After all the freezing weather of late it was good to see an overnight rise in temperatures which meant that the local derby against Tarleton could go ahead. Ormskirk travelled with an almost full squad keen to get back to winning ways after a disappointing end to 2008. After some recent excellent victories, including Widnes, Tarleton were going to be no pushovers and the lads needed to be focussed right from the first whistle. As both sides had a number of subs it was agreed to play the match in three separate periods of 20 minutes to ensure everyone had plenty of ‘game time.’
In the early exchanges it was obvious that this was going to be a competitive game with both sides eager to show they could tackle.Arron Waggoner as usual led from the front and an early run showed Tarleton that they needed to be at their best to stay in the game. Ormskirk were quickly on the attack but a promising move came to nothing as they were penalised for ‘holding on.’ However it was not long before ‘Kirk won a scrum near half-way and the ball was moved neatly along the line for Tom Povey to go in at the corner.
Tarleton came back strongly into the game and were very unlucky to lose the ball when in a good attacking position and Olly Hogan sprinted the length of the pitch before passing it to Tom Povey to score his second of the game. Tarleton again came back into the game forcing ‘Kirk to roll up their sleeves and put some tackles in. Ormskirk ended the period on top with an electrifying break by Tom Povey who, although tackled near the line, managed to off-load to Pat Lloyd who had backed up his run brilliantly to go in under the sticks,Craig Ennis adding the extras.
Period One:  Tarleton 0  Ormskirk 17
Ormskirk started the second period as they had ended the first attacking the Tarleton line. From a scrum 5 yards out Craig Ennis nicely picked the ball up and drove over for try three. For the rest of the period the sides appeared deadlocked in midfield with both teams working hard for possession. The half ended almost as it started with Craig Ennis scoring a try an almost exact copy of his first.
Period two: Tarleton 0   Ormskirk 27Â
Tarleton started the final period looking to stretch the Ormskirk defence but a sensational break by Michael Quirk saw him run nearly the length of the pitch to score an outrageous try. Tarleton were not for giving up and eventually got their just rewards when their prop broke through to go over near the posts. Ormskirk were now stung into action and centre Tom Povey capped a fine match by going in for his hat-trick with just minutes to play and then adding the conversion for good measure. However the last say went to Tarleton in the last minute as they scored an excellent try following up a high kick and going in under the posts.
Final score: Tarleton 12  Ormskirk 39
This was a good run out before next week’s Lancashire Cup fixture at Aldwinians especially as everyone had not done much in the way of playing or training for three weeks. It was also encouraging to see a competitive Tarleton side after a few years perhaps struggling a little-also it shows what strength in depth there is in this part of Lancashire. Finally a big thank you to coach Peter Jones who refereed the game at short notice, not an easy task when the lads are so fit and fast!
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