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In a thrilling match befitting a final, Burn were cruely edged out in the final minutes of a pulsating game of rugby.
After snatching the lead with around 7 minutes to go Burn thought they had done enough to edge out the defending champions only to let Leigh have the last word with a winning try with 3 minutes left.
The game had everything. The opening salvo came from Leigh who battered away at the Burn line. Some heroic tackling thwarted the team from North 2 West for the majority of the opening quarter. However Burn had to withstand the sinbinnnig of second row Ed Barron who was penalised for pulling down a maul in the Burn 22. However it was soon 14 apiece when the Leigh right winger was shown a straight red card after a dangerous high tackle on Burn centre Maudsley.
This forced Leigh into a reshuffle as they sacrificed a back row player to ensure a full threequarter line. However this didn't stop Burn from racing into the lead. A superb movement behind the scrum gave winger Barnes the opportunity to scorch down the wing where he found the supporting Radice who flew over for the opening score. Bleasdale added the conversion and the underdogs were 7-0 in front after 25 minutes. Back game Leigh and after some punishing drives had taken them into the Burn quarter, an equally nice movement behing the scrum allowed the Leigh fullback to step inside the covering defence to make it 7-7 with the succesful conversion. Following this it was time for Burn to have some pressure.
Twice they opened up the Leigh defence and should have had tries. Firstly Radice couldn't take a pass with winger Barnes unmarked outside him and a period of clever offloading created a four men overlap only for a forward pass to bring an end to a decent movement. However Burn had the last word when a Bleasdale penalty from wide out sailed through the posts for a 10-7 half time lead.
The second half was full of drama as the lead changed hands on five occasions. Firstly Leigh got their second try when a missed tackle allowed a Leigh back to slice through to score under the posts. The conversion made it 14-10 after five minutes of the second half. Back came Burn. A Bleasdale penalty for offside reduced the gap to a point before a second penalty from wide out put Burn into the lead at 16-14 with the game moving towards the final quarter. Leigh regained the lead with a penalty after Burn were penalised at the breakdown. Burn attacked in almost desperate fashion and were awarded a penalty opporunity. Bleasdale shaved the post with the kick and Leigh retained the lead with the game moving into the last ten minutes.
Burn continued to press and following some good ball retention they scored a superb try. A clever movement allowed centre Sutcliffe to put Number 8 Pearson through a whole and the powerful backrower stormed to the line from fully 40 metres after evading some last ditched tackles. Crucially Bleasdale coudln't add the extras as his non-kicking foot slipped and he pulled the conversion to the side of the posts. This made the score 21-17 with a little over five minutes left.
From the re-start Burn failed to deal with the kick off and pressure from the Leigh chasers managed to charge down the attempted clearance. some panicked defence led to a Leigh line out some 10 metres from the Burn line and after a powerful drive a Leigh forward was driven over for a crucial score. The conversion was missed but Leigh had the lead at 22-21. Still things weren't over. Burn attacked but were driven back by some strong defence. However they managed to force a penalty some two metres inside their own half. Up stepped Burn winger Evans who put everything into the kick. Unfortunately the ball dipped under the bar and with it went the last chance for a courageous Burn side.
Chairman of Rugby Gareth Dyer was disappointed but extremely proud of his teams efforts. 'We managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It was a great game and fully deserving of a cup final. I thought to a man we were outstanding and although the lads are massively disappointed with the result they can be very proud of their performance today. Last season we were battered by Leigh 40-15 in the play off and today the game could have gone either way. It shows the improvements to our game and the squad should look back on the season and be very proud of what they have achieved'.
Team: 1) McCarthy 2) Millea 3) Reay 4) Miller 5) Barron 6) Copping 7) Jarrold 8) Pearson 9) Bleasdale 10) Lambert 11) Evans 12) Sutcliffe 13) Maudsley 14) Barnes 15) Radice 16) Calcutt (5) 17) Roberts 18) Doolan (7) 19) Bullen 20) Pemberton 21) Elston (12) 22) Pickles
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Fourteen man Leigh won a famous victory at Preston to win their third successive Lancashire Trophy Final. This furthers Leigh’s claim to being the best junior club in Lancashire.
Leigh started strongly but failed to pierce a strong Blackburn defence. After Iain Wood missed a penalty Blackburn moved up field and scored a fine try through fullback Radice, converted by the skipper Bleasdale. Leigh then suffered further mishap when young winger Dyson was harshly red-carded for a clumsy challenge under pressure.
This sparred Leigh into action and a fine pass from Bentham saw Wilcock race under the posts. Iain Wood added the equalising conversion. Leigh who brought on veteran centre Fletcher at the expense of back-row Barton continued to battle and nullify the one man advantage of Blackburn. However Bleasdale kicked a penalty to allow Blackburn to take a narrow lead into the half time interval.
Leigh started strongly in the second period and after a series of forward drives peacock found Fletcher, who scored by the posts, with Iain Wood converting. Blackburn rallied to take the lead with two penalties before Iain Wood restored the Leigh lead with a well struck penalty.
With 20 minutes remaining and the game balanced on a knife edge, both sides sort the decisive score. Blackburn missed a penalty but scored immediately through winger Pearson. Leigh now threw substitute forwards McKinstrey, Crompton and Cooper into the fray and the momentum changed as Crompton charged down a clearance kick to pin Blackburn on their own line. From the resulting catch and drive from Bate the excellent Leigh forwards drove the eight man Blackburn pack over their own line and Iain Wood was awarded the vital score.
The Leigh forwards and skipper Dave Wood now closed the game down in expert fashion as Blackburn sought the win. However a 60 metre penalty attempt fell well short minutes before a relived Leigh celebrated the final whistle.
This third consecutive win sealed a fine season for the Hand Laners who had previously confirmed their newly won league status in the competitive North West section. The strength and quality of their young squad can only suggest future success.
Credit must also go to Blackburn who came a very close second in a most excellent and entertaining final.
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