Birchfield 1st XV 30

Newton-Le-Willows 19

THIS was a hard-fought battle between two strong aggressive packs.

Birchfield, led by captain Gary Billy Smith, got the upper-hand in this department creating gaps for Gary Whitfield and Peter Wood to punish the opposition.

Hard tackling and strong running led to a well deserved first-half try by Karl Burn.

Despite this, Newton-Le-Willows turned round at half-time 13-11 in the lead.

Birchfield battled away in the second-half with Mark Hunter prominent.

Further tries came from him and Gary Whitfield.

Peter Wood converted both and also contributed two drop-goals for a valuable win.

Newton-Le-Willows 2nd XV 26

Birchfield 2nd XV 15

A STRANGELY lethargic Birchfield never really got going against a young, fit, talented team.

Changes of personnel did not help but the replacements equipped themselves well, especially Ryan at scrum-half with some penetrating runs.

However, weak tackling allowed Newton to rack up a 19-5 half-time lead.

Prepared to run everything, they used the wide pitch to full advantage.

Dropped balls cost Birchfield dear and despite coming back in the second-half a further long-range Newton try saw them coast clear.

Anything less would have been an injustice despite good performances from Molloy at stand-off and second-half substitutes Lamey and Owen.

Simon Angus had a promising debut on the wing.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.