Warrington 36 Penrith 14

WARRINGTON scored 36 unanswered points to record a comeback win against Penrith on Saturday and regain top regain spot in North One West.

Warrington began well and soon applied pressure on the Penrith line.

However, the visiting forwards started to gain the upper hand, taking control of the scrums and lineouts but, perhaps more importantly, completely out-muscling Warrington at the breakdown.

This plethora of possession allowed the visitors to engage their backs and a strong attacking surge saw them score their first try, which was converted.

Penrith maintained pressure on Warrington for the next 10 minutes and eventually gained just reward when their right centre skipped over.

This second try was also converted and with Warrington 14 points down it seemed they had no answer to the strong Penrith pack.

The hosts managed to withstand any further Penrith attacks and eventually their scrum found cohesion and the lineout started to work.

The introduction of Luke Johnstone also injected some go-forward into their play and a superb break form his own 22 by Steve Pilkington was unlucky not to bear fruit as the centre was hauled down five yards short, but Penrith defence had to touch down a Warrington fly kick over their own line.

Warrington charged down the 22 restart and the ball flshed right and then left before Luke Johnstone broke tackles to force his way over. Darren Norman converted to make the half time score 14-7 to Penrith.

The second period saw Warrington regain their self-belief, as they started to play the kind of rugby which has been the hallmark of their successful season.

They were soon awarded a penalty that was missed. But from the restart, Tom Wood floated a lovely pass out to Darren Norman and the winger scored an excellent individual effort as he swerved through the Penrth defence to score between the posts and then go on to convert his try to level the scores.

A pin-point kick from Tom Wood saw Warrington once again in the Penrith five-metre zone.

Penrith defended well but a clearance kick found Luke Johnstone, who put in another strong run before the backs combined to create space for Jonno Smith to blast over.

The lead was further increased when Darren Norman crossed in the corner and then converted the try from the touchline.

The left winger was denied a hat trick 10 minutes later and Tom Wood was just wide with an attempted drop goal but a penalty had already been awarded and Darren Norman stepped up to take Warrington’s lead to 29-14, with the bonus point already in the bag.

However, Warrington were still hungry and in the closing minutes, a quick tap penalty gave the ball to Max Walker and the number eight proved unstoppable from 15 yards.

“Once we got over our first half lethargy, we played some good rugby,” said coach Andy Roberts. “But in two weeks we are at Kendal and up there we’ll have to play good rugby for 80 minutes.”

Blackburn 2nd 7 Warrington 2nd 10

GRITTY second-half defence saw Warrington’s second team gain a commendable away win at Blackburn.

Warrington led throughout but had to hang on against a powerful Blackburn outfit for the last 20 minutes.

The first half soon developed into a war of attrition, with both sides struggling to gain the upper hand.

Eventually, the stalemate was broken when Sean McDermott kicked a penalty in the 23rd minute but this was to be the only score of a dour first period.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Warrington increased their lead when Matt Rockey showed a touch of class by breaking through the Blackburn line and then out-pacing the chase to touch down in the corner.

The educated boot of Shaun McDermott converted from the touchline.

Blackburn came back into contention when they were awarded a penalty try following a high tackle from Dan Griffiths, but resolute, unflinching defence, aided by a few important turnovers from Sam Bennett, ensured that Warrington held onto their lead to earn a well-deserved win.

“We really had to dig deep,” said coach Paul Thompson. “But all the lads, with a special mention for Nick Pennington, never lost heart and they fully deserved the win.”

Warrington 3rd 25 New Brighton 2nd 8

WARRINGTON'S third team made up for the disappointment of their cup-tie loss the previous week with an outstanding win over New Brighton’s second string.

More efficient work at the break-down and a better line-out performance gave them the possession to unleash their talented backs and improve their position in Raging Bull Division Two South.

Playing against a strong breeze, Warrington began well, keeping the ball in hand and were rewarded when scrum-half Tom Hockenhull burrowed over from short range.

New Brighton replied with a penalty but Warrington then increased their lead with the best try of the match when Kevin Jones cut through the defence to find the line in view.

Fortunately, he realised that his veteran legs wouldn’t carry him the remaining 30 yards so wisely handed onto Dan Reid with a perfectly-timed pass and the young winger finished off between the sticks.

Kev Jones recovered his breath to kick the conversion and his penalty then saw the sides turn around with Warrington 15-3 ahead.

Warrington increased their lead with a second Jones penalty before a lapse in concentration allowed the New Brighton winger a clear run to the line for an unconverted try.

However, this was a momentary lapse and Warrington were now in total control, both in terms of territory and possession.

Good breaks from Tom Woodward and Taylor Wheat were halted just short of the line but Warrington had the last word when Josh Woods picked up a loose ball 30 yards out and showed the New Brighton defence a clean pair of heels to score between the posts and allow Kev Jones an easy conversion.

“This was a good all-round performance,” said coach Lee Graham. “It was good to see our blend of youth and Kev Jones work so well.”