Wigan U9 v Rossendale U9

Players: Patrick, Daniel, Nathan, Brandan, Harry, Levi, George, Connor and James. And Francis

Weather: Spring has sprung

Pitch: Good to soft

Wigan and Rossendale, powerhouses in the world of U9 rugby, stood toe to toe in the sunshine of Douglas Valley this week. Strong running and some even stronger tackling saw two bruising encounters that the Rossendale outfit narrowly won. Rossendale were blessed with some strong, fast runners but courage and heart saw Wigan stick to their task and run them close.

The first game saw a debut for Coach Butler's newly patented arrowhead formation at the restart. The paint is still not dry on this one but already there were discernible results. Having been introduced for the first time on Wednesday night, the boys picked it up quickly and soon there were dummy runners everywhere. Nathan, in excellent form, was an early beneficiary with a slicing run into space created by Patrick's break. Indeed Nathan quickly realised he didn't really need set moves, just the ball, as he was in devastating form. The first game saw him notch four tries as he darted past flailing Rossendale hands. The tackling was tight and it had to be as Rossendale had size and pace in abundance. Despite a couple of runaway tries, the Wigan boys made them work hard for their points. Brandan, as usual, led from the front with some crunching tackles, showing his teammates the value of getting low in the tackle. James worked hard and ran with determination whilst Harry was brave and full of heart in taking the first tackle throughout. Levi showed his class (genetics will out) and deft handling by creating space and time for others. Connor scored one of the tries of the morning with a dip of the shoulder and searing pace to the corner (again, all in the genes). Brandan scored his usual brace and the first game ended a close 6-7 defeat for us.

The second game was another close affair as the boys stepped up their efforts and their fitness levels were tested. Nathan continued to cut the defence to ribbons. Brandan smashed his way over boys twice his size. George continued to drive his legs on like pistons. Daniel contributed his usual strong defence and threat with the ball in hand. But the real performer of the morning wasn't a player. Not even the referee (although he was good). No, the real performer of the morning was Rita, Francis's mum. She played the psychological long game with Francis and delivered a parenting masterclass. Francis "wasn't feeling it" on Sunday. A lesser parent (me) would have caved in, given up, gone home. Francis was in full kit on the touchline. A stand off ensued. But there was only ever going to be one winner. With a calm certainty of victory, Rita worked on Francis with the skill of a Jedi. It was only a matter of time before he was released onto the pitch, his anger channelled into rugby and delivered a man of the match performance. Premier League managers should be paying Rita a fortune for consultancy work. Awesome. The second game was close again but we were narrowly pipped 11-8.

It was a good morning's work against strong opposition. The boys didn't take a backward step (Patrick "Gaz Hock" Hollins), they passed well and showed themselves to be quick learners when implementing the "Dummy Runner Re-start Attack" or DRRSA (this might need more thought).

Men of the Match - Francis ( he didn't stand a chance ) and Nathan (spring-heeled Jim)

Post match meal - Hot dog and chips (the excellent curry and chips for parents - highly recommended)