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LSH 31 - 38 Wigan
Daniel Morris27 Oct - 09:23
Dervan Intervention - Young gun fires Wigan to cup win
For the second week in a row Wigan made the short trip over Billinge hill to face Liverpool St Helens. Having scored a decisive victory last weekend in the league fixture, Wigan were hoping to progress to the next round of the national cup.
Wigan made some changes to the side that travelled so successfully last week, most notably, John Foster coming in at prop to shore up the scrum, and young Wigan Warriors starlet, Riley Dervan replacing Sam Carleton in the centres.
LSH had learned lessons from last week’s game and set about playing a conservative style of rugby through their large and experienced pack. Wigan had added some weight to the pack this week but were still being forced onto the back foot. This pressure led to a penalty for offside and saw LSH open the scoring taking a 3-0 lead.
LSH seemingly forgot their pre-match plans as they found themselves entrenched in their own 22. Rather than working through the middle of the field, retaining possession, they kicked the ball in an attempt to clear but it fell kindly into Wigan hands. It felt like the first time the talented back line had touched the ball and they set about swiftly moving it from right to left, eventually finding Nathan Butler, who came onto the ball at pace, before stepping inside his man and finishing well from 40 yards. Joss Parked added the extras and took the score to 3-7 after 15 minutes.
The added experience in the pack then paid dividends as a scrum won against the head caught the LSH defence out of position. Logan Astley’s quick thinking saw him put Riley Dervan through against a staggered defensive line. Dervan took the ball on and bulldozed his way over from 30 yards out. Parker’s conversion gave Wigan a 3-14 lead.
Once again the Wigan scrum gave them a solid platform deep inside their own half. A flowing move off the back of the scrum saw the ball out to the left wing where Sutcliffe and Butler exchanged passes to beat the trailing defence and allowed Butler to finish a move that started 80 yards out. Parker once again added the conversion for a commanding 3-21 lead with half an hour played.
LSH regrouped and showed great heart to battle their way back into the game. The remaining minutes of the half saw the home side battle and force their way up field, keeping the ball tight and eventually forcing the ball over on the stroke of half time to take the score to 10-21.
LSH maintained the momentum and their tactic of keeping the ball in the pack was paying off as they once again worked through the middle and went over for a score to see them draw closer at 17-21.
Wigan were rocked but always knew they had the potential to blow the Saints men away, if only they could get their hands on the ball. So it happened when a loose ball was picked up by Logan Astley who turned on his heels and started the attack. The ball was looped over to Sutcliffe who looked set to score before a dangerously high tackle took him down. Wigan played on and Logan Astley was once again the creator; with a low cross field kick which Riley Dervan collected for his second score of the game.
Wigan were on the front foot again. Some scintillating rugby down the right wing saw Will Morgan make ground before playing the ball inside to Dervan. Dervan was eventually hauled down but Wigan were set for another attack, and it was the boot of Astley that once again found acres of space which Sutcliffe gladly pounced on for another score and a 17-31 lead with 20 minutes to play.
A mark of both the league and cup ties has been LSH’s refusal to give in and roll over. Having seen their efforts through the middle frustrated, the ball was moved out to the stand-off who jinked his way through the Wigan line to score from 30 yards. A conversion took the score to 24-31 with 10 minutes of play remaining.
LSH sensed a great comeback and became more fluent with their attacking flair. A set move off the back of an attacking scrum saw the scrum half pop the ball up for a perfectly timed run by the LSH winger who burst through the line untouched for a score from 20 yards. The conversion tied the scores at 31 a piece with just 3 minutes remaining.
Wigan maintained a slim advantage, knowing that a tie game would go down to tries scored, but even as the fingers counted the scores on the side lines, the Wigan backline had other ideas. Taking the ball on halfway, Astley played the ball out right through the hands of Dervan and Fillingham, who found Will Morgan in space. The winger got low and only had eyes for the try line making thirty yards before diving over in the corner for the winning score. Joss Parker added a conversion from the touchline whilst the away fans celebrated a famous victory and looked forward to the next round of the cup.
