Missed Opportunity in Cumbria

In truth the Wolves were fortunate to come away with the consolation of a bonus point for losing by less than seven points but that was only due to the profligacy of their hosts who failed to take advantage of two cast iron scoring chances in the second half when the Wolves were chasing the game. Instead of bolting the stable door, they had left it ajar and it took a debateable decision from referee, Martin Denvir, to deny Bob MacCallum a score on eighty minutes, which, if it had stood, would have amounted to both grand larceny and highway robbery.

Despite some fine individual performances from the Ulsterman James Keyes making a welcome return in the back row and the skipper Mike Clifford, who as ever led from the front, this was a disappointing Wolves performance. There were flashes of good play from many of the players at different times but overall their teamwork was slack and disjointed. The scrum was loose and creaked all afternoon, giving stand in scrum half Chris Price horrible retreating ball to deal with, which in the main he did well. The lineout was a lottery, the tactical kicking inept, decision making questionable and Bob MacCallum’s goal kicking for once off the mark. Afterwards, coach Giles Heagerty conceded that it had been a difficult week in which to prepare the side. “Amateur rugby doesn’t pay the bills and mortgage and work commitments amongst the players meant that we just weren’t able to get the whole side together for the important Thursday training session and it showed on the pitch. We looked off the pace throughout. We knew that they would be a typical robust Cumbrian side and that if we allowed them to get any momentum going, they would batter their way through us and that’s what happened. We have to now digest what has happened and work in the next week to correct the fault lines”

Whatever the newly promoted Wigton side may have lacked in pace and guile, they made up for with a gritty workmanlike performance, making few unnecessary mistakes and taking most of the opportunities handed to them by the Wolves. In their Maori scrum half, Tare Manihera, they had a highly experienced operator, who read the game well and who consistently slotted his goal kicking chances. In the lead up to this game, they had suffered two narrow losses but they clearly felt that they were on the up and had what was required for a win on their own turf in front of their own enthusiastic supporters.

The first of their chances came just after five minutes play when they snaffled a poorly placed Wilmslow kick ahead to force a defensive scrum on the Wolves’ line. It should have been cleared but the Wigton front row took a clean strike against the head and left winger Callum Studholme crossed in the corner. Manihera added the points. Just seven minutes later, they took another strike against the head and this time inside centre Chris Pattinson was the beneficiary going in under the posts. Josh Longmore then put his restart directly into touch but from the scrum on halfway, Chris Price scragged Manihera for Keyes to come away with the loose ball. It was the first we had seen of the Wolves as an attacking force and MacCallum got them on the board with a kick from in front of the posts. A second penalty followed as the Wolves clawed their way back into it but then just as half time approached a wayward pass was picked up by the home side and lock forward Mark Deans crossed in the right corner for a 19-6 half time lead.

Chris Lillie pulled one back for the Wolves when he hacked on and had far too much pace for the Wigton cover but this was followed immediately by a Wigton score from full back Greg Smith and another should have followed but somehow, they contrived to throw the chance away. Lillie went in for his second of the game after sixty minutes and Wigton then spurned another opportunity, a scoring pass being dropped on the line. A Manihera penalty followed before another Wolves foray was finished off by Ryan Parkinson.

It was now 29 -25 with ten minutes to go. The Wolves clearly had the pace outside if their forwards could get them the ball but chances went begging and in the final plays, the Wigton forwards made sure they held on to the ball for a deserved win.