, he was/is/will be the TNT in the Lions attacking endeavours. The hair may be shorter but the powerful running and irrepressible tackling is a sight beholden to smiling eyes. I know the colts have made us vets step up a gear, but where Shafi goes the Lions queue en masse, we scent blood and Shafi leads the pride! Well done mate, great to have you back.

I finish with the words of the Manic Street Preachers song, Underdogs, from the album, Send Away The Tigers:

This one’s for the freaks
For you’re so beautiful
For all the devotion
Written in your soul

This one’s for the freaks
For the lost and weak
For the butterflies and devotees
And the disciples of our destiny

Next wk lads, next wk.

Green Army!

Taffy

Ormskirk 1st XV 15 – 28 Glossop 1st XV

Ormskirk lost out to mid-table Glossop in a real game of two halves at Green Lane that keeps them bottom of South Lancs and Cheshire 1. The match, sponsored by local business Newlands, started at a frantic pace with the visiting Derbyshire side piling on the pressure and making use of the low sun that made visibility difficult for Ormskirk. Glossop’s big forwards proved a real handful for ‘Kirk and continuously made yards with driving mauls that the home side failed to stop at the source. Compounding Ormskirk’s first half problems was their ill discipline, giving away 10 penalties in the first 40 minutes that allowed Glossop to make easy yards and maintain the pressure on the home side. Glossop scored four unanswered tries in the opening period, all coming from their dominant forwards, they also added a penalty and at half-time they led 23 – 0.

Thankfully for Ormskirk, the 2nd half was a different affair and it was their turn to play rugby on the front foot. As they spent more and more time in Glossop territory the belief in the team grew and they continuously made inroads into the visitors’ defence, something they looked incapable of in the first half. Ormskirk got their first reward for their improved performance after 62 minutes when strong runs from Val Gately and Kieran Mahood had sucked in the Glossop defence, once the ball had been recycled, fly-half James Illingworth’s long pass was picked up by Andy Healey who showed good strength and pace to score in the corner. Straight from the kick-off Ormskirk were back on the scoreboard, after shaping to kick the ball long, Illingworth chipped over the first line of defence and the ball bounced favourably for him to re-gather and then pass to winger Andy Wroe 50 yards out who left his opposite number in his wake to score out wide.

Sensing an unlikely comeback victory, Ormskirk remained in the ascendancy and continued to attack. Confidence was high and they were playing their best rugby since October, however Glossop’s defence stood firm for the next 10 minutes to frustrate the men in green. On 76 minutes Ormskirk did manage to register their third try, again Illingworth was the provider as he changed the direction of the attack and created an overlap on the right wing from where he fed Wroe who had the simple task of finishing in the corner. Unfortunately for Ormskirk, all three conversion attempts were missed but with 4 minutes remaining they still had the chance to gain 2 bonus points from the game by getting their fourth try and getting within 7 points of Glossop. Unfortunately Ormskirk coughed up possession after catching the kick-off and didn’t touch the ball again as Glossop sensibly kept the ball in their forwards and made progress down the pitch, culminating in them scoring their fifth try of the afternoon with the last action of the match.

Ormskirk lost this match with a disappointing first half performance in which they failed to find an answer to Glossop’s direct approach and gave away far too many penalties at the breakdown. Ormskirk must now carry the belief they gained in the second half into their next game away to Hoylake a week on Saturday (28th January) as they become more and more desperate for a victory that will keep their survival hopes alive.

Ormskirk: 1, Bowling 2, Williams 3, Gateley 4, Hitchlock 5, Merrill 6, B Davis 7, Roberts 8, Mahood 9, Prytherch (c) 10, Illingworth 11, Hodson 12, Johnson 13, Curley 14, Wroe 15, Healey 16, P Davis 17, Rothwell 18, Croft

ORUFC 2nd XV 17 - 14 Oldham 2nd XV

Ormskirk’s 2nd XV (Raiders) kicked off the New Year with a hard fought, yet stylish victory over Oldham at Green Lane. Sean Fogerty’s men had to be at their best to hold off a late fightback from their high-flying opponents, who began the day in fourth place on the Division 3 (North) ladder, but ultimately triumphed 17-14 after a tense finale.

Key to the win were a number of outstanding performances, notably from full-back Joe Hodson, although resolute defence and some great link-up play between backs and forwards in the second half was enough to see them home.

The first minute of the match demonstrated the Raiders’ intent, with prop Doug McCready going on a rampaging run. With Ged Dawson at number 8, as well as strong-running centres Jason Thomas and Adam Glover, there was plenty more firepower to throw at the opposition defence - and all three made good yardage in the opening exchanges. However, the first half ended up as something of a disappointment with the home side missing four kickable penalties and failing to get over the line despite being camped in the opposition 22 for long periods. Some calm and decisive decision making from any number of players would have ensured a half time lead, but this was an Ormskirk team low on confidence after a frustrating winless streak.

At nil-nil and facing the wind in the second half, skipper Fogerty inspired belief in his troops and they responded in style. The forwards made incisive breaks - with Dawson, Tasker and Fogerty mostly involved - and half backs Croft and Gordon released quick ball to bring Ormskirk’s impressive back line into play. At this point full-back Joe Hodson took the game by the scruff of the neck and his elusive running set up two tries. The first was touched down by Jason Thomas, the second scored by Hodson himself after several dynamic phases of running rugby involving backs and forwards. Minutes later, after pressure from the home pack, hooker Chris Parlour went over and Alan Frost converted for a 17-0 lead.

