Venue: Warrington RUFC, Stockton Lane

Conditions: Sunny and Warm Morning

Warrington welcomed West Park to Stockton Lane for the first game of this seasons Lancashire Cup, the pitch was in perfect condition and the sun was shining, so the scene was set for a competitive match of attacking rugby.

First Half
The first half started with a bang for West Park, Warrington knocked on from the kick off to give them a scrum in the Warrington 22, some great defence from Warrington saw them turn the ball over initially, but they immediately knocked it on again, and West Park didn’t turn down a second opportunity, they got the ball out of the scrum, went wide and the winger scored in the corner, the conversion was missed, 0 – 5

Warrington came roaring back at West Park immediately, they won the ball back in the West Park half, and then a series of phases and powerful carries got them to the West Park line, they defended a couple more phases on the line, but eventually ran out of defenders leaving a gap for Henry Crowson to pick from the ruck and dive over for the score, the conversion was missed, 5 - 5

West Park hit back at Warrington immediately, again a knock on from the kick off gave West Park a scrum in the Warrington 22, West Park tested the attack through a few phases, but Warrington defence was holding firm and driving them back, but the defence strayed over the line and gave a penalty away, and West Park made the sensible decision in a well matched game to keep the score board ticking over, they kicked the penalty, 5 – 8

Warrington came back at West Park immediately again, they won possession and drove down the field, their attacks drew a series of penalties from the defence, allowing them to tap quickly and get close to the line, and then another penalty close to the line gave Logan Jones the chance to go quickly, and he made no mistake in driving over the line, Will Reynolds converted, 12 – 8

The next 15 minutes saw an arm wrestle between the two teams, both sides traded possession plenty of times, and repeatedly smashed into each other, but defences were on top for both teams as each attack was repelled, it was an absorbing game to watch, and no doubt attritional to play, but it was West Park who were the next to score, a loose clearing kick from Warrington allowed West Park to return the ball with interest, they went through a couple of phases, got the ball to their fly half who spotted some space and put up a high kick in the corner which the winger gathered, Warrington’s winger managed to tackle the winger, but support was on hand for the offload for them to score in the corner, the conversion was missed, 12 – 13

This scored buoyed West Park and they came straight back on the attack, a huge carry through the middle saw them win a penalty which they drilled towards the corner, Warrington got some respite when the lineout was not straight, then a solid scrum saw Warrington with possession with time almost up in the half, they put the ball through the hands to run it clear but superb line defence from West Park saw the tackle made on an isolated player, a quick turnover and then great reactions to turn defence into attack saw them miss pass to the winger, he fixed his man and went on the outside to dive into the corner for an excellent finish, the conversion was missed, 12 - 18

Half-Time Score: Warrington 12 – West Park 18

Second Half

Warrington started the second half brightly initially as they drove into the West Park half, drew a penalty and kicked to the corner, but they couldn’t retain the ball, a knock on saw West Park again superbly turn defence into attack, spin the ball wide and gain huge ground, they recycled it well, and attacked on the other side, the speed of the attack drew a penalty from Warrington, they kicked to the corner and the forwards demonstrated a text book catch a drive to rumble over in the corner, the conversion was missed, 12 – 23

The next ten minutes saw a familiar pattern in the game, both teams trading possessions, defences on top and West Park always looking dangerous in the transition from defence to attack, there were some promising moments, but neither side could find the finishing touch. It was from a promising situation from West Park that Warrington turned around and got the next score, they won a scrum against the head in their own 22 driving West Park off the ball, the backs ran it clear and forced a penalty from West Park, it was taken quickly and the defence hadn’t retreated at all but made the tackle, this resulted in another penalty, and given it was not the first time this had happened from a quick tap, it proved one too many for the ref, who issued a Yellow card to the tackler. From the resulting penalty, Logan Jones drilled a superb kick deep in the West Park half, a backs move from the lineout saw Warrington move into the 22, some quick recycling and strong running from the pack got them close to the line, Tai Beddall sensed the opportunity, picked from the base of the ruck and powered over, Will Reynolds kicked the conversion, 19 – 23

There was 10 minutes left in the match, and you could see how the pressure of a 1 score game was having, there was no shortage of effort from either side, but unforced errors were creeping in more and the minutes ticked by, both sides putting each under pressure without really threatening. It seemed initially like Warrington would have the last say as they had possession in the West Park 22, but another unforced error and then a superb turnover from the defence, gave the opposition possession, and has they had done all game, they quickly turned defence into attack and drove down the field, great defence from Warrington turned the ball over and they looked threatening, but more superb counter rucking from West Park gave them the ball back in the Warrington half, the spotted that there was no fullback and went for the kick over the top from a ruck but fantastic anticipation from Logan Jones saw him charge the kick down, he regathered it, went in and out to sit the fullback down, then a great hand off on the last defender allowed him to race away and dive between the posts, Will Reynolds kicked the conversion, 26 - 23

Full-Time Score: Warrington 26 – West Park 23

Full-Time Summary
It was a fantastic display of grit and determination from both teams, with some sparkling attacking play mixed in, no quarter asked or given by either team. In the end it was cruel that one of them had to lose such a game, but it was Warrington who managed to dig deep right at the end to snatch victory.

Man of the Match today went to Logan Jones, he was calm and composed, chose the right options at the right time, made big hits, made huge distance with kicks from hand, and scored to tries to top it off, a brilliant performance from him.