Report: Paul Cattle

WIGAN's Veterans carried on with their winning ways away to local rivals Aspull seconds.
Wigan welcomed back Jason Brown at prop, Glen Jones and Keith Lowe in the back row and Tim Sharkey in the centres.
Making their debuts today were Bradford Sean and Dave ‘The Groin’ Lyon, although Dave’s debut will go down on record as the shortest in the Vets history, lasting all of 10 minutes.  Missing this week were Tommy ‘the tooth’ Shaw, who had a previously arranged dental appointment, Steve ‘Riggers’ Morters who was away filming the latest Adams Family movie and Mark ‘Rashers’ Ashley, who had his usual bout of travel sickness.
Aspull took an early lead to rock Wigan and lead 7-0, but the Vets soon struck back with a penalty from McHugh, before Lowe and then Murray scored to make the half time score 15 – 7 to Wigan.
Wigan started the second half strongly adding tries from Cooper and Boardman to take the score to 32 – 7 before Aspull, who never gave up, came back strongly at the end to score 2 tries to make the final score a more respectable 32 – 19 to Wigan.
Wigan dominated for much of the match but gave away too much of their own ball in open play, although they looked good in the set pieces, and the backs looked dangerous every time they got the ball.
The two teams meet again on the 13th October in the Halbro Plate at Douglas Valley.
Next up for the Vets is a home game against Kirby Lonsdale thirds at home, who are fresh from defeating Carnforth seconds by 39 - 12.

Report by 'Sniffer'
After a fantastic warm up from ex GB assistant coach Dave Lion Wigan were caught cold by a youthful K L 1/2/3rd team. Honest, ask Scott. The Vets lost Joynty on the first play of the game with a serious ankle injury,a missed tackle from Cooper pressing him in to the game before he had time to sober up.This seemed to drag the spirit out of the Wigan team and KL took full advantage to race into 19-0 lead.Wigan were now looking down the barrel of their first defeat of the season.
Inspired by their influential captain McHugh and the fact that Wild Wayne had to go to Tinsley at half time Wigan began to turn things round. The introduction of 'uncle festa' Morters and Tommy the Tooth Shaw, along with Sean Melling at full back, spurred Wigan on and the tide was about to change. Some really good running by Scott Buckley meant he did not have to pass the ball to anyone else and resulted in two well taken tries. By half time Wigan had control of the game but still had to graft really hard in the second half to get the job done. Malc Holland got his usual lengh of the field try and then Canadian international Mark Simon actually caught the ball, he was not sure what to do at this point but was guided to the line by his helpful team mates.
Sean Melling was now breaking the line at will and got two tries of his own off great service from Cooper.All the forwards played really well, especially Jones who got the sponsors m-o-m and was presented with a new toilet seat by Proserve Director Ian Kent after the game....

Match report by 'Sniffer'
Wigan travelled the short distance to Bolton without influential scrum half Holland, who was apparently seen in Paris scrubbing graffiti off walls whilst texting Wayne to console him on being single again. Despite most of the squad being concerned about Wayne’s loss, Wigan got off to a great start with some well taken tries from the backs. 
Within twenty minutes the game, as a contest, was over.Simon scored a special length of the field try but then had to be brought off with exhaustion. He was so badly affected that when he came back on to the field he played the last ten minutes for Bolton. Wigan got to the break well clear on the scoreboard.
To start the second half coach Hooch made some tactical changes, moving 'uncle festa' up to hooker, Mercer to second row, Brown to prop. He altered the back line to enable Cooper and Boardman the rest they needed to be the first two Vets home in Sunday's Marathon at Haigh Hall, closely followed by McHugh who had to carry Festa and Big Jimmy round with him.
The introduction of Gleeson enabled Bolton to get points on the board; a superbly weighted interception pass to Bolton’s fastest player saw him go all the way to the line, earning Glees one of the day’s trophies.
The other trophy, the coveted M-O-M award, went to a young C. Lion who scored three tries on its first appearance for the Vets. Special mention must go to J.Ashton at scrum half,  the returning R. Wilky at flanker, and not forgetting A. Lewis on his return from his corrective surgery and tummy tuck.