Shellshocked Oldham could scarcely believe their eyes - at this point they were being taken apart by a bottom-of-the-table outfit who had registered just one league win all season! Left with aroud 15 minutes to make something of the match, they finally started to string some phases together and, with Ormskirk legs tiring, they broke through the hitherto impregnable defence to register two converted tries.

With the second of the two tries coming with just four minutes remaining, a nervous home side just needed to hold onto the ball. Scrum-half Croft, who had a fine game, went long with the restart and the Raiders managed to keep Oldham pegged back in their own half for the remainder of the match to close out an excellent victory.

After a number of narrow defeats leading up to Christmas, the Raiders finally delivered what they have been threatening to do for weeks and thoroughly deserved their win. Similar performances in the coming weeks will undoubtedy see them climb the table. Well played lads!

Ormskirk Lions (4ths) 20-17 Parkonians 2nds

In the right light, study becomes insight
But the system that dissed us
Teaches us to read and write

Rage Against The Machine, Take The Power Back, 1992.

Guile and bravery are required in any sport, in rugby they are essential. No amount of skill or technique can withstand the onslaught of sheer determination and self belief. Throw in youthful exuberance and a few grizzled veterans and what do you get? Ormskirk Lions is the answer.

If the Formby win was the GCSE, then this game was the A level, passed with all the above attributes in a match not for the faint hearted. Yes Ormskirk, the Lions roared today. Read on……

After a rousing team talk from Taff and Richmond, and another sprightly Alan Rees warm up, the Lions raced out of the starting blocks to take the game to Old Parks and soon found themselves 5-0 up thanks to some great forward play finished off by returnee centre, Ean Quirk, and dominated both territory and possession for the first quarter but amazingly no more scores were forthcoming, mainly due to some excellent Old Parks defence.

Parks soon turned this defence into attack, and now it was their turn to dominate and the Lions to defend. Wave after wave of Parks attackers, namely Prescott, Burton, Brownlow and Dunning were repelled by some grim Lions defending, exemplified by Parks danger man Dodd getting over the line only for some sharp Lions thinking seeing the ball disappear from his hands before grounding!, (I even witnessed a perfect dump tackle performed by the one and only, Russ Brennan). But Parks weren’t to be denied, and took advantage of a quick tap penalty to send captain Tony Burton over in the corner right on the stroke of half-time!

5-5 at the interval, game on!

And from the off, Parks stormed towards the Lions’ line after Peter Bennett caught the kick off and rumbled into Kirk territory, leaving the Lions flat-footed, and from the resultant rolling maul, basically Taff v Old Parks, they scored a converted try, who scored? Didn’t notice as I was too busy bollocking the lads so, many apologies, but I’m sure someone will put me straight on that point! 5-12, bugger! Been here before, Kirk crumble, Parks get big win, we rue missed chance!

So last season that thinking! A Lions team enraged is an unstoppable force these days, and surging runs by Baillie, (several of the mesmerizing varieties), Robertson, and the smash and boom of the forwards, eventually saw 17year old, Josh ‘The Tank’ Williams stomp through the Parks defence, via ref, Brian Ball, to score a great try to bring the Lions Back to 10-12. The dander is up, the belief is there, Baillie is everywhere! Two storming efforts from young Dan, (I could use many words to describe them, but just accept that they were excellent), put the Lions back into the lead at 20-12 and well in control.

But Parks were not done, and once more came hunting for glory, scoring a well worked try in the corner; I saw the hand but not the face, so again no name. Thankfully though the missed conversion still gave the Lions a slender 3 point advantage, however, repeated Parks attacks threatened to spoil the Lions’ efforts, but a combination of great drift defence and a couple of dropped balls kept the Lions’ lead intact, and if Ian Critchley had been 10 years younger, a Chris Hall moment, (ask Old Parks), may have wrapped the game up there and then, but 60 yards is a fair way at our age so his resultant kick to touch secured valuable field position, which the Lions held onto until the bell tolled for the Parkonians!

A cracking game to be honest; fights, fierce tackles, great rugby, what more can you ask for. Parks posed massive questions of this new age Kirk Lions team, which were answered superbly in what I can only describe as a monumental team effort. The times I got up from a ruck to see a green line of defenders in unison were numerous and heartening to see, something we failed to do early season, lessons learned I feel.

Honorable mentions, the entire Parks team: great effort lads only undone by some Baillie magic, you know your star will rise again, keep the faith. Lions heroes were many but notably, Quirk, Baillie, Robertson, Woodhead, Grant and possibly that old Welsh war horse in the 2nd row; lets be honest, who did have a bad game? Answers on a postcard please.

Star-man though goes to my 2nd row colleague, the considerably younger and more talented, Josh Williams. Was it his deafening roar at every scrum that galvanized his elder partner into feats of derring do?, or was it his collection of the ball at the restarts allied to his boomtastic runs that lifted the Lions to higher plains? 17 years old! Inspired Josh, and inspiring in a season of inspiration for me, all I can add is very well done Josh, man of the match.

If you listen carefully, you can hear Russ Brennan polishing his new boots!

Green Army!

Taffy

Bowdon 1st XV 27 – 5 Ormskirk 1st XV

Ormskirk lost out at high-flying Bowdon in their first game of 2012 after a disappointing 2nd half performance. Kirk started brightly and, playing into a strong wind, really took the game to Bowdon and the home side struggled to cope with number 8 Ben Davis who went on a few rampaging runs. The men in green also looked dangerous in midfield early on with both centres Matt Johnson and John Curley making good breaks. Unfortunately for Ormskirk they didn’t turn their pressure into points and it was Bowdon that scored the opening try of the game after their inside centre was allowed to offload out of the tackle, the try was converted, 7-0. Kirk got straight back on the front foot and after good recycling from the forwards scrum-half Gaz Prytherch once again released the backline and a well-disguised miss pass from fly-half James Illingworth found Curley who sped through a gap and covered the remaining 70 yards to the line unchallenged. Illingworth’s conversion attempt slipped narrowly wide.

