WOOLSTON Rovers Under 14s Greens and Under 14s Golds had mixed fortunes at the NWC Cup Finals Day at Leigh Miners Rangers Academy on Saturday afternoon.

While the Golds went down to a well-drilled Orrell St James side in the Shield Final, the Greens were victorious against Leigh Miners Rangers in the NWC Cup Final.

The Golds were the first of the Rovers sides in action when they faced Orrell but a slow start saw them fall 24-0 behind after twenty minutes.

To their eternal credit, they refused to lie down and gave themselves a lifeline when Matthew Nash scored to make the half time score 24-4.

However, despite their brave effort in the second half, their only points came from a Ben Carr try as Orrell St James claimed a deserved 36-8 victory.

Best for the Golds on the day were Matthew Antrobus, Matthew Nash and Gabe Twist.

The Greens then took to the field to face Premier Division side Leigh Miners Rangers, who were playing on their own ground and were also from the league above the Greens.

Despite the anticipated gap in quality, Rovers took the game to Miners from the off and a prolonged spell of pressure finally paid off when Jack Rigby scored a try that Connor Wrench was able to convert.

Miners managed to get on the scoreboard with an unconverted try and it was Rovers who held a narrow 6-4 lead at half-time.

However, Rovers flexed their muscles after the break and hit their opponents with a superb spell that proved pivotal.

Liam Chriscoli scored out wide on the left and when Jack Fitzsimon increased the lead to ten points with a fine try, again out on the left flank, things looked very promising.

However, Miners then started to create a few chances for themselves and scored a converted try to reduce the deficit to just four points.

It looked as though they may go on to snatch victory, but the Greens had other ideas and defended their line superbly in the closing stages to thwart the Miners side and prevailed 14-10 in an absolutely absorbing encounter.

For the Greens, Max Evans, Connor Wrench and Liam Chriscoli were the pick of an excellent all-round team performance.

Dave Whalley, Woolston Rovers’ public relations officer, heaped praise on both sides and said they could both be proud of their efforts throughout the season.

“We are very lucky to have two outstanding teams at the same age group and they have both represented the Woolston club with distinction,” he said.

“That was a great afternoon of Rugby League and both the Rovers sides can be very proud of the part that they played, not just in the Finals but throughout the whole season. “The Golds will feel as though they didn’t perform at the level that they are capable of but credit must go to Orrell who came out of the blocks quickly and got off to a great start.

“The Greens really did play some outstanding Rugby League; expansive in attack and then really brutal in defence which nullified anything that Miners threw at them.

“The final scoreline of 14-10 probably flattered Miners, as our lads were head and shoulders the better team.”