Vikings deserve a Pat on the back
Saturday, April 27, 1895 AS the Northern Union beckoned in September, the last match played under Rugby Union auspices was against St Helens.
The “Chemical and Glass towns” met at St Helens with the home team winning by “three goals and a try to nil”.
With only a few hundred spectators present to witness the switch from the Rugby Union to the Northern Union, the Widnes team on that historic day was: Varley; Clarke, Rispan, Nevitt, Archer; Drummond, Douglas; Reece, Whelan, Handley, Grace, Foster, Derbyshire, Emery, Peters. ● WIDNES VIKINGS: On This Day is available now at £9.99 from the Vikings Superstore. WIDNES VIKINGS ............................................ 16 ST HELENS ........................................................ 14
ABRACE of tries from powerhouse winger Patrick Ah Van saw Widnes gain a hard-fought 16-14 win over local rivals St Helens.
Ah Van’s clincher came just nine minutes from time and was no more than the Vikings deserved.
Having gone into the game as underdogs, Denis Betts’ men showed that whatever else may be lacking, it certainly isn’t spirit.
They produced a performance, particularly in defence, that defied their position at the bottom of the Betfred Super League table.
One of the curiosities of the game was that having enjoyed much the better of things in the first half, Widnes only went into the dressing rooms level with their opponents at 12-12. Saints then enjoyed a bigger share of the match after the interval but were outscored by four points to two.
Having seen his side lose to Warrington and Leeds over Easter, coach Betts was delighted the way his men aimed up against Saints.
He said: “When you play three games over the course of a week you’ve got to find something to give you a boost.
“It puts us on five points and within striking distance of the top eight.
“We need to get on a bit of a run to get there but it’s something that’s achievable in the second half of the season.
“St Helens would have got something out of going in level at half-time but we defended our line really well in the second half.
“Pat took his tries well and we’ve been looking to get him back in the side.
“It’s not just about his tries; he does great work in the backfield where he’s making metres, landing on his front and making the tacklers work really hard to control him. “He played exceptionally well.” If anyone was expecting a powderpuff game following the Easter double-header weekend, they got just the opposite.
Both sides showed a willingness to put their bodies on the line especially in an attritional second half.
Widnes made several changes to the side that lost 42-22 at Leeds on Easter Monday and that probably made a difference.
For the first time this season, the selected V Vikings backline were sporting squad numbers 1-7 though that was spoilt a bit when centre Chris Bridge withdrew just before the kick-off. However his replacement, Stefan PW D L F A Pts Patrick Ah Van scores his first try and (right) Gil Dudson in action Marsh, did an excellent job.
Widnes were on top early on and after Corey Thompson had gone close it was Joe Mellor who opened the scoring after Rhys Hanbury’s inside pass bounced kindly into his path off the chest of Saints back-rower Zeb Taia.
Saints attacks were few and far between but they managed to level things up when halfback Theo Fages squirmed his way over after initially fumbling the ball.
Ah Van’s first try of the afternoon came courtesy of quick hands from centre Charly Runciman and was finished bravely at the left corner. Tom Gilmore’s fine touchline goal ● Widnes players celebrate Joe Mellor’s try against St Helens and (right) Patrick Ah Van goes over for the winner made it 12-6.
If anything it looked like Widnes were likely to extend their lead but they were hit by a sucker punch just before half-time when Matty Smith barged in to level things up once more.
Saints took a 14-12 lead shortly after the resumption through a Mark Percival penalty goal and laid siege to the Vikings line.
Defence in their own ‘20’ hasn’t always been a strength of the Vikings this season but they showed great fortitude to hold the opposition out.
The key moment of the match came on 71 minutes when a training ground move saw Ah Van take a drop-off ball from Gilmore and power his way to the line for his second try.
Gilmore’s goal attempt bounced out off the near post but Widnes were rarely trouble in the latter stages as they picked up their first home win of the season.