The game continued to be fairly even for the remainder of the half, Bowdon’s big number 8 and inside centre proved a real handful for Ormskirk and the wind allowed Bowdon to clear their lines when they were under pressure but Kirk gave as good as they got throughout the half. Ormskirk nearly added to their score when a strong run from Jake Hodson took him past his opposite winger and his inside ball to Andy Wilson saw the returning openside race towards the Bowdon line before being tackled 5 yards short. When a chance came Bowdon’s way they were more clinical and an unconverted try from close range saw them take a 12-5 lead into the break.

Finding themselves only 7 point down after playing into the strong wind, Ormskirk were confident that the game was still theirs for the taking. Unfortunately, as has been the case far too often this season, Ormskirk failed to play for the full 80 minutes and a combination of not using the elements well enough and a good second half game plan from Bowdon saw the home side score 3 unanswered second half tries. It was disappointing to see a few tackles being missed by Ormskirk as Bowdon’s big men wore them down as the half progressed and this is something that will have to improve if Ormskirk are going to climb out of the relegation zone.

This Saturday sees Ormskirk entertain Glossop in a 14:15 kick-off at Green Lane. The pressure is now building on Kirk to get a confidence boosting win under their belts as soon as possible and they will be going all out to get that result against the Derbyshire men.

Ormskirk: 1, Gately 2, Bowling 3, Hirsimaki 4, Hitchlock 5, Merrill 6, Rothwell 7, Wilson 8, Davis 9, Prytherch (c) 10, Illingworth 11, Hodson 12, Johnson 13, Curley 14, Wroe 15, Healey 16, Shellis 17, Clarke 18, Williams

Last Man Standing

“Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick the fruit”.

Anton Chekhov

It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it, and that applies both to Saturday’s playing conditions and that of the tenure of captaincy. Chekhov’s words of wisdom can easily be linked to recent events at Ormskirk rugby club. However, a newly swept cupboard for the 3rd team was excellently replenished by new captain, Matt Waterhouse, who’s now re-named Barbarians select, took on the might of Eagle Saturday past.

Mud, mud, glorious mud, did little to stifle the attacking ambition of both teams, and this laid the foundation of an absorbing game of end to end play. Kirk started the stronger and took it to the Eagle defence, but errors crept into the Barbarians’ game as they became over eager at the breakdown, and a good few chances went a-begging as a result.

But finally Kirk broke through, thanks to young Tom Sinclair who weaved his way through a mesmerized Eagle defence to score under the posts, with the extras added by scrum-half, Rhys Ward. Eagle rose to the challenge and soon pulled back 5 points when they exploited an overlap on the right to score an unconverted try, this brought a passage of attritional play from both sides, with Eaves, Sinclair senior, and Mathers being prominent in the Barbarians cause along with young Bennett harrying Eagle defenders and nearly scoring from one such effort. But with nothing coming after repeated attacks, Waterhouse opted to go for goal when two penalty chances arose and these were sweetly converted by young Ward to give Kirk a healthy 13-5 lead at orange time.

Many a segment was still being chewed when the restart came, and it was Eagle who came out spitting the pips, as they assaulted the Kirk line, and but for some tough tackling and dropped last passes, Kirk could have paid dearly. With Eaves off with a knee injury it was left to Buxton to rally the troops, but when Eagle finally managed to score another un-converted try to make it 13-10, strong measures were needed. PK was sent to the changing rooms to get kitted up, and was soon on the field shouting the odds at Kirks beleaguered troops. It had the desired effect, as now the Barbarians were waxing lyrical and taking the game back to Eagle, and when the excellent Tom Sinclair scored his second try of the game, it seemed that would secure it for Kirk.

However, Eagle came back like a winter storm and managed their 3rd try of the match, which when converted cut Kirk’s lead to 1 point at 18-17! Fingernails were being chewed and voices were becoming hoarse as Eagle came again seeking the golden fleece of victory, but Matt’s Barbarians defended stoutly and kept them at bay until the final whistle brought joy to the Kirk battlers.

There was so much to take out of the game; Matt’s first game in charge was a blood-fire baptism, which will stand him in good stead for the rest of the season. Some of the rabbits he has pulled from the hat made good reading and even better watching, and hopefully they enjoyed themselves enough to come back after Christmas to the Kirk brotherhood. There were some great performances, notably Adam Bennett, Simon Eaves, Paul Mathers and Colin Sinclair, with great efforts from Ward, Waterhouse and Lyon, but man of the match had to be Sinclair junior, Tom. Distinguishable from his father by being fleeter of foot, (both wore identical scrum hats!), he was a constant thorn in the Eagle rump and but for some inconsiderate pot-holes in the mud, he probably would have scored more than two tries! Well done Tom, great effort.

Try scorers and penalty takers get points to win matches, but un-sung heroes are sometimes the ultimate difference in the end-game. The Barbarians sit proudly in 2nd place in the league after this win, but consider this: before kick-off there was no hooker available, this would have meant uncontested scrums and two points maximum. One phone call later, Lion favourite, Joe Kendrick decided he would step up and help out. In only his 2nd game at hooker, Joe not only ensured the Kirk machine started well, he kept going long into the game and only came off with 10 to go because I made him, then we the crowd witnessed him putting his shoulder back in against the handily placed wall before going off for a well earned dip in the bath! Sometimes you stand there speechless as you sink into the winter mud, quite humbling, thought provoking and testament to what being a clubman means. If my Spirit of Ormskirk award had been to hand, I would have passed it over there and then. Joe, I salute you.

