Sat 23 Apr 2022, 15:00
WPRFC v Anselmians
23rd April – Park pushes league leaders all the way
WPRFC 7 – 19 Anselmians
This week we welcomed league leaders Anselmians on the return fixture following our heavy defeat away to them at the start of the season. Park needed two points to secure a fourth-place finish in the league, but this was always going to be a hard game and with a couple of players missing, Park needed to dig deep to overturn the league leaders.
The first half was a cagey encounter with both teams having a reasonable amount of ball but also a high penalty count by Anselmians gave Park the opportunity to kick a couple of penalties which could not be converted. Park worked really hard defensively and did not give Anselmians much field position in the first quarter of the game and with Anselmians indiscipline Park had great field position put just could not convert into points. With our scrum working well and some very strong running by our whole pack, Park were really putting Anselmians under pressure which they struggled with.
The game was in the balance for the first 30 minutes with both sides having parity in attack and defence. The turning point came on the thirty-minute mark after some off the ball indiscretions, three players were shown the yellow card (two for Park and one for Anselmians). This gave Anselmians the numerical advantage and with field position they scored their first unconverted try on 32 minutes from a missed clearance from Park which gave their winger the opportunity (0-5). A few minutes later, Anselmians scored their second converted try off a lineout with a great line through our defence (0-12). Anselmians tried to take advantage of the extra man for the last few minutes of the first half, but Park stood strong and worked hard defensively and quickly shut down the league leaders.
Half time score 0 - 12
Park started the second half with renewed confidence and with some great hard yards made by Alex Glendinning this gave park field position and another hard run by Will Morrillo gave us a penalty at the ruck for Anselmians coming in at the side of the ruck. The resultant lineout was won and park used their driving maul to penetrate into the Anselmians 22 and with a few pick and drives captain Shaun Underdown powered over in the corner to give Park a well-deserved converted try (7-12).
The game continued to be a bruising encounter with Park working really hard in defence and not allowing Anselmians to string any phases together and neither side being able to break the deadlock. On 53 minutes, Anselmians scored again with a break through the middle of our defence and following a few missed tackles scored under the posts for an easy try (7-19).
The remainder of the game showed Parks true grit and determination in defence and Anselmians were frustrated as they could not break down a defiant Park team. Although Park continued to pressure the Anselmians line, we could not convert the effort into points. It was a fantastic team effort with all players working hard all game against the league leaders to give the home crowd a snapshot of what we are capable of and great to see some of our set piece scrums working well.
Final score WPRFC 7 – 19 Anselmians
Team: Chris Twigg, Ashley Harding, James Johnson, Lee Allmark, Will Morrillo, Cameron Flanagan, Mat Cross, Ross Morris, Andrew Evans, Shaun Underdown (Captain), Ben Cann, Kieran Taylor, Dave Cross, Matt Treacy, Alex Glendinning, Mike Eaves, Ryan Snow
