North West Counties Plate Winners 2008

SHEVINGTON SHARKS U12s 30 - THATTO HEATH U12s 6 - 27th April 2008.

The Sharks ended their season on a high with a well earned victory over St Helens rivals Thatto Heath. The team travelled to Fylde Rugby union and produced an excellent display to lift the plate.Sam Welch put the first points on the board with the first of his two tries after he collected a well placed kick to score under the posts. Nico Moorfield crossed for the next try after a strong weaving run and Jake Shorrocks added the third try, after spotting a gap in the Thatto defence, to see the Sharks turn around at half time with a comfortable 18-0 lead.

Early in the second half the Sharks were stunned when Thatto managed to breach their solid defence following a short kick and chase and it looked for a while as if Thatto were going to get back into the game. However the Sharks withstood the pressure and took the game away from their opponents with two excellent pieces of individual skill. Rob Pritchard crossed for the first try, jinking his way through numerous attempted tackles before touching down under the post. But perhaps the best try was saved for the last as centre Sam Welch scored his second try making a break from his own half to outpace the chasing defenders.

Congratulations to all the lads from the coaches and parents for a great season.

And well done from all connected with the Sharks.

 

SHEVINGTON SHARKS U12’S 22 CLOCK FACE U12’S 0 - 20th April 2008.

Rob Pritchard moved from scrum half to the hooker position and produced a solid performance both in attack and defence, taking the Top Tackler award in the process. Lewis Connell switched from full back to scrum half and bagged a brace of tries, his second a stunning full length solo effort. His endeavour caught the eye of the watching crowds and he was justifiably given the Spectators award.

Ben Grogan came on as sub and grabbed his second try for the club; other scorers included Jake Simm and Man of the Match Sam Welch.

Joe Foster put in a solid performance. Congratulations also to Richard Webster making his debut on the wing for the club.

James Hancock took the Coaches award, showing his versatility covering a number of positions during the game as injuries and knocks meant constant reshuffling for the Sharks.

 

SHEVINGTON SHARKS U12’S 0 WIGAN ST JUDES U12’S 4 - 13th April 2008.

The Sharks travelled the short distance to St Judes to face their local rivals on a very heavy, boggy pitch. From the start it was clear that the defences were going to be on top and the game was going to be a hard slog for both outfits. St Judes applied the early pressure and had a number of repeat sets on the Shevington line, but the defence held strong and the teams turned around at half time 0-0.

It took a determined run from one of the Judes players to crash through the Sharks defence to break the deadlock late in the second half.

The Sharks continued to try to play flowing rugby by moving the ball through hands, but bad handling, due to the conditions saw them continuously gift the ball back to the St Judes side. The game ended with the one try separating the teams.

Harry Finch took the Man Of the match award for an outstanding defensive display, supported throughout by Top Tackler Rob Pritchard. Sam Wilde took the Spectators vote and Alex Budd the Coaches award.

A good solid display by the Sharks outfit.

 

 

SHEVINGTON SHARKS U12’S 20 CROSFIELDS U12’S 10 - 6th April 2008.

 

The Sharks struck first when Jake Simm crossed in the corner after some quick handling took the ball from one side of the field to the other. Harry Finch managed the second score of the first half and the teams turned round 10 all at half time.

Playing with a slight downhill advantage the Sharks registered two further unanswered tries in the second half, the first an outstanding effort from Lewis Connell who backed up following a great break by Spectators award winner Nico Moorfield. The second a solo break from Man of the Match Jake Shorrocks.

Jason Cowell took the Top Tackler award and Sam Wilde the coaches’ award following a great defensive display.

 

SHEVINGTON SHARKS U12s THATTO HEATH U12s - 30th March 2008.

Sorry match report not currently available. Will update shortly.

 

North West Counties Plate Semi Final

Shevington Sharks U12s 14  - Orrell St James U12s 10 - 16th March 2008.

Shevington were forced to reverse the fixture as once again the Sharks pitches were declared unfit. However they only had a short journey to local rivals Orrell St James to complete the fixture postponed from the previous week.