Green Army!

Taffy

Ormskirk Grammar School Old Boys - Tuesday 27th December 2011 - 1pm KO

The traditional Christmas Fixture is back at Green Lane as past students of Ormskirk Grammar School pit their wits against each other in the Over 35’s v Under 35’s game. Rugby, banter, beer and food with old mates!!!

Call Jamie Gregg for details of how to get involved. Tel: 07985 337758

Past & Present Players Day - Sat 4th February 2012 from 1pm

Ormskirk RUFC is putting on a day to honour all the players who have represented the club over the years. A great chance to catch up and remenisce with old friends and talk about days gone by whilst watching the current 1st and 3rd Teams play fixtures at home. Hopefully we’ll also have a curtain raiser from one of the Junior Section Teams so you can see what the future has to hold for the club!!

The bar will be open, food will be available, there will be presentations and the England v Scotland 6 Nations game will be televised from 5pm.

Spread the word and get the dates in your diary…More details will be available shortly.

Warrington 1st XV 10 – 6 Ormskirk 1st XV

Ormskirk travelled to fellow strugglers Warrington hopeful of ending their recent dismal run of results and moving off the bottom of the league table. Even with four 1st choice players unavailable they produced a good performance but, as has been the case for much of the season, their inability to get over the try line cost them dear.

‘Kirk got off to the worst possible start when a routine one-on-one tackle was missed on the home side’s fly-half 20 yards out, allowing him to run in what proved to be the game’s decisive try after 5 minutes. The try was converted and Warrington had a 7-0 lead. Ormskirk then settled into the game and looked more of a team than in recent weeks, a strong scrum and good ball carrying from Val Gateley, Hydn Hirsimaki, Phil Davis and Dan Hitchlock continually pushed Warrington backwards. The backs also functioned well, James Illingworth made good decisions at fly-half and outside backs Matt Johnson, John Curley, Andy Healey and Jake Hodson all looked dangerous with the ball in hand. With the wind at their backs in the 1st half, Ormskirk had the edge and looked the more likely team to score. They came closest when, after some good recycling from the forwards, the backs showed good handling skills to release winger Andy Wroe who almost made amends for his early missed tackle but was bundled into touch inches short of the line. ‘Kirk’s only reward for their pressure in the opening stanza was a well-struck penalty from 35 yards out by Illingworth giving a half-time score of 7-3.

Warrington upped their game at the beginning of the 2nd half, edging the scrums and putting a lot of pressure on Ormskirk’s line-outs, ‘Kirk struggled to deal with this at times and disappointingly lost 5 or 6 on their own throw. The Cheshire side were rewarded for their bright start to the half with a penalty after 55 minutes that was converted to stretch their lead to 10-3. Even playing into the wind, Ormskirk controlled the remainder of the game but were left frustrated by a series of questionable refereeing decisions going against them that constantly took the pressure off Warrington, allowing them to clear the ball out of their half. After a period of sustained pressure from Ormskirk, Warrington were penalised for slowing the ball down after 65 minutes. Up stepped Illingworth to coolly add to his points tally and leave the score at 10-6. Now within one try of snatching victory, ‘Kirk tried everything to score but they were met by a resolute Warrington team who defended manfully to keep them out. Twice the home side were indebted to their full-back, firstly he made a last ditch tackle on Curley after he’d darted through a gap in midfield and then after Mark Webster’s neat inside pass found Ben Davis. Davis rampaged through two would-be tacklers and looked destined to score before he was hauled down 5 yards short of the line.

The game finished and Ormskirk had lost out narrowly yet again. Going in to the Christmas break there are some positive signs that they can turn the season around and avoid relegation. The structure brought by new captain Gaz Prytherch and returning 1st XV manager Phil Harland is starting to show on the pitch and the team spirit is strong as the squad starts to gel as a stable unit. With improved availability and better luck with injuries in the second half of the season alongside being more clinical when chances come their way a run of good results is surely just around the corner.

Ormskirk: 1, Hirsimaki 2, Parlour 3, Gateley 4, Hitchlock 5, P Davis 6, Webster 7, Rothwell 8, Davis 9, Prytherch (c) 10, Illingworth 11, Hodson 12, Johnson 13, Curley 14, Wroe 15, Healey 16, Thomas 17, Dawson

After the sad loss of Bruce McKinnie, Bruce’s widow has invited members of the club to attend the Bruce’s Cremation at Southport Road Crem at 14.40 on Monday 19th December and then afterward at the Hayfield.
She wants to people to wear bright colours and is happy if members wear club ties.
No flowers with donations to Queen’s court Hospice, Southport.

Regards,

Brian Stevenson ( Club Chairman)

West Park 1st XV 22 – 5 Ormskirk 1st XV

Ormskirk came away from St. Helens empty handed after a disappointing performance saw them slip to their 6th successive defeat that leaves them bottom of South Lancs and Cheshire 1. The game started brightly for ‘Kirk who appeared to have the upper hand and the forwards looked particularly dominant. After a period of pressure inside West Park’s 22, Ormskirk were awarded a scrum 5 metres out. Ben Davis picked up from the back of the scrum and drove towards the line, he was tackled 1 metre short but Martin Rothwell was on hand to pick the ball up and dive over to score his first try for the 1st XV. The tough conversion attempt from James Illingworth drifted wide but ‘Kirk led 5-0 after 5 minutes.

