U13s Performance Sports/NW Counties Lancashire Cup Final 2010

16th March, 2010

U13’s

Eccleston And Wetshokonda Shine In Final

Blackbrook Royals Under 13’s lifted the Lancashire Cup for the first time, beating Rochdale Mayfield Mustangs by 18 points to 8, in a match that will be remembered for two stand-out performances.  Blackbrook centre David Eccleston was in searing form, scoring four tries, but even four tries weren’t enough to pick up the Man-of-the-Match award, that honour going to Rochdale’s Kevin Wetshokonda.  Wetshokonda had a superb game, especially in defence, but he could not prevent Blackbrook from taking victory. Disappointed at the final whistle, he said: “we’re gutted, we played to our best today but we’ll come back stronger.”

Try-scoring sensation Eccleston was delighted with way he and his team-mates played, saying: “it was great to score four tries. I really enjoyed it out there and we played very well.”

The match referee, Jamie Reid, was also in awe of both Eccleston and Wetshokonda, but heaped praise on both sides for the way they conducted themselves: “it was a well disciplined display from both teams.  On the day the better team won.”

Blackbrook took the early lead after 8 minutes.  A number of good drives gave Blackbrook the field position they needed to mount an attack and it was Eccleston who powered over in the right corner close to the flag.  The conversion was missed and Blackbrook led 4-0.

Rochdale immediately tried to get themselves level when full-back Nathan Coop kicked through the Blackbrook line.  He kicked once again to try and gain further yards and almost scored, before losing control of the ball within sight of the try line.

A few minutes before half-time, Blackbrook doubled their lead.  Winger Ant Sharrat ran 70 yards and looked almost certain to score, but a great last-ditch tackle from Wetshokonda held him short.  However, on the next play, Eccleston picked up the ball and scored a virtually identical try to his first.  Once again the conversion was missed and the score heading into half-time was 8-0.

As both teams took to the field for the second half, Rochdale knew that an early try would bring them back into the match.  An early try was exactly what they got.  Rochdale gradually crept further and further up the pitch, getting ready to assault the Blackbrook try line.  They kicked high on the last tackle and Isaac Noi plucked the ball basketball style, out of the air before grounding under pressure.  The following conversion was missed but Rochdale had halved the deficit to 8-4.

It didn’t take long though for Blackbrook to establish their two try advantage. Another great cross-field kick to the left corner saw Eccleston find himself in the right place at the right time to easily slide over and give Blackbrook a 12-4 lead.  This time scrum-half Ryan Houghton added the extras with his conversion, and the lead was extended to 14-4.

Barely 5 minutes later, Blackbrook found themselves even further in front. The Blackbrook team, who had worked tirelessly all afternoon, drove the ball forward once more to gain yards.  Their work paid off as try-scoring titan Eccleston increased his tally for the day to four with another simple grounding in the corner.  The extras weren’t added and the score was now 18-8.

With time running out, Rochdale tried in vain to search for a way back into the contest, and got a second consolation try of the afternoon through Kye Greenwood who charged through the Blackbrook defence to score.  The score stayed at 18-8 after the conversion attempt was unsuccessful.  That was the last action of an eventful match and as the hooter sounded, the Blackbrook players were jubilant, jumping and cheering between themselves.  The Rochdale players meanwhile were clearly disappointed, but left the field to a standing ovation, the crowd knowing that their effort and commitment was faultless.

The Blackbrook team climbed the stairs to pick up their medals and the Lancashire Cup, as the 2010 champions. 

Blackbrook coach, Ian Williams was pleased with his team’s performance: “I’m really proud of them; it was a great team effort. It’s the first time we’ve won this.  We didn’t make the final last year so it shows progression.  Credit to Rochdale though, they pushed us all the way.”

Photos of the day are available to view and purchase at www.kt8photography.co.uk