Wigan made some changes to the side that travelled so successfully last week, most notably, John Foster coming in at prop to shore up the scrum, and young Wigan Warriors starlet, Riley Dervan replacing Sam Carleton in the centres.
LSH had learned lessons from last week’s game and set about playing a conservative style of rugby through their large and experienced pack. Wigan had added some weight to the pack this week but were still being forced onto the back foot. This pressure led to a penalty for offside and saw LSH open the scoring taking a 3-0 lead.
LSH seemingly forgot their pre-match plans as they found themselves entrenched in their own 22. Rather than working through the middle of the field, retaining possession, they kicked the ball in an attempt to clear but it fell kindly into Wigan hands. It felt like the first time the talented back line had touched the ball and they set about swiftly moving it from right to left, eventually finding Nathan Butler, who came onto the ball at pace, before stepping inside his man and finishing well from 40 yards. Joss Parked added the extras and took the score to 3-7 after 15 minutes.
The added experience in the pack then paid dividends as a scrum won against the head caught the LSH defence out of position. Logan Astley’s quick thinking saw him put Riley Dervan through against a staggered defensive line. Dervan took the ball on and bulldozed his way over from 30 yards out. Parker’s conversion gave Wigan a 3-14 lead.
Once again the Wigan scrum gave them a solid platform deep inside their own half. A flowing move off the back of the scrum saw the ball out to the left wing where Sutcliffe and Butler exchanged passes to beat the trailing defence and allowed Butler to finish a move that started 80 yards out. Parker once again added the conversion for a commanding 3-21 lead with half an hour played.
LSH regrouped and showed great heart to battle their way back into the game. The remaining minutes of the half saw the home side battle and force their way up field, keeping the ball tight and eventually forcing the ball over on the stroke of half time to take the score to 10-21.
LSH maintained the momentum and their tactic of keeping the ball in the pack was paying off as they once again worked through the middle and went over for a score to see them draw closer at 17-21.
Wigan were rocked but always knew they had the potential to blow the Saints men away, if only they could get their hands on the ball. So it happened when a loose ball was picked up by Logan Astley who turned on his heels and started the attack. The ball was looped over to Sutcliffe who looked set to score before a dangerously high tackle took him down. Wigan played on and Logan Astley was once again the creator; with a low cross field kick which Riley Dervan collected for his second score of the game.
Wigan were on the front foot again. Some scintillating rugby down the right wing saw Will Morgan make ground before playing the ball inside to Dervan. Dervan was eventually hauled down but Wigan were set for another attack, and it was the boot of Astley that once again found acres of space which Sutcliffe gladly pounced on for another score and a 17-31 lead with 20 minutes to play.
A mark of both the league and cup ties has been LSH’s refusal to give in and roll over. Having seen their efforts through the middle frustrated, the ball was moved out to the stand-off who jinked his way through the Wigan line to score from 30 yards. A conversion took the score to 24-31 with 10 minutes of play remaining.
LSH sensed a great comeback and became more fluent with their attacking flair. A set move off the back of an attacking scrum saw the scrum half pop the ball up for a perfectly timed run by the LSH winger who burst through the line untouched for a score from 20 yards. The conversion tied the scores at 31 a piece with just 3 minutes remaining.
Wigan maintained a slim advantage, knowing that a tie game would go down to tries scored, but even as the fingers counted the scores on the side lines, the Wigan backline had other ideas. Taking the ball on halfway, Astley played the ball out right through the hands of Dervan and Fillingham, who found Will Morgan in space. The winger got low and only had eyes for the try line making thirty yards before diving over in the corner for the winning score. Joss Parker added a conversion from the touchline whilst the away fans celebrated a famous victory and looked forward to the next round of the cup.
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