Wigton had to leave Moss Lane satisfied with two points when only seconds before the final whistle they looked to have bagged all five in this totally absorbing match which saw a definite clash of styles. After last week's line out disasters, this week the line out and driven maul were the means by which Wigton almost won this match.

It was the home team, Liverpool St Helens who got off to a perfect start. Kicking off, they reclaimed the ball immediately and moved straight onto the attack. After a couple of phases the ball was spun wide to right winger Jake Hodson who had too much gas for a stretched defence, touching down in the corner. Stand off Greg Smith, ( each side had one) added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

Wigton's first attack fizzled out rather tamely when the ball carrier was held up in the tackle. Travelling supporters started to wonder if it was going to be one of those days. LSH's veteran centre Dave Cunliffe was a potent attacking weapon for the home team, breaking two tackles to get his team on the front foot again. The home supporters were frustrated to see this attack break down when a penalty was conceded. Wigton's next possession came to naught when the ball was lost forward in contact.

Wigton finally managed to enter the home 22 and from a lineout drove forward with surprising ease. The ball was moved wide and LSH were penalised for hands in the ruck. This gave full back Gregg Smith (the Wigton one) the opportunity to get Wigton on the board at 7-3.

LSH kicked off and again won the ball as the result of an excellent chase. As the ball was passed along the back line, Wigton were penalised for a high tackle, thirty yards out in front of the post. As everyone waited for the goal kicker to turn up, Jake Hodson caught everyone by surprise when he tapped the ball and scorched diagonally to the corner through a napping defence, scoring a try of flair and confidence. Smith was unable to add the extras but LSH were looking comfortable at 12-3.

Shortly afterwards Wigton launched their most coherent attack so far. A free kick from a line out was carried up by Marrs. Prop Andrew Bell, returning to the side after his holiday, held on to the next pass at pace, making further ground. A quick ball was passed to the short side for winger Will Miller to make a determined run, following which the home side were penalised. This was a fair chance for three points, but Wigton, remembering the drive from a previous lineout, kicked to the corner. The ball was claimed at the resulting line and Wigton drove and mauled for the line, No 8 Matthew Atkinson claiming the try, which Smith converted, closing the score to 12-10.

The home team responded with a series of dangerous attacks during which they looked to create opportunities for their strong running backs. Following an attack from the scrum, a subtle offload from the muscular Cunliffe allowed back row replacement Jimmy Laycock to sweep into the 22. He was stopped by a great tackle from Smith. However, LSH retained the ball and Cunliffe carried strongly to the line, attracting several defenders. He still was able to get an arm free to pass the ball to the supporting Laycock who simply had to cross the line. Smith added the conversion, making the score 19-10.

There was another dangerous attack a few minutes later. Wigton were comfortable in the scrums and were trying to put pressure on their opponents' ball. LSH got the ball to the creative Smith whose long flat pass put his full back Ian Stanley straight through a hole. This time it was the turn of Wigton stand off David Hanabury to pull off a try-saving tackle. Further attacks followed. Hodson, seeking a hat trick was bundled into touch whilst another attack was terminated by a choke tackle, one of several completed by the Green's pack during the course of the afternoon.

Hanabury relieved the pressure with a kick finding touch in the LSH 22. At the resulting lineout Wigton were awarded a penalty which they had no hesitation in putting in the corner. Repeating the tactic of the first try, the visitors got a catch and drive going which LSH had no answer to as Atkinson was again driven over the line. Smith's conversion was followed by the half time whistle with a 19-17 scoreline.

The strong running of their backs, who sometimes bounced off the first tackle, accounted for LSH's lead, but of the two sides, Wigton were probably seeing more positives in the interval. After all, they were still very much in a match which could have got away from them had they shown less resolve, and, importantly, they had identified a weakness in the home team's game, one which was to be successfully exploited in the second half.

However, despite a bright start from Wigton, it was their opponents who got the scoreboard moving first as Wigton were penalised for not rolling away from the tackle. Smith potted the goal to extend the lead to 22-17.

