WIDNES 57 - 7 WARRINGTON

Two early tries from a sharp Widnes side presaged another heavy defeat for a bloodied, but unbowed, Warrington team. Bloodied, literally, with back row Carl Wilson retiring with a broken nose and scrum half Matt Rockey with a damaged shoulder, but unbowed as Warrington attacked to the end.

Warrington’s indomitable spirit was exemplified by their decision, after the first two tries and only 12 points down, to go for a try instead of an easy 3 points when they were awarded a penalty under the sticks. Unfortunately, this enterprise did not pay off and Widnes managed to resist the subsequent waves of patient Warrington pressure which followed the short penalty.

Moving the ball wide brought no rewards either as a quick Widnes defence and poor handling blunted Warrington’s efforts. A scrum from a dropped ball in the Widnes 22 was won by the defenders and run the length of the pitch for a third try with 20 minutes gone.

Warrington were dominating territorially and from a line-out in the Widnes 22, No 8 Danny Fleming stole possession and started a rumble to the Widnes line. With no shortage of willing runners, scrum half Rockey distributed the ball well and bulldozers Hamblett and Rowan continued the charge to the Widnes line. Widnes resisted this initial pressure at the expense of numerous infringements and a yellow card before prop Sam Bennett reaped the hard earned dividends for a persistent pack effort. Little added the conversion. 17-7.

A knock on at the restart gave Widnes a scrum 30 metres out and the speedy Widnes fullback entering the line at pace left the Warrington defence floundering as he went over under the posts.

Although Warrington had, to a fair degree, stiffened their initially poor defence in mid field, Widnes simply moved the ball wide and seemingly effortlessly managed to produce extra men. This ability, compounded by a succession of Warrington penalties, earned them another try just before the interval.

HT 29-7

This pattern of play was repeated in the second half. Territorially things were now more even, as Widnes now had the wind at their back, but Warrington still had the majority of possession and, playing to their strength, gained yards the hard way. Although they protected the ball well and recycled proficiently, inevitably there were turnovers which Widnes were quick to turn into attack and, too often, tries. Widnes had the edge for speed and Warrington were just too slow to change from attack to defensive mode.

The last try exemplified the situation. After 10 minutes camped in the Widnes 22, Warrington lost possession, Widnes spun the ball wide and went the length of the park in the last play of the game.

FT 57-7

Report by Roy Potts WRUFC