Wigan U10 v West Park U10

Players: Brandan, Harris, James, George, Nathan, Isabella, Chris, both Patricks

Weather: Not raining

Pitch: Official going - soft

It's proving to be a tough season for the Under 10s. Poor weather, cancelled fixtures because of poor weather, muddy playing conditions caused by poor weather. Autumn is taking its toll.

A trip to St.Helens is never easy at the best of times and so it proved on Sunday. Players unavailable through illness (caused by poor weather) had ravaged the line up. Coach Butler was down to 8. Bare bones. Plus, Brandan's birthday party had caused Patrick Horcan to arrive carrying a bad knee. It was going to be tough.

West Park had an impressive 73 players to choose from and their fitness proved decisive. The first game showed glimpses of what the boys are capable of with Harris leading from the front with some excellent running. In fact, although the score line was against us, we played very well in this game. Isabella was excellent and was unfortunate to have try disallowed for bouncing it over the line. The TMO confirmed it as very harsh. James also was denied a certain try when youthful exuberence in the referee had him blow his whistle for an injury rather than play on. Until we scored. Our only try of the first encounter was from Harris which was much deserved.

The second game continued to be a tale of missed opportunity amidst great endeavour. Patrick Hollins sashayed over the try line then forgot to put the ball down and was bundled into touch. Chris and George worked hard to keep possession moving and ran well. James was back to his wholehearted best, whilst Nathan was at his most combative. There seems to be something about fixtures in the Peoples Republic of St.Helens that bring out Nathan's inner warrior. Don't get it myself.

Fittingly, it was birthday boy Brandan who stole the show. Running straight, tackling hard, he was a well deserved man of the match. Not our best morning but still a creditable effort and least we got to play.