The Wire u14's put in a dogged and determined display this afternoon over in a cold but dry Leeds against a side that were previously unbeaten this season. Following last weeks late cancellation against West Park Leeds (we must again apologise for the late cancellation!) we were determined to not let the closure of the M62 stop the game going ahead. A late kickoff following a nightmare 2 hour detour and we got started.

We played 3 x20 minutes and the early exchanges were full on, Morley's big forward line dominating against a stand offish Warrington. However it was first blood to Warrington 5 minutes in. Following a well placed kick into space from Darby who was superb all morning, an alert Rorio chased it down and showed good footballing skills to kick the ball just over the try line and beat the Morley fullback to score. We missed the conversion.

Morley were soon level, they rucked, counter rucked, forced there way down the pitch and after a series of loose Wire tackles one of there big centres ran through an uncharacteristic hole in our defence the size of the Mersey tunnel for an unconverted try. Five minutes later and they scored again, this time converting to take a 12-5 lead.

One of the best features of the u14's is to always hang in on a game and take chances when they come our way. The second period was a good example of this, our forwards improved in the ruck not allowing Morley to enjoy complete dominance, in turn providing more ball for the backs to play with. Following a scrum in the Morley half the ball found its way out to Leo who showed Morley a clean pair of heels to go in right at the corner, we missed a difficult conversion to leave the score at 12-10 going into the last third.

Both sides had opportunities to score in the third period, Morley's forwards again proving a real handful and our back line making breaks before being closed down by some equally pacey players. It really was end to end with superb handling and defence from 2 excellent sides but we managed to just shade things when Charlie went in for the winning unconverted try in the corner 5 minutes from the end following a period of Wire pressure.
Rewind a few weeks and it was like defending against Collegiate again for the last few minutes, the difference at this point was our forwards, Riley,Sam M, Joe,Isaac and others competed every ball, turning quite a few over much to the frustration of Morley. It was one of the best 5 minutes of rugby we have played this season. We held on for a deserved 12-15 win.

Some fantastic performances today, Henry and Jack D both shone at scrum half, Jim, Charlie, Owen, Lightnin, Sam W, Leo and Rorio tackled liked demons and attacked with venom whenever the opportunity arose. Jack Whit' was solid at full back, catching cleanly and stepping Morley players under pressure. Apologies if i don't mention anyone here, the whole team played superbly.

Thanks to Morley for the great game, the shield and the great hospitality, Martin for reffing superbly, keeping the game flowing throughout and most of all to the Wire parents for persevering despite the 2 hour delay! We will hopefully arrange a return fixture.