As 2023 comes to a close, we’re taking a month-by-month look at the sporting year that was in Warrington.
Today, we look back at April as fortunes varied widely across the spectrum…
WE may not have known it at the time, but this was when Warrington Wolves’ 2023 season hit its highest of highs.
After equalling their best ever start to a Super League season by hammering Hull FC at home, they broke their club record the following week with a memorable 20-14 victory in Perpignan against Catalans Dragons.
The post-match scenes of celebration painted a picture of a club truly united but as we all know, it was from this point on that things started to change.
As the “sold out” signs went up at The Halliwell Jones Stadium for only the third time, The Wire’s stellar start hit the buffers courtesy of neighbours Wigan Warriors, who edged a dour game 13-6 before another blow followed courtesy of a defeat at St Helens the following week as cracks began to appear.
It was not all bad news on the rugby league front, with Wire star George Williams being named as England’s new captain and celebrating by scoring a hat-trick on his club’s home ground as Shaun Wane’s side thrashed France 64-0 in a mid-season international – a game that saw Matty Ashton, Matty Nicholson, James Harrison and Danny Walker make their full England debuts.
Jodie Cunningham took over the women’s captaincy from her former Cardinal Newman High School classmate Emily Rudge and led her side to victory over the same nation earlier in the same day courtesy of the same scoreline.
April also saw Warrington Wolves’ women’s team get their top-flight season underway following a dominant promotion in 2022 – they kicked off with a dramatic 22-22 draw with neighbours Wigan Warriors at Victoria Park.
Meanwhile, April saw Warrington Town’s season build relentlessly towards a crescendo – four wins out of six in the calendar month saw them finish second in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, which was the club’s highest ever league finish.
That earned them a preferable run through the play-offs, and their first step towards taking full advantage saw them blow Matlock Town away in front of just under 2,000 fans at Cantilever Park, scoring four times before half time to claim a 4-1 semi-final victory.
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