Wigan U9 v Vale of Lune U9

Players: Nathan, both Patricks, Daniel, George I and II, Alex, James, Harry, Connor, Francis

Weather: Biblical

Pitch: Slutch

The under 9s made the long journey up the motorway to Lancaster this week and continued their faultless away form. Minus the big hitters in Brandan and Harris (and with Nathan still not at full power) they demonstrated a real strength in depth to produce one of the performances of the season.

The weather was bleak. Bleak and wet. And windy. Yet the skill level on display was exceptional. The passing, the tackling, the running, the support were enough to bring a tear to an emotional Coach Butler's eye. Having been up the previous night pouring over tactics and re-running set moves in his head, Butler looked bleary eyed. Yet all his worry was worth it.

In the first game the boys served up a whirlwind of a performance. Led from the outset by Patrick Horcan, who ran the ball like a warrior. Smashing into tackles and surging through gaps only to pop the ball up in the tackle. Connor was in devastating form and ran with his trademark balance and guile. Both boys were rewarded with tries in the opening stanza. The tactic of placing Connor and Alex out wide paid dividends as tries came. Alex showed excellent positional awareness as well in his support play and a keen eye for the loose ball.

One of the revelations of the past couple of weeks has been the tackling stints put in by the boys. No-one typifies this more than James and George (II). Time and again they hammered the opposition back and refused to let them make ground. This physicality spread throughout the team and Patrick Hollins and Francis made good tackles, especially pressuring the opposition line. Daniel put in some of his speciality "last gasp try savers" whilst Nathan (only half fit) threw himself manfully into tackles whilst Harry worked hard to secure possession cleverly.

The first game ended 8-2 in our favour. Indeed the boys received praise from opposition fans for their recycling of ball.

Before the second game began, some men started to build what looked like a big boat by the side of the pitch and some animals started to line themselves up in twos. Undeterred, we started anyway. Vale of Lune came back strongly and introduced some strong runners. James scored a good try to add to two he scored in the first game. Yet things started to look hard work. Maybe the cold. Maybe the rain were starting to drain their energy (maybe it was just me).

At half time we trailed 5-2. Then two things happened. Firstly Coach Butler delivered a Churchillian speech to urge his men onward. Secondly, maybe weakened by the speech, he agreed to the referee's suggestion that we play another half AFTER the second half had finished. It made no mathematical sense. Three halves? It defied the laws of geometry. Yet somehow, it just worked. We gradually came back into the game. Inch by inch.

Firstly Francis scored the sort of try you only read about. But we saw it and it was amazing. Power, pace and balance. Extraordinary. Then Connor started to mesmerise the opposition. He was too hot to handle and scored three quality tries that more or less won the game single handedly. Daniel stretched his legs to finish off a tiring defence. George (I) powered up the middle with several would be tacklers strewn behind him. Even Patrick Hollins threw in his trademark dummy just in case any photographers were present.

The second game ended 7-6. A famous victory snatched from the jaws of a mathematical conundrum.

It was an excellent morning out for everyone despite the rain. Roll on 2015.

Man of the match: Francis

Coach's player of the match (Sponsored by Ferrero Rocher - The Ambassador's choice) - Connor

Post match meal: Chicken, chips and gravy. Real chicken. Not a nugget in sight.

A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.