Bears make it a perfect 10 as they secure victory at Wigan St Jude’s
WEST Bank Bears U10s made it the perfect 10 wins from 10 games on Sunday with another excellent performance away in Wigan against St Jude’s.
The Widnes younsters have made a terrific start to the season and despite coming up against a gutsy Wigan side, they were never really in danger of losing this one, as the individual and team class shone through.
The forward pack was immense yet again in both attack and defence and gave the platform for the classy backs to score some terrific tries.
It was not all about individuals though, as it is with most teams at U10s. The young Bears play outstanding team rugby league with each and every young lad playing their part.
West Bank enjoyed a largely error-free first half in which they scored three unanswered tries. Back-rower Josh Swindley charged over for two close-range efforts after strong work from his supporting pack of forwards had gained valuable field position.
Rueben Mafi then finished off a superb sweeping passing move which saw the ball move through five sets of hands from left to right. It was, without doubt, the try of the game.
The second half was a slightly different challenge for the away side, as St Jude’s came out after the interval with a more positive attitude, and this put the Bears under more pressure defensively.
An early lapse in concentration gifted the Wigan side a try, but it did not impact the Widnes boys’ confidence as they then went on to produce another dominant 15 minutes of rugby league, scoring three more tries. George Hughes got on the scoresheet for the away side with a fine individual effort, which saw him throw an audacious dummy and beat five defenders to the try line with his fine footwork.
Michael Lawton finished off in style for another try, after some thrifty play on the right hand side, and a superb pass from man-of-the-match, half-back Joshua Lawrenson.
The final try for the Bears came in the form of a superb individual full length of the field effort from Kian McGann who shrugged off four would-be defenders on his own try line and sprinted down the touchline to score in the left corner.
There was, however, time for the home side to make the socreline more respectable and despite being disappointed to concede the try, the Bears were happy to extend their flawless record.
Billy Keeley was particularly strong in the game and made some superb runs up the left hand side of the field but the man-of-the-match as voted for by the parents went to Joshua Lawrenson who created try-scoring opportunities for his teammates throughout the game. The top tackler award went to Billy Keeley with 13 tackles. ●