Ormskirk 3rd XV 12 Wirral 3rd XV 29
14th October 2006
Playing against one of the main contenders for promotion this season Ormskirk knew that this would prove to be a tough assignment, especially in a side with a number of positional changes in the back line. This would be an opportunity to gauge how much improvement has been made so far this season.
From the start of the match the Ormskirk pack started to dominate in all phases of play around the park giving the backs plenty of clean ball to attack with. Commited forward play, with Chapman and O’Farrell particularly prominent around the field, and the newly formed centre partnership (Hesketh and debutant Vosloo) ensured that Wirral were pinned in their own 22 for long periods with this pressure being converted into tries for Hesketh and Blood. Further pressure up to the half time break failed to result in extra points being scored. 12 - 0 at the break.
Early in the second half Wirral secured good ball and let their back line loose to score a try under the posts. This proved to set the tempo for the second half with Wirral releasing their backs at every opportunity resulting in the additional four tries that were scored before the final whistle. A number of dubious refereeing decisions cost Ormskirk dearly with a Wirral quick line out (the ball travelled no further than a yard into play before being played) resulting in one try when many ‘Kirk players stopped to remonstrate with the referee, who was quick to point out that you should always play to the whistle regardless of the decision given. At the other end of the field scrum half Essex was adjudged to have been held up when it was clear to all in the vicinity that the ball had been well grounded. On another day these decisions may well have had a bearing on the final result!
In summary, the first 40 minutes of rugby was the best performance that the thirds have managed this season. The second 40 minutes totally negated the hard work that had been done and unfortunately resulted in a defeat that could and should have been avoided. Many lessons to be learnt from the defeat that need to be put right before next weeks game away to Sandbach.
