Rugby began well enough and with their forwards dominating, opted to kick to touch when Park were penalised just outside their 22-metre line. The kick crossed the line 10 metres from the visitor’s try line. A defending Park player jumped up and patted the ball back to his fullback although he was at least 2 metres over the touchline. Amazingly play was allowed to carry on and the fullback kicked to touch for a lineout to the home side in just about the same position as it would have been from the penalty. Rugby took the throw and drove over the try line with Sam Overton claiming the touch down in the third minute. James Hawken converted for a 7-0 lead. Flowing back’s moves were not the order of the day in the conditions, and play was generally a forward’s battle with plenty of kicking out of hand from both sides.

Rugby’s pack was well on top in the first period, both in the loose and the set scrum, and play was confined mainly to the visitor’s half. A number of rolling mauls got to within a whisker of Park’s line, but a further score was denied by some determined defending. On one occasion Park were penalised in front of their posts with the referee clearly indicating offside at the maul. Expecting to see Hawken slot the kick for the three points, the crowd were surprised to see a scrum forming - even more so when the visitors were awarded the put-in - one of many puzzling decisions from the official.

Park conceded a number of penalties early on for offside and diving over the ball and appeared to receive a final warning from the referee. However it was not the visitor’s who were punished with a yellow card but Wilf Barclay who was sent to the bin for his first offence, which was committed on the halfway line. Wilf now has a string of yellow cards to his name and would appear to be a target for referees. He can certainly count himself very unfortunate on this occasion.

Half Time: - Rugby Lions 7 West Park St.Helens 0

Matt Davies replaced Sam Overton at the start of the second half and new signing Matt Lister soon joined the fray, replacing Tommy Booth with Paul Thompson reverting to number eight.

If Rugby had the better of the first half, it was a completely different story after the break. With ground conditions getting worse, Lions struggled to get out of their own 22, let alone into the visitor’s half. Matt Davies was penalized for holding on and fullback Andy Soutar slotted the penalty to reduce the deficit to 7-3. Lions were defending doggedly, but it only seemed a matter of time before the constant pressure would tell. Wilf Barclay returned to the field of play and following a determined run had his head stamped on by Park’s abrasive scrum half Philip Webster. This was however not seen by any of the officials.

Following another offside decision against Rugby, Soutar had the chance to reduce the deficit to one point, but he pulled his kick wide of the posts.

Sam Viggars then came on to replace Tim Douglas in the Lion’s midfield. One of the biggest cheers of the day came when a kick from the Lions reached Park’s half, but they were short-lived with the ball being returned with interest. With time seeming to stand still for the home supporters Rugby somehow managed to prevent any further score from the visitors and the final whistle came after five added minutes to much relief. Why Park failed to score a try was down to their own inadequacies as much as Rugby’s determined defence as they squandered many chances.