While that league position is probably a temporary one and means little at this very early stage it does at least demonstrate the nature of this victory and whilst Birkenhead Park will doubtless play better, we dominated the game almost from start to finish.

Results might not have been there in pre-season but something has obviously gone well as we played some great rugby, keeping the ball alive well and making the majority of the tries through fantastic support play.

After an uneventful opening ten minutes two tries in two minutes from Andrew Davies kick-started the game. The first was created by a half-break from Stu Waites, support from new hooker Andrew Rollins and finished well under pressure by the ever-reliable second row. Straight from the restart another new face at the club Stewart Grazier broke up the right wing and his nice pass set Adam Coates away. The prop somehow squeezed an inside pass to Davies and he did the rest, running in from 25 metres out.

A converted Greg Edwards try made it 19-0 after just 18 minutes play, Rollins again involved with a good turnover setting up the counter-attack.

Park got one back with a powerful rolling maul after Luke Watson had seen yellow for a dangerous tackle but even when Jon Boatman joined him in the sin-bin it didn’t turn the tide toward the visitors. We almost added another try after David Heckles collected his own up-and-under but the scoring pass drifted forward. Undeterred we did secure the bonus point before the break when the hard-working Craig Gilmour crashed over.

The start of the second half saw no let up in the onslaught and it took only 5 minutes for Anth Carr to increase the lead, going over in the right corner for a try superbly converted by Waites in the increasingly blustery wind. He added a penalty 5 minutes later before Park got their second try, again from a maul, although from much shorter range with replacement Pollard peeling off to score by the right corner flag.

Despite playing most of the game on the wing, Andrew Foreman took a trademark tap penalty which eventually resulted in Greg Edwards second score, the winger taking full advantage of a big overlap on the right following Foreman’s work up the left flank.

The final minute of normal time brought the final try with Grazier peeling off a maul to touch down in the right corner, capping off a fine afternoon for the former Rovers number eight.

The first game of a season will probably be forgotten come April and there will surely be plenty more difficult afternoons ahead of this young squad throughout the campaign but accomplished performances from four players making National League debuts along with a host of more recognisable faces there is plenty of reason for optimism around Brinkburn.

  

West: Heckles, Foreman, A Cheslin, Watson, Edwards, Waites, Painter, Carr, Rollins, Coates, Davies, Gilmour, D Boatman, J Boatman, Grazier.
Reps: A Dixon, Myers, Armstrong

Tries: Davies 2, Edwards 2, Gilmour, Carr, Grazier
Cons: Waites 5
Pen: Waites

YC: Watson [20], J Boatman [28], Davies [69]


Birkenhead Park: Spencer, Chapman, Hughes, Rich, Morgan, Handley, Chidley, Jones, Brown, Campbell, Saidi, Finneran, Mooney, Ashcroft, Cupples.
Reps: O’Keefe, Pollard, Scott

Tries: Brown, Pollard
Cons: Spencer 2

YC: Ashcroft [70]

Referee: Peter Stentiford [Yorkshire]