No Comeback

They arrived at Wilmslow’s Memorial Ground with six wins from seven matches this autumn and together with Widnes and Birkenhead Park were ten points clear of the field. On this evidence it was easy to see exactly why.

They were powerful in the forwards, especially in the set piece, and accurate, quick and efficient behind the scrum. Player for player, their all round skill levels just seemed to be a notch higher than anything so far seen at Wilmslow this season. In fly half Danny Harvey they have a player who is clearly at the top of his game with the ability to put the ball into space where his speedy wingers always had a chance of running onto it. Vary rarely were any of his tactical kicks taken directly by any of the Wilmslow back three. It must be added that the ball he received to work with was regularly served up quickly on a plate in good order by his forwards and scrum half. Overall Wirral enjoyed about two thirds of the territory and well over 50% of possession. With statistics like that, it’s hardly surprising that they dominated most of the game.

There was no denying, however, the Wolves spirit and tenacity in defence. Attackers were regularly driven back in the tackle and there was no shortage of effort and defiance in trying to break out of the coral into which they had been penned. Once again, Bob MacCallum has to be picked out for his heroic play in all aspects of the game. It was a day when he was to be tested in defence and not once was he found wanting. But in the end defiance, tenacity and resilience alone will not win you rugby matches if you aren’t secure in your set piece and you squander what possession you do get by not controlling it sufficiently well in the tackle, in the ruck and from hand.

It was a bad day for the Wilmslow scrum who lost five against the head and were pushed backwards almost at will by the Wirral pack. The pattern was set in the first scrum of the game when they were wheeled more than 90 and had to concede the put in. And then it just got worse. What ball they did win was slow and had to be tidied up at the base of the scrum, leading to slow ball for the back division. The scrummaging has been poor in at least three of the last four games and clearly needs working on.

Wirral were on the front foot right from the start. Harvey twice prodded them into good positions in the Wolves twenty two and on the second occasion, the Wolves defence were forced to concede a lineout from which Wirral advanced close to the Wilmslow line. They were awarded a scrum, which they controlled in text book manner in their back row and when the Wolves offended, they were rightly awarded a penalty try by referee Sheard. Just five minutes had been played. It was either an ominous or auspicious forbearing of what was to come, depending on your point of view.

Wilmslow were soon penalised for a lineout offence, from which Harvey put his side back into the home side’s twenty two. They won the lineout, drove towards the Wilmslow line, won another penalty, nine minutes played, ten points ahead. At this stage, ‘clinical’ was the word you would use to describe Wirral’s play.

A sort period of kicking for position by both sides followed but MacCallum proved as good at this as anyone else as he earned the Wolves a lineout in a the Wirral twenty two. They took it well, drove towards the line and then lost it. They soon had another lineout chance but that went awry as well. Next up, they turned over a Wirral lineout, drove down the middle and when they recycled quick ball Lawrence James was able to put Ben Day in for a well worked try.
The rest of the half belonged to Wirral. Any slight inaccuracy by a Wolves player was inevitably seized upon and only stout aggressive defence enabled the Wolves not to concede a second score which looked as though it could come at any time.

Nevertheless, as the second half got underway, it was a game still to be won. The Wolves took the restart cleanly, found some space to run up the touchline, quickly recycled the ball and then lost it. Whether it was dropped or turned over in the tackle matters not, Wirral scrum half Mike Warren quickly spun it right and crisp handling in space enabled centre Chris Speed to cross for their second score out on the right. It was a hammer blow to which James Annetts added with a fine convertion. Normal service was now resumed. The Wolves were stuck in their own half, the Wirral scrum turned the screw by taking more ball against the head and sheer force of numbers saw No. 8 Rob Pearl cross for their third try and there was still twenty five minutes left on the clock.

During this period, the Wolves had their moments but their attacks were all from deep and when they did have a concerted period in the Wirral twenty two, they just weren’t disciplined enough to hold on to the ball and to keep it alive. The visitors pack soon regained control, a fine opportunity for a fourth bonus point try was missed with an errant pass and the game petered out back in the Wilmslow half.

There were no complaints afterwards, just a realisation of how far the chasing pack of clubs have to go in raising their game to get anywhere near this Wirral outfit. And it’s totally home made, players all coming through their junior and colts section, winning promotion in 2011, staying together, working hard to become competitive and finally gaining the belief to achieve their potential. It’s what the Wolves have to aspire to.