Improving Thirds shine in lead role
WITH the First and Second teams out of action, it fell upon Widnes Third team – which included four Colts players making their openage debuts - to take centre stage last weekend. And, they did not fail to disappoint either as they secured a rousing 50-15 victory in their final game of the season at Moore.
Try scorers were; Mike O’Brien (2), Nathan Chandler (2,) Mike Potter, Arnie Haydock, Matty Holian. Conversions: Chris Morgan 6, Lewie Macintosh 2.
The win means they will end the campaign in a mid-table position, which is a terrific return for a side who were both short on numbers and down on their luck and at the start of the season.
But, thanks to the terrific hard work put in by the players and the new management team of Lee Martindale and Sharon Miller, the fortunes of the team slowly began to change.
It was tough in the early stages, and for a while the going was difficult. But, as the season wore on, the squad became bigger and stronger, and with a terrific team spirit developing, their form going in to the new year and beyond was nothing short of outstanding and a credit to all those involved.
The highlight of their season came in late January, when they became the only team to beat Champions Christleton by a margin of 27-24.
With the Second Team also going well at the top of Combination 1, and a resurgence of the minis and junior sections along with the Colts, the future looks much brighter for the Wids. ● Thanks to the withdrawal of the Burnley team at the start of the new season last September, Widnes RUFC were left without a game last weekend in the ADM Premier League.
Given that this was fully expected, this was something that was entirely out of their control given the late withdrawal of the newly promoted side who lost a number of players caused by the pandemic and the subsequent 18-month delay when all amateur sport was cancelled.
The solution by the Lancashire Leagues Committee, was that each of the other eleven teams in the division would receive two five-point ‘walkovers’ with the ten points league points being added to their total.
The trade-off, of course, was that each team would ultimately have to sit out an additional two weeks without any possibility of being able to re-arrange a game.
Given that the Wids are in the middle of something resembling an injury crisis – with some key games still to come - the week off has been beneficial and something of a blessing in disguise as they look a little further ahead to their three remaining league matches, a League Cup Final, as well as a Lancashire Cup semifinal and possibly another Final to look forward to.
Either way, they will make a return to action on Saturday at Eccles in a re-arranged ADM Premier League fixture.
The game was originally scheduled for early January, but the fixture was a complete washout after heavy rain left the Gorton Street pitch submerged under several inches of water.
This is an important game for the Wids who are due to take on Liverpool St Helens in the final of the League Cup in just over a week’s time.
But back to this coming weekend, and a thrilling clash looks to be in prospect as the business end of the season approaches rapidly upon the horizon.
Both sides need a win.
The home side are looking to arrest a disappointing run of form which has seen them without a victory out there on the pitch since 4th December when they beat Oldham.
Widnes, on the other hand, also need a first win in three as they look to secure a runners-up spot in the Premier League.
The pair last met in September 2021, in what was the Wids first home game of rugby for 18-months after the delay caused by the pandemic.
That day, the ‘red-and-blacks’ quickly fell behind to a 90-metre interception try from Gavin Ackers-Johnson before responding in style to score 36 unanswered points to record a comfortable win.
But that was then, and this is now, and with the dynamics of this game having changed dramatically, a thrilling encounter looks in prospect.
The game kicks off at 2.15pm.