Sat 5 Nov 2022
WPRFC v Broughton Park
5th November 2022 – Park wins at home
WPRFC 18 – 12 Broughton Park
This week Park welcomed Broughton Park (BP) to Stade de Burrows Hill on a showery November day. Park was in need of a win following seven defeats in the league and currently sitting bottom with Broughton Park also having a tough start to the season but were sitting in eighth and were also in a similar position.
The game kicked off with Broughton Park having the first break which was easily tackled into touch by Charlie Hyde. From this point Park controlled the early part of the game with great lineout ball and strong drives by the forwards with Broughton on the back foot they gave away a few penalties which gave Park field position and territory. Within 6 minutes Broughton were caught offside again just outside the 22, which Benny Elliot kicked to get the scoreboard started (3-0). Broughton had some possession, but errors thwarted their attack and gave Park the opportunity to turn defence into attack. Indiscipline by Broughton were giving Park opportunities and Park took these opportunities with field position and on 16 minutes Broughton were again penalised for not rolling away at the ruck which gave Benny Elliot the opportunity for another 3 points off the boot (6-0). From the restart Park made ground with powerful runs from the forwards but Park went wide early and the pass from Chris Twigg to Charlie Hyde was intercepted and gifted Broughton an unconverted try on 19 minutes to close the gap (6-5).
Park was clearly in control of the game and worked hard defensively with a couple of goal line dropouts within a few minutes. Park turned defence into attack and were breaking tackles and the gain line on every phase of play and with lineout working well Ross Morrin offloaded in the tackle to Jack England and quick ball from the ruck gave Justin Oles a great run to within 5 metres of the Broughton line but was tackled but quick thinking from Charlie Hyde picked up from the ruck to score a converted try under the posts (13-5). Again, from the restart Park saw an opportunity out wide and a cross field kick from Benny Elliot was picked up by Will Morrillo who passed to Charlie Hyde who was tackled but kept the ball alive and James took the ball into contact and a quick run off the ruck by Cameron Flanagan was tackled short of the line. Broughton cleared their line, but the lineout was taken cleanly by Matt Treacy and the maul was driven forward but went to ground only metres away. Park showed their power and Shaun Underdown drove over to score on the sixth phase which was unconverted (18-5).
Half time score 18 - 5
The second half was a slightly different game with the conditions worsening and Broughton actually having some possession. On 43 minutes Broughton found a gap in our defensive line and broke through into the 22 but the final pass did not go to hand and knocked on and allowed Park to clear their lines. Park kept the pressure on and were awarded a penalty 30 metres out which we elected to kick for goal but struck the far post. The heavens opened and conditions were not great, but Park kept the pressure on but even with a couple of penalties by Broughton in their own 22 we could not get that third try and an opportunity was missed on 65 minutes with the final pass not going to hand on the left wing. Park continued to pressure the Broughton line but errors from both sides in the conditions thwarted any decent attack, but Park were still dominant and kept Broughton in their own 22 for long periods. On 75 minutes Broughton had the last points of the game with their second try from some narrow defence on the short side which gave them a converted try (18-12). A better performance from Park given the conditions in the second half with the set piece working well and the early tries giving Park a well-earned win.
Final score WPRFC 18 – 12
Broughton Park Team: Chris Twigg, Will Morrillo, Charlie Hyde, James Wood, Tom Merrick, Benny Elliot, Cameron Flanagan, Tom King, Justin Oles, Shaun Underdown (Captain), Ross Morrin, Matt Treacy, Gary Dykes, Gregor Purves, Jack England, Jack Starr, Tom Dodson
