A bonus point win was the order of the day but the sort of rugby on offer never threatened to produce 4 tries between the sides let alone 4 tries for one team. The win moves West ahead of Cleckheaton and to within 7 points of currently safe Rochdale, but with other teams having games in hand escaping the drop continues to look unlikely. A win next week at Beverley might improve the outlook a little but we relying heavily on other results going our way.

Credit must be given for the character shown in clinging on for the victory when in other games this season we have often crumbled and let the opposition snatch the points away. Park had numerous opportunities deep within the 22 late in the game but the defence held strong and Jon Boatman's first half try coupled with a conversion and penalty from Paul Moss proved enough.

Park scored the first try of the game on 22 minutes thanks to a catch and drive where flanker Mike Milward emerged from the pile as the scorer. Warren Hunt couldn't add the extras.

West had plenty of possession and territory in the first half but struggled to get points on the board. Peter Hodgson, starting the game in place of Ian Wilson, went close early on and West's running looked urgent and with purpose. As the game went on though they struggled more and more as an attacking force and allowed Park to take control.

Boatman's try was probably one of the most simple he has scored in a long time. He broke from the base of a scrum just inside the 22 on the half hour and found no tacklers anywhere near him as he strolled in for his 7th touch-down of the season. Moss made no mistake with the simple conversion and then added a penalty just before the interval.

West's scoring opportunities in the second half were pretty much non-existent. Defence became the more important facet of the game as we desperately tried to cling on to the lead. Hunt added a penalty 3 minutes into the half to cut the lead to just two points and as the half progressed, Park began to look like the more likely winners.

Hunt hit the crossbar with a penalty on 55 minutes and saw another attempt fall short and wide three minutes later. Park kept knocking on the door throughout the closing stages but the home defence clung on. With the minutes ticking away Adam Howard won two crucial penalties for West and Boatman worked tirelessly at the back of a scrum being driven backwards, but from 1 to 15 the tackling and commitment was first-rate.

It was far from a pretty win and a game which probably said a lot about the league position of the two sides. Park will certainly have left Brinkburn thinking they should have took one of their chances late on but equally West could have been well clear by half-time had they converted some of their pressure into points.


West: Thomas (C Cheslin), A Cheslin, Connolly, Hodgson, Kerr, Moss, Waites (Tighe), Carr, A Dixon, Stockdale, Davies, T Dixon, Howard, Rudd, J Boatman.
Rep not used: Bailey

Try: J Boatman
Con: Moss
Pen: Moss
Sin-bin: A Cheslin, Davies

West Park St Helens: Briers, Rosney, Orrick, Hitchmough, Hunt, Ryan, Lane, Glover, Bonati, Critchley, Hanson, Marshall, Barton, Milward, Morley.
Reps: Bailey, Burrows, Hull

Try: Milward
Pen: Hunt
Sin-bin: B|ailey

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys [Yorkshire]