Della made the trip to Wigan for their first game of the New Year, and as usual Della were a much changed side due to cry offs and players on holiday, however the Della side looked a solid outfit with Mark Thomas coming into the centre and Mike (Butch) Davies in at prop .The game started in a lively fashion with both sides trying to gain an early momentum,it was Wigan who were applying the early pressure tieing Della down just inside their own half, and it was Della`s inability to find the clearance kick that led to Wigan forcing Della into an early mistake that won them a penalty almost under the posts,up stepped the Wigan scrum half to open the scoring 3-0.Della in the opening stages were competing well but the majority of the play was just inside the Della half and try as Della might to break out the Wigan fullback was pinning them back with an inteligent kicking game.Della although they were competing well in the scrums and line outs were strangely out of sorts, and this shown when the Wigan hooker danced through two tackles on the Della twenty two to give himself room to get a pass away to his right winger, who threw an outrageous dummy and raced in to score by the posts the scrum half adding the extras to extend the Wigan lead 10-0.Della at this point could still not break into the Wigan half without giving away a penalty, which the Wigan kicker gladly accepted and pushed Della back into their own half once again ,frustration was now becoming a problem for Della with the penalty count rising and seemingly no way at this point to stop it. One penalty too many in kickable range with half time approaching and the Wigan scrum half stepped up once again to extend the lead 13-0.Now with barely minutes to go and with Della`s pride hurt, they at last put together a break into the Wigan half that earned them a penalty, that second row Chris Petrou dispatched to get Della on the scoreboard and bring up the half time whistle.
During the break coach Steve Whittle gave his Della team an ultimatum he basically said beware for whom the bell tolls Della, because the bell tolls for thee, if you do not up your game. He just like King Herods wife called metaphorically for Wigans head on a silver platter, just like St John the Baptist.He reminded them of how the Della are expected to play, with Ball in hand and a physicallity when in command of the ball that makes defenders quail, he left the players in no doubt what was expected of them.
From the whistle to start the second half Della were transformed, with the ball in hand they stormed into the Wigan half and laid down a marker, captain Paul Berry playing at number eight led by example taking drive after drive deep into the Wigan defence and on ten minutes of the half Della fought their way up the right flank of Wigan and with Paul Berry on ther ball he burst through a series of tackles only to be stopped on the Wigan twenty two, and when the ball was recycled it was that man Berry once more with ball in hand that took on the defensive line and when it looked as though Wigan had done enough to contain him he flicked the ball back into the hands of winger Sean Watson who raced in close to the posts to score,Petrou stepped up to add the extras and Della were back in the game 13-10. The Della travelling support were in raptures at the quality of the score and one group of young ladies who travel up fron Wales to watch the Della, and who term themselves the Dirty Women from Rhyl admitted later in the bar that there was more than one damp gusset amongst them such was the pleasure they derived from the score.Della now had their tails up and were looking for the next score but although Della now had the majority of ball in the loose,it was the rising penalty count that was holding them back, whenever Della broke into the Wigan final quarter the referee found some infringement to push them back into their own half, and although Della should have taken the refs decision on the chin,some of the Della players let the referee know how they felt,the ref let Della know how he felt by marching them back ten metres on a number of occaisions,then with ten minutes to go one penalty too many in kickable range yet again, the scrum half for Wigan slotted the ball and extended their lead 16-10.And now as the game entered its final period when all seemed lost for the Della they came storming back up field to win a line out and then a scrum on the Wigan twenty two,and then a penalty, one of the five awarded to Della in the game .A quick tap from stand off Lee McCormick who drove deep into the Wigan defence,the Della pack surged forward to recycle the ball,then a moment of pure magic from scrum half john McAttee who bamboozled the defence to create space for flanker Steve Brooks to score under the posts, Petrou again adding the extras to give Della the lead 16-17.Now with barely minutes remaining The Della penalty problem crept in yet again with yet another ten metres for expressing their opinions,and Della were back in their twenty two and with time up the ref awarded Wigan one last penalty wide out on the left wing,up stepped the number nine to win the game but he slid the ball wide and Della took the spoils.
Although Della came out on top this was not Della at their best,there were glimpses of what Della are all about and some fine performances non more so than Paul Berry,but this weeks man of the match goes to stand off Lee McCormick who kept his team believing and drove them to the victory.For Wigan the scrum half shown up wel, but for me their stand out player was the full back who kept Della pinned back for large parts of the game.