3 Wins Out Of 3 During Pre-Season... Optimism Abounds!
After smashing North Wales Crusaders away from home, Swinton were very comfortable against a Wigan Under 19's side:
Swinton Lions 44 Wigan Select XIII 6 by Jeff Tyldesley
It was a return to the ‘good old days’ of winter rugby league, with the air punctuated by the clouds of the players’ breath while the cold nipped at the fingers of competitors and spectators alike.
In the end, Swinton continued their unbeaten pre-season with a Thursday night victory but it was experienced heads and speed of hand that ultimately defeated the young cherry and whites, for whom Liam Byrne, Joe Brown and Sammy Kibula were among the stand outs.
Although the conditions were freezing like those of the past, the pitch was not an old-fashioned mudheap, which allowed the Lions to exhibit the devil-may-care flair-filled rugby that has characterised them under John Duffy from the off; opening up a gap at the right hand corner for Shaun Robinson to squeeze over.
There was great interplay in their next set after the resumption for Swinton, Chris Hankinson surging through, support arrived in the form of Grant Gore who played in Ben White, with the try’s originator Hankinson goaling one from two of the early four pointers.
Matthew Peet’s fledglings far from drooped under this pressure, a high kick smartly rebounded off the post and caused problems but it was when they were on the back foot that they snatched their sole score, a lost ball when Swinton were attacking was scooped up by Brown, who went ninety metres, sharing incredible speed with the onlookers. Harry Smith put Wigan within four points.
A tight ten minutes followed but a couple of niggly penalties were deadly for the Warriors, giving Swinton ample field position for Hankinson to slice through off Gore’s pass.
New full back Jack Murphy’s keenness to join the line has been clear during the friendlies and once again, he caused havoc before handing over to White for his second.
Chris Atkin came off the bench and took over the kicking, adding the extras for White’s try and then on to Sean Kenny’s four pointer, after Gore and Atkin’s splendid work in tandem, affording the Lions greater distance between them and Wigan at the break.
The second half, although not reflected in the scoreline, was a closer affair than it looked in the final margin. There were no points conceded in the opening exchanges, as the well-rotated benches allowed for some enthusiastic defence from both sides.
The next try was announced as a conversion! Showing it’s not only players but PA announcers who can be working out the rust in these trial games! Having had the Warriors thwart Robinson just shy of his second try, Swinton took their time before striking out wide, Murphy once again overloading the flanks, resulting in Matt Gardner taking full advantage.
At times, you feel like Robinson has some kind of homing pigeon type setting for the tryline, given the ball in a tricky situation with twenty metres to go out wide, he looked distinctly second favourite to score but somehow managed to divebomb his way over at the flag.
After that fine effort, Atkin was cruelly denied by the post from adding on two more points for Swinton before Sean Kenny, whose break got the Lions in striking distance, took the ball from the base of the scrum, then flicked it to Atkin who scorched away.
A lax high tackle lead to it all blowing up in the centre of the park but with the officials in no mood to dispense with cards, it resulted in only a quick word with those involved.
There was still time for Mike Butt to also go over in the corner with Atkin goaling his second of the final half, to complete the scoring in a healthy victory for the Championship side.
SWINTON LIONS: Jack Murphy 8, Shaun Robinson 8, Chris Hankinson 8, Matt Gardner 7, Mike Butt 7, Ben White 8, Grant Gore 7, Rob Lever 7, Sean Kenny 8, Jordan Hand 7, Connor Dwyer 6, Oliver Davies 8, Andy Thornley 7.
Subs: Ben Austin 6, Anthony Bate 7, Chris Atkin 7, Luke Waterworth 7, Josh Houghton 6.
Tries: Robinson 5, 62, White 8, 33, Hankinson 28, Kenny 40, Gardner 55, Atkin 72, Butt 75. Goals: Hankinson 1/3, Atkin 3/6.
WIGAN SELECT XIII: Craig Mullen 6, Joe Brown 8, James Barran 6, James Worthington 6, Sam Grant 7, Harry Smith 7, Olly Russell 6, Caine Barns 7, Paddy Casey 6, Liam Byrne 7, Joe Pilling 6, Liam Paisley 7, Oliver Partington 6.
Subs: Nico Rizzelli 6, Sam Adejumo 6, Tom Maloney 6, Aiden Roden 6, Aiden Sutton 7, Sammy Kibula 8.
Tries: Brown 18, Goal: Smith 1/1.
Referee: Liam Moore 85/100 / Half Time: 26-6 / Penalties: 5-4 / Sin Bins: None / Sent Off: None / Weather: Cold and dry / Man of the Match: Shaun Robinson (Swinton) / Attendance: 420 / Match Rating: 4/5.