Durbin has the last try honour

New Zealand A 26

JAMIE Durbin will go down in history as having scored the last Warrington Wolves try at Wilderspool Stadium.

Friendlies at Wilderspool against Widnes on Boxing Day and Leigh in January will not count in the records which was why Sunday's tour game was classed as the official last 'first class' match to take place on the 105-year-old ground, and explains why scrum half Durbin holds the last try honour.

It also means that 11 players made their official Wolves debuts, while for Durbin it was his first start, on such a historic occasion and their appearances will all count on the 2003 season's record chart.

Eighteen-year-old Durbin's try was needed to ensure Wolves signed off from Wilderspool with a deserved win courtesy of a young side splashed with a few Super League regulars.

Two Kiwis tries in the last four minutes put a clouded reflection on the scoreline. Both were scored by Tongan 2000 World Cup star and Eastern Tornadoes winger Paul Fisiiahi, who gained the accolade of scoring the last try of the last Wilderspool match.

One more try would have given the Kiwis their first win from three outings of a five-match tour but that would not have been deserved. Not only did they make too many mistakes but also they only came strong in the final 20 minutes as Wolves tired, which was to be expected as the vast majority of the Warrington players had not been on a rugby field since September.

If this New Zealand rugby team's performance was truly representative of the national competition in their country then the standard there is disappointing.

As an occasion, to say farewell to Wilderspool, it was an anti-climax. The match and the atmosphere did not live up to the dizzy heights of the last Super League match there against Wakefield on September 21. The turnout of 3,409 supporters was not surprising though considering the few household names on the field and the Super League prices being charged by the club at the turnstiles.

The biggest plus for Wolves was seeing their under 21s and under 18s stars gain reward for outstanding seasons at their level by making their first team debuts and performing well.

And they were led by strong pack work by skipper for the day Darren Burns, Warren Stevens and Paul Noone, plus hard-working stand off Gary Hulse, who won the Cec Mountford Medal as the man of the match. New Zealander Mountford coached Warrington through their best era of the 1950s.

Wolves' try scorers before Durbin's final touch down in the 54th minute were Mike Govin, Steve Warburton, Nick Owen and Tommy Grundy. Owen landed four conversions.

New Zealand's other tries were scored by Vila Apu'ula, Lance Poka and Jonny Limmer. Steve Buckingham kicked three goals.

Wolves (including ages and previous clubs of players making their debuts): Nick Owen (18, Woolston Rovers); Richard Varkulis (20, Leigh Miners), Steve Warburton (21, Woolston), Ben Westwood, Phil Berry (17, Crosfields); Gary Hulse, Jamie Durbin (18, Halton Hornets); Warren Stevens, Shane Williams (20, Woolston Rovers), Danny Heaton (22, Woolston Rovers), Darren Burns, Paul Noone, Mike Govin (18, Leigh Miners). Subs: Dave Pennington (19, Crosfields), Dave Saxton (18, Woolston Rovers), Tommy Grundy (18, Leigh Miners), Matty Wilson (17, Woolston Rovers).

New Zealand A: Luise Sione; Vila Apu'ula, Ricky Henry, Paul Fisiiahi; Aoterangi Herangi, Steve Buckingham; George Tuakura, Shane Beyers, Sinave Faitala, Jesse Royal, Lance Poka, Karl Edmondson. Subs: Jonny Limmer, Hame Lauaki, Wayne McDade, Taylor Pelenise.

Warrington's all-time record at Wilderspool

P W D L F A

League games 1,465 1,085 60 320 25,749 13,118

Super League 104 54 4 46 2,744 2,539

Championship play-offs 15 13 0 2 203 112

War Emergency League 22 17 1 4 372 149

Western Division 8 7 0 1 191 70

Lancs Summer Comp 1 0 1 0 12 12

Challenge Cup 133 100 7 26 2,565 945

Lancashire Cup 83 56 2 25 1,513 811

Player's No6/Regal Trophy 42 32 1 9 914 499

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy 12 6 1 5 190 137

Premiership Trophy 9 4 1 4 127 132

Club Championship 3 3 0 0 61 28

World Club Challenge 3 0 0 3 62 148

South West Lancs Lge 4 3 1 0 40 13

South West Lancs Cup 2 2 0 0 26 12

Captain Morgan Trophy 1 1 0 0 15 7

Tour matches v Australia 16 8 1 7 191 270

Tour matches v New Zealand 9 6 0 3 107 95

Tour match v Auckland 1 0 0 1 16 22

Tour match v France 1 0 0 1 6 29

Tour match v New Zealand A 1 1 0 0 28 26

Grand totals 1,935 1,398 80 457 35,132 19,174

These statistics have been compiled by Stan Lewandowski and Gary Slater using the results collated by members of the Rugby League Record-Keepers' Club, notably Ernie Day.