Another amended and late arranged fixture provided the under 13’s with the opportunity to trek across to Manchester to play Aldwinians. Due to the half term break and injuries, Ormskirk travelled without ten of what is now a sizeable squad.
It was clear from the outset that Aldwinians would be a stern test for the lads. Ormskirk started well driving the ball forwards but the opposition countered this with some excellent tackling. Ormskirk’s scrummaging was a real strength with powerful displays from Jake Shinner and Rob Hall in the engine room and Andy Jones repeatedly winning the ball against the head. Unfortunately ‘Kirk went behind after a winning sequence of passes down the red and white back line resulted in the first try, aided by some lacklustre tackling. The restart showed that the two teams were very evenly matched but poor tackling ensured that Aldwinians made more progress into Ormskirk territory than was deserved. Good tackling near the line kept the opposition at bay until the ball was spun out along the back line for Aldwinians to score their second try, again unconverted.
Half-time : Aldwinians 10 Ormskirk 0
The half time talk resulted in the now routine re-shuffle with Rob Jones coming on at fly-half, Craig Ennis showing his versatility standing in at centre and Tom Povey taking over full-back duties. Unfortunately ‘kirk were still asleep at the re-start allowing Aldwinians to score two quick tries both converted. The lads then belatedly started to play some rugby forcing the opposition back with Aaron Waggoner in particular showing his ball carrying prowess. However our efforts fell short and with the ball spilling free it led to another Aldwinians try. This appeared to re-ignite the lads as they rolled up their sleeves and came straight back at the opposition. Good play in the loose saw us stealing the ball on the re-start and we forced the ball back into their 22. The ball was swung out to Tom Povey who showed a clean pair of heals, running round the defence to score in the corner. We continued to have the better of the game with both Tom Anderson and Graham Bishop linking and running well. It was from another back’s move that saw Rob Jones pass to Tom Povey to create a mirror image of his previous try on the last play of the game.
Final Score:  Aldwinians 29  Ormskirk 10
A defeat, but this was not neccessarily such a bad thing. The coaches felt that there were several positives to be gained from the match, firstly in following direcctions(especially in going to ground) and also the development of the less experienced players who are now standing up to challenge for places. One of the important factors from this match was the resolve shown by the whole team, that never give up approach which is something which can’t be taught but comes from the heart.
