OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE

They scored a total of seven tries in all, with wing man Jack Krause leading the way with a hat-trick, with further tries coming from; Jamie Patient, Liam Lawton, Alex Jones and Allan Breeden, whilst fullback Andy Clarke also banged over five important conversions.

In a performance that was right up there with the best of them – in both attack and defence - the result also lifted the Wids back to the top of the table, thanks in part to former leaders Eccles, losing at Aldwinians.

In contrast; this was a sixth straight loss for Didsbury, a result which leaves them hovering just above the lower reaches of the Counties 1 Lancashire & Cheshire league table.

The weather for the game was grey and overcast, and it was also very cold. But the dry conditions over the past week or so, meant that the pitch was in perfect condition and ideal from some free-flowing rugby.

And that was how it started, with both sides having opportunities to attack, whilst at the same time also showing their defensive prowess.
That was until the 17th minute, when Didsbury took the lead thanks to a penalty from stand-off Liam McGovern.

This was followed by a timely ankle tap on Jamie Patient, which took him to ground, just as the centre appeared to be on a clear run to the line.

The Didsbury relief was only temporary though, as the same player then appeared on the opposite flank to cross for a try in the corner following some smart build up work.

Fullback Andy Clarke then booted over a beautiful touchline conversion to make the score 7 – 3.

Not content with that, more super handling would follow on the half hour mark, as Jack Krause crossed for his first try of the afternoon, with Clarke once again tagging on the extras.

From there, the Wids went on to show their full repertoire of handling skills as they sought out more points ahead of the break, which fortunately for them came on the stroke of half-time, as Josh Salter’s deft chip ahead was swooped upon by Liam Lawton who touched down.

That try meant that the Wids would go in at the break leading by 19pts – 3.

Buoyed by that third try and a healthy half time advantage, the home side were quickly out of the blocks once again at the start of the second half, and Krause soon crossed for his second score, with Andy Clarke again on target with yet another conversion.

Two minutes later, the Wids were at it again, this time as another long-range attack ended with Alex Jones diving over to score their fifth try of the afternoon.

Despite losing a man into the sin-bin, Didsbury continued to apply some pressure of their own, but Widnes continued to defend their line to great effect. After that, it was left to Allan Breeden, who picked up a loose pass before showing a clean pair of heels on an impressive 60 metre dash to the line for a converted try.

Ben Mercer then had a ‘try’ ruled out as the hooker reached out to score, before more spectacular handling sent in Jack Krause for a try to complete his hat-trick.

Clarke again added the extras from the touchline to make the score 45 – 3.

Didsbury did manage to have the last word as Johnny Naish burrowed his way over the line for a try which was then converted by Liam McGovern.

That proved to be the last action of the day as the referee finally brought proceedings to a close and round off what had been an outstanding afternoon’s work for the ‘red-and-blacks’.

A delighted Head coach Andy McIntosh said afterwards “It was outstanding today, and we are very proud of the effort from the lads.

They came out today with a real focus and desire in both defence and attack. We held out Didsbury in the early exchanges, and then managed to build a lead after some well-constructed phases.

I thought we played some great rugby today - scoring some really good tries and playing some expansive rugby. What was really pleasing was the 80-minute defensive effort as Didsbury continued to throw everything at us.

The challenge now for us, is to match that standard of performance and kick on for the rest of the season”.

Widnes: A Clarke, J Krause, J Patient, L Lawton, A Jones, K Leadbetter, J Salter, D Rourke, B Mercer, A Haydock, M Garrity, S Bryan, K Arndell, W Patient, T O’Neill. Reps: M Lawton, A Breeden, T Spencer.