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Match Report – St Helens Junior Academy v Wigan Junior Academy

Last Gasp Kyle Keeps Unbeaten Record Intact

St Helens Junior Academy 27 v 26 Wigan Junior Academy

This was it. The battle of the only two unbeaten teams in the Junior Academy Championship. That would have been enough, but throw in local bragging rights and the scene was set for a titanic tussle. That’s exactly what we got, but it was your Super Saints who held their nerve and came away with the points.

Sometimes in these sorts of matches the big name players cancel each out and it’s left to the fringe players to do something that can make all the difference to the end result. Step up Andy Yates. So often the limelight is grabbed by his front row partner Big Froddy but it was Yates who set the stall out for a dominant first 36 1/2 minutes with his 30 metre break in Saints first set. That set up a repeat set which ultimately led to the first score of the match. Clurgy took advantage of an injury at marker and darted out of dummy half to the fullback finding Kyle on his heels to score under the sticks. First blood to the Red Vee. That man Kyle then saved the Junior Academy’s bacon when he chased back 70 metres to intercept a try scoring pass on our line. Foz struck the first of a series of penalties to give the Saints an 8 – 0 lead. The lead was cut to 2 points when the Warriors man of the match Sam Tomkins scored by the sticks after taking advantage of a suspiciously adjacent pass earlier in the move. Two more Foz penalties for further indiscretions (one where Gaz Frod found himself doing helicopter impressions upside down!) stretched the lead to 6 again. Dicko was held short on the last after a great break down the left by Tom Armstrong. From the ensuing handover a huge tackle from Armstrong, Dixon and Twam forced the player into touch on half way. A further penalty, for a head high tackle reminiscent of the first team match on Good Friday, took the Saints deep into enemy territory. The ball was spread from left to right and Foz cut back inside taking three over the line with him to score. He coolly slotted over the conversion and 18 – 6 was beginning to look just rewards for the dominance shown. However, all that was to change four minutes from the break as two penalties piggybacked the Warriors to the line and poor awareness from the Saints defence allowed a quick tap and plunge to the line. Right on the stroke of the whistle a knock-on in the home defence gave a scrum on half way. A chip from Tomkins, a very, very adjacent offside decision not given and the try was scored in the corner. Thankfully the conversion was missed and the Saints still had a slender lead going into the dressing rooms.

The start of the second half was a particularly nervy affair as both sides tested each other out. Foz extended the lead to 4 points with a penalty for offside but the Saints were lucky as Tomkins again pierced the line only to fall at Kyle’s feet as he was about to sidestep through. Then came the obligatory try from super-sub Jonny Lomax. A penalty for offside saw Kyle drive us deep into the right corner. The ball was swept left and Tom Armstrong was again held short. From the play the ball Jonny Lomax steamed on to the ball and crashed over. Another majestic touchline conversion from the faultless Foz made the lead into ten. It was his big crash tackle five minutes later that prevented a Warriors try but you could sense that they were coming. Sure enough it was that man Tomkins who put a chip through to the line and the Saints defence did a very good impression of a bunch of statues as they stood and watched the try be scored. Two minutes later and Tomkins put up a bomb that was caught again largely unchallenged by the Warriors fullback who offloaded to Tomkins on the burst. Out of nowhere came a speeding bullet called Gary Wheeler to pull off a magnificent try saving tackle from behind. With eight minutes to go the scores were level as a tiring Saints defence was punctured for what we all thought was the match winner. A simple conversion from 10 metres to the left of the sticks and Saints hearts would have been broken. The enormity of the situation got to the kicker and it went wide. The very next set and the warriors drove to within 20 of the sticks only for Tomkins to miss with an easy drop goal attempt. This galvanised the Saints and Froddy and Clurgy made energy sapping drives to get us close. On the last the ball was fed back to Kyle who in his own inimitable style nonchalantly stroked the ball through from forty metres out. Back came the Warriors only for Tomkins to miss from 10 metres out this time.

I’ve been saying all season that there would be sterner tests ahead. This was the first. The relatively young Saints side withstood the bombardment of their older counterparts and will take great heart from their victory. The Man of the Match is a difficult one to call. Wheeler’s artistry and work rate deserve a mention as does Twam for repeatedly taking the pressure off the forwards with dummy half runs deep in his own half. But sharing the award for 80 minutes of tireless work in attack and punishing defence are Matty Ashurst and Sean Magennis.

The celebrations at the end were noisy, exuberant (a deafening rendition of when the Saints Go Marching In that cannot fail to have been heard in the sombre dressing room down the corridor) and thoroughly deserved. Though quite what Nathan thought he was doing in the shower fully clothed none of us really know!

Saints U18’s:

Tries : Jamie Foster, Kyle Eastmond, Jonny Lomax.

Goals : Jamie Foster 7.

Wigan U18’s:

Tries : Josh Veivers, Ross Bradley, Nicki Stanton, Sam Tomkins, Gerry Bridge.

Goals : Nicki Stanton 2, Chris Gerrard.

Half Time : Saints U18’s 18

Wigan U18’s 16

Full Time : Saints U18’s 27

Wigan U18’s 26