Wigton's Dominance Continues

Keswick were, however, determined to make Wigton work hard for their victory and, in the first half especially, probably had the edge in terms of territory and possession. The problem was that every time Keswick lost possession, Wigton scored!

The first few minutes saw both sides probing for an opening and there were a number of early turnovers. Keswick were looking to attack ball in hand but seemed frustrated by the lack of clean breaks and tried somewhat speculative kicks, grubbers and chips. Indeed, three of Wigton's first four tries came when Keswick put the boot to ball around the Wigton 22 metre line.

The first came when a poor chip ran dead.Stand off Ali Ledingham took a quick drop to himself and then moved the ball to centre Will Miller. He was tackled in the home 22,but quick ball was shipped right where supporting forwards were lining up. It went through the hands of Deans, Miller and finally skipper Atkinson, who scored. The conversion was missed. Wigton scored straight from the kick off. Mark Lee, starting at no 8 ran the ball back, finding hooker Russell MacLean in support. A quick ruck, and the ball went to Ali Ledingham who offloaded to Lee in support for the score. Indeed Lee was to be a pretty constant presence in support of his backs all afternoon. Again, no conversion; 10-0 to Wigton.

Both sides had to reshape after injuries. Keswick lost a second row with an ankle injury, whilst for Wigton, flanker Andy Brown, last week's man of the match, just recovering from rib problems, had to depart the fray with an arm injury.

Keswick then dominated the next twenty minutes. No 8 Aaron Thompson had a productive day at the back of the line out and Wigton struggled to keep on the right side of referee Trainor, as evidenced by a 14-3 penalty count. Wigton's attempts to break out were frustrated by a succession of dropped balls punctuated by the odd forward pass. Russell MacLean, enjoying having the ball in hand, broke through for Wigton, but was unable to find Deans on his right who seemed wide open Keswick's Jamie McKenzie at inside centre tried to break through but the defence kept it's shape well. Finally Keswick's fly half, Brian Storey tried to thread a grubber through the defence but it was blocked by the foot of Wigton full back Gregg Smith who kicked it through deep into the Keswick 22. The ever-present Lee was held short and a scrum was awarded to Wigton. From said scrum the ball was moved smartly left for winger Jordan Wood, celebrating his 21st birthday, to score on the half hour. Wood was to enjoy a much more productive afternoon after last week's spate of slips and near misses. The difficult conversion was missed, but Wigton had breathing space at 15-0.

Wigton now were looking to run from almost anywhere, although they also picked up on the Keswick penchant for little kicks into the 22, although with less serious results. Wigton's next score again came from a Keswick grubber which was eagerly snaffled up. Smith, a constant threat in attack, picked a beautiful line to take a pass from Ledingham, and cut straight through to score under the sticks. Ledingham tagged on the extras to take Wigton out to 22-0.

The next Wigton try came from a Keswick penalty. Deans burst up the field but Wigton were penalised at the ruck. Keswick scrum half Matty Roper took a quick tap but the ball was knocked on and picked up by Smith who set off again. With the ball being quickly recycled both Lee and Deans were stopped close to the line, but the try came from a scintillating two metre run by prop Andrew Bell. The try was converted to give Wigton a 29 point at at half time.

Keswick came out with determination for the second half. They went close when McKenzie found a gap but he was injured and had to leave the field. Keswick got a boost when Wigton's big second row, Robert Marrs, was yellow carded for lying on the ball. He left the pitch for what seemed like the longest ten minutes of his, and several other people's, lives.
However Keswick blew their chance with a forward pass. From the resulting scrum, scrum half Fergus Ledingham executed a neat loop which resulted in brother Ali sprinting along the left wing. He missed the chance to put Wood in for a simple score but managed to offload to Miller who beat several defenders to score. With the conversion the score was now 36-0.

Wigton then proceeded to knock on from the kick off, giving Keswick a foothold deep in Wigton territory. Thus far Wigton had defended well, often being able to isolate the ball carry and stop momentum. On this occasion however, Matty Roper, taking the ball from a scrum, was able to out manoeuvre Wigton's two man back row and set up try for full back Andy Wallace. Storey added the conversion, making the score 36-7.

Alas for the home supporters, hoping for a rousing finish, that proved to be the last hurrah, as the last quarter was pretty much one way traffic as Wigton ran in six tries. The first went to David Percival, who was fortunate to get away with a poor chip into Keswick's 22. Luckily for Percival, who otherwise had another fine game, Wallace was only able to parry it back over the try line. The Wigton centre beat two defenders to the touch down. The try was converted. 43-7.

Straight from the restart came perhaps the best try of the game. The ball was claimed by Atkinson, set up and passed to Deans. He charged upfield and offloaded. The ball was passed perfectly by Ledingham, Lee and Moffatt to give Percival an overlap and a second try. He must be thinking that first team rugby is pretty easy. 48-7.

Wigton were now zipping the ball around with precision and the defenders took on the look of a group of tired players who had given their all, but now needed the final whistle.
The next try saw the ball moved from a scrum resulting in a try for Moffatt who was now starting to find gaps. With the conversion, that made it 55-7.

The next try was a result of excellent support and continuity. Lee grabbed the ball from a Keswick line out tap. He charged into the 22, finding Dobson in support. The ball was passed right along the line to produce a try for Wood. 60-7.

From the kick off the green wave attacked again. MacLean found himself in the wide open spaces. He took play into the Keswick 22 again, offloading before agoraphobia set in. Once again, accurate passing moved the ball left until defenders ran out, Smith scored, Ledingham converted. 67-7.

Finally Moffatt made another spectacular run into home territory. Keswick were unable to clear their lines when they had the chance. The end result was a hat trick for Smith and a final scoreline of 72-7.
The Keswick pundits made Mark Lee man of the match, with mentions in dispatches for Gregg Smith and Ali Ledingham.

There is no secret to Wigton's play. They let the ball do the work and support. They currently have the confidence, pace and ability to attack from all areas of the field. They have not really dominated in terms of possession, but have made excellent use of it. The Jolly Green Juggernaut rolls on!