Warrington u17 41
Manchester u17 5

WARRINGTON’S junior colts fittingly secured their sixth consecutive Lancashire Cup title on Saturday.

They did so with a six-tries-to-one victory over Manchester at Fylde.

Having picked themselves off the canvas following the previous week’s national final defeat, Warrington still seemed to be suffering the after-effects of that loss in the opening 10 minutes.

They had to withstand a Mancunian onslaught in that opening spell, though skipper Jake Riley’s early penalty steadied the nerves and handed them the lead.

It was not until 15 minutes in that they started to show their quality, breaking from next to their own posts to attack quickly up the right and send the fleet-footed Caldwell over for a long-distance try.

Manchester were fired up, but Warrington’s defence was proving equally as impressive as their attack, allowing them to double their advantage when a powerful run up the middle by Jack Gray gave Nathan Beesley the space to dive over in the corner.

With the wind in their sails Warrington stretched their lead further before the break, with an attack on the opposite wing offering Caldwell the chance to score his second of the afternoon and leave Manchester staring down the barrel of a 20-point deficit.

Territorially Manchester were standing their ground at that stage.

But the second half proved that it was Warrington’s attacking quality that was the difference between the two sides, with Jack Gray scything through the middle of the park to cross close to the sticks and leave the outcome in no doubt.

The next try came from a rolling maul off the back of a line-out, with Warrington marching the maul 30 metres up the pitch before Ben Hockenhull sent second rower Rory Booth bustling over.

Sensing Manchester’s tiring legs, Warrington again attacked up the right and Johny Evans ignored calls from Caldwell to put him over for his hat-trick to cross for a deserved try of his own.

Manchester did get the consolation their effort, grit and determination deserved late on, but this day, and the season as a whole, belonged to Warrington’s impressive youngsters.

* Warrington’s under 11s rounded off another strong season by collecting the Rochdale Trophy to add to victories in the Manchester Festival and the Lancashire Cup. They beat Rochdale, Littleborough, Nomads and Sedgley Park to lift the trophy without conceding a single try.

Their success has seen the youngsters invited to join a parade of champions at the Aviva Premiership Final at Twickenham on Friday, May 24.