Final home win of the season

An injury to David Hanabury in midweek meant a restructuring of the back division, with Richard Moffatt, Callum Studholme and Jordan Wood all unavailable. In the pack, Matthew Atkinson made a welcome return whilst Mark Lee, David Waning, Ewan Shand and Andrew Bell were all unavailable. Bell is getting closer to the action; this week he was in tracksuit but no boots.

In the first half Wigton created loads of chances but failed to take them as the handling was imprecise and the show ponies were trying tricks before the donkeys had done the spadework. It was noticeable that in the final quarter, when there were fewer handling errors, the scoreboard started to rattle over at a healthy rate.

Wigton made a bright start when excellent work by John Story regained the ball from our kick off. The ball was passed about well but the chance fizzled out when a pass to winger Ryan Clark was imprecise. Another scoring chance went when Scott Smith, on the opposite wing was unable to hold on to a pass. Next prop Peter Dobson made an excellent break but an attempted offload went forward.

The scoreboard finally got moving when Ali Ledingham took a quick tap from a penalty on halfway. Deans made good ground, slipping the ball to impressive full back Gregg Smith for the opening try, which went unconverted : Smith went on to claim a brace taking his tally for the season to 21 touchdowns – he was also awarded the sponsors Man of the Match in a close vote with forwards Brown, Deans and Marrs.

Another chance lost when Ali recovered a chip deep in his own half but followed a different road map to his support. Upper Eden conceded a five metre scrum, but the ball was dropped. The visitors gave away a penalty just inside their 22. Ali tapped and glided through the uncertain defence for a try which he converted for a 12-0 scoreline.

Upper Eden got back into the game when Wigton were penalised on halfway for holding on. Indeed, the Greens struggled with the refereeing for much of the game, being awarded only four penalties in the entire game, whilst conceding considerably more. An interesting study could be made of the pattern of penalties this season. Upper Eden produced a splendid kick to gain a lineout a few metres from the Wigton line. They then produced a text book catch and drive for a converted try, narrowing the gap to 12-7.

Wigton's response started with a strong carry by Robert Marrs and then another powerful surge by Deans who set up a ruck near the line. Quick hands moved the ball left and Atkinson touched down for his 35th try of the season, which Ledingham converted.

For the next try the elder Ledingham produced a chip which led to a lineout near the visitors' line. From the lineout the ball went to Will Miller, having a fine game in the centre. He mesmerised the defence with his footwork and change of pace, scoring an impressive try. The conversion made the halftime score 26-7.
In the second half Tane Manihera returned to first team action and student flanker Oliver Lewis joined the fray. On the down side, the impressive Miller had to leave the action with a painful ankle injury.

The game struggled to find a pattern in the first twenty minutes and there were frequent stoppages for injuries, mainly to a tiring Upper Eden side whose bulky pack found the firm surface not necessarily to their liking.

As Wigton tried to restructure the team and find a rhythm, it was Upper Eden who came up with the first try. Their stocky centre made an excellent break and When he was closed down he released his right winger for a splendid score, making it 26-12.

From then on, Wigton dominated play, taking advantage of a tiring defence. First Gregg Smith initiated a strong counter attack which led to Atkinson going over the line for his 36th try. 31-12.

Tane Manihera rolled back the years as he pierced the defensive line but Russell McLean was unable to hang onto the potential scoring pass. Play was now rarely out of the Upper Eden half. A series of penalties gave only temporary respite. Gregg Smith scored the next try from an attack which was restarted several times as the ball went on a circuitous route around the dance floor. 38-12.

From the kickoff Wigton were looking to move the ball quickly after Marrs runs drew in the forward defence. Manihera made another break which almost produced a try for Ali Ledingham. Upper Eden had the put in to a scrum but were turned over as they tried to clear their lines. The ball was passed to Deans and after several attempts, the defence failed to keep hold of him and he gained a well deserved try. 45-12.

Wigton now twisted the blade as they scored straight from the next two kick offs. First the ball was carried up by Marrs, then zipped along the back line producing a score for Scott Smith. Secondly, following a similar pattern, Deans ran onto a great flat pass from Manihera. He rampaged into the 22, holding off defenders on his way and finally offloading to Ali Ledingham for the try.

The final try came when a poor clearance was taken by Scott Smith to set up the attack. When he received the ball, Ali Ledingham stepped inside twice, beating two groups of defenders to register his hat trick. He converted as the final whistle blew on a final score of 64-12.

There now remain two difficult away fixtures at Workington and Aspatria if we are to complete an unbeaten league season. The key man is now coach Malcolm Brown who will have to juggle his diminishing playing resources in order to come up with a winning combination for these two games .