Wigan 26 - 6 Orrell

Wigan welcomed Orrell to Douglas Valley this weekend in the latest edition of the ADM Lancs Cheshire leagues for what was to be a feisty local derby. A bumper crowd were in attendance as rivalries and friendships were renewed.

It was Orrell who took the early spoils, taking advantage of good field position and some Wigan indiscipline to slot a penalty after only 4 minutes of play.

Wigan settled into the game but were stifled more often than not, by a tenacious Orrell defence. It was a rare Orrell attack that found the amber and black in Wigan territory before they were once again awarded a penalty in front of the sticks. The penalty was cooly taken and the away side had 0-6 lead after 20 minutes.

With Wigan building pressure in the Orrell half, the Orrell no.7 took advantage of play having moved on and set about Chris Carr with a flurry of punches. Carr retaliated and in the ensuing melee both sides set about each other. Once the sides were separated the referee tried to make sense of what had happened and sent Carr to the sin bin for 10 minutes and sent Danny Cassidy off for a headbutt, in what was a moment of madness from the Wigan standoff.

Down to 13 men, Wigan refocussed and came into their own. Captain, Sam Gee took the game by the scruff of the neck and created a try from nothing with a deft chip over the defensive line which was quickly chased down by Jack Proffitt for Wigan’s opening score. Joss Parker added the conversion to give Wigan a 7-6 lead at the half.

Chris Carr returned to the fray bloody and battered after the half but was clearly determined to see things right. A move off the back of the scrum found Carr hitting the line at pace and he broke from 35 yards to score Wigan’s second. Parker added the conversion.

With 20 minutes of the game remaining, Wigan remained in control and set about racking up the tries needed for a bonus point. Will Boardman came into the centres and this time it was his turn to time his run to perfection, breaking the line and going over for Wigan’s third.

Wigan’s fourth and final try came just 5 minutes from time. Chris Carr found space down the left-hand side before running over the top of the fullback and scoring close to the posts. Parker added the conversion for a 26-6 bonus point victory made all the more enjoyable by the derby day atmosphere. As scores from elsewhere came in, it was noted that Thornton Cleveleys could only make a draw with Bury, meaning Wigan top the table with huge fixtures against Garstang and Thornton Cleveleys in the coming weeks.