Ormskirk First XV make hard work of Oswestry
Ormskirk have progressed to the third round of the EDF Senior Vase but were made to work hard by a committed Oswestry team.
The 26-0 scoreline flattered the home side who played poorly for long periods of the game. John Armstrong scored 11 points, including a try and three conversions, whilst Andy Wilson, Ben Davis and Gareth Little also claimed a try each.
A heavy downpour before kick off made life difficult for Ormskirk who had planned to run the ball at every opportunity. Oswestry’s heavyweight pack and the slippery handling conditions forced a hasty change to the home side’s tactics.
In the first quarter of the match, Ormskirk had much of the possession but failed to take advantage of the several line-breaks which they created.
After 15 minutes, Andy Wilson crossed for the first try of the match after some skilful running from Armstrong. Ormskirk’s stand off set off on a line across the pitch, creating space with a couple of swiftly executed dummy switches, before off-loading to Wilson, who ran in from the 22 metre line.
Armstrong added to the score just before the interval as he jinked his way under the posts from close range following some strong running from Adrian Molyneux and Glyn Roberts. Ormskirk led 14-0 at half time.
In the second half, Oswestry fought hard to keep themselves in the game. Their physical back row caused huge problems for Ormskirk at the breakdown and the opening period of the half saw the home side penalised on numerous occasions for not releasing the ball.
Ben Davis eased the pressure by crashing over from close range after some good work from Paul Skett and stand-in skipper, Andy Wroe.
In the final 20 minutes, Ormskirk tried valiantly to finish the match in style but Oswestry’s defence refused to buckle.
The home side only added one more score before the end. Gareth Little, playing at scrum-half, created a gap for himself with some impressive footwork and outpaced the defence to score in the corner just before the final whistle.
Ormskirk’s number 7, Glyn Roberts, was named man of the match after a typically committed performance.
Ormskirk’s 2nd XV beat Bolton 13-5 with tries from Richard Pope and Andy Montrose. The 3rd and 4th XV lost to Old Bedians and Sandback respectively.
Next Saturday, Ormskirk return to league action against Sale FC at Green Lane.
