LIVERPOOL ST HELENS 42 BOWDON 27

And although LSH finished the game on top it was a close and evenly contested game with 11 tries in total and the lead changing hands five times. Three LSH scores in the last 15 minutes put 20 points on the score line and committed Bowdon to a defeat but with a hard earned try scoring bonus point.

Coach Murray had stressed the need for a positive start and the boys duly obliged forcing a penalty on eight minutes that Mike Swetman comfortably slotted. The initiative was soon given back to LSH however with them hitting back through a try from a driving maul quickly followed by the first of two intercept tries from within their own 22.

However, and as a number of the LSH support were to comment after the game, this Bowdon side carries threats all over the park and stunning scores from centres Sam Pacey and Liam Connolly, one of which would already be an early contender for try of the season put Bowdon back in the lead. Another score from LSH, and possibly the ugliest try you would ever wish to witness (with at least two handling errors and the ball initially being grounded, and not for the last time, on a poorly marked 5 metre line before LSH spotted the error and quickly corrected unopposed) meant the first half ended 17-15.

Soon after the break LSH extended their lead with a try from deep. Bowdon’s response was swift and deadly with the boys enjoying a period of sustained pressure and territory that would lead to a second try for Sam Pacey and one for scrum half John Blackwell and put Bowdon into a 22-27 lead as the game moved into the last quarter.

LSH however are not a side that go down easy. Bowdon pushed to close out the game, initially thinking they had scored a winning try when Fiji Fred grounded the ball over the line, but again it was the groundsman that had the last laugh when all realised it was an errant 5 metre line again and LSH cleared. LSH responded to the scare and forced another try from a rolling maul off a penalty lineout quickly followed by a second intercept try as Bowdon pushed hard, to open an unbridgeable gap in the remaining time. A final LSH try at the death put an end to the scoring.

Whilst a disappointing loss there was a clear and unmistakable belief within the squad that things are beginning to gel and the new patterns will pay dividends once bedded in. With a weakened replacements bench due to a plumbing issue (!!) and with a number of players unavailable, competition for places and the prospects for a successful season remain in clear focus.

Team
Neal Collinge, Chris Oldham, Kikki Vatikiotis, Pete Lineham, John Blanchard (c), Tom Pain, Craig Mason, Tom Gomulko, John Blackwell, Michael Swetman, Fiji Fred, Sammy Pacey, Liam Connolly, Jack Bennett, Stuart Lindsay. Replacements - Willie Landman, John Linkman