Whitchurch 20 vs Liverpool St Helens 14

This was a match that could accurately be called, “David  V  Goliath”. 

The once mighty Scousers came to Edgeley Park on a wet and windy day to face a resurgent team of reds and were soundly beaten. Whitchurch began strongly and went ahead after less than ten minutes with a move straight off the training ground. A line out seven metres out was split into two pods and the ball was dropped off the top to a charging Steve Bloore who powered his way over to score in the corner. The Shropshire men continued their pressure and moved the much heavier Merseysiders all over the park. Twenty minutes in, Joe Mullock broke from a scrum on his own 22 to slip the ball out to Jack Rowley on the wing who ran in from 60 metres  chased by the whole team of visitors. The game progressed with end to end rugby but the home side made easy work of defending and the visitors never really looked like scoring.  Just before half time, a neat cross kick from Danny Nicholas was caught by the ever impressive Nathan Horton and he touched down out wide.  The slippy conditions made converting the tries difficult but Whitchurch went into the break 15 to 0 up. 

         The second half seemed to start in slow motion and the home side were not quite as dominant but the visitors still did not seem to threaten the home line. The Shropshire men woke up and pressured the visitors, eventually found a flowing movement out in the backs which was rounded off by Teddy Ravenscroft to secure the try bonus point.  The reds now relaxed and became sloppy, giving away numerous penalties for offside and letting their guests gain territory. It was no surprise that their efforts were rewarded by a try close in to the posts. The kick was converted and the score lay at 20 pts to 7 pts. The game was grinding to a halt but the proud Scousers worked hard to redeem themselves and as the clock moved into injury time, scored an identical try to their first. The conversion saw the end of the match with the Whitchurch men celebrating their five point win. 

         This win keeps the Shropshire heroes in fifth place with each game showing improvement. They are away next week at Vale of Lune.