Wigan U9 v Bolton U9

Players: Brandan, Harris, Connor, George, Alex, both Patricks, Harry, Francis, James and Nathan

Weather : Everything. Sun, rain, hail, snow, wind.

Pitch: Good to soft

The U9s continued to travel well in a keenly fought game at local rivals Bolton. Whilst the extreme weather threatened to thwart their expansive rugby, the overall performance kept a capacity crowd warm.

Two games were played at a breathless pace with each player contributing massively. The first game started strongly for Wigan (downhill with the wind). Connor and Harris ran quickly and cleverly to soften up a tough Bolton rearguard. Harris opened the scoring with one of his trademark runs whilst Connor matched him stride for stride. Brandan was his usual brave self and took the ball into contact like a charging rhino. A small one. Patrick Horcan was all power and determination up the middle and was rewarded with an excellent try. The redoubtable Nathan got off his sick bed (looking paler than pale) scored a try and then went off. Even at 30% they couldn't put a hand on him.

Yet two incidents from this first game stand out. Two tries out of the top drawer. Firstly, Francis dressed in black like a panther showed his feline grace and danced around the defence for a memorable try. A richly deserved score for an excellent team player. Then a team try that went through several pairs of hands finishing with a long looping pass out wide to be scored in the corner by Alex. Indeed a try commended by the opposition coach who said it was the best try he had seen all season.

Daniel tackled brilliantly as did Harry. George ran strongly (often with several players on his back) and Patrick Hollins showed the dexterity of a concert pianist in his handling. Daniel and Brandan exploited a tiring defence to score excellent tries and we ran out winners 10-8. A job well done.

The second game was a real cracker (no Christmas pun intended). You'll (geddit?) have to go a long way to see such a game. In a tight game the boys stepped up and clinched the game in the dying seconds. Tries from Harris, Daniel and Brandan had kept us in the game but it all seemed to be ebbing away from us. Bolton were exploiting gaps down our left and scored three identical long range tries. However it is in situations like these when you see the true nature of a man (boy). James and Alex put in a devastating tackling stint, the likes of which had not been seen for many a year. This halted Bolton's momentum and forced them onto the back foot. The game was entering the final seconds at 6-6, the referee's whistle was in his mouth when harris popped up to score the winning try. Caps were thrown in the air as the crowd celebrated. A famous victory.

An excellent all round performance with all areas of the game working well.

Man of the Match: Alex

The inaugural Coaches' player (very different to man of the match): James

Post match meal: Excellent choice of pies, pasties etc. Live DJ and snow outside. The Holy Grail.