Wigan 4th XV 44 Preston GH 7th XV 3
Halbro Plate
Saturday October 13th 2007
Pictures by John Callon

Wigan welcomed Colne & Nelson to DV on a beautiful autumn day; perfect for a great day out for all the family. The Vets did not disappoint and turned in a near faultless display in front of a large crowd who, at the time, did not realise that it would be the only decent rugby union they would see that day.
The knowledgeable spectators were left to wonder why Sharkie was not in Paris, along with Festa, Jones, Lion and all the other guys who can catch and pass. (sorry Scott, keep practising). Wigan showed their strength in depth after losing quite a few players for various reasons; especially in the backs, senior players McMurray and Melling did a good job leading the youth of a young C. Lion, Jamie and Wain.
The forwards were led by captain for the day McDoughnut who is leaving Wigan to live down South, and there were also good displays from Cattle, Mercer, Ramsdale and Caw. This created a platform for speedy half-backs Holland and Sharkey to create havoc in the Colne ranks, with the outside half scoring four tries, not realising at the time it would cost him a jug. If only he had had the guidance of Coach Lyon, who turned young lion back inside with no one to beat. He promptly gave the ball to someone else to score...
The M-O-M went to Sharkie for a great four-try display and the D-O-D went to Glen Jones for obvious reasons.

Wigan went on the road again for a re-arranged fixture against Ormskirk. This being the day after Mad Friday there were quite a few cry offs, notably Chris Caw with a cold nearly as bad as Scott’s, earlier in the year.
Since many of the Wigan committee were present the Vets were determined to put on a show but the  aspirations of Morters and Cooper et al were thwarted by an over zealous referee. Wigan tried to open the game up but were penalized at every opportunity by the Ormskirk committee member. The Vets eventually won this contest 10-0, but apart from Wigan’s five tries (three disallowed) the game was boring.
M-O-M went to the spectator who noted that it would never replace rugby, and D-O-D went to everybody else who chose to waste their valuable time.
The Wigan team decided to do what they do best, and went mob handed to the children’s carol concert at the club. The party gets better every year and special thanks must go to Malc Holland Promotions and all their staff for the hard work they put in year after year....

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Report: Sniffer
The Vets travelled to Clitheroe at nearly full strength with Cattle, Rammy, Lion, Cat and a young C Lion in their team; they were only missing Sid Walrus for that extra bit of dog. Wigan began the game very strongly, and debutant old Lion scored a great try out wide. 
This set the pattern for the day and the Vets scored some fantastic tries, notably Brat fort's excellent length of the field effort.  The first half of the game was near faultless from Wigan, so much so that coach Hooch had to bring on Holland to restore some normality. After the break Hoochy gave a run to two more of the young lads, Ramsdale and Mather, who both gave sterling performances to prove the future is in good hands.
Lewis was back after his latest corrective surgery and there was also a good exhibition on the wing from David Bailey. Wigan seemed to lack concentration towards the end of the game and allowed Clitheroe to score a try, but then kicked back into gear and finished with good tries from Buckley and Uncle Festa, who  celebrated by pretending to have a shave ?. M-O-M was awarded to all the non players who travelled up to show their support, and D-O-D went to Young Lion who did not know whether Clitheroe was North or South on the M6 despite playing there three weeks ago.

Report by 'Sniffer'
"Bring 'em on" was the message on the Stockport web site.   So we came, we saw, we conquered.   Wigan Vets won a great game against a very determined Stockport 15 who obviously fancied theire chances of an upset.  
From the kick off it was apparent the two teams had very different tactics, the Vets were willing to throw the ball about to find gaps whilst the home team seemed content with keeping the ball in the forwards.  Wigan struggled to make inroads early on but eventually good work from the backs enabled Scottish international Andy Mc Flurry enough space to squeeze in at the corner. 
The Vets forwards were more than holding there own against much younger opponents and were starting to win more and more ball for the backs to squander.  When the teams returned from oranges the Wigan backline seemed to have more zest than earlier in the game and were creating more and more chances. 
The introduction of Bratfort and Paul Simon added some weight to the Wigan pack and from this stage there was only going to be one winner.  Two tries from Lady Bowes Lion and one from Wigan’s answer to Brendan Hill finished the game off. 
Stockport never gave in and scored a consolation try from a scrum pushover late in the game.   M-O-M was won by Lewis, largely due to the fact that he went home at 6.30 the night before. D-O-D was awarded to the other six who did the full day, including pub watch Cooper who can not drink in Orrell again.
Pictures courtesy Mary Burley

Shaun, that's my ******* hand.....

Steve Mercer in full flight....

Sean Melling on the break

Skipper Shaun Mchugh had a great afternoon with the boot...

