Wigan U9's v Bury

Wigan travelled around the M60 to take on Bury. Having not had the opportunity to play each other before Christmas due to the weather, it was good to see Bury’s pitches playable, having reliably been informed the heavy rain had restricted games from being played at the north Manchester club for several weeks.

With Wigan’s confidence still high after their Friday night game at Douglas Valley, the players (only numbering 9) faced a large Bury squad. Despite the low numbers (through a mixture of injury and holidays) Wigan’s players lined up keen to maintain their unbeaten record.

From the outset, Wigan attacked the Bury line with direct running and some delightful passing to create gaps in the defensive line and take an early lead. With ball in hand, the fluent nature of Wigan’s offloading ensured the pace of the game remained high. With strong supportive play the players used speed and strength to continue to attack the Bury defence. Central as ever to their game, the midfield took no prisoners, restricting Bury as they tried to attack.

With little errors in Wigan’s game, their attacking opportunities proved fruitful, with their usual supportive play playing a key role in attack as pass after pass ensured little rest for the Bury players. As Wigan began to settle into their stride, the ball was moved effortlessly.

Having taken the advantage early on, the Wigan players continued to push as they looked for every opportunity to score. With ball in hand they ran strong, pushing the defence backwards before releasing the ball to devastating effect much to the delight of the spectators. As every player stood strong, Wigan ran in comfortable winners in the end.

Back in the clubhouse the usual formalities were observed as Parent’s Player and Coach’s Player were announced.

With Wigan’s central defence and direct running dominant all morning, Will had led from the front with his powerful runs, making vital yards and some tries to boot, to take home the Parent’s Player.

The Coach’s choice was again a difficult one. With everyone having played well it was a close call, but with his fearsome tackling central to the Wigan game, Harvey had been consistent in his efforts and with some bone shuddering tackles ensured Bury were restricted to only 1 try.