Wet and Windy but a Win

It was a stormy cold and wet afternoon at the Memorial Ground and a glue pot of a muddy pitch which greeted the players when they emerged from the relative comfort of their changing rooms. The hardy spectators, including over one hundred past players gathered for their annual reunion lunch, had also to extract themselves from the warmth of the roaring log fire in the clubhouse bar. Their stoicism was well rewarded by an absolute thriller of a game, which went right to the wire.

Wigton had motored down the M6 through heavy storms so they knew exactly what conditions to expect and they had drawn up a plan to deal with them. Possibly they had also read the reports of the going over the Wilmslow pack had suffered at Widnes last time out. In any event it was to keep the game in the forwards and when they had the ball to advance down the field as if in a twelve man arrow headed phalanx. Utilise the pick and drive, the rolling maul, close range thrusts and above all demonstrate patience in retaining possession of the ball. Even if they went through periods of losing ground, they would patiently regroup before coming again. It was a tactic which came very close to earning them their first away win of the season. And therein lies their problem. At home, they are close to unbeatable, only one loss, paradoxically against Wilmslow in the autumn, in their last thirty four games and away from home, a solitary draw at Vale of Lune a fortnight ago, their only return for their efforts.

Wilmslow adopted a different approach. Probably aware that they don’t possess the brute force to wear down their opponents in an eighty minute wrestling match, they will always endeavour to give their wide runners a chance by creating space and to rely on the boots of scrum half Walker and fly half MacCallum to gain ground by kicking into the angles, into space and into corners, forcing their opponents into deep narrow channels from which to come again.

More often than not in recent games, the Wolves have been the first to strike, catching the opposition cold. Once again they did just that. Their first attack yielded a three pointer to MacCallum after just two minutes and then on the quarter hour they won good set piece ball in the Wigton twenty two and as they ran it wide, Lawrence James came in from the right off his wing to surge through the defence for a fine try. In recent games, the ploy has become the Wolves most potent point of attack.

The visitors though had the benefit of a steady wind in their favour and as the Wolves started to find it difficult to clear with some indifferent kicking out of defence, the Wigton forwards got their game together. It came as no surprise when on the half hour, the Wigton phalanx shoved its way over the Wilmslow line for their opening score, accredited to Mathew Atkinson playing at No. 8. Nevertheless, in the conditions a slender 8-5 advantage to the Wolves at half time was encouraging.

MacCallum soon had the ball in the Wigton corners at the start of the second half and No. 8, Harrison Lewis was unlucky to be deemed ‘held up’ by the referee, when it did look as though he had got the ball down. Moments later, the Wolves were held up again. They then lost the ball in the backs and Wigton were able recommence their forward dominated operations. The Wolves were forced to scavenge for the ball and were increasingly penalised for ruck and maul infringements. A total penalty count of sixteen to four against them, plus two second half yellow cards to M/s Walker and Clifford just added to their difficulties and just seemed harsh.

Paradoxically, it was whilst they were still short handed that they came back with a sortie to the Wigton line and MacCallum, sensing there was nothing on, slipped back into the box, to get points on the board with a drop goal. It wasn’t a thing of great beauty but it crawled over the bar and that’s all that mattered. As the game then entered its final quarter, an awkward high kick ahead had the Wigton defence scrambling under its own posts and from the ensuing scrum, the Wolves earned a penalty which MacCallum duly put away.

Down 14-5, away from home, it was now looking ominous for the visitors but they knew what was working for them and eventually with two minutes still left, they got their second try, an exact carbon copy of the first, touched down by big Atkinson again and converted by Tom Gardner. This set up a tense finale and from the restart, sensing a chance they came again, forcing the Wolves to tackle and harass. Eventually after numerous phases the move broke down in mid field and Wilmslow substitute Craig Cooper put his boot to the loose ball, which Ollie McCall was first to get to. To great acclaim from his team mates and the home supporters, he kept his composure to steer it over the line and to drop on it for the defining score. The Wolves still had to deal with the restart, so often their nemesis, but they fielded Hanabury’s treacherous bouncing kick, played it out of defence and when Walker’s long kick found touch deep in the Wigton half, the referee blew for no side.

In shocking conditions, both sides, in their own different style, had contributed to an enthralling match, which could have gone either way. For the Wolves it was their first win of the New Year and an important four league points. They now enter a difficult spell of four games away from home, starting at Vale of Lune in a fortnight’s time.