Roger Cooper on another midfield run

'Bratfud' came on as sub to rattle the Fylde defence

Malc Holland digs the ball out for Paul Cattle

Chorley 2nd XV 0 Wigan 4th XV 52
Saturday February 16th 2008
Pictures by Mary Burley

Commentary by 'Sniffer' - Wigan's season goes from strength to strength on the crest of a a wave of stunning attacking rugby that is a delight to witness. Clitheroe quite rightly put out a stronger side than that faced by the 4ths in the two previous games of the season, but there was no answer to the pace, power and remarkable ball handling skills of the Wigan side.
With the pivot of all attacking moves being the Captain, Shaun McHugh, (who is also very effective with the boot) and the tireless work of forwards and backs, this was champagne rugby at its best.
This side has strength in every position and strength coming off the bench - two second half subs, Andy 'Mc' Murray and Sean 'Bratfud' Brannan scored searing individual tries to put the match well out of the game visitors' reach, and this is undoubtedly the best 'Veteran' side put out by Wigan in the last few years.
Picking an individual out in such an accomplished team effort is difficult, but centre Tim Sharkey played a blinder - dazzling running, aggressive tackling and superb offloads added up to a perfect game for Tim, a real asset to the Wigan club this season. His centre partner Roger Cooper also goes from strength to strength, as do the two young flyers Jamie Redfearn and Chris Lyon.
At times the running and passing was breathtaking, especially when Wigan elected to run at the opposition from defensive positions deep in their own half, a move that led to several scores as the visitors were caught out of position. As usual, Scott Buckley terrorised the visitors' defence, with towering performances alongside from Keith Lowe and Steve Morters, Malc Holland and Martin Jump bossed the breakdown and the set pieces for Wigan, and lock Chris Caw totally dominated the lineout.
The forwards and backs did their collective business, and it is difficult to see who in this league can beat this side - and indeed they will give good account of themselves in the cup competition as well. Thanks lads for a magnificent performance and a really entertaining game, and credit to Clitheroe as well who despite being run off their feet in the second half never let their heads go down and were a credit to their club.

How the opposition saw it (from the Clitheroe website):
'The 2nd XV were the only Senior team to play last Saturday and they came off second best to an extremely strong Wigan team. Despite travelling with a strong side, the Cavaliers were overwhelmed by the creativity of a Wigan team boasting a plethora of wise old heads. That said Clitheroe kept on playing to the final whistle and took their part in an entertaining game.’


Sean Melling meets the Clitheroe defence with the cavalry in support

Man of the Match Tim Sharkey caught at the last line of defence

Sean Brannan breaks through the Clitheroe defence for a spectacular individual try

Back row enforcer Steve Morters takes the game to the Clitheroe defence


Scott Buckley in a position familiar to many Div 5 defences this season

Winger Chris Lyon prepares the switch to Sean Melling


Martin Jump launches another Wigan attack

'Sniffer' reports: Wigan travelled up the M6 on a blustery, windy, rainy, cold day to attempt to play a game of rugby on a pitch that resembled one of Lewis’s building plots.  Things got worse when coach Hooch decided it was too cold to risk captain McHugh and put Jump in at out half.  On top of this the Ref failed to turn up and a volunteer was found in the clubhouse, Despite the fact he was a Kirkby player he was one of the best Refs the Vets have had all year, and a lot easier to understand than Derek. Wigan tried to play their usual brand of fast open rugby but were constantly thwarted by the conditions.  Coach Hooch had a masterplan, and introduced Wallace to the fray; this in turn slowed everything down.  The sheer presence of the great man made everybody realise that you don’t have to be fast, agile or skilful to play this game.  Some great kicks from Wallace got good field position for the young backs to close the game out.  The Vets were pleased to come out on top and credit must go to Kirkby for pushing them all the way. Next up for Wigan is the cup semi with Rossendale at DV on Paddies day.  There is free entry to the ground and a free pint on production of this match report. Not.

"Sniffer" writes: Wigan made their way up the M65 in four cars due to the lack of available players to fill any more.  The Vets had to dig deep and grind out a great win against a very aggressive Colne 1st/2nd team.  Coach for the day McHugh produced a master stroke moving young prop Sydney Wallace to full back to keep him away from play.  Colne seemed aware of this tactic though and ran young Wallace around with some great kicks. 
Wigan were playing some brilliant rugby and would have got more tries if only Lowey and big Bratfurt could have seen the dead ball markings when over the line.  Colne kept themselves in the game with a couple of breakaway tries, and a great effort from the winger who failed to stop when Larry Wallace Grayson tuck him shouting “shut that door”.  All the Vets deserve great credit for this performance, grinding out a win in such difficult circumstances, and also in proving a lot of people wrong.  Special mention must go to Call Lowe on debut, who stood up to the plate and did a great job, and all the lads with head cuts who refused to go off and let their mates down.  The main casualty of the day was the turbonater who was made to go off by the ref for not being able to control the flow of blood from his head despite being a qualified first aider. He was eventually treated by a nice chap from Colne, who wasn’t a first aider but professed to have watched every episode of casualty.
M-O-M went to Cooper for a great display in the centres, and D-O-D went to Grayson, because I get to choose it....


