North 1 West
Wilmslow.....................................24
Vale of Lune.................................0
ICE cool Bob MacCallum kicked Wilmslow to victory over Vale of Lune and set up Saturdays key encounter at high-flying Liverpool St Helens.
MacCallum’s 14 out of 24 points was the icing on the cake for a Wilmslow side celebrating a long-awaited return to form.
The Wolves played a waiting game with their Lancashire visitors, diluting their frustration with patience during a first half in which they did everything but cross the line.
OK, they did once, but the referee ruled crossing before full-back James Conville touched down.
They settled instead for three MacCallum penalties and deservedly turned around 9-0 ahead at half-time.
The young Wolves’ maturity paid off in spades in a second half which they dominated up front and things started to click in the back line.
Scrum-half Charlie Mulchrone launched the second period literally with a trademark flying catch at the restart and a drive into Vale territory.
Vale knocked on in loose play and Mulchrone combined with No 8 Ryan Parkinson to put winger Jordan Kennendy in for a short side try wide out which MacCallum converted majestically on 44 minutes.
It was Vale’s turn to feel the frustration, which boiled over on the hour when their lock and skipper Lee Acton was sin binned for 10 minutes for foul play.
The Wolves capitalised quickly with MacCallum kicking from midfield to the corner. Skipper Mike Clifford served up sweet lineout possession and a hard drive for the line.
The ball was swept wide, and Conville charged into the line and over the whitewash for a try on his home debut.
The restart saw Wilmslow, now firing on all cylinders, sweep straight back into the Vale 22 with a display of quicksilver passing and audacious running lines that had the crowd roaring for more.
This was a victory built on a rock solid scrum performance, where the front row of Andy Vassell, Ollie Longmore, Alex Donaldson and his substitute on 57 minutes Jack Walmsley excelled.
Together with man-of-the-match Tom Noot and skipper Clifford in the second row, they turned early set-piece scrum pressure from the visitors into a masterclass of forward domination.
They were cemented together by a towering back row display from the omni-present James Partington, the bullocking Parkinson and the impossibly powerful youngster Jamie Thomas, from whom great things may be expected.
This dynamic trio also oiled Wilmslow’s new line-up in the backs, helping centres Matt Williams and Max Scofic, winger Callum Manton and full back Conville to get used to each other.
With experienced players like centre Chris Lee and flanker Charlie Levings on the bench to add a last 10-minute flourish, it was surprising Wilmslow didn’t score more, but coach Giles Heagerty is happy to take one step at a time.
He said: "We have set ourselves goals for the final matches before Christmas and this game was a real target.
"We now face two very difficult games away from home and two of the top three sides in the league.
"Vale of Lune were no mugs. But for us it was all about putting them under pressure. We went out to shut them down and didn’t let them play. Our defence, particularly around the ruck area, was intense.
"Everything we have worked on – particularly over the last two or three weeks – finally came to fruition today, both defensively and particularly in attack.
"We got go-forward ball from the scrum and we were cutting nice lines in the backs, where they produced one of the best back line performances all season.
"There are definitely things that remain to be worked on, but we will iron those out on the training paddock. We are going into our games against Liverpool St Helens and Lymm in a much better frame of mind."
Victory moved Wilmslow up one place to ninth in the 14-team North 1 West.
The Vikings won 45-5 at Wigan, the Hawks development squad won 13-0 at Bowdon but the fourth XV went down 26-12 at Broughton Park.
