Back to Winning Ways!

It took Wigton a large part of the match to overcome a St Benedicts side whose enthusiasm was fed by taking an early score. Wigton eventually put clear green water between themselves and the visitors, running out 31-10 victors, although if passing and catching had been more accurate, points could have been wrapped up earlier.

Initially it seemed Bennies could be in for a long afternoon when the first couple of lineouts went awry. However, they got their act together and the lineouts became a source of quality possession for them. Much of their game plan was based around veteran stand off Steven Wood pulling the strings whilst doing as little running as possible. Some off his tactical kicks were not quite as well directed as he would have liked and some of his more ambitious passing placed demands on his intended recipients, but he was able to pin Wigton in their own 22 for extended periods. On the other hand, Wigton, particularly in the first half seemed to be their own worst enemies. Passes were dropped and with a 9-1 penalty count against them it seemed Wigton were having difficulty coming to terms with the interpretations of referee Alistair Jones.

The visitors had a chance to score when outside centre Andrews put in a grubber kick for his winger, but the ball won the race to the dead ball line. Soon afterwards a penalty gave St Benedicts a lineout five metres from the Wigton line. A good throw to the back generated a drive but the ball was held up over the line. From the resulting scrum a blindside move saw No 8 Gibbons crash through a tackle for a try. Wood added the extras.

With the infringements mounting, Wood missed with a shot at goal but soon received another chance from a closer range and pushed the lead out to 0-10. Wigton then seemed to invite more pressure when the restart failed to go ten metres. However, Wigton were exerting scrum pressure and took the ball against the head and a promising attack developed but the ball was passed into touch around the Bennies 22.

St Benedicts threatened to extend their lead when full back Ryan Fisher came into the line on a strong run, but his potential scoring pass was dropped. From a scrum in their own 22, Wigton made a spectacular breakout when centre Oliver Lewis shrugged off a couple of half hearted tackles and went roaring up to halfway. Unfortunately his pass to supporting Richard Moffatt was too low for his co-centre to take. From the scrum, Bennies sent a raking kick into the Wigton 22. It was fielded and Wigton immediately turned defence into attack. No 8 Greg Wrathall found full back Lewis Plackett with a nicely weighted pass and he made good ground into the 22. From a position under the posts Wigton recycled the ball and it was passed wide for Lewis to score and unconverted try.

Wigton were soon on the attack again and with advantage being played from a high tackle a kick was threaded through the defensive line. Flanker Josh Nicholson and a defender both slid in to try and fall on the ball. In football it would have been called a fifty-fifty ball. However, the referee ruled that Nicholson had slid in knees first in a dangerous fashion and showed him the yellow card. St Benedicts were unable to clear their lines effectively and Wigton soon had a lineout on the five metre line. Rather than a conventional drive, Wigton initiated a series of short carries by the pack resulting in Wrathall forcing his way over to level the scores at 10-10 as half time arrived.

In the second half the visitors started to tire and conceded penalties of their own. It was not long before another close lineout led to another Wigton try with Lewis getting over for his second try which Dan Reed converted to give Wigton a 17-10 lead.

Wigton failed to deal with the restart and Bennies were heartened to be back in the home 22. Centre Hiddleston came on a strong short run, taking the crash ball from Wood. The tacklers were up to the task and dealt with a series of determined attack before patience ran out and a poorly judged grubber ran dead to relieve the pressure.

There then followed a period when Wigton seemed to have good chances to score but were denied by indifferent handling. As the half wore on the game became more open as the visitors struggled to keep their defensive structure. It seemed a question of when, not if, Wigton would score next. In the event, Wigton put together some good pause play, retaining possession well and Dan Reed was able to spot a gap in a stretched defence to score a try which he converted. At 24-10 the game now looked in the bag.

Wigton registered a fifth try before the end. Bennies wheeled a Wigton scrum on halfway, but this worked against them as it opened the field up for Wrathall who shrugged off a couple of defenders and ran into the 22. In support was flanker Elliot Armstrong who showed good skill to take the pass, straighten his run to create space for Harris to take his pass and score. Josh Leeson come onto the field and produced a well directed kick for the conversion, giving a scoreline of 31-10.

There was still time for each side to turn the ball over a couple of times. The game ended with a brave piece of play by Armstrong who ran back to drop on a loose ball, showing great commitment. A St Benedicts player landed on him in an incident very similar to the one which had earned Nicholson a card in the first half. However, Mr Jones decided we had all had enough entertainment for the afternoon and decided time was up.

Wigton will be heartened to get back to winning ways after the last game’s disappointment and there are signs that if we can find a little more cohesion as a team, good things can happen. Finally, a word for Lewis Plackett who continues to show assurance at full back and who got into the game more with the ball in hand yesterday.

Next week sees a visit to Cockermouth in an opportunity to set the record straight.