Skipper Keith Lowe gets the ball away well to Jamie Redfearn

Colne's ball at the ruck

Try time for the visitors

MOM Roger Cooper goes for the 'voluntary tackle'

Bratfud breaks out for Wigan - Holland and Doran and Morgan don't look
too enthusiastic about catching him up.... Cattle is out of it at full back.....

Try time for young debutant Cal Lowe - nice one

Lowey's vision impaired by a snowstorm


Sharkey taking 'em on as usual...

'Sniffer' writes....
On one of the worst days of the year so far Wigan Vets welcomed Aspull to D.V.  Wigan did try to play some football but it was impossible and a win was ground out with sheer determination and strength of character. 
A great try in the first half from Chris Caw and a couple of Grayson penalties were the only scores but it proved enough.  Superb defence in the second half by all the team kept Aspull at bay and made the considerable crowd wonder what had happened to the Aspull players who have been running all the tries in lately. (Check 1st team report). 
Wigan could have posted more points if the kids had not swapped the ball for a bag of cement when Grayson was taking his kick under the posts, or given Redleg Vaseline to keep his hands warm.   Despite this being a local derby and a top of the table clash, the game was played in great spirit and was superbly controlled by the referee. 
This result now means that the Vets have won the league and look forward to the cup final in May. The Ellaandandy Developments sponsored M-O-M went to Syd Grayson for a superb all action display at full back, (who needs to get that £20 to Lewis) and The D-O-D was awarded to Holland for his rant before the game. 
The Wigan team enjoyed the sponsor’s hospitality long into the night and had a great sing along with the guitar, only being spoiled by Joey’s awful rendition of Oasis.  Wigan now look forward to next week and hopefully another great drink with their mates from Carnforth. .

HOW THE OPPOSITION SAW IT - Fom the Aspull website
This game had the fascinating dual interests of a highly anticipated local derby and first versus second in the league. Wigan looked to win this game to secure the league leaders trophy and Aspull likewise needed a win to attain promotion.
Lots of good natured ribbing and joking had taken place in the weeks and months leading up to this game and some light-hearted banter had been misconstrued as open warfare in some quarters.However, the kindly gentlemen of Wigan RUFC hosted this game and it was played in good spirit and conduct by both teams. A true reflection of the genuine affection both teams have for each other. (Christmas do, here I come?).
The game was made more interesting as Wigan had a few players harshly suspended and Aspull lost three players, kicking and screaming, to first team duty.
A poor decision by captain Alex Thompson to play the first half against the appalling wind and rain back-fired when the half time turnaround was greeted by virtually windless conditions. Even the sun came out to play. By this time, the damage had been done.
Wigan started the game like a house on fire and Aspull could not repel the relentless pressure of the first few minutes and conceded an early converted try – the only one of the game. After this, even against the wind, Aspull began to look the better team. Only poor passing and handling, possibly due to the poor playing conditions prevented Aspull from converting their superior possession into points. A further penalty by Wigan pushed the score to 10 – Nil and this remained the score until half time.
Aspull looked even better in the second half with possession and territory mostly in Aspull’s favour but superb tackling and defending by Wigan kept them away from the line. David Charles Ashcroft came closest to scoring for Aspull but lost the ball over the line. A good penalty was struck by Stephen Fillingham and brought the score to a tantalising 10 points to 3 with some twenty minutes left to play.
However, sterling performances by the whole team and Ashcroft, Andy Stott and Alex Thompson in particular could not inspire Aspull to any further scores and 10 points to three was the final result in Wigan’s favour.
Our congratulations to Wigan but we hope to be joining them at the league presentation evening as proud owners of the second promotion place.

Wigan Vets welcomed their great friends Carnforth to the Valley, for a good game of rugby and an even better drink.   Carnforth as usual hired a bus for the day and enjoyed a superb day out even though the result was in Wigan’s favour, staying well into the night to enjoy the Wigan hospitality.  
The game itself was a great spectacle for the sizeable crowd to enjoy, and was played in great spirit.   The Vets played their usual brand of open rugby and scored some fine tries including a length of the field effort finished off by super-sub Steve Mercer. 
The first try of the game seemed to set the platform when the ageing Ian Boardam outpaced the Carnforth cover to dive in at the corner.  After seeing this Sydney Grayson decided it was his turn to express himself.  After fielding a kick with his toe he set off at snails pace towards the opposition, beating man after man on his way before sending out a  pass to the winger, who with no support was bungled into touch.  At oranges coach Hoochie realised that Wallace had far too much energy and asked him to run touch instead.  
It was more of the same for Wigan in the second half with great displays from Cooper and Melling in the centres and excellent work from all the forwards   M-O-M went to Ste Mercer for a top class game and D-O-D was awarded to Sharkie who was caught by Mac’s paperboy after being twenty yards clear.