Comeback kings

COME BACK HERE! Niall Dunnington-Wallace (left) and Chris Lightfoot, of Waterhead under-17s, stop a Rochale Hornets opponent in his tracks.

YOUTH RUGBY:

SPIRITED Waterhead under-17s wrapped up their home season with an unbelievable 34-26 win over Rochdale Hornets.

The local outfit, who lost Tommy Smith to a red card in the first half, trailed 18-0 at the break and seemed destined for their second defeat by Hornets in the space of a few days.

The points continued to flow for Rochdale after the interval as they stretched their lead with two more tries.

But if Hornets thought they were home and dry, they were in for a shock.

Michael Tattersall initiated the comeback with a try goaled by Luc Kinder.

Another Tattersall effort, with Kinder adding the extras, cut Hornets’ lead to 14 points.

It was all Waterhead now, and captain Anthony Mellor added a brace of tries, both converted by Kinder, to set up a nail- biting last quarter.

With confidence seeping through their veins, Waterhead went on to clinch victory courtesy of a pair of Sam Wilson tries, one of which was converted by Kinder.



SHAW Rhinos under-16s are through to the last four of the Chronicle Cup.

They defeated Saddleworth Rangers 22-18 in a fine advert for the game.

Jonny Pertoni, Sam Jackson and man-of-match Ben Jackson were outstanding for Rhinos, who now play Oldham St Anne’s in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Rhinos were beaten 32-6 by Latchford, which was a huge improvement on the 60-0 defeat inflicted by their opponents in the reverse fixture at the beginning of the season.

Luke Bentley was the Rhinos try-scorer, with Jon Botham adding the extras.


First-half show proves vital

A DOMINANT first-half display laid the foundations for Oldham St Anne’s under-11s’ 22-16 defeat of Portico Vine.

Saints reached the midway point of the match 10-0 up after a try and a goal from Oliver Depetrillo and a James Barran touch down.

But the St Helens outfit hit back early in the second half with a converted try.

Saints responded with a well-taken try by Haider Khan, which was converted by Jamie Ashton.

But Portico refused to throw in the towel and drew level with a brace of tries.

With the clock ticking down, Barran spotted a gap in the left centre channel and scooted clear to score. Owen Baldwin added the extras.

Josh Fish was boy of the match and Callum Travis was the top tackler.


SADDLEWORTH Rangers under-11s were too good for Newton Storm.

Try scorers for Rangers were Taylor Moss (two), Kade Howarth (two), Nick Craig (two), Nick Tavarozzi and Keitel Howarth.

Despite losing 28-12 to Leigh Miners, the performance was another step in the right direction by Rangers under-12s.

Behind to a long-range effort, the local outfit responded by twice going close, but it was Leigh who extended their lead.

However, Rangers started the second half with a flourish, scoring off their first set of six. Tom Jowle, who won the coach’s award, placed the ball under the posts.

Man-of-the match Jacob Ford then produced an excellent dummy in drawing Rangers level.

But Leigh regained the initiative and despite desperate defending by Rangers, the Miners stretched their advantage.

Meanwhile, Rangers under-10s paid the penalty for poor defending as they went down 24-12 to Ince Rose Bridge.

Nathan Roebuck to made a strong run to score — Matt Fletcher kicked the goal — after Bridge had taken the lead after a spell of early pressure.

Bridge were back in front by half-time, but Rangers were better after the break and had a try disallowed.

However, Rangers were again found to be lacking in defence as they were breached on two occasions, although they gained some consolation with try from Matt Fletcher and a Finn Gallagher conversion.

Rangers under-eights only had a Robbie Coates try to show for their efforts in the first half against Newton Storm, who were ahead by the interval.

Man-of-the-match Coates doubled his tally just after the restart, but Storm were soon back in the ascendancy and recorded a comfortable win.

There was a notable display from Brendan Graham, who produced some excellent runs, while Fenton Rogers, Bennett Tupaea and Sam Eyres also had strong games.

Other results and scorers —

UNDER-NINES: Saddleworth Rangers 4 tries (Adam Howarth, Bradley Jinks, Ben Forster, Tony Healey), Thatto Heath 5.