Saturday 21st. February 2015
North 1 West
Kirkby Lonsdale 41 – 7 Wilmslow
No, ifs and buts about it. Wilmslow never seemed to get the bus journey to the Dales out of their legs and were thoroughly outplayed in every aspect of the game for at least sixty of the eighty minutes by a very good Kirkby Lonsdale side, unbeaten at home all season. Given the way the game unfolded, it was something of a credit to the Wolves defence that they restricted the home side to just five converted tries and two penalties. It could have been so much more.
On this showing, it would be hard not to imagine Kirkby Lonsdale in the shake up to become league champions or runners up at the end of the season. Of the three contenders, they look to have the most rounded side with a pack of robust and mobile forwards containing just enough bulk in the right places, a pair of half backs, trumpeted by their supporters as the best in the league, and a competent, not flash, back division, capable of a bit of pace when needed but most of all doing the right things. The run in looks kind to them with three fixtures away from home against lower placed sides and only Kendal of those still to come to Underley Park is possibly capable of spoiling their party.
Having now played the second and third placed teams in the league in successive weeks away from home, the Wolves will have learnt, if they didn't know already, that only your very best side, playing at the top of its game can hope to secure any kind of a result at these places. For the second week, there was no recognised goal kicker and on this occasion, they were shorn of their two first choice second row and lineout exponents with all the consequential results. It was a hard ask for the two players drafted into the second row. There had also been a Kirkby delegation at Kendal the previous week to run the rule over the Wolves play so they knew all about how to snuff out the Wolves favourite ploys, let's call them Plan A, and in the apparent absence of any recognisable Plan B, the Wolves struggled with any usable possession, that they did secure, which with a dysfunctional lineout wasn't very much.
Kirkby kicked off from the town end of their picturesque ground towards the facing hills. Their pitches are perfectly flat and level but the lie and flow of the land is towards the town in the valley below. The ball was fielded by Alex Taylor, who as he normally does took it straight to the oncoming pack before securely laying it back in the tackle for his half backs to clear. Unfortunately McCall's kick, which was neither particularly good nor bad, went straight into Kirkby winger Harry Ralston's hands and he stuck up a high kick and followed up with such menace into the heart of the Wolves defence, that the catcher, aware of Ralston's threatening approach, took his eye off the ball; it went loose and Kirkby were immediately on the attack. For fifteen minutes or so, it was all hands to the pumps as Wilmslow frantically defended their lines, when they looked all but breached. How Harry Patch managed to get across to stop Kirkby's Martyn Knapton in full flight was a measure of their commitment. Any clearances though from Wilkinson and McCall were run back with interest by the Kirkby back three, as the whole of Kirkby, it seemed, just kept on coming in waves. Eventually, something had to give and it did when full back Chad Spence made a decisive incursion up the right before the ball was recycled left to the same Knapton, free for the opening score.
The traffic was soon heading up into Wilmslow territory again, Wolves prop Adam Taher had to leave the scene after being laid low by a flying elbow and Tom Hall came on. The pressure though was telling. Tom Pickthall slotted a pair of close in penalties to stretch the Kirkby advantage and then in the few minutes remaining to half time, disaster struck the Wolves twice. Firstly, from the restart after Pickthall's second penalty, fly half Dave Barton was off at the gallop up the right and found himself with sufficient support to pass inside for scrum half Ben Walker to run in all alone under the posts. And then Barton, charged down and collected an attempted clearance for Kirkby's third try. A profitable three or four minutes for him.
The second half started with a Wilmslow scrum on around halfway being disrupted and as the ball squirted out, it was stolen by Walker, who amazingly didn't quite go the full distance. No matter, Wilmslow may have had the put in at the scrum but they knocked on and when it was reset in Kirkby's favour, they had the extra man in Spence to score out on the right. At 34-0 with over half an hour still on the clock, a massacre threatened.
But, no! Led by a determined charge from Vili Tuipulotu, showing a bit of aggression hitherto lacking in the Wolves play, they managed some quick ball, which had centre Ed Stobart, scything through for an unexpected Wolves try. The Wolves lineout had been a disaster area for most of the game but the arrival of substitute Richard Storrow seemed to change that as hooker Joshua Whiteley found a target, who could jump and catch at the right time, to throw to. Deprived of some possession, which by then they probably thought was theirs by divine right, the Kirkby forwards started to offend and the Wolves had their best period of the afternoon, for variation McCall tried a handful of chips over the defence but none of this troubled the scoreboard keeper. That all ended though when a lineout throw intended for Taylor went awry and Kirkby set off down towards the town again, Walker taking the final pass to scamper in for his second of the afternoon.
There was a still a bit of time for some huffing and puffing from the Wolves but it was all a bit academic. The game had been won by halftime and in the last minutes the home side were probably beginning to think more about how they were going to enjoy their Saturday night. The Wolves were planning to drown their sorrows in one or other of Kirkby's famous hostelries, The Sun, Snooty Fox or Orange Tree. It would have been just their luck to find the celebrating Westmorland team and its supporters in the same bar.
Next week, the Wolves are back at home to play Eccles. They may be lying twelfth in the fourteen club table but they've downed a few higher placed scalps in the last couple of months and with a boisterous pack, they are not to be taken lightly.
Match report by David Pike.
Photo: Front Row Union in tandem. Prop Robert Taylor gets the ball away to his hooker Josh Whiteley with the other prop Tom Hall next in line.
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