Blackpool Scorpions made it back to back victories in division 1 as they recorded an excellent 36 – 8 win over Wigan St Patricks.
Injury and unavailability again forced Blackpool to reshuffle their side with Mark Holden, Adam Bebbington, Simon Runciman and Scott Marsden all coming into the seventeen.
Scorpions began the game at a furious pace and claimed a lead they would never surrender after only 3 minutes of play. Good work by forwards Luke Valente and Karl Davies carried the hosts deep into the Wigan half before the ball was swept out to the flanks with fullback Antony Clark producing a great flick pass to send centre Danny Barr diving over in the corner. Blackpool doubled their lead minutes later as an excellent pass from stand off Gareth Chadwick sent Barr powering over for his second try of the day.
The home side looked capable of scoring every time they had the ball and looked to have increased their lead further when loose forward Phil Mitchell dived over, only for the match official to disallow the try for an alleged double movement. This proved to be only a temporary delay as powerful runs by Holden and Runciman laid the platform for winger John Parker to collect Mitchell’s great flat pass to squeeze in at the corner. A great passing move, that involved nearly every Scorpions player and saw the ball sweep from one side of the field to the other, resulted in centre Phil Gamble bursting through before sending the supporting Joe Bullock scampering over the whitewash for Blackpool’s fourth try.
The hosts made it five tries in an amazing opening quarter as a great break down the left from Mitchell saw Barr smash through would be tacklers and plough over the Wigan fullback to score a well deserved hat-trick try and establish a 20 – 0 lead for Blackpool. After such a breathtaking start Scorpions were probably guilty of overcomplicating their play, which resulted in a number of dropped balls and needless penalties, allowing Wigan to set up camp in the Blackpool half. Despite some excellent scrambling defence from Runciman, Davies and Valente, the visitors pressure finally told as two tries, one in either corner, saw them pull the score back to 20 – 8.
Scorpions rediscovered their play from the early stages of the game just before the break and after good runs by Adam Bebbington and Karl Etherington carried the home side within touching distance of the Wigan line, teenage scrum half Liam Wilkinson produced a fantastic grubber kick, which he chased through to touch down. Etherington slotted over the conversion to give Blackpool a 26 – 8 lead at half time.
The second stanza did not begin well for Scorpions as a succession of dropped balls and sloppy infringements saw Wigan lay siege to the Blackpool try line for large periods. Despite this weight of possession and field position, Wigan struggled to a find a way through as they were met time and again by some ferocious Scorpions defence with James Cunliffe and Lloyd Garrad amongst others leading the way with some bone shuddering tackles.
Blackpool weathered the storm of St Pat’s pressure and came back strongly in the closing stages as powerful runs from Gamble and Clark allowed Mitchell to burrow over in the corner for a well deserved try. With two minutes left on the clock, Scorpions crossed again as Chadwick’s great pass sent Barr bursting through and although the centre was dragged down just shirt of the line, he quick play the ball allowed replacement Scott Marsden to dive over from dummy half. Barr banged over the conversion in almost the last act of the game for a final scoreline of 36 – 8.
In a terrific Blackpool performance, every player deserves praise for the brilliant attacking play and great scrambling defence that were the cornerstones of this fantastic win. A number of players could have claimed the man of match honours for Scorpions, but in the end they fittingly went to second rower Simon Runciman, who led the way with some terrific runs and some thundering tackles. Blackpool will be hoping to continue their winning run next week as they play host to Widnes side Albert Park.
Team: Antony Clark, John Parker, Phil Gamble, Danny Barr, Joe Bullock, Gareth Chadwick, Liam Wilkinson, Karl Davies, Luke Valente, Mark Holden, Simon Runciman, Karl Etherington, Phil Mitchell
Subs: Scott Marsden, Lloyd Garrad, James Cunliffe, Adam Bebbington
Tries: Danny Barr (3), Joe Bullock, John Parker, Scott Marsden, Phil Mitchell, Liam Wilkinson
Goals: Barr 1/1, Etherington 1/1, Bullock 0/1,Valente 0/5
