Leigh RU Round-Up

LEIGH RU produced exhibition style rugby in a convincing Intermediate Cup win over Windermere.

Wilcock made the early breakthrough when he won the chase to his own chip ahead, and was on hand again shortly afterwards to finish off a flowing back movement by beating the cover on the outside to give Leigh an early 12-point lead.

Windermere reduced the lead by a penalty goal but Leigh responded immediately when Lee crashed over from a tap penalty move.

A smart break by Fisher, supported by Lee, put Wilcock over for his hat-trick before Wilcock crossed again following a simple crossfield move from a set scrum. The conversion gave Leigh a comfortable half-time lead of 31-3 points.

After the re-start., a fine break by Matthew Brown on his farewell game for the club before moving Down Under presented Wilcock with his fifth try and further forward domination released the free-running backs for Lee to crash over for his second. Jones fed Wilcock for his double hat-trick before Leigh introduced their substitutes Penn and Ainscough for Sutton and Hampson.

A Windermere break-away caught Leigh napping when they scored a try from a loose maul reducing the deficit to 52-8, but Leigh were dominant when Bentham fed Wright to cross for another converted try.

Bailey substituted for the free-running Prescott before Wilcock chipped ahead for Brown to collect and score a deserved try. Fine forward interpassing saw Penn burst over and Fisher danced his way between a trio of defenders for the final try, the honour of the conversion being awarded to Brown in his swansong.

In an overwhelming display of open rugby by forwards and backs, Wilcock was adjudged Man of the Match for his six tries out of 12. Fly-half Fisher made a substantial contribution with seven conversions and a try while centre Lee was awesome in midfield.

Preston Grasshoppers 8 Leigh 3rd 14

Leigh travelled to Preston with a slightly changed team hoping to continue their recent good form and secure a win in this friendly game.

Preston, leaders in division 5 north, fielded a young yet strong team and started the better in the first half. They should have taken the lead but the kicker missed an easy penalty in-front of the posts. Leigh stepped up a gear and scored midway through the first half, Krause broke through the centre, offloaded to Doyle who cleverly put in M.Devall to score in the corner. Greenwood converted the kick from the sideline.

The Hawks almost scored again. From the loose, the ball passed through several pairs of hands only to see Harrison stopped five yards short of the line. Leigh eventually doubled their lead, Heywood picked up from the back of the line-out to drift infield and crash over the line. Greenwood again converted successfully.

The second half started better for Leigh, the forwards, and in particular flankers Browning and M.Jones, were awesome. The ball was driven forward with intent and Leigh should have scored on several occasions.

Both Hutchinson and Waterworth went close, but M.Devall went closest failing to touch the ball down in the opposition try zone. Preston gathered momentum and started to pressurise the Hawks defence. M.Jones was given a dubious sin binning for a shoulder charge and from the resulting play Preston scored from a rolling maul, the conversion was missed but they did grab a penalty a little time after the reduce the score to 14-8.

The physical intensity of the game was evident, Preston lost three players to injury and with Leigh down to 14, the Hawks needed to be strong in the final 10 minutes. Leigh held their lines ferociously and the final whistle ended a bruising encounter.

Stockport U15s 19 Leigh U15s 14

Leigh travelled to Stockport but couldn't beat a severe penalty count and 18 minutes injury time in the second half.

Stockport took the lead but Leigh fought back when pressure from Andrews forced mistakes and he plunged over for a try which Pendlebury converted from the touchline. From the re-start, Trumble switched play and skilful handling saw Cunningham score under the posts. Leigh were on the receiving end of some diabolical decisions and the referee eventually ended the game when Stockport took the lead.

Leigh U14s 26 Stockport U14s 17

Leigh started well with some promising moves and good tackling, but a missed pass and a controversial decision saw Stockport score to take the lead.

Both teams then played some excellent attacking rugby and only strong tackling by both defences prevented more scores. Eventually though Stockport extended their lead with a converted try and the spectators thought Leigh's heads would drop.

This was not to be the case and the summer coaching paid off when they immediately came back when Fiendly, Boyle and Massey broke through to feed Parkinson who put Poole in for a try converted by Sale to go in at half-time 12-7 down.

The second half started as the first with Leigh stringing passes together and attacking as a team and when Marron, Lees and Davies broke for the line a try looked certain until Davies was tackled inches short, but Stafford supporting well scooped up the loose ball for a try and level the scores. Again the two sides matched each other both in defence and attack, until Stockport scored from a quick penalty to regain the lead.

Leigh went into the last five minutes in determined mood and were rewarded when Sale and Phillips linked to give Roberts a well deserved try which Sale converted to give Leigh the lead for the first time. Leigh pushed for a further score with good drives from Riley and Jordan together with good handling from the backs of Parkinson, Leake, Davies and Stafford providing opportunities for wingers Innes and Brown.

Stockport would not give up though and the last two minutes they pressed hard for a winning try only to see Phillips intercept and run 70 metres to score under the posts for an easy conversion by Parkinson.

Roberts was awarded the Man of the Match but Leigh can take credit from a good team performance.