Tigers tamed for Waterfall Cup progress

LITTLEBOROUGH Under 14 boys secured a place in third round of the Lancashire Waterfall Cup with a narrow 27-26 victory at Sedgley Park Tigers.

Two tries and a conversion from Ben Williamson alongside efforts from Ben Crabtree, Olly Mills and Thomas Kelly were enough to guarantee the Rakewood outfit would continue in the competition.

Pitted against a strong side in their own backyard, Littleborough’s Under 14s, with a threadbare 15 players, were always going to find it difficult.

However, a stunning first half performance matched with a composed second made it mission accomplished.

Neither side were able to dominate for long periods, which resulted in a topsy turvy first half in which both teams were able to score.

After a period of sustained pressure Ben Williamson opened the scoring and a narrow five point lead for the visitors.

His conversion could not find its target in what was a difficult attempt for the youngster.

Sedgley rallied quickly and turned the game on its head by scoring two quickfire tries, one of which was converted for a seven-point lead.

Towards the end of the half, Littleborough got themselves right back into the game by landing their own sucker punch, scoring two tries of their own.

Williamson was joined on the scoresheet by Thomas Kelly.

All this meant that Boro ended the half leading by a score of 17 points to12.

The second half started with Boro on the front foot and they managed to again unlock a stubborn Sedgley defence to score.

Olly Mills was master and chief of the home side’s demise to extend their lead to more than a converted try.

Bury based Sedgley were not about to say goodbye to a chance of silverware, however, and they capitalised on some sloppy play and poor game management from the visitors to get back into the game with two quick tries.

Both conversions were clinically notched through the posts.

With the score now 22-26 in Sedgley’s favour, Boro regained their composure and with the possession and territory they gained, they were able to score through Ben Crabtree to reclaim a point advantage going into the closing stages.

The last few minutes of the game saw Sedgley on the attack, but thanks to some strong and resolute defence, Littleborough held firm to venture to the next round with a 27-26 victory.

Bradley Chrimes, Ben Crabtreee, Harry Crabtree, James Devine, Tom Fenton, James Furnell, Cayan Harris, Luke Jones, Thomas Kelly, Olly Mills, Will Rawlinson, Max Risby, Ruben Warburton, Ben Williams, Ben Williamson.