Warrington 2nd 40 Firwood Waterloo 2nd 29

A YOUNG Warrington seconds side secured an important win against title rivals Firwood Waterloo on Saturday.

“We played some lovely rugby,” saidcoach Stu Coleman. “This win takes us back to joint third in the league, alongside Waterloo, and we can look forward to the second half of the season with confidence.”

Led by Paul Thompson, the Warrington pack soon started to gain the upper hand, taking their first strike against the head within 10 minutes.

However, it was the visitors who put the first points on the board with a penalty.

Warrington replied by driving forward from a lineout 10 yards out before the ball was released to the backs and Nathan Beasley was tackled in the right corner.

Warrington’s pack went through the phases and the ball eventually flashed out again to the young winger, who took his second chance gratefully.

Thompson was again the catalyst for Warrington’s second try, as he forced Waterloo into an offside error.

At the resulting lineout, Sam Nichols took the throw cleanly, feinted to deliver the ball but then twisted and squirmed to find his way over the line. Waterloo came back to level the scores by intercepting a loose Warrington pass to score a converted try.

The visitors went further ahead, but it was Thompson who brought the sides back to half time parity when he finished off a strong drive from his pack.

Warrington regained the lead early in the second half through Pat Roberts’ penalty.

They increased their advantage when Glen Hewson capitalized on a strong scrum drive five yards out to force over.

The lead became 15 points when Roberts put in a perfect cross-field kick for Beasley and he raced into the corner for a converted try.

Beasley crossed again after a clever feint from Kevin Jones and Andy Almond ghosted over from full back, before the visitors managed a consolation effort.

Macclesfield 3rd 49 Warrington 3rd 3

WARRINGTON’S third string were overwhelmed by current league leaders Macclesfield.

A Matt Drinkwater penalty was all Warrington had to show for Saturday’s game, but they remain third and in the promotion hunt.

“A bad day at the office,” explained captain Shaun McDermott. “Hopefully, we can return to winning ways when we resume our campaign in the new year.”