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The second half got underway with a bang. Once again Scott hit the ball too long and it was sliced, but this time it worked, often a bad ball can cause more havoc. It did. Worcester in their attempt to recover the situation went offside at the ruck. Up stepped Leigh Hinton for a simple 3 points, but no the pressure again got to him he was miles away from the ball and missed by a mile. Two minutes later Orrell conceded another penalty wide on the left, midway between the 10 meter and halfway line. Up stepped James Brown and with his left foot hit the ball not perfect but well enough to go over |
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This was a defining moment of the game within 2 minutes
Orrell could have pulled back to within a score at 3 : 9 but now it was 0 :
12 and looking very ominous for the Wigan team. Now they could not afford to take kicks, confidence had gone and more points were needed. |
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Orrell are not title contenders for nothing, they have 3
World Cup players, 9 players with premiership experience. They were certainly not going to roll over for anyone |
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Orrell, took on the Worcester pack and attacked through
their back row, nothing was happening outside the backs had been silenced
(or so we thought) They moved the ball through many pairs of hands and took possession of the Worcester 10 meters. The Warriors were defending like their lives depended on it. Then something special happened the Worcester crowd just burst into cheers, roaring to give their players the lift they needed. It went on for fully 5 minutes non stop it sent shivers down the spine. The few Orrell supporters shouting were lost in the cheers for Worcester |
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Again and again Orrell came forward only to be repulsed by
the steel in the warriors and heart and lungs of this fabulous support. Orrell did not give up, but they were not making headway, slowly but surely The Warriors took the sting out of the forwards, starting to make some ground themselves |
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But still they came. This was not a game for the faint hearted. The tackles coming in from Mark Gabey, Ben Daly and Drew Hickey were incredible Anything loose and that man Pfister was onto it in a flash, securing and turning over multitudes of ball |
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It was not all Orrell, Worcester took any chance that came
available. This is Premier style defend keep control in defence and nail any
opportunity that arises. And they very nearly did on two occasion being pulled back by the officials for forward passes when certain scores looked on |
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Then came a moment of sheer determination by Rod Penny. An attacking kick deep into the Orrell 22 was retrieved by Hinton who confidently saw the space and set up an counter attack. The ball went through So'ialo to Rod Penny The Worcester defence came up but held back because of the numbers of players outside and the distance and time they had to regroup. But Penny stepped inside a weak challenge and took off. He made a long looping run around to the left. Worcester got men back in position but weak tackling allowed him to burst through 3 more tackles to score a fine individual try, converted by Hinton Orrell 7 : 12 Worcester |
Orrell were now back in the game with only a single
score needed to take the lead The Warriors were lifted by the roar that came from their huge crowd of massed supporters. Who just cheered and cheered and cheered again!!! |
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Within 2 minutes the game changed once more. The Worcester pack came back with a bang driving the Orrell forwards back and back. Now it was time to keep it tight. A fortuitous trip in the maul caused it to go down. Which way would it go. It went to Worcester. Maybe due to Orrell consistently using this tactic previously |
Minutes earlier we had been pulled back from a non forward
pass and this was some compensation, could James Brown convert another. Again from midway between the 10 Meter and halfway James hit a peach. Two scores Now needed and Orrell 7 : 15 Worcester |
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Now was the time for calm nerves and sound game plans. It was away from home, we were two scores in the clear, there was no need for silly frivolous attacks it was all about composure and grinding out a win. This may not have been the World Cup final but the importance to both side cannot be overstated. The crowd knew! It was all Worcester supporters doing the cheering, every tackle, every turnover, every scrum, every lineout. It was all about winning, |
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Substitutions were now being made by both teams as players
who had given their all for both teams were replaced by fresher players.
Here however is the big difference and shows strength in depth at Worcester coming on were Richard Bates, Mat Powell, Lee Fortey, Russell Earnshaw Players that are all top draw and made the game faster and more intense. To add to Orrell's misery on came Wes Davies for Worcester who was Orrell's top try scorer last season |
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As the game entered the closing minutes and 7 minutes of extra time, the atmosphere was tense. It got harder by the second for Orrell to come back needing two score to win. The supporters in their desire for a victory were out on their feet cheering and cheering. When would he blow the whistle, could we stop them even getting a bonus point. It was a complete reversal of the two Rotherham games last season. The whistle went and for a micro second hearts stopped eyes bulged and the flood gates of emotion opened. WE HAD DONE IT!!!!! Orrell 7 : 15 Worcester |
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 The Worcester Supporters were delirious at last we had won a big, big away game |
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Observations: 1. The game plan worked to perfection. 2. The whole team were fantastic, focused, professional WINNERS 3. The midfield tackling was fast, hard and unrelenting 4. The whole backrow were a yard faster and a stone stronger 5. The front row were as solid as a rock 6. Craig Gillies was a mountain alongside the power of Mark Gabey |
7. James Brown at flyhalf was calm'ish but full of skill and confidence 8. Once again Tommy Hayes was invaluable with the kicks that tore the heart out of the Orrell Team 9. The team spirit throughout the team is rock solid 10. Finally the support. Well that was something special you had to be there to feel the emotion, the desire the drive to win. Now for game 16 and 5,000 supporters at Sixways This is a special time be part of it!!! |
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