After qualifying second from their pool of six, Ormskirk were looking forward to playing in the inaugural Lancashire under 12s trophy at Liverpool St Helens over the weekend. With a full squad to pick from it meant that the coaches were left with some difficult choices to make when having to pick the the final 18 names for the day. However it is this competition for places which has improved the general play of the team and has pushed them into a very competitive outfit as the season has progressed.
The day consisted of the 12 qualifying teams being placed into 3 pools of four with the top placed teams going through to the semi-finals along with the best placed runner up. With some very strong teams in attendance Ormskirk knew they would have their work cut out,but on the back of some recent encouraging performances a place in the semis was not beyond them.
The first pool game was against Manchester. Both sides started tentatively with defences on top. As the game wore on Ormskirk started to turn the screw and a wonderfully weighted kick was picked up by Tom Povey who, although well tackled on the line, managed to get his pass on to Craig Ennis who dived over for the first try converted by Matt White. This spurred on the team and just before the break Marcus Rylance picked up the second try after being well driven over by the rest of the forwards leaving Matt White to add the extras. As a postscript to the first half it was later realised that the referee had played 3 extra minutes and so the second try was later removed! After the break ‘Kirk started to dominate more and two further tries by Pat Lloyd( finishing off a nice move along the back line) and a second for Craig Ennis both converted by Michael Lea ensured a comfortable victory.
Ormskirk 21 Manchester 0
The second game was against old rivals Waterloo. The first half was dominated by Ormskirk but great defence by Waterloo ensured the half ended scoreless.In the second half however Ormskirk upped a gear and fly-half Robbie Jones scored his first touchdown of the day after picking the ball up from a maul near the Waterloo line and going in at the corner converted by Matt White. The forwards were in good form and their constant driving especially by the props Aaron Waggoner, Tom Travis and Michael Quirk ensured a very uncomfortable afternoon for the Waterloo pack.The game was eventually put out of reach after a quick tap penalty found its way out to Robbie Jones who went over after a nicely angled run wrongfooted the opponents backline. The extras were again added by Matt White.
Ormskirk 14Â Waterloo 0
With both Broughton Park and Ormskirk winning their first two games their head to head was to be the group decider. In the early exchanges Ormskirk were certainly under pressure but again good defence ensured that at half time the score was still level. Unfortunately some lax tackling at the end of the second half gifted Broughton two unanswered tries and allowing them to take the group top spot and a place in the semi-finals.
Ormskirk 0 Broughton Park 14
On a day of high temperatures Ormskirk then received the news that they had hoped for as they had qualified for the cup semi-finals as best placed runner-up. In itself this was a major achievment for the Ormskirk team. The only thing which dampened the mood was yet another injury to Olly Hogan who had to leave the ground for medical tratment.
Unfortunately the way the semis worked out meant that we were drawn again to play Broughton Park who had just beaten us. The positive thing was that apart from a couple of mistakes late in the game Ormskirk had more than matched Broughton and the coaches felt that a win was not out of the question. The important thing was that Broughton could draw the match and qualify for the final (based on the countback ruling) but Ormskirk had to win. In a tight first half both teams tested each other out but it was Tom Povey who scored the first try after taking a high ball well and then using his pace to outstrip the Broughton defence and score in the corner,the extras being added by Michael Lea.As they turned round after the break Ormskirk knew they would have to defend well to hold on to their narrow lead. With just a minute or two to go it looked as if Broughton would snatch the try they needed as a clever break left the line at their mercy. Fortunately full back Matt White somehow managed to get across to pull down his opponent just a yard or so short of the line and so blot out their best chance of the game. Even though Broughton continued to press, the thin blue line held firm to book an unexpected but well deserved Lancashire trophy final place at the first time of asking.
Ormskirk 7Â Broughton Park 0
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If anyone had suggested at the start of the season that Ormskirk would have been playing in The Lancashire Tophy final as their last game of the season I am sure they would have been given some very strange looks indeed. However it is a testimony to the hard work done on the training pitch over the winter months by the coaches which has resulted in such a stunning and unexpected bonus to finish the season with. In playing Widnes the lads would be up against a well drilled, uncompromising team who would push them all the way.In a dour final, defences were on top all the way through and no one could find that little bit of magic at the end of a long and tiring day to somehow break the deadlock. Eventually the game ended in stalemate. Unfortunately Widnes were declared the trophy winners as they had a slightly better points score in their qualifying games. This surely was heartbreak for the Ormskirk team who fought all the way and certainly did not deserve to lose a final in this way.
Lancashire Under 12’s Trophy Final :
Ormskirk 0Â Widnes 0 (Widnes take the trophy courtesy of a better qualifying record).
So the end of another long season started way back in early September. However the difference this year is that the team have become real competitors and have pushed themselves to near the top of the tree in terms of Lancashire rugby (as we saw clarly at St Helens today). The team can now look forward to their summer break knowing that next year they can build on this season’s successes and who knows perhaps can go one better and bring The Lancashire cup back home.
As a final postscript a big thank-you from all the players and parents to Nik,Dave,Pete and Andy whose excellent coaching is now paying dividends as the Under 12’s become a force to be reckoned with.
