Fourth XV Match Report – 24.11.07
Clitheroe 2nd XV 10 – 24 Ormskirk 4th XV
As Ormskirk’s travelling band of merry men ventured forth to what is normally a wet and windy encounter with Clitheroe’s second team they commented on the prospect that the sun was trying to break through and they might for once enjoy a game that would not be tarnished by the conditions. It was not to be and as the saying goes in Clitheroe it is either raining or about to rain. Ormskirk’s blend of youth and experience braced themselves for a hard fought battle that might turn on either a moment of luck or a flash of brilliance.
To Ormskirk’s credit they proved that they needed neither and were more than a handful for Clitheroe’s larger pack in the set pieces, driving them back in the scrums and denying them clean ball at the rucks and mauls, whilst in defence the midfield of Marshall, Worthington and young Ben in the centres (we still don’t know his last name) snuffed out the threat from the strong running Clitheroe fly half and inside centre.
From the kick off Ormskirk showed they had what it would take to come a way with the points with skipper Wallwork peeling off a maul in his own 22 and making inroads into the opposition half before being brought down. Similar charges from Lee, Green and Wordley put the Ormskirk pack firmly in control. Clitheroe went ahead against the run of play with a long range penalty. Ormskirk responded by charging up field and an excellent run by Ben returning a Clitheroe clearance kick put Ormskirk in Clitheroes 22. Several attempts to cross the line were thwarted by a strong Clitheroe defence before veteran full back Russ ‘I have retired really and have to borrow boots to play’ Brennan joined the back line and created space for Worthington to put his centre partner Ben over from close range.
Clitheroe soon regained the lead in bizarre circumstances. Clitheroe were awarded a penalty on the Ormskirk 22 and they took a quick tap behind the referees back. The referee then blew his whistle and everyone stopped (including the referee), believing the referee had called the play back. The only person who did not appear to hear the whistle was the Clitheroe player carrying the ball who proceeded to put the ball down over the line and to everyone’s amazement the try was awarded with the referee stating he had blown his whistle a second time to confirm the award of the penalty.
This only spurred Ormskirk on and the rest of the half was spent camped in the Clitheroe 22, their efforts being rewarded with another try from close range driving, awarded to Lee, which he duly converted for a 12-10 half time lead in Ormskirk’s favour.
With the second half wind in their favour and the dominance of their forwards some excellent tactical kicking from Marshall and Brennan ensured Ormskirk spent the bulk of their time in the opposition half. Despite suffering from white line fever the Ormskirk Pack was rewarded with a further try for scrum half Owens, on his birthday, being selflessly gifted a try by Lee after he forced his way over the line. Worthington also came away with a scavengers try when he put his opposite number under pressure attempting to make a clearance from behind the try line. Worthington’s perseverance resulted in the Clitheroe centre dropping the ball and Worthington pounced for the score. Both tries were converted to give Ormskirk a comfortable 24 –10 lead.
With 10 minutes remaining Clitheroe suddenly decided they wanted something out of the game and came at Ormskirk with a series of driving rucks and mauls far superior to what they had previously created. Ormskirk rose to the challenge and both backs and forwards met the threat with some excellent defence. Even when driven back over their line they countered with even more resolve, led by Wallwork and the ever tireless Povey and forced Clitheroe back across the line before they could get the ball down.
With the final whistle Ormskirk left the field bolstered by a win against an opposition that admitted they had put their strongest team of the season on the field and failed to break Ormskirks resolve. It may not have looked pretty but a win is a win and any win in poor conditions at Clitheroe is a credit to the never say die attitude of the whole Ormskirk 4th XV. League leaders Aspull come Green Lane next Saturday and may not find the going as easy as they think. Bring it on!