Playing up the slope in the first half the Sharks knew it was vital that they limited Orrell's chances and when Orrell crossed the line early in the first half things did not look good for the Sharks. However the Sharks defence rallied and ensured that Orrell did not post any further scores. With minutes to go in the first half the Sharks managed to reduce the deficit when Spectators award winner Jake Simm crossed for the first of his two tries to ensure that the teams turned around at half time with only a two point difference.

The second half gave the Sharks the advantage of playing down hill and they soon made it count. A great break by Man of the Match Nico Moorfield took the Sharks close to the Orrell try line. Quick smart handling saw the ball fly from one wing to the other as Sam Welch crashed over to give the Sharks the lead for the first time in the game. Rob Pritchard converted to add the extra two.
To their credit Orrell rallied and managed to cross the Sharks line for an unconverted try that saw the teams draw level.

Both sets of supporters knew the game was always going to be close and only inches separated the two teams.The Sharks thought they had taken the lead when the referee awarded them a try only to change his mind declaring the touchdown to be short. Again inches came into play when one of the Orrell players was judged to have been tackled into touch. Form the ensuing scrum the Sharks once again put the ball quickly through hands and Jake Simm crossed the line in the opposite corner for his second try. With Top Tackler award winner Harry Finch in great form, supported by a solid performance from centre James Hancock the Sharks defence held firm to take a close fought but well earned win. Sam Gray took the coaches award for his hard work both in defence and for the hard yards gained diving the ball forward.

 

Shevington Sharks U12s 0 - Pilkington Recs U12s 30 - 2nd March 2008.

 

The Sharks continued their series of away fixtures with a trip to St Helens to face strong opponents Pilkingtons. Despite their best efforts they could not hold out against the power and pace of the St Helens side. In the first half the Sharks did manage to break the Pilkingtons first line of defence but never had the support to make the breaks count.

Harry Finch tackled strongly throughout and his performance earned him the Man of the Match award. Sam Welch worked hard in the centre position both in attack and defence and deservedly took the spectators award.  Jason Cowell took the Top Tackler award and Brad Cartwright, who took a heavy knock in the first few minutes, took the coaches award for his determination to remain in the game.

Despite the score the coaches were proud of the commitment to the end shown by the team.

 

SHEVINGTON SHARKS U12’S 18 WEST BANK REDS U 12’S 4 - 24th Feb 2008.

The Sharks continued their sequence of away games with a trip to Widnes WestBank to face the Reds. The early exchanges confirmed that the Sharks were not going to have an easy day. Westbank tackled doggedly and ran the ball in hard and both defences had to be strong. However it was the Sharks who eventually broke the deadlock. Following a few determined drives from the forwards the ball was then moved quickly through hands and Man of the Match winner Sam Welch found his winger Jake Simm out in the clear.  The try however still took some scoring but the winger outpaced the defence to score his first try for the club.

The teams turned around at half time with the Sharks holding a slender 4-0 lead.

The second half however saw the Sharks start to pull clear. Playing his first game for the Sharks Ben Grogan showed great strength and determination to force his way over for his first try for the club. His all round performance earned him the Coaches Award. Rob Pritchard added further points shortly afterwards scooting into the corner, he then went on to convert his own try brilliantly from the touchline. Spectators award winner Lewis Connell registered the Sharks fourth try with a twisting run that saw him break clear of the Westbank defence and touch down close to the posts.

Jason Cowell took the Top Tackler and was well supported in defence by Sam Welch .

 

SHEVINGTON SHARKS U12’S 34 LEIGH EAST WASPS U12’S 4 - 17th Feb 2008.

The Sharks were scheduled to host local rivals St Patricks but due to them having and outstanding cup fixture had to hastily arrange a game against the Wasps. This would be the third time that the teams would meet since the Christmas break, the previous two had been competitive games with the Sharks coming out on top on both occasions. The third meeting proved to be no exception with the Sharks taking the victory against the determined Leigh outfit.

The Sharks took the opportunity to ring a few changes and allowed a number of players to have run outs in unfamiliar positions. Lewis Connell stepped in at full back and produced a faultless performance rightly earning him the Man of the Match award. Jason Cowell moved to the number 9 spot, and took the Coaches award. Jake Shorrocks and Sam Wilde both crossed the line twice, other try scorers were James Hancock and  Top Tackle award winner  Rob Pritchard. Jake Simm earned the Spectators award for solid displays both on the wing and when covering at loose forward.

