Road To Wembley - Round 1

A Winning Comeback and a Semi-Permanent Stamp

You’ve eaten the mince pies; used, lost or thrown away some Christmas presents; and the weather is still atrocious.  The back-end of January has arrived and that means one thing ... the rugby league season is upon us once again.

As ever, for me the season started with a visit to see if Leigh Miners Rangers could make it through to Round 2 for the first time since 2014.  I’ve came here the last two years and unfortunately the Miners have succumbed to defeat each time.

Last season the Miners were pipped by neighbours Wigan St Pats in Round 1 in a match that was streamed live by BBC Online.  Their opponents this time were Myton Warriors from Hull who enjoyed an impressive run to the third round last term and finished a respectable eighth place in the National Conference Premier Division.  Leigh on the other hand were relegated to Division One!

I arrived at Twist Lane in decent time as I was conscious if how busy it was this time last year.  But I got there and I was surprised at how quiet and subdued the place was.  The car park was barely half full and the ground seemed empty, and all the noise I could hear came from the Miners squad warming up on the pitch.  However, thinking back, it was a local derby last year and it was being streamed live.

I paid the very reasonable entrance fee of £2.50 and an extra quid for a match programme, got my hand stamped, and went in to grab myself a bite to eat.  A cup of tea and chips with curry sauce (a personal favourite wherever I go) were purchased for £2.70.

As I was stood watching the players warm up I’d noticed someone I thought I recognised walking in so did the only thing you can do and went up to introduce myself.  I was right and it was none other than a fellow rugby league writer and reporter, Dave Parkinson (@DParkyRL).  We both follow each other on social media but had never met before so it was nice speaking to him about all levels of rugby league throughout the match.

Thankfully, the ground got a lot busier by kick off and, if the first half was a lesson in attacking and defending by Leigh Miners, it certainly wasn’t a lesson on kicking.  Early season conditions made the ground and the ball very slippy and errors were at a premium.  The home side seemed to handle the conditions better and were 12-0 to the good by half time thanks to three tries.  Unfortunately, each subsequent conversion was missed, albeit from difficult positions, and Myton could sense they weren’t out of this game.

They should have had a couple of tries of their own but some excellent defending denied the Warriors from downing the ball over the line.  Instead, Miners used the conditions to their advantage to gang up and slide the opposition out of play when it looked certain they would score.

As I walked through the bar at half time I was pretty certain I’d spotted Featherstone boss John Duffy enjoying a pint – if it wasn’t him it was a very good lookalike.

At the break I felt that this may be the year I finally see the Miners win.  The second half got underway, by which time, another of Dave’s acquaintances had joined us, and Leigh were defending their slender 12 point lead.  Myton were up for this, came out strong and within a few minutes had their first try just the left of the post.  And the Warriors grabbed a second soon after and the difference was just two points after a failed conversion.

The Miners were wobbling and too many silly mistakes were coming into their game which allowed the visitors the chance at another try, which they duly took, with around 20 minutes left to play.  The score was 12-16 and Myton were now favourites.

Around the time we heard a King Charles Spaniel choking on a piece of food it had found on the floor, Leigh had retaken the lead thanks to a fourth try and this time it was converted.  Myton were on the brink of going out of the competition but up stepped Nathan Taylor to grab the winning try and an excellent conversion from Ash James sealed victory for the NCL Premier Division side.  I’m pleased to report that the dog was ok.

To finish off a day of recognising people, I bumped into one of Barrow Raiders’ players who I travelled to Toronto with last May.  A brief hello and catch-up made me thankful that I don’t play rugby or have to face the dreaded pre-season training on the sand dunes of Barrow’s Roanhead Beach.

I’ve got wait a few days before I found out where I’ll be heading next but it could be anywhere from West Cumbria, East Yorkshire or London.

On a final note, I don’t know what they put in those stamps but I’m still struggling to scrub the print off the back of my hand!

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