Clitheroe put down marker for the rest of the season

Clitheroe 1st XV entertained Wigan 2nd XV at Littlemoor on Saturday, the Wigan team sitting in second place in the league after a cracking start to the season for them. With half term and some late cry offs for both Clitheroe squads it was virtually the same squad which put Vale of Lune to the sword last Saturday.

As ever the initial exchanges were very even as both teams sized each other up, with Wigan coming closest to opening the scoring, a last gasp tackle by Redfearn on the wing putting paid to that advance. The Maroon & Gold forwards began to gain the upper hand at the breakdown and crashed up the pitch with some direct runs from Ed Thornber, Ralph Rigby and Chamberlain making good yards. Now ranging into the Wigan 22 yard area and looking dangerous, Wigan transgressed in defence and from the penalty Lafranceschina slotted an early 3 point advantage. Minutes later the forwards regained possession with some good work in the loose from Andrew Thornber and Graves, quick ruck ball was spun out and after the darting Peel had made good ground, it was his centre partner Waddington who neatly stepped his opposite number and touched down. The metronomic kicking of Lafranceschina saw Clitheroe extend their lead to 10 – 0. Wigan are not in their lofty league position without having some resilience and skills and they came out firing from the re-start, utilising their swift backline through the centres then up popped their sharp looking winger to slice over. Wigan missed a penalty within the next few minutes and the score remained 10 – 5 to the local men.

Having let Wigan back into the game, the forwards were fired up to gain more points before the break. Some great play to get into the Wigan half – with crashing runs by Ed Thornber, having his trademark destructive game and using the man-tank Jim Smith as a battering ram they surged into the Wigan 22. The hard work done, the backs called for the ball and Ben Rigby spun it out to Watson who typically unselfishly fed Peel and he scored near the posts after a crashing run. Lafranceschina again took the kick to move the score on to 17 – 5 to the mighty Maroon & Gold. Again Wigan were not lying down and almost immediately they touched down in the corner and took the conversion. The game was moving at a frenetic pace now and the forwards were blowing hard, but working hard also. There was still time to finish the half on top as Watson put in a big tackle from the re-start to knock Wigan back on their haunches. Waves of attack followed with Ralph Rigby, Atkinson and Hough up front moving the ball forward into the Red Zone. Peel was held up near the line – again the forwards fired in to ensure the ball came back on the Maroon & Gold side, a darting run form Ben Rigby at scrum half bought him near to scoring, then the ball moved out – Lafranceschina burst in from full back and scored, then converted his own try to move the score to 24 – 12. Wigan again pressed in a match which was becoming very energy sapping and were duly awarded a penalty for their troubles to move the score to 24 – 15 at half time.

Coach Andy Clifford highlighted the good and bad from the first half to the team at the break and the Skipper asked his men to give their all to upset a team much higher in the league than them for the second week running. Inevitably after such a breakneck pace in the first half both teams settled down to a more sustainable pace of rugby, one high tackle 10 minutes into the half saw a flare up and the resulting yellow cards for Ed Thornber and the Wigan flanker were probably deserved. Seconds later, Hough scooped up loose ball and charged down the blindside, Redfearn in support took the pop pass and scored in the corner – just reward for his hard defensive work all afternoon – only for the referee to pull the players back for a slight forward pass. After working hard all afternoon the forwards wanted a score on the sheet for their own, after more great ball retention with all 8 forwards working hard for their brethren, it was twinkle-toed Graves who skipped over to score, 29 – 15. Again within minutes Wigan came back to score as the Clitheroe defence struggled to keep pace with their sharp backline. 29 – 20 and a grandstand finish was on the cards. A well gathered ball from wing man Dickinson saw him glide up the wing and take the team back into the scoring zone again, the ball spun to the supporting Andrew Thornber who bullocked his way up the pitch, Atkinson took it on again – showing just why he has claimed a 1st XV starting position this week. Getting closer and closer to the Wigan try line the Maroon & Gold were looking to kill the game, it was just reward for his hard work all afternoon when Ben Rigby darted in under the posts to put the home team 36 – 20 up with minutes to play. For the closing 4 minutes the forwards controlled the game and played keep-ball to snatch the minutes away from Wigan. As the final whistle went the large crowd were buzzing with one of the most thrilling games in recent seasons at Littlemoor and a cracking team performance was a great spectacle to observe. Man of the Match was awarded to Nathan Peel for his great running lines, although it could have been any one of the 16 players who played their best rugby of the season so far.

Next week sees a break in the league programme for the start of the cup competition, with Clitheroe 1st XV travelling to Garstang for their first round tie.