West Park St Helens U14 5 - 30 Littleborough U14

Littleborough Rugby Union Club U14s Lancashire Blacksticks Blue Challenge Bowl Winners 2016

Littleborough Rugby Union Club Under 14s became the Blackstick Blue Challenge Bowl winners after a comprehensive 30-5 victory over West Park St Helens.

After a terrific campaign for the Boro youngsters this year, one game and one team were left to conquer at a packed out Fylde RUFC and there lay a real opportunity to write their names into the history books.

Littleborough were focused and driven, putting the pressure on West Park straight from the kick off.

Boro chased the ball as one and pinned West Park in there own 22 for the first 10 minutes. The constant pressure finally telling when Boro turned the ball over on the floor and Charlie Sutcliffe passed the ball out to Harry Gee to score in the corner. The conversion fell wide of the posts.

West Park responded with their best spell of the game and although the Boro defence was well set they had to make a lot of tackles, one of these tackles resulted in Ben Stott and Matty Rothwell needing medical treatment and, while this was happening, West Park took advantage of their superior numbers and scored what was to be their only points of the game. The conversion narrowly missing.

With Boro back up to full strength they again began to pressurise West Park and pin them in their own half.

Josh Kay and Gus Nelson forced West Park to kick possession away and the ball was picked up by James Flanagan who beat four defenders to score in the corner.

The conversion attempt was from a tight angle was a valiant effort but missed.

Straight from the kick off Ben Stott claimed the high ball and set off on a run only to be hit high by his opposite number resulting in a penalty for Boro and a broken nose for Stott.

Boro, full of confidence, decided to run the ball with David Mills making a good break. Clear out work at the subsequent breakdown by Mathew Bradbury and Toby Holt allowed Robbie Nolan to get quick ball out to the backs and Isaac Price made a break down the wing but was tackled just five metres from the line.

Good quick recycling led to prop Mathew Rothwell barging over in the corner for Littleborough's third try. The conversion attempt missed,.

Half time: West Park St Helens 5 - 15 Littleborough U14

The second half started in much the same way with Mathew Bradbury setting off on a run beating a host of defenders and leaving just the full back to beat. He was denied the try he deserved when the ball was knocked from his hands in the tackle.

From the resulting scrum West Park made a break into the Boro half, only for a strong tackle by Corey Collins to dislodge the ball and start a counter up the right hand side. A quick pass from scrum half Robbie Nolan set the ball moving through at least five pairs of hands ending up with centre Kai Sumner scoring out wide for the best team try of the match.

With Boro continuing to pressurise, West Park were reduced to kicking the ball into Boro's half to release the pressure and one of these kicks had the full back in trouble but for the quick thinking of winger Nick Mannion who raced back to help clear the danger.

West Park were tiring from non-stop tackling and after another kick downfield had Boro's fly half Charlie Sutcliffe collecting the ball on his own 10 metre line and dart past five defenders on the way to scoring a superb individual try in the corner.

There was just enough time for Boro to have one more attack and they sealed an emphatic performance and a trophy winning result as Kai Sumner went over for his second try of the afternoon after great work from the forwards sucked in the defenders and good hands from Nolan, Sutcliffe and Gee made the space from Sumner out wide.