Wigan U8s v Eccles U8s

Players: Patrick, Daniel, Nathan, Levi, Jamie, Joseph, Francis, Brandan, Connor, Joe, Luis
Weather: Dry, patchy cloud
Pitch conditions: Artificial

The under 8s continued their consistent approach in a tricky away tussle at Eccles. Their loyal army of supporters have come to expect performances full of heart and passion and, indeed, it would be possible to observe this progress even if you were somewhere else. Like say, in Buxton. And you had to rely on notes made by your wife. Who admitted to not watching all of it! Still, here goes.

The first game started with a bang. Nathan, the firecracker, exploded over the Eccles line for an early try. This evidently shocked one of the opposition, who promptly had a nose bleed. The paramedics (a bloke in a Santa hat) sprinted on to attend. Tries from Connor and Brandan underlined their potent threat in the final third but some wayward passing and some strong running from the Eccles outfit kept things tight.

Coach Butler showed what a canny operator he is in the transfer market by picking up two free agents - Joe and Luis. The twins turned back the clock and showed why they had become crowd favourites with the Wigan faithful before their controversial move to Delamere. Francis and Joseph played with their trademark exuberance and made valuable contributions throughout. Despite this Wigan were edged out 9-7 in the first game.

The second game showed Wigan's application and grit coming to the fore. Unused to the unforgiving artificial surface (NB. their training facility has 3G AstroTurf whilst this one was at best 2G!) they began to tire. A lesser team would have let their heads go down but not Butler's boys. They continued to hold on to tags and denied the opposition space and time. Levi was denied a try after a thrilling run but Brandan was on the spot to take the ball over for a score.

The defensive effort of Daniel was especially satisfying for the travelling support. His reading of the game allowed him to be in position to make tagging look effortless. He also was a threat with ball in hand. His long striding runs ate up the ground like a junior Joe Lydon and he was rewarded with a try. Well done Daniel.

Overall it was a pleasing way to go into the winter break with the boys developing well into a cohesive unit. A well deserved Christmas break is now in order with only light training and special diets being carefully observed. God bless us, every one.

Man of the match: Daniel

Post match meal: sausage and chips ( a special mention for a wide ranging menu which had pain au chocolat on it! Oosh!)