Playing against the wind in the 1st half, Ormskirk’s early dominance subsided but they did maintain parity with the much bigger home side. After being warned by the referee for similar offences, ‘Kirk lost number 8 Ben Davis to the sin-bin on 34 minutes after being penalised for slowing play down. Almost immediately West Park levelled the score after confusion at the back of the ‘Kirk scrum led to Phill Armstrong’s clearance kick being put under extreme pressure, the kick was charged down and West Park’s number 7 dived on the looses ball behind the try line. 5-5 at half-time.

As was the case in their previous game against Winnington Park, Ormskirk failed to make use of now having the elements in their favour in the 2nd half. Ormskirk continuously made poor decisions and lacked the cutting edge required to break West Park’s strong midfield defence and in truth they never looked like adding to their early try. The home side added 3 second half tries, one of which was a fine team effort during which they displayed great offloading skills, a style of rugby that ‘Kirk would do well to learn off if they are to turn their season around in the upcoming weeks.

This Saturday Ormskirk travel to Warrington, the team directly above them in the league. If a game can be called a ‘must-win’ so early in the season then this is it but ‘Kirk know a vastly improved performance will be required if they are to come away with the spoils.

Ormskirk: 1, Hirsimaki 2, Bowling 3, Gateley 4, Hitchlock 5, P Davis 6, Webster 7, Rothwell 8, Davis 9, Prytherch (c) 10, Armstrong 11, Hodson 12, Johnson 13, Curley 14, Shellis 15, Illingworth 16, Healey 17, Parlour 18, Shopland-Reed

Ormskirk Raiders 3-8 Ruskin Park 2
Ormskirk Lions W-L Prenton 2

The Art of War/The Game of Rugby

For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.

Sun Tzu, Chinese Military General, Strategist and author of The Art Of War, 544BC-496BC.

All the best-laid plans of mice and men; oft go awry, so wrote Robbie Burns many a year hence, and so Saturday proved to be just that. The Lions were confidant of a fourth straight victory, despite the elements conspiring to try and thwart man’s need to play rugby rather than go Christmas shopping. What was unexpected was the late cry-off of Prenton, leaving Captain Taff and his lads all dressed up with no place to go! Obviously the deeds of the past month by the Pride has filtered through the airwaves and struck mortal fear into our more illustrious opponents. I’m sure Sun Tzu would nod sagely at such a noble thought, personally I found it frustrating, however, a new plan emerged.

So, with 4 points secured, attention now turned to Foggy’s 2nd team, The Raiders. With Lions’ giants, Glover and Broxton now in the starting line-up, and a whole plethora of young Lions kitted up and ready for the call, (including Van Dyke Brennan, and Taff in civvies as technical director!), the game kicked off in cold, cloudy and gloriously appropriate rugby conditions. It was a humdinger from the start with Kirk pressing strongly with the likes of Dawson, Mitchell, Fogarty and Wroe being the particular stand-out names. But they could find no way through a resolute Park defence. There was some fine inter-play between Glover at 9 and Dawson at 8, but time and time again Nick Gordon and his backs, namely the excellent centre paring of Thomas and Frost could not find the try-line and as half-time came, a solitary Frost penalty seemed scant reward for some great endeavour.

This was the case as now Park, with the wind behind them, took the game to Kirk, but as in the first half, the Raiders now were resolute in defence. But defending takes its toll: firstly, Clark was replaced in the 2nd row by Lions new-boy Josh Williams, then Mitchell was replaced by Rothwell as the game approached the last 20, but one attack too many finally breached the Kirk battlements to give Ruskin a slender 5-3 lead, which was further extended when, after a period of perceived indiscipline from the Kirk, referee Dave Grundy awarded Park an easy penalty to make the score 8-3.

From here the game descended into chaos, with Kirk ferociously attacking and Park doing everything to stop them which led to several unsavoury incidents! Mr. Grundy decided to call an early halt to proceedings that denied Kirk a fair share of the spoils, he has obviously not read the afore-mentioned book on the art of war, but who are we to gainsay his decision?

I should thank Prenton really, we got the points, and more importantly, I got to see another level of Kirk rugby that playing does not allow a glimpse of. For starters, the Raiders are a much better force than last season with some great players and a strong raison d’etre that belies their lowly league position and results gained. There is a useful forward unit emerging alongside a dangerous looking back-line, what is missing is the awareness of the try-line. Getting Andy Wroe fit will be the part resolution of that problem. I personally enjoyed his first-half cameo. Lions’ star-man Glover had a good first-half too which will pose a few selection problems, though we need 80 mins at this level with once again fitness issues to address, obviously his captain is not pushing him hard enough……..

Young Lion cub, Josh Williams, 17, did not look out of place at this level which is startling due to the fact he only made his Lions debut 3 wks hence! And had there been time I’m sure we would have got young Callum Woodhead on as well, (that would have been VERY interesting), but hopefully these young Lions will get to play next wk as long as the weather and our opponents, Wirral, don’t succumb to the legend arising from Green Lane. Kirk Man of the match goes to Ged Dawson, back after injury and a heavy work load, Ged looked back to his best and certainly the Dawson/Glover double act was a very pleasing aspect of the game. Glover’s sneaky offloads gave Ged space to run which in all honesty the Raiders should have capitalized on; however, well done Ged, keep it up.

