Broughton Red Rose under-14s welcomed the impressive Pilkington Rec Reds to contest the second round tie of the BARLA cup.
There was a lot of nerves and apprehension around this one as their reputation travelled northwards well in advance of the team bus.
Unfortunately, despite a valiant effort they proved to be too strong on the day for the home side.
From minute one the visitors showed their intent as well as their class, trundling over the gain line and moving the ball at pace.
The young Rangers dug in though and returned intent of their own, completing sets, keeping things tight and turning it into a dog fight.
Despite impeccable line speed and watertight defence, it was Red Rose that put the first points on the board after a good solid set and a successful field goal on the last.
A few try saving tackles made by Red Rose came next as our lads continued to frustrate and unsettle.
An unconverted try Pilkington saw a half time score of 4-1, which reflected the battle on the field quite accurately.
The early minutes of the second half followed the first, with both sides making good yards, defending well and forcing errors.
It was the visitors though who eventually managed to move through the gears to score a couple of silky tries out wide after some fierce yards being made in the middle to set things up. Both tries were converted making the score 16-1.
Red Rose continued to contest but after a couple of injuries and some positional adjustments the visitors turned on the burners, caught them napping a little in defence and ran two further tries in out wide, which were converted and took the final score to 28-1.
The club said: “We are immensely proud of our boys who stood tall, never took a backwards step against arguably one of the best sides in the country.
“On another day and playing the type of rugby, we know we can play we feel sure we’d be able to give them an even tougher challenge.
“Full credit to Pilkington Recs though, they are a class act and definitely the best side we’ve ever lined up against. Wishing them well in the BARLA cup and in their league campaign.”
