Ormskirk 2nd XV 14 Wigan 2nd XV 24
21st October 2006
This week the Ormskirk second team had a number of players returning from injury allowing the captain, Dawson to pick a team that had the potential be the winning side. Together with a combination of hard work and good fortune, hopes were high that Wigan could be turned over today. The hard work was there, but the luck was nowhere to be seen and some very choice decisions only made things worse for the home team.
A habit that the second team will have to break is allowing their opponents to take an early lead and then upping their own game. True to form ‘kirk’ gifted Wigan an early try in the opening ten minutes of this encounter, Ormskirk then switched on and the battle began. At times Ormskirk played some great attacking rugby, with Spence and Keech giving the backs some dynamic lines of attack. Once again the Ormskirk forwards all played well against a team with only two lines of attack - their generously proportioned number 8 and a crash ball centre. After a few shaky tackles ‘kirk’ dealt with these two threats admirably and with the ball in hand the home pack put in some hard graft.
Whilst camped out on the opponents try line Dolan scored a sniping scrum half’s try grounding the ball through a small gap in the bodies that lay in front of him; Keech kicked successfully for the extra two points. The scrums, a strong point of this current second team’s game, were neutralised due to a referee unable to identify that Wigan were simply standing up when they were under pressure. The line outs worked well, Jackson was able to win a number of balls on Wigan’s throw, enabling the backs to use their pace and skill against an unprepared defence. The second try for the home team was achieved by Crosse, a player currently in form and playing well. On any give match day a team needs luck as well as skill, on Saturday the Gods were not looking favourably on the Ormskirk side. Every 50:50 decision went Wigan’s way and they were awarded a few dubious penalties, two of which were in front of the ‘sticks’. Ormskirk played a good style of rugby, with unwavering defence and great levels of communication; but it was not to be today.
