This was a game that the under 13s were looking forward to as it was against a team who are in The Lancashire Cup Final and would give everyone - coaches, players and parents a good idea of where we stood, in rugby terms, against one of the best outfits in the county. A reasonable sized squad therefore made their way down the Rainford By-Pass to a very windy St.Helens. It was good to see the return of Jake Shinner missing for several months due to illness and providing more competition for an already crowded pack of forwards.
Ormskirk kicked off the first half and were soon in the thick of the action looking to drive the ball forward. It was evident from the early exchanges that West Park were going to be a difficult side to beat and the ‘Kirk forwards were going to have to get to grips with some large and powerful opposite numbers. West Park began to turn the screw and only scrambling defence saw Ormskirk keep them out. ‘Kirk eventually cleared their lines but from the resulting line-out Ormskirk were asleep which allowed one of their big forwards to burst through and score. From the kick-off the ball failed to go the required ‘10′ but sensibly West Park played the ball and went half the length of the field through some, what can only be described as, weak tackling to go in at the corner. From the kick off there was a good kick and chase which saw Ormskirk in a good attacking position. Unfortunately the ball came loose at a ruck and West Park counter-attacked superbly. A try looked inevitable but the ever hard working Craig Ennis brilliantly tackled his opposite number by taking both man and ball. However to everyone’s surprise, including the West Park contingent, the referee blew his whistle and ran under the posts to award a penalty try easily converted for an extra two. To be fair to the referee he was a distance away and on the ‘wrong’ side and did not get the excellent view that the crowd and coaches had and obviously felt that the tackle was high.
This however seemed to be the kick up the backside that Ormskirk needed and they came fighting back with some attitude with the forwards especially Arron Waggoner and Craig Ennis leading the charge. It was then no surprise to see a well worked ‘Kirk try. A quick tap penalty by Robbie Jones saw him attack the line before passing out wide to Tom Anderson to go in at the corner. At the end of the half Ormskirk were doing well in terms of keping some spirited West Park attacks at bay.
Half-Time:  West Park 17    Ormskirk  5
This was now the time for Ormskirk to show what they were made of after a half of disappointing play by their new high standards. The half started well with two good early runs by Pat Lloyd and Tom Anderson keeping West Park busy.Eventually good ‘Kirk pressure bore fruit after the forwards secured good possession near the opposition line and the ball was passed out to centre, Olly Hogan, to go in under the sticks the extras being added by Tom Povey. Ormskirk now felt like they could take the game to West Park and from the kick-off the ball found its way to Olly Hogan for him to outpace the defence and go in for his second try of the game. West Park are not in the Lancashire final for nothing and came firing back at Ormskirk and a well worked move saw them go in at the corner to take the lead again.
With Ormskirk winning plenty of ball West Park again found themselves on the back foot. Good runs by Rob Hall and Kyle Hoy put pressure on a tiring home side and eventually the pressure told when Tom Anderson again sliced through some desperate West Park tackles to go in under the sticks and with Matt White cooly adding the conversion it put Ormskirk into the lead for the first time in the match. Unfortunately it was not to be a fairy tale ending. West Park summoned up what ever strength they had left and attacked the ‘Kirk line for one last time and eventually scored in the corner after some excellent back up play re-cycled the ball after a bone crunching tackle by Olly Hogan had prevented a certain score.
Full-Time: West Park  27    Ormskirk 24
Even though this was the second defeat in as many weeks the coaches could hardly have been happier as it showed that the lads can now compete in in the highest of circles. Their only criticisms will surely focus on a very slow start when one or two players were not as switched on as they could have been and this let the game slip away from them a little. However the second half performance was a real bonus and showed what the lads  can achieve when they play to their potential. All that is left now of a very long but succesful season is a home match against Blackpool next Sunday followed by our presentation evening at The Shamraat later on that same day with no doubt many tales to tell.