And so here we are, the year’s zenith approaches, a good year for Kirk, especially these past few months; Ok, not all the results have been desirable, but the efforts of the teams, the availability of players, and the general humour of the club is strong. We won’t cry off because of the rain or chipped toenail paint; we have the youngsters coming through and even some old fellas coming out of the woodwork. There is a growing redoubt within the club securing an already strong ethic of rugby excellence encompassing the old and new in its friendly open armed way. The warm glow does not come from just the fire, (often blocked by Russ Brennan); there is a willingness to move forward despite some painful measures undertaken. And on the pitch, the art of war is being pursued as Sun Tzu would have applauded, next wk, the art of rugby mixed with the art of war, moves to pastures new and more tales awaiting the telling.

Green Army!

Taffy

Dear Members,

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of club member Bruce McKinnie who passed away on Sunday morning at Queenscourt Hospice in Southport.

Bruce was an active and popular member of Ormskirk RUFC. As well as a long playing career, Bruce also coached the Ormskirk Ladies team and was an active social member. He will be sadly missed by his many friends at the club.

Our thoughts are with his family.

Details of funeral arrangements will follow

Ormskirk Lions (4ths) 20-14 Formby Vikings

3rd December 2011

“The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.” Aldous Huxley, English writer, 1894-1963

The acid test of any fledgling team is how they respond to adversity. Like a boxer who takes a punch to the chin, you never know how you will react until it happens. Well the Lions took one hell of a sucker punch on this day, and like the mighty Muhammad Ali, came off the ropes to deliver a 2nd half tour de force that left the Vikings grasping at the metaphorical air left in the wake of Kirks’ fleet footed runners. Oh yes people, this has to be our finest hour yet. The story reads thus……..

In what can best be described as a dismal day, the Lions kicked off into the face of a strong wind and soon went on a mauling rampage that took them into the Vikings 22. That’s when the first wheel fell off! 12 men a mauling soon became 12 men a groaning as the ball somehow came out the side of the Vikings which saw them counter attack two loan defenders, Baillie and Grant, who had little or no chance of stopping an 8 man overlap, 7-0 to Formby, soon to be 14-0 when another Kirk effort failed giving the Vikings another chance at scoring which they duly took.

A clearly enraged Lions Captain Taff demanded more effort from his team and the team responded though nothing seemed to be on with a strong Vikings defence stopping repeated Lions efforts, one from the captain being over the line but not grounded due to a rather large Formby lad acting as a very thick carpet! But the Lions kept on attacking and eventually scored through open-side Wolfman Tamblyn, his 5th of the season, and Baillie’s conversion reduced the arrears to 7 points as the game went into half-time.

The second half saw a constant stream of Lions’ attackers repeatedly repelled by the Viking hordes and it seemed unlikely that the Lions would win as the last quarter of the match approached with Formby starting to peg the Lions back. But then the old and the new turned the tide towards the Lions. Veteran outside Half, Van Dyke Brennan used is tactical kicking game to great effect allowing the excellent winger, Aaron Cheung to score a great try in the corner, however with the conversion missed, the Lions were still 2 points adrift! But the next vociferous attack by the Lions yielded a penalty. “Kick”, said Glover: “Kick”, said Brennan; “you what”, said Kapitan Taff? “I will”, said Robertson. Exquisite is probably the best word I can use to describe the oval ball sailing sweetly into the grey, wet December sky, watched by 30 players of discernable states of visage, dissect the posts with engineers’ precision that even stopped J Wilkinson in his tracks down in Toulon. In those conditions with Glover’s finger keeping the ball steady, this was the tipping point, a moment of superb concentration and bravery from Robertson that spurred the Lions on, now leading 15-14!

Formby tried in vain to claw their way back but now Kirk were in no mood to give out early Christmas presents, and after more rasping forward play notably from Allan, Farley and young Jaco, Glover got his just reward when he crossed for a try out wide to make the score 20-14. Formby did not give up though and repeatedly surged at the Kirk line but found young Taff and his defenders ungrateful in the tackle, especially one from Taff who stopped that young carpet from scoring in revenge for the earlier stoppage of the welsh lamppost. Mercifully referee Brian Ball blows the final whistle to leave the Lions victorious and a very, very exhausted captain prostrate on the half-way line.

Performances of note were many and too many to mention all. Churchill’s words about fighting on beaches will possibly suffice lads as you were all awesome to a high degree but ‘Cecil’ Fairhurst and ‘Tank’ Williams had great games along side Taff and his forwards featuring Adi Molyneux, (bonus ball), Crompton had another stellar 40 minutes without QE2 type charges, and young Adam Smith, who had a difficult first 15 mins, came back on for the last 10 and played a blinder to be fair. And the backs from Kirk to Baillie please take a bow: that includes the guest appearance of ‘Irish’ Moore all the way from Bangor, (a performance of some note may I add Michael, so it was), c/o Joe Kendrick, (first 15mins as hooker, will he do it again we wonder?), driving back that morning to ensure we had a front-row starting line-up, (they went back to Bangor after the match! Much appreciated lads).

Had Joe not driven back, we would not have witnessed the centre play par excellence of The Grinch, Adam Glover who went on the Friday jolly to Bangor. A simply outstanding
Performance of skill, guile and Grinch cockiness that spurred the Lions on in his wake, Glover on fire is a wondrous show of rugby skill, man of the match for sure, well done Adam.

What a cracking match, truth be told, the young mature into better players, the oldies grind themselves into the mud in pursuit of past glories and the Lions win 3 in a row. The marriage of youth and maturity continues in its spellbinding weave into the futures arms, there will be days such as these alongside days of lesser joy, but all experiences are essential in the building towards the greater good, this was but one day on that road.

Green Army!