A penalty to Wigton saw a lineout in the LSH 22, but the position was lost from a knock on. However, after LSH cleared their lines to halfway, Wigton secured the ball and set off on an ominous drive of some thirty yards, looking more like a sprinting maul than a driven maul. Front foot ball caught the defence offside but Wigton's Gregg Smith was unable to convert. However, Wigton were generating more attacking opportunities than before the break.

LSH made the most of their next possession when scrum half Dyer, not always given an easy ride by the Wigton defenders round the fringes, evaded some tacklers and offloaded to prop Mark Fryer who rumbled into the 22. He was well tackled, but as he fell produced a pass like a football throw in, finding full back Stanley in support. He confidently ignored his winger outside him, cutting infield to score. Smith converted and at 29-17, the game was in danger of getting away from Wigton. However, they showed real grit to come back to dominate the rest of the game.

Smith and Deans ran back from deep to bring play into midfield. Twice an overlap was almost created but could not be taken advantage of. LSH began to feel the pace of the game and there were several stoppages as their players picked up knocks. Wigton' scrum was solid, providing a good attacking base for Atkinson and Ledingham. Importantly, LSH started to rack up penalties as they were unable to halt Wigton's driving mauls by any means which met with the approval of the referee, Tim Brown of the Liverpool Society. They became increasingly at odds with the official, who warned the team that more penalties would result in a card. The inevitable happened and player-coach No 8 Phil Kearns was shown yellow for pulling down the maul.

Smith kicked for the corner and Wigton went through the familiar routine of a catch and drive, enabling Atkinson to complete his hat-trick. Smith's fine conversion made the score 29-24, with the home supporters becoming increasingly anxious.

Their fears seemed justified. From the restart, Deans carried the ball up strongly and was caught by a clear high tackle around the chin, but the award of what seemed a straightforward penalty turned some of the home supporters apoplectic as they saw the game slipping away.

A huge catch and drive brought another penalty. This gave Wigton a lineout in the home 22 and no one was surprised by what was coming next. With time ticking away, some of the Wigton backs added their efforts to the drive. The line beckoned and Wigton thougbutch at the line beckoned but the referee awarded a penalty and despatched a second LSH player to the bin. Another penalty, another catch and drive. The ball was held up over the line. The visiting supporters feared that the whistle was going to blow; the home supporters prayed that it was. Scrum 5 to Wigton, but because of injuries and cards, this was uncontested. However, Wigton created a maul around the picked up ball, again heading to the line. When it all collapsed in a heap, Mr Brown marched under the posts to award a penalty try. The score was 29-29. The Wigton supporters recalled Gregg Smith having a conversion charged down from a similar position last week. This time there was no mistake and at 29-31, Wigton seemed to have claimed a famous victory.

However, the fates decreed that there would be a twist in the tail. The visiting fans were now the one questioning the length of injury time, but Mr Brown's watch told him there would be one last play. One area of excellence for LSH had been their work chasing kick offs and again, a chaser jumped high to palm possession back. Frustration of frustrations! Wigton were penalised for hands in the ruck. There was one last drama. No one had bothered to use the scoreboard during the whole of the game, but now the score was put up........incorrectly! It showed Wigton leading by 4 points and LSH were about to kick for a lineout. However, an inquiry revealed the truth of the situation and the home Smith, with two Gs in Greg, stepped up. In the distance a pin was heard dropping. He hit the ball high and true, straight through the posts to give his team a 32-31 win in a dramatic end to a dramatic match.

Wigton did at least have the consolation of one point for four tries, and one point for the narrow losing margin. They also had the satisfaction of knowing that they had shown great character to hit back and almost record a terrific win.

This was a splendidly absorbing contest. Some of the more cantankerous home supporters muttered darkly about one side playing rugby whilst the other excelled at wrestling. Others were magnanimous enough to acknowledge that the maul is part of the game, and that if Wigton had such a marked advantage in that aspect of play, then they were fully justified in using it. Indeed, some went further and said that until recently, that had been their own team's preferred style. I do not think that Wigton set out to play with a maul as the exclusive method of scoring, but rather discovered during the course of the game that this could be a potentially winning tactic. The supporters of both sides acknowledged that they had witnessed a truly memorable game.