Sat 1 Oct 2022
WPRFC v Birkenhead Park
1st October 2022 – Park suffers another loss at home
WPRFC 15 – 50 Birkenhead Park
This week Park welcomed Birkenhead Park (BP) to Stade de Burrows Hill and were determined to get a second win under their belts. The conditions were great, and Park stepped out on to the field with a number of injuries in another reshuffled team on a sunny October day.
Park started the game strongly with some great ball retention and running great lines to get over the gain line and were awarded a penalty on 3 minutes 10 metres for BP being offside. Park kicked the penalty by the boot of Cam Flanagan to open up the scoring (3-0). Park continued to pressure BP with some hard yards with Jake Cornwell breaking tackles to give Park some territory and earning field position into the opposition 22. Unfortunately, a loose pass gave BP a turnover and they box kicked which was not taken by Park and BP scooped up the lose ball to score their first try which was unconverted (3-5).
Park had a period of possession and territory and made good ground with some great forward drives but a scrum in the opposition half was lost, and BP passed the ball out wide for the winger to score a converted try on 20 minutes (3-12). Park got straight back and were camped on the BP line but could not score and were held up. BP scored two converted tries within 10 minutes to extend their lead (3-26) and also added a penalty to further extend their lead (3-29). Park ended the half with a converted try by Ross Morrin following a number of phases of forward play in the BP 22 (10-29).
Half time score 10 - 29
Park started the second half strongly with the forwards getting over the gain line and creating a platform to work from and this gave Park their second try from a lineout following two great drives from Dave Cross and Ross Morrin to release the ball to the backs with Will Morrillo passing to James Wood to run a great line and then a sweet offload in the tackle back to Will Morrillo to score an unconverted try in the corner (15-29).
A few minutes later, Shaun Underdown was shown the yellow card and it was going to be a tough 10 minutes without the talisman but Park dug deep and did not concede any points during this period, but BP scored another three converted tries to put the game beyond any comeback. It was a frustrating afternoon for Park who showed some great periods of play but lacked a bit of consistency in defence and were up against a strong team who defended well and took their chances but the score line may have flattered the opposition.
Final score WPRFC 15 – 50 Birkenhead Park
Team: Chris Twigg, Alex Burrage, James Wood, Will Morrillo, Dan Eastwood, Cameron Flanagan, James Johnson, Dan Williams, Jack England, Gary Dykes, Jake Cornwell, Dave Cross, Shaun Underdown (Captain), Justin Oles, Ross Morrin, Matt Treacy, Mat Cross and Bruce McGrogan
