Wigan U12s travelled to Sedgley Park on Sunday and produced their best performance in the short time that they have been playing and came away winners by 56pts - 12pts against a very much physically bigger and heavier side.

It was obvious from the start that the home side were going to play an 8 man game with big forwards trying to make ground and the two half backs backing them up, however this came unstuck against a Wigan side who were really up for the task ahead.

After some early home pressure it was Wigan who got on the score sheet when a quickly taken tap penalty resulted in the Wigan stand off Gabriel fell ghosting through the opposition defensive line and passing to Sam Makinson in support who scored, Nathan James kicking the goal. The visitors then withstood ferocious pressure from the home side and time and time again they overturned the attacking player onto his back thus stopping him from scoring. The Wigan forwards at this time were playing far above their weight and gradually began to make inroads into the opposition pack forcing them backwards which helped to relieve some of the pressure on the wigan backline.

Just before half time however the home side managed to score when they forced the ball onto the blindside, they tagged on the goal and half time cme with the score 7-7.

The second half was a different affair with the wigan backs feeding off the ball that was skilfully won for them by the forwards they ran in 7 converted tries to 1 unconverted try.

But for those fans from Wigan who travelled to Manchester the most memorable part of the game was the magnificent defence shown by the Wigan side against the most ferocious pressure from the home side in the last 6 minutes of the game. Time and again the home side sent there huge pack crashing towards the try line only to be met with sheer tenacity and skilfull defending. Time and again they turned the attacker on his back so that he could not ground the ball and from the resulting scrum disrupted the scrum long enough to allow the backs to move up and smother any danger. 

The final whistle was met with huge relief, but there was no doubt that the better side won on the day in a performance that will be remembered for many years to come by those who were lucky enough to see it.

This hard fought game was played in a strong cold wind that blew from left to right as you stand in front of the clubhouse.
Bolton won the toss and chose to receive the Wigan kick off. After the initial exchanges the Bolton number eight broke to score a long range try due to poor Wigan tackling.
Following a counter attack by Wigan after a Bolton knock on, the Wigan backs moved the ball quickly to the wing allowing Wigan to scoot in the corner for a levelling score.
More pressure from Wigan led to the award of a penalty close to the Bolton line and a quick tap led to Wigan scoring in the opposite corner, 14-7.
Good play from the Bolton backs again saw their number eight push over the Wigan line to level the scores at 14-14.
The Wigan side rallied from this set back and moved quickly to the opponents try line. Bolton held up the Wigan player and the subsequent scrum saw another Bolton handling error give possession to Wigan and the Wigan player was able to burrow over from one yard for a try on the stroke of half time, 21-14.
Bolton playing with the wind in the second half tried to counter the strong Wigan tackling by kicking to the corners to pen Wigan back in their half. However, the wind and poor direction meant they kicked away a lot of good possession.
Wigan dug into their strength reserves; good tactical rotation of the Wigan team players by the coach backed up with improved tackling from all the Wigan players saw Bolton stopped in their tracks.
Unable to get a lot of good ball in the second half, the Wigan team lived of scraps of possession, but what ball they did get was used well to counterattack and relive the pressure on the Wigan line.
10 minutes into the second half the key player for Bolton was ordered from the pitch for foul play in a tackle. The loss of this player spurred on both sides and each played fairly but hard. From another close range penalty Wigan went over in the far corner to make the score 28-14.
The last five minutes of the game saw Bolton pressurising the Wigan line but strong defence from the Wigan forwards and a final handling error from Bolton saw the end of the game.

Report: Graham Greenall
Wigan U12s played their Chorley counterparts in an exciting game at Chorley on October 21st and came out winners by 54pts - 21pts.
From the KO Wigan, faced with much physically bigger opponents, moved the ball wide at every available opportunity and this paid early dividends when from a free flowing move across the field the Wigan right winger dived in for a try.
Again from the restart continual movement of the ball caused many problems for the Chorley pack who were not allowed to get into any kind of rhythm. Another try came the same way as the first, this time with the initial break from the base of the scrum from Wigan's scrum half which was continued along the three quarter line to score this time in the opposite corner.
The big Chorley team then managed to plunder their way over for a converted try which began a spell of pressure from the home side.
Time and again stout backs to the wall defending from the younger Wigan side kept the attacks at bay and on two occaisions that the home side did get over the line quick thinking from the Wigan defence turned their opponents onto their backs and made it impossible for them to ground the ball.
Just before the break wigan scored again from another sortey into the Chorley half when quick thinking from the Wigan NO8 allowed the ball to move quickly to the centres who finished off the movement.
The second half started with Chorley throwing everything at Wigan, who had to reorganise due to injuries at the end of the first half, this caught Wigan at a vulnerable time and the home side actually took the lead with 2 converted tries, however this was short lived as the Wigan backs ably prompted by the half backs again moved the ball around quickly to creat openings wide out which were finished off by the wingers, one try in particular when from their own try line the Wigan back line moved the ball to the left winger who ran the length of the field to score, which was warmly applauded by both sets of supporters.
Again Wigan's kicking let them down but in the end a very good victory against much bigger opponents.
Wigan would like to thank Chorley for their hospitality and would like to the thank the Referee for an excellent performance in which decisions were explained to both teams and who allowed the game to flow which was much appreciaited by both sets of coaches and spectators alike.