Widnes Under 19s posted a fine victory over a Wales Under 19s, who were using this match as part of their preparation for the upcoming European Under 19s championships.
In their impressive new kit, Widnes delivered a strong and committed performance against Wales showcasing energy, intent and physical dominance throughout the game against bigger and stronger opposition from their international opponents.
Widnes started brightly, setting the tone early with aggressive defence and quick ball movement, forcing Wales onto the back foot.
Widnes controlled field position well, building pressure through disciplined sets and capitalising on opportunities to break the line. This resulted in a half-time score of 22-12 in Widnes’ favour.
The question at half-time was whether Widnes would be able to hold on against the bigger and stronger opponents, and those fears were answered as Wales scored two long range tries from broken play to take the lead by two points after only 18 minutes into the half.
The match then settled into a wonderful close contest, with admirable skills both in attack and defence from both sides until Widnes forged ahead with two well-crafted, converted tries to lead 34 -24 with five minutes left.
But Wales had shown resilience throughout, responding with periods of attacking threat and testing the Widnes defensive line, and eventually scored a deserved try to move within four points of Widnes with just three minutes remaining, setting up a frenetic finish with Wales just failing to score in the corner with virtually the last play of the match.
Widnes’ intensity and cohesion had proved decisive, with strong carries through the middle and support play around the ruck allowing them to maintain control and create scoring chances.
This was illustrated by the choice of Dec Rigby as the player of the match, scoring three tries from acting-half, demonstrating the progress that he has made since training with the Vikings first team squad, alongside Zak Bennett, another try scorer.
Thanks to one of our community club partners, Halton Farnworth Hornets for hosting the match, Fab Formwork, our Under 19s kit sponsor, and our Man of the Match sponsors, FD Waste Solutions Ltd.
Team:
1 Connor Stubbs
2 Izaak Duell
3 Kobe Mackinnon
4 Stephen Charnley
5 Jason Frankling
6 Leon Walker
7 Jimmy Hodgekiss
8 Joe Heaney
9 Dec Rigby
10 Oliver Mangan
11 Zack Bennett
12 Charlie Roberts
13 Jack Mather
14 Lucas Tuihalamaka
15 Dan Houghton
16 Evan Milne
Tries: Dec Rigby (3), Jason Frankling, Kobe Mackinnon, Zak Bennett
Goals: Leon Walker (5)