Congratulations to Joe Foster who had an outstanding debut for the club.

 

SHEVINGTON SHARKS U12’S 28 LEIGH EAST WASPS U12’S 0 - 10th Feb 2008.

The Sharks travelled to Leigh to take on the Wasps in the NWC plate and came away with a well deserved victory. The tries came from Jake Shorrocks, Lewis Connell (2), Jay Cowell and Cameron Boulter but for the first ten minutes the Wasps looked to be on top. Rob Pritchard was busy all over the park and took the Man of the Match award. Jake Shorrocks constantly probed the Leigh defence and was justly awarded the Spectators award. James Hancock took the Top tackler award and was supported by Alex Budd who put in some big hits to take the Coaches award.

Jack Purdham had a steady start on his Sharks debut.

 

SHEVINGTON SHARKS U12’S 6 WIDNES MOORFIELD U12’S 6 - 3rd Feb 2008.

  

Shevington travelled to Widnes and were unfortunate to come away with only a draw. They came very close to keeping the clean a clean sheet but one small lapse in concentration allowed the Widnes outfit to cross the line. The converted try gave Moorfield a 6-0 lead at half time.

 

The second half was a different story and the Sharks dominated territory and soon registered points on the board after Harry Finch took an off load from Joint Top Tackler Sam Welch to crash over from close range and register his first ever try for the Sharks. Jake Shorrocks slotted over the conversion to level the scores.

 

With the Sharks forwards running hard and Coaches award winner James Hancock, supported by the other Joint Top tackler Rob Pritchard outstanding in defence Moorfield were restricted to occasional forays into the Sharks half, but never really threatened to add the extra points. The Sharks however could not make their domination count and threw away a number of chances to register extra points.

 

Jason Cowell was solid at full back comfortably wrapping up everything that Moorfield threw at him and rightly earned the Man of the Match award. Jake Simm had a solid performance on the wing with some great driving runs earning him the Spectators award.

 

SHEVINGTON SHARKS U12’S 20 LEIGH EAST WASPS U12’S 6 - 20th Jan 2008.

 

 

SHEVINGTON SHARKS U12’S 4 WIGAN ST PAT’S U12’S 22 - 13th Jan 2008.

 

After a long lay off from match rugby Shevington started well with an outstanding try in the corner by winger Sam Gray. St Pat’s hit back with a try and the closely fought first half finished all square at 4 - 4.

 

After the break St Pat’s scored a couple of quick tries and although Shevington worked hard at times they struggled to maintain forward momentum in attack and focus in defence against determined opposition.

 

Man of the Match Sam Welch played a very solid game in attack and defence Spectators' Choice Nico Moorfield was aggressive in attack Harry Finch was a worthy winner of the Top Tackler Award and Lewis Connell gained a very well deserved Coaches Award.

 

Shevington Sharks U12's  22 - Wigan St Judes U12's  4 - 25th Nov 2007.

 

 

Shevington Sharks U12's  16 - Orrell St James U12's  4 - 18th Nov 2007.

 

Following two very close games last season the Sharks anticipated another tough encounter today and they were not to be disappointed. Orrell arrived confident following their first ever victory over the Sharks at the end of last season, but by the same token the Sharks were out to avenge the defeat.

 

In atrocious conditions both teams handled the ball well however the difference between the two teams had to be the outstanding defence from the Sharks. With Top tackler Rob Pritchard in great form, backed by the ever steady Harry Finch the Sharks defence at times looked impenetrable. At one point they successfully defended four consecutive sets of six on their own line, a great achievement against a team with the calibre of St James.

 

Sam Wilde put the first points on the board for the Sharks, this was followed by an outstanding touchline conversion by Jake Shorrocks. The Sharks went on to extend their lead when Nico Moorfield crashed over close to the posts. Rob Pritchard tagged on the extra two. The teams turned round with the Sharks holding a 12-0 lead.

