Ormskirk 7 Clitheroe 26

Ormskirk has never been an easy place to go, and the 1st XV came away with a 26-7 bonus-point win that keeps them top of Counties 3. The four tries came from Andrew Parker, Tom Walton, Joe Clarke and Ethan Best, with George Barnes converting three.

Kick-off was a few minutes late, at around 2.20pm, following the two minutes' silence directed by the whistle of our Liverpool Society referee. The opening exchanges were fought out in the middle of the pitch, with some good hits going in on both sides. Ormskirk had the first real pressure. They kicked a penalty into our 22, won the line-out and drove, and their big number 12 took the ball on. The defence held, though, and Joe Clarke was outstanding at the breakdown, getting over the ball and driving through the ruck. George Barnes then got us out of trouble from our own 22.

We spent a fair bit of the first quarter on the back foot, but despite absorbing all that pressure we earned three penalties. Clarke made a great tackle when Ormskirk looked to have space out on the right, and Barnes kicked us up to our own ten-metre line.

The first try came out of nothing on 13 minutes. From around halfway Oscar Duck chipped the ball into no man's land, it bounced up beautifully into his own arms, and he escaped the clutches of a diving defender before passing to Andrew Parker, who streaked down the right wing to score ten metres to the right of the posts. The conversion was missed, with Barnes seemingly aiming at the bottom left hand corner to beat the goalie, so the score stood at 5-0.

Tom Walton added a second try before the break forging his way over the line from short range, it was converted, and it was 12-0 at half-time. Ormskirk probably had more of the territory in that first half, and we had more of the ball, but we were the more clinical side and the defence was very good.

The second half was a different story for territory. With our Chairman Dave Watson alongside me for company, we watched Clitheroe take control, with a good kicking game through George Barnes and Oscar Duck, plenty of phases, and a scrum that was going forward.

Fourteen minutes into the half the third try came. The ball came off the back of a line-out after what appeared to be a slight knock-on from the other side of the pitch, Joe Clarke picked it up and barged his way through four tackles to go over. Barnes slotted the extras from ten yards left of the left post, 19-0. Austin Wensley came on for Harry Marsden, and Ethan Best came off the bench too.

Ormskirk had their best spell midway through the half. On 22 minutes they were attacking the left-hand corner, and Tom Aspin made a superb covering tackle to stop a try. They did get over five minutes later, a converted try, and it was 19-7.

On 30 minutes Austin Wensley was on the end of what looked to us like a clear assault, and the referee gave only a penalty. We chose the scrum. Oscar Duck picked up from the base and fed Ethan Best, recently on, who streaked through to score near the posts on his first team debut. Barnes converted for 26-7 and the bonus point.

It's a win that says a lot about where this side is. Away from home, against a side who are always hard to beat at their place, we defended well when we had to and took our chances when they came. Ormskirk's nominated player of the match was Joe Clarke, but there were some other fantastic performances, none more so than from Joe Aspin. This was his second consecutive game of the season, and in both games he's been outstanding, tackling everything in sight and actually showing quite a bit of attacking force too.

What became apparent is that yesterday's team achieved the feat of having the most players originating from Clitheroe's junior section. Thirteen of the squad's eighteen players played as juniors for Clitheroe and for what is a relatively young side, there's plenty more to come here.

The win keeps the 1st XV top of Counties 3 on 31 points, four ahead of Dukinfield. There are no men's games next weekend. We're back at Silcock Park on Saturday 21 November, with the 1st and 2nd XV both at home to Colne & Nelson, kick-off 2.15pm.

Thank you to Ormskirk for their hospitality and a hard game, to the referee, and to everyone who travelled to support the team.

Scorers: tries Parker, Walton, Clarke, Ethan Best; conversions Barnes 3.