History Repeats Itself as Warrington Share the Plate

Group Match 1 - Warrington 5 -6 Bowdon 'A'
Team: Adam, Ben, Gregor, Joe, Josh, Max, Michael. Subs: Cameron, Charlie B, Gareth
Tries: Adam 3, Ben, Charlie B
A very tough opening group fixture saw Warrington edged out by Bowdon 'A', who went on to draw the Cup Final later in the day. A fine hat-trick by Adam was sadly not enough.

Group Match 2 - Warrington 7 - 2 Caldy 'B'
Team: Adam, Cameron, Charlie B, Gareth, Gregor, Joe, Max. Subs: Ben, Josh, Michael
Tries: Charlie B 3, Adam 2, Gregor, Michael
Following the opening defeat, the coaches were keen to see how the team would respond, and they got just the response they were looking for. They really got their act together and blitzed Caldy 7 - 2. The foundation of this win was excellent defence, forcing mistakes on 5th tag twice and completing 7 tags once and driving Caldy back several times. Charlie B's hat trick was a fair reward for a great performance.

Group Match 3 - Warrington 3-2 Lymm
Team: Ben, Cameron, Charlie B, Joe, Josh, Max, Michael. Subs: Adam, Gareth, Gregor
Tries: Ben, Max, Michael
A close match ended with a hard fought win for the boys, and this now put Warrington in a strong position to progress to the knockout stages.

Group Match 4 - Warrington 3 -4 Vale of Lune
Team: Adam, Cameron, Charlie B, Gareth, Gregor, Max, Michael. Subs: Ben, Joe, Josh
Tries: Michael 2, Charlie B
Plenty of frustration on the sidelines after this defeat, with coaches and fans wondering quite how the game was lost. However, the group tie-breaking rules saw the wins against Lymm and Caldy as sufficient to progress into the Plate, with Bowdon topping the Group and going forward in the Cup knockout.

Plate Semi Final: Warrington 5 - 2 Chester
Team: Adam, Cameron, Charlie B, Joe, Josh, Max, Michael. Subs: Ben, Gareth, Gregor
Tries: Adam 5
A place in the final was booked by what might look like the Adam show on paper, but great teamwork put him in positions to score.

Plate Final: Warrington 5 - 5 Blackburn
Team: Adam, Ben, Gregor, Joe, Josh, Max, Michael. Subs: Cameron, Charlie B, Gareth
Tries: Joe 2, Josh 2, Michael
The final was going well at half time, I think we were 3-1 up. Blackburn came storming back and took a 5-3 lead bit a couple of mins left. Our defence then kicked in again and excellent play dragged us back level. Outstanding defence then kept Blackburn at bay for the last play which lasted forever, with us getting penalised 5 yards out on the 3rd or 4th tag and then holding out for a full 7 tags.

So honours even and the trophy shared - a massive well done to all of the players, and a big thank you to the parents who supported the team so well all day long. The teams' tournament record is now 4 trophies out of 4 !! Maybe I should go and buy some Brasso ...