Rugby union round-up: Aspull victorious as Orrell involved in a thriller

Missing their talisman and captain Sam Kindred through illness, Apull had it all on.

With Liam West sparking countless attacks and captain Jake Greenhaulgh filling in admirably for Kindred as skipper for the day, Aspull won the arm wrestle against a big Sefton pack.

Rhodri Carlton Jones, playing at fly half, pulled most of the strings, creating two tries for the electric Louis Molyenux, as well as kicking two penalties and a conversion.

Jordan Gibbons and Connor Parkinson had great games, but the stand-out performer for the day was Jonathan 'Jonty' Wilson, who walked away with the man of the match award.

Aspull's second team had no game at the weekend, but the third team - led by old warhorse Ian Robertson - produced tgood win, beating Burnley's second team 34-14.

Meanwhile, Orrell went down 35-28 in a lively encounter against Southport at John Rigby College.

An early knock on gave Southport the possession at a scrum, from which they scored, but Orrell responded when captain Dan Huxley forced his way over for a try converted by Craig Thomas.

Parity only lasted two minutes before Southport made it 14-7, before a Thomas penalty reduced the arrears to four points.

Good work by the Orrell forwards and then good handling by the backs resulted in winger Matt Stott touching down near the corner for their second try.

However, Southport still had time before the break to mount another attack on Orrell's line that led to them scoring a third converted try - and a penalty - for a half-time lead of 24-15.

With the visitors down to 14 men after a sin-binning, a couple of quick tries put Orrell 25-24 up, before a Southport penalty nudged them back ahead.

The boot of Thomas put Orrell back in charge before Southport responded with a penalty of their own, before crossing for a fourth try to seal the win.

In the dying moments of the game, Thomas evaded several defenders before being eventually tackled illegally inside the Southport half.

Because of the resulting incident, both he and the tackler were yellow carded, with the referee reversing the Orrell penalty and giving it to Southport.

Next Saturday, January 29, Orrell are away at Tarleton (2.15pm).

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