Orrell 34, Sedgley Park 34

WITH no league fixtures scheduled for an international Saturday, Sedgley were pleased to travel to near neighbours Orrell for a friendly fixture.

Orrell, now in Allied Dunbar Two, are no longer quite the force they were a few seasons ago, but it is a measure of Sedgley Park's rise in the rugby world that the fixture was even made.

The result, a pulsating draw, is further confirmation that Sedgley are now on a par with all, but the very best.

This was a really good performance by the Sedgley lads. The scrum was strong, Chris Raducanu dominated the line-out, and the tries - all six of them - were scored by an exciting back division. Full-back Mike Wilcock led the way against his former club. He initiated the counter-attack and scored the first try; he went on to score another later.

With half-backs Chris Kinsey and Rob Moon playing well, further tries were scored by Moon himself, by wingers Piers Gregory and Paul Morris, and by centre Stuart Langley.

The feeling was that Sedgley had dominated the game, but the home side earned a draw thanks to a late try, the missed conversion costing them the game, and the two-division gap between the sides was evident in the more clinical finishing by the Wiganers.

Despite leaking six tries, the home team also defended their line better than Sedgley.

This Saturday, Sedgley travel to Whitchurch in the Jewson League, a good and competitive game in prospect, although the home fixture was won comfortably enough 45-10, back in October.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.