MATCH REPORT -  16th September 2006 - Vagabonds v Wirral  11 - 32  

Skanco Vagabonds entertained Wirral RFC at their sun drenched Glencrutchery Road pitch on Saturday in this Jaks sponsored Euromanx South Lancashire/Cheshire division one match. Reports had filtered through that the visiting Cheshire side had undertaken summer training playing rugby league, and fancied themselves as potential promotion candidates. Their ambitions do not appear groundless after the demonstration of total rugby that they produced, demolishing the home team’s hopes in a devastating first half performance.

To be fair, conditions suited their style of play perfectly, and they have to be congratulated for sticking to their game plan after a shaky start, knocking on no fewer than five times in the opening five minutes. Vagabonds sensed their early nerves and sent over a few high balls, gladly accepting the resulting scrummages well up field. However after a short period of ping pong, space appeared wide on Vagabonds right. A perfectly angled kick from the visitors exploited this, and a kindly bounce gave Steve Triggs on the left wing an easy run over the line to score under the posts. Full back Harvey added the conversion.

Vagabonds forwards began to make their presence felt, and from a prolonged series of drives Gericke Scheurkogel broke away. He was stopped with a high tackle in front of the posts, gifting a penalty and an easy three points for Jon Beckley.

A poor clearance kick from the home side on the quarter hour landed in the midst of a group of Wirral players on the half way line. Some slick running and passing left the hosts defence in tatters for scrum half Egan to touch down near the posts. Harvey again added the conversion. Vagabonds hit back immediately, and a Wirral hand in a ruck gave them another penalty wide on the left. A superb strike by Beckley sailed through the posts. Further pressure from the Manx side produced another scoring chance for Beckley , but his kick hit the posts, bounced back into play and effectively ended their chances of staying in contention.

Wirral were still running the ball at every opportunity, full back Harvey entering the back line at every opportunity. As they gained confidence, more openings were created. Sadly for them a little over eagerness in the support play led to their first disallowed try after a forward pass followed a great break by Triggs on the wing.

On the half hour Vagabonds tried to run the ball out of their 22 metre area. The visitors first up tackling created turnover ball, and with players to spare on the left shifted the ball out quickly for second row Smith to add to their try count. The conversion attempt by Harvey drifted wide. However, he made amends shortly after when a Vagabond player was caught offside following a charged down kick. The penalty left the sides changing ends with the score Vagabonds 6, Wirral 22.

The Cheshire outfit seemed determined to carry on in the same vein in the second half, with an excellent passage of play spreading across the field and back again, stretching Vagabonds defence. An intelligent kick forward was gathered by Kay in the centre to score near the posts. Harveys successful conversion ruined any lingering hopes of a Vagabonds fight back.

The Glencrutchery Road side refused to lie down though, and the forwards started to use their weight advantage to some effect. Second row Bryn Griffith left the field, and captain Kevin Riley moved up from number eight to replace him. Riaan Nel moved from blindside flank to number eight and Bryan Kennaugh came off the bench to cover the blindside. Suddenly there was a little more urgency at the base of the scrum, and the visitors defensive abilities were being tested. They proved able to answer any questions Vagas were now asking, but the free ranging activities of their loose forwards were reduced. They still ran the ball at every opportunity, and had yet another try disallowed due to a forward pass. Sadly for them their efforts produced no more tries.

Even with the somewhat harsh sinbinnining of Ben Wood on the hour the home forwards were still able to hold their own. On his return to the fray Vagabonds shuffled their back division to give Danny Williams a chance at outside half, and with the improved width to their game were able to apply sustained pressure on the visitors line, resulting in an unconverted try wide on the left for James Clarke.

In the dying moments of the game Wirral were awarded a penalty when the Manx sides forwards were deemed to have prevented play by diving over the ball. Despite the distance from goal, Harvey completed a good personal performance by adding the last points to leave the final score Vagabonds 11, Wirral 32.

Match photos courtesy of Brian Goldie:

Match photos courtesy of Pete Makin: