Vale of Lune enjoys away day win at Widnes

MATCH REPORT: Widnes 15 Vale of Lune 17

A sunny outing to Merseyside, deep into rugby league turf, found the enclave that is newly-promoted Widnes RUFC.

Bolstered by the return of Alex Briggs and Tim Nicholson to the lineup, the Vale were keen to stem the recent run of disappointments, and return to winning ways. 

Possession and territory were under Vale control for sustained periods, interrupted occasionally by Widnes' clearance kicks to safety.

Searching for that elusive gap, the Vale backs stretched the Widnes line once too often, giving winger Jordan Fern the chance to head for the left corner. When Fern was caught in possession, it was stand-off Jonny Silverwood who came through to finish the move and claim an early lead. 

The Vale's second try was skilfully engineered by the forwards. The driving maul worked well and the steady trudge to the line enabled hooker Andy Powers, marking his 250th Vale first team appearance, to complete the manoeuvre. Widnes soon replied with a penalty goal to get them on the scoreboard. 

The Vale's back row of Sam Wallbank, Mark Goodman and Jack Ayrton worked as one unit, overpowering their counter parts to enable their peers to gain ground over and over.

Once in range, the driving maul again paid off, this time it was captain Ayrton who supplied the ultimate downward pressure.

Chris Ramwell converted, and a 14 point lead was established. It was all going Vale's way until Wallbank transgressed by handling in the ruck. He headed off for a 10 minute break on the stroke of half time, with the score at 3 - 17.

A man down is a setback, but Wallbank's absence interrupted the highly effective back row partnership.

The Vale held on, relying on dogged defending to contain the rising Widnes threat.

A fearless, try-saving tackle by the resurgent Alex Briggs on the Widnes winger kept the scoreline healthy, until Wallbank's return. However, another yellow card, this time for Mark Goodman for another handling offence in the ruck, resulted in a second impediment to the 'Swiss watch' efficiency of the Vale's forwards. 

Widnes capitalised on their numerical advantage with a converted try. With only seven points in it, nerves were beginning to show.

A Vale penalty kick went wide and Widnes seized the initiative.

A flamboyant, swallow-dive try in the dying seconds gave Widnes a chance to convert and draw the game.

Feelings were running high and the referee worked hard to restore peace. The kicker stepped up, and the crowd fell silent. To the delight of the travelling support, the ball soared into the air and came down outside the uprights, giving a deserved victory to the visitors. 

Prop Archie Fowler was again anointed as man-of-the-match. The spoils were four league points in NW2 for the win, and one for Widnes for achieving a close score.

Both teams started the day in mid-table and finished it by swapping league positions.

Next week sees first team action return to Powder House Lane with another new opponent in Eccles RUFC. K.O. at 3pm. 

Team:    A. Fowler, A. Powers, M. Mount,  T. Nicholson, J. Ayrton (c), M. Goodman, S. Wallbank, J. Batty, J. Silverwood, J. Fern, A. Bolton, C. Ramwell, C. Murrell, D. Leighton.   Reps: A. Briggs, H. Dokter, G. Oyston.