Taffy

Winnington Park 1st XV 13 – 6 Ormskirk 1st XV

Ormskirk travelled to Cheshire to take on 6th placed Winnington Park with a strong looking squad and hopeful of recording a surprise victory. Playing into the wind in the first half, Ormskirk’s pack, bolstered by the return of Graeme Bowling, Kieran Mahood and Ben Davis, took the game to the bigger home side. Kirk gained the upper hand in the scrums, which gave a good platform for Mahood to pick up from the number 8 position and attack the home defence on numerous occasions. The conditions made it tough for either side to play any open rugby and the game was played mainly in the middle third with both sides’ centres running hard and straight only to be cancelled out by the strong defence of their opposite numbers.

Ormskirk opened the scoring on 25 minutes by way of a well struck penalty from 35 yards by full-back James Illingworth after the home side had been penalised for slowing play down illegally. Strong tackling from flankers Mark Webster and Martin Rothwell meant that Park never made much ground when running with the ball but with the elements in their favour in the first half the home side could kick for position meaning that Kirk had to attack from deep. With 5 minutes left in the half Ormskirk were harshly penalised at the breakdown, which allowed Winnington Park to kick a penalty of their own to level the scores at half-time.

Ormskirk, now with the wind at their back were hopeful of pushing home this advantage in the second half but the wind was taking out of their sails after 10 minutes when Park’s huge number 8 crashed over the try line from short range. The try was converted and ‘Kirk found themselves 10-3 down. The second half was another war of attrition with no quarter asked or given by either side, unfortunately for ‘Kirk a combination of not using the conditions as well as Park had done in the first half and a constant stream of penalties against them, many of which seemed harsh and were simply punishing their competitiveness at breakdown, meant that they didn’t spend enough time in the right areas of the pitch.

A long range penalty attempt from Illingworth on 62 minutes drifted narrowly wide but after more pressure from ‘Kirk he got another chance on 70 minute and this time converted from 25 yards out. With 10 minutes remaining one try would have now given ‘Kirk the spoils but it wasn’t to be and with last kick of the game Winnington Park added a penalty of their own to give a final score of 13-6.

Ormskirk came away from this tough away game with a losing bonus point and yet again showed that they can compete with teams much higher in the league. This was a much improved performance but unfortunately chances came and went in this game which stopped them taking a surprise victory. Ormskirk are now half way through the league season and find themselves second from bottom in the league after only winning three games. Captain Gaz Prytherch and the 1st XV squad know that they will need at least 5 victories in the second half of the season if they are to avoid relegation. Next week sees the men in green travel to local rivals West Park for another tough looking encounter.

Ormskirk: 1, Hirsimaki 2, Bowling 3, Gateley 4, Hitchlock 5, B Davis 6, Rothwell 7, Webster 8, Mahood 9, Prytherch 10, Croft 11, Hodson 12, Johnson 13, Ainscow 14, Wroe 15, Illingworth 16, Pope 17, Wilson

26th November 2011

“And curlew calls to curlew, and I remember as I go
The merrier sounds and echoes out of seasons long ago
When nights were full of laughter and all the days were bright
And the heart too young to listen to the curlews in the night”

Idris Davies, 1905-1953 Welsh Poet.

Beautiful words from a little known Welsh poet, recalling lost youth and the impetuosity of the young that often misses the everyday norm that surrounds us. Youth and impetuosity were part ingredients of a thrilling Raging Bull Plate match at Green Lane Saturday past. No less than 10 of the Lions starting line-up were 25 or under! The other 5 comprising of the youthful front row of Allan, Stevenson and Roper, young at heart Taff at lock and fly-half maestro Brennan at fly-half being the experience of the team. And with the exception of the 30 something Petterson and Aggrey, the Bench resembled a youth club with the likes of colts Williams and Woodhead, and Edge Hill student Szymanski cocked ready for action. Would it be enough against Sefton seeking revenge for the previous wk and with a side full of dangerous experience?

From the start Sefton used the wet and windy elements to their advantage with some surging forward play that brought them close to the Lions den only to be repelled by some excellent defence led by Lions scrum half, Kirk, which was resolute and grim at times. One of last wks debutants, Aaron Cheung further enhanced his growing reputation with some solid defence on the flank with one particularly robust tackle on a large Sefton bull! Wingers run fast and score but can’t tackle right? Oh so wrong to think that!

The game swung the Lions way however when another Sefton foray broke down in midfield. First to react were debutant, flanker Alex Fairfield and veteran full-back Dan Baillie who passed, fly-hacked and generally scampered their way down field for Baillie to cross for his 5th try in 3 matches! Glover converted to give the Lions the lead against the run of play. Kirk got on top then and after a series of rushes at the Sefton line a penalty award was expertly converted by Glover to give the Lions a healthy 10-0 lead.

And then came the Crompton stomp! On receiving the ball from the kick off Dave decided on a run. Fair enough thought I; keep close; prepare for the off-load and generally prepare for a ruck or maul, simples! Oh no, not Dave, he must have been desperate for a ciggy as his diagonal run took him to within a whisker of the touch-line and an incredulous looking manager, Alan Rees. Maybe my warm up was a bit harsh thought Alan? Luckily Dave swung about like the QE2 and proceeded down the line for about 30 metres before he was happily tackled into touch for a breather. Another game changer as from the resultant line-out, won by Dave, Glover scored a well taken try to give the Lions a healthy 15-0 lead. Sefton had other ideas though and stormed towards the Kirk line and after an infringement crossed for a well deserved try on the stroke of half-time. 15-5, time to be wary thought I.

This was to prove to be the case as Sefton started the better after the break and after successive phases on-loan from Kirk, Waterhouse stormed over the line for a great score which when converted saw Sefton only 3 points adrift. However, the introduction of Williams and Woodhead into the senior game paid dividends as William’s barging runs and Woodhead’s general vociferous play steadied the Lions. Fly-half Brennan took control with his probing kicks proving to be equal to the elements and in turning the big Sefton lads who could not cope with the speed of Baillie, Shellis and Szymanski who constantly chased and harried the Sefton defenders. A try apiece for the two former and one for the inform Robertson sealed Sefton’s fate, with Shellis adding a conversion. But Sefton came back strong and hard and deservedly scored a try through another Kirk lend, Justin Lyons. Good reward for their efforts. Final score- 32-17.

Massive respect to Sefton, who after last wk, could be forgiven for not wanting to have another go, they did and we the Lions are very glad they did. It gave my youngsters a stern test which they passed with flying colours. Big thanks to referee Bob Graham. Apart from one dodgy decision against Lions Captain Taff, he ran a superb game which added to the enjoyment. Cheers Bob.

Lion’s star men were many and varied in age. Biscuit had a top game at hooker taking 6 against the head in a dominant forward display, aided and abetted by front-row mates, Roper and Allan, 2nd rows Smith and Taff with Kendrick, Crompton and Tamblyn weighing in to a hefty pack performance at the set piece and in the loose. (5 tackles by yours truly is a modern day record for me and that was not the top effort on the day!).
Kirk, Brennan, Glover and Robertson gave the back line a sense of superiority that enabled Baillie, Cheung, Grant and Shellis to get on with other aspects of their games. Petterson came on with some rumbling runs and Aggrey had a good solid outing. Let’s not forget Alan’s warm up, which was excellent. God knows what will happen next wk when his cast comes off!

But when it comes to the men of the match, it has to go to the young guns, Alex Fairhurst, Josh Williams and Callum Woodhead. I hope that in the passage of time, these 3 lads look back on this day as the start of their rugby careers. All 3 came on undaunted by the step up and played their own games unburdened by expectation or nerves. Fairhurst brought the cockiness of youth allied with some great skill; he knows how to play rugby. Williams, “the Tank”, was robust to say the least. I tried stopping him twice in the warm up which basically rattled me from head to toe. I feared nothing when the game started. I think Sefton will long remember him! And Callum, a slender Tasmanian devil with great skill. He simply feared nothing. Taff to Callum, “don’t be nervous, play your own game.” Callum, “I’m not nervous, I’ve t***ed bigger guys than these…..”, or words to that effect. Great line out jumper to boot, oh how the heart sings.

Youth makes age sit up and strive for what has gone, as Idris Davies’ words convey. I spent 80 mins yesterday literally busting a gut to ensure I played the best that I could to give these lads a great start to their senior careers. I sit here now in more pain than I have ever known smiling in anticipation of the next installment. As Russ Brennan hobbled from the club clutching the ubiquitous packet of cheese and onion, I swore I saw a Dick Van Dyke kick in his step!

Green Army!

Taffy

Eagle 2+1 71-14 Ormskirk Lions (4ths)

Developing the muscles of the soul demands no competitive spirit, no killer instinct, although it may erect pain barriers that the spiritual athlete must crash through.
Germaine Greer.

Half-time: Eagle 50-0 Lions. Yes, deal with it.

The second half was a much different affair. I should report that the last 10 mins of the first half saw a Lions renaissance that carried over after the break. Forward power enough to make the Legends of Pontypool look northwards and smile in appreciation, the lions took the game to Eagle. Biscuit, Roper and Allan like kids in a candy shop gave no crumb of comfort to their Eagle counterparts. Farley and Taff sat in the boiler-room armchair, flicking various switches and pulling numerous levers keeping the scrum engine moving. Back row triumvirate, Tamblyn, Sibely and Chesworth picked off hapless victims who strayed too close. Oh yes, half two was very different!

Where in the first period Eagle’s classy backs shocked and awed the Lions, this period they found themselves chased and harried like the fox on the run, forcing them into errors that gave Kirk much more field position that we probably didn’t use as well as we should have!

However, that is digression. The damned don’t die easy-the new Lions motto-drove the boys on sniping and snarling and our just reward came when the excellent Callum Sibely crashed over for a well deserved Lions try converted by Mr. Critchley, Woo! Woo! Woo!, you know it!, to quote a familiar catchphrase from Lions giant Big Dog Richmond.

Let’s not forget Eagle who were still winning the game. Their supreme back line still kept on plugging away but were held to only 3 tries this half such was the Lions will. Backs Glover, Aggrey and Robertson giving them much to consider!

The final act was a glimpse of Lions magic that gives a middle age Taffy goose bumps and cause to smile. Successive phases of interplay by backs and forwards, the former notably, Critch, Glover, Petterson and young Kirk, and all 8 of the latter, contrived to put The Nugget, Mark Chesworth over near the posts! I think he may have thumbed in a soft one with his slam dunk da funk but the ref knew good rugby when he saw it and deemed it reward for the Lions effort! Converted by Critch, this gave the Lions 14 unlikely points that at the break you would not have believed possible!
Second half score-21-14!

Mentions in dispatches, Tamblyn, on one basically. Richmond, a necessary crutch for the captain, superb chap. The front row as mentioned. Adam Smith second game and doing fine. New shorts required though mate. Mani Aggrey, aggressive Mani, I like! Young Adam Kirk, first senior game, loving it mate. Long way to go yet but you are a Lion now.

Lastly, Lions’ star man, Callum The Badger Sibely, accomplished, aggressive, a workhorse, a Lion. Best game yet Callum, the Lions fraternity raises its collective glass.

I love rugby see, as we say in Wales.

Green Army!

Taffy.