 

After the restart Orrell  increased the intensity and ran in a try out wide however prop Brad Cartwright took a short ball out wide and charged over in the corner to restore the Sharks two try advantage. The 12 point gap proved too much for Orrell as the Sharks defence held strong. Strong running from Sam Gray earned him the Coaches Award, Jake Simm took the Spectators Award. The Man of the Match award was given to the ever hard working Sam Welch who played in numerous positions, due to injuries, and was faultless throughout.

A solid performance from the Sharks saw them get back to winning ways following the previous weeks exit from the Lancs cup. It didnt take long for stand off Jake Shorrocks to spot the gap and weave his way through the defence to touch down in the corner. The conversion was missed but the Sharks registered more point when Brad Cartwright came off the bench and with his second carry charged through under the posts to register the second try. The teams turned around at half time with the Sharks holding a 10-0 lead.

 

Solid defence from both teams early in the second half meant the next points were quite a while coming and were registered against the run of play by Thatto Heath as they moved closer the the Sharks line following a series of sloppy penalties.

 

However the score just seemed to prompt the Sharks to further efforts as they started to play with a little more urgency and direction. They registered further tries from Spectators Award winner Nico Moorfield, who previously had been harshly denied a try after the referee adjudged that he had been held up over the line, and Sam Wilde.

 

Cameron Boulter took the Top tackler award following a very busy display both in attack and defence. James Hancock was awarded the Coaches award for a great display of solid running. 

The Man of the Match award was awarded to two players as it was impossible for the coaches to seperate the performances of stand off Jake Shorrocks and scrum half Rob Pritchard. A special mention must go to Alex Favell who is slotting in well in the loose forward position and improving with every match.

The Sharks hosted a depleted but nonetheless committed Haydock outfit and were made to work for every point. In the end however the hard running Sharks forwards sapped the energy of the Haydock outfit who were unable to field any replacements. First half scores from Spectators Award winner Sam Grey and Coaches Award winner Jake Shorrocks saw the Sharks turn around at half time with a 10-0 lead. With Top Tackler Harry Finch once again in great form the Haydock outfit could find no gaps in the solid Sharks defence.

 

Man of the Match Rob Pritchard bagged a brace of tries in the second half either side of a great effort from Brad Cartwright who charged his way over the line in the uncustomary wingers role.

A great team effort from the Sharks with quite a few players switching positions during the game and having successful run outs in less familiar roles.

A great all round team performance saw Shevington claim the victory in this Lancs Cup 2nd round tie. The power and pace of the Sharks forwards proving too much for the Parkside outfit.

 

First half tries from Sam Wilde and Nico Moorfield allowed the Sharks to turn round at half time with a 12-0 lead. Jake Shorrocks added to the score following a short range scoot. With John Richardson converting the 18-0 deficit always looked too much for Parkside. Man of the Match Lewis Connell was in superb form in his new centre position and did not allow anyone to pass him at any time in the game. His defensive effort was matched by Top Tackler Harry Finch who ensured no one found gaps in the middle of the park. Sam Welch took the Spectators award for a solid performance in the centres supported by Coaches Award winner Alex Favell. A special mention must go to Jake Simm for an outstanding debut for the club.

Shevington aways had this down as the biggest test of the season and so it turned out to be, however the Sharks could not match the size and organisation of the Pilkingtons outfit. From the kick off the Pilks player managed to kick the ball deep into the Shevington half and out behind the dead ball line forcing Shevington to drop out from behind the post. The Sharks managed to hold them out but when they had the ball in hand made too many errors and turned over too much easy ball which was to prove costly. It was only a matter of time before one of the big Pilks props was able to crash over from short range.

 

Shevington however continued to hand easy ball back and didnt complete a set of six for the first 15minutes. By half thime at 14-0 the game was prety much out of the reach for Shevington but to their credit they did not give up. Harry Finch was as solid as ever in defence and his performance earned him the Top Tackler award and the Spectators award.

 

Man of the Match Jake Shorroks continued to test the Pilkingtons defence and in the last minute finally found a gap but the covering full back held him up. Cameron Boulter, despite a nasty thumb injury battled on and took the coaches award. All in all, despite the result, it was a good performance for the Sharks.