Sat 21 Sep 2019
There was a point early in the second half when there was a late challenge on the Park scrum half, Dan Berg. It was as if Eccles had finally realised, why it was they were losing this game.
Jack Williams, the Park fly half, ripped the Eccles defence to shreds and tormented the visitors with a diverse mix of deft passes, pin-point kicks and the occasional darting run. Jack is one of those players who has the appearance of an abundance of time with the ball in hand. The World turns half as fast presenting him with options other players don’t see or can’t execute. Alas, despite his remarkable display, disappointment lay ahead.
It was only the third game of the season but pre-kick off, this already had the feel of an important game. Both teams were undefeated. Park having won their first home game impressively to Bolton, then scrapping out a win in Salford against a resolute and tough De La Salle. Likewise, Eccles arrived having scraped a victory at home to Tarleton and having whacked Southport, racking up over 60 points. The last time Southport shipped that many points, at home, was back in the days when we still trusted politicians to deliver on a democratic vote. Remember them?
So, the scene was set, on a beautiful late summer’s day, for a competitive game, at a resplendent looking Burrows Hill.
The Winnington clubhouse now benefits from a large, new, viewing platform which was proving popular with a healthy crowd in attendance. The club also now boasts the finest Ladies toilets of any rugby club in England. A surprising claim admittedly but nonetheless (probably) still true.
If the Clubhouse and stadium are looking good that’s nothing compared to the First XV. There’s a determined air about Park again this season led by captain Dave Cross but Eccles came with the intention of popping the Winnington ‘feel good’ factor. Park had Daniel Williams missing, brother of Jack, whom arguably was Park’s best player last week. Would this tip the scales in favour of an Eccles team with quite the height advantage over the Park players?
One of the good things about Park is their ability to mix styles of play. Whilst last week, it was a proper forwards slug-fest with two determined defences, this week, Park were able to move the ball about at speed with Williams calling the shots. Park started the game strongly, posting a try by Captain Dave Cross, close to the sticks within 10 minutes of the kick off. Cam Flanagan converted, as he did a penalty kick after 5 minutes, thrusting Park into a 10 nil lead. This try came from a knock-on by Eccles when they were attacking on Park's try line. Park won the resultant scrum and a Matt Treacy and Alex Glendinning combined in a break, to take the ball to within 20m of the Eccles tryline.
Although Eccles pulled back 3 points with a penalty a minute later, it was a matter of minutes before Matt Treacey scored a try chasing a beautiful kick by Jack Williams. Not converted but Park sitting pretty at 15 v 3 after only 15 minutes play. Even so, Park weren’t taking their foot of the accelerator and four minutes later, Luke Cannings powered down the wing to score after a pick-out pass from Williams. Flanagan converted. 22 v 3. Could Park now take control of the game?
Uncharacteristically, Glendinning lost possession in the tackle 35m out from the Park try-line. This subjected Park to pressure and despite a great tackle from Cannings, shortly after, an Eccles back produced an outrageous dummy and went through to score near the sticks. This was duly converted. Park’s lead was down to 22 v 10. Then came another Park error with Williams incurring a penalty at the kick off. In the next 5 minutes Eccles pressed into the Winnington half and with 10 minutes to the break Eccles scored a try. It wasn’t converted but what had looked a comfortable lead had shrunk to a try and a goal lead at 22 v 15. The opponents now had their tails up and applied more pressure. Williams made a great tackle 5m out from the Park try-line. Eccles were piling on the pressure and looking to completely negate Parks strong start. Then the visitors knocked-on again close to the Park line. The second time they’d blown a strong chance with poor handling. Eccles continued to fail to help themselves. The first half penalty count was Park 6 penalties conceded to Eccles’s 8. Fairly even, but Eccles concede three of those within the last few minutes of the half including a second yellow card for not rolling away after an exciting break down the wing. Three minutes later it was that man again, Williams who 40m out kicked ahead, kicked again and won a race to the line to score under the sticks. The conversion was the last act of the first half giving Park a 29 v 15 lead.
Eccles were to rue starting the game with a lack of intensity. They were always chasing the game but maybe a little more composure when they clawed down the lead would have helped. Park were good for their lead though. They probed and harried Eccles with Gary Dykes a constant threat. Throughout the first half the Park team looked dangerous with the ball in hand. Both teams had 5 scrums, each which went with the head but Eccles lost 2 of their 4 line-outs. The stand out feature of the first half was the stand out performance of the stand off, Williams. He might not be the biggest player on the park but his contribution towered over all others. It wasn’t that his colleagues played badly, the whole Park team delivered an excellent performance, it was just that his contribution was mercurial and dominant.
Within six minutes of the second half normal service resumed. Shortly after an exciting break by Cannings, down the wing where he copped a tough tackle, a minute later the ball had gone across the pitch and Jimmy Moran scored a try on the other side of the pitch. Not converted. Score now 34 v 15. Two minutes after this try a strong run by a big, burly, Eccles winger, who caused Park trouble throughout the game went on a winding run to ultimately be brought down by a desperate Williams tackle, who incurred a broken arm for his troubles. Incredibly, presumably not realising the seriousness of the injury, he carried on but was shortly taken off the pitch. This was a sad end to a stunning performance and will leave Park without their first choice stand off for an extended period. Park have a number of players pressing for this position so the misfortune for Williams may prove an opportunity for others. Let’s see.
The next 20 minutes saw the score remained unchanged. Park lost their shape and maybe switched off a little. During this relatively scrappy period Andrew Evans was in the thick of it as always making tackles and rucking for the ball. Glendinning made a long exciting run and Ryan Williams made a vital tackle snuffing out a dangerous Eccles move. The young bucks who have stepped up this season from the Colts, Jake Cornwell and Alex Burrage, made a vital contribution and looked at home amongst the more experienced heads.
The next score came from a penalty with Cam converting to stretch the lead to 37 v 15. Five minutes later the Park forwards drove over in the corner with Ben Cann scoring a try. Not converted, Park dominant at 42 v 15. Frustratingly Eccles then scored two tries, neither or which were converted, taking the score to 42 v 20. Could the comeback be on? No. It was too little, too late but it did bag Eccles a bonus point. In the final two minutes Winnington’s Dave Cross ran the angle off a fine pass from Shaun Underdown to race in for the last try of the game. A brace of tries from the Captain. Duly converted by Flanagan the score ended 49 v 25.
The second half penalty count was Park 5 conceded vrs Eccles 9 conceded. Characteristically Glendinning is attempting to win the penalties conceded table but Park respected the ball better losing only one line out with the feed in the whole match, whereas, Eccles lost three.
Matt Farr, Park’s Head Coach will be pleased with the result and 100% win rate from the first three outings but will be disappointed with the injury to Jack Williams who will be missed in the weeks ahead. Eccles will be disappointed with their low intensity start and flackey defence. They have allowed opponents to score 113 points in 3 games, so they’ll need to stiffen their defence. Next week Park face a tough away game to Glossop, one of only three teams in the league with a 100% record. That’ll be a tough encounter. Park are now joint second in the league with 14 points from three games. They are playing an exciting brand of rugby and worthy of more support.
Team:
Mike Eaves, Andrew Evans, Shaun Underdown, Dave Cross (Captain) Matt Treacy, Benn Cann, Gary Dykes, Alex Glendinning, Dan Berg, Jack Williams, Sam Brookes, Ryan Williams, Luke Cannings, Jimmy Moran, Cameron Flanagan, Alex Burrage
Replacements: Nick Brown, Jake Cornwell and Alex Burrage
