Having been waiting for this fixture for some while, it was with anticipation that Wigan's unbeaten U9's travelled to Preston for the season defining fixture. Having not played each other for over 2 years (Wigan victors on that occasion) and only having had the opportunity to watch them at Rossendale, it was always going to be a test of this young sides development.

With the sun out and spectators ready, Wigan having only 10 players (due to some formidable absentees) faced a large 20+ squad from Preston. Having opted to play a different Hoppers team over 10 minute games it was billed as a true contest of David v's Goliath.

Despite the small pitch (Wigan being used to the official 60x30m pitch) the players weren't restricted by the limited space and soon raced to a healthy lead with their usual free flowing rugby which Hoppers were unable to suppress. With ball in hand the Wigan players dominated with some sublime offloading - much to the praise of the opposition coaching team - to draw the defenders making space out wide for some fantastic tries.

With some big players in their teams, Preston pushed hard when in attacking mode, but despite their efforts, Wigan's defence maintained the pressure and forced several handovers with textbook tackling much to the coach's delight.

As the games pushed on - Preston with the benefit of rotating teams - the Wigan players did start to feel the pressure with some injuries and general tired legs. With 2 out of 2 quarters in the bag, and with a new 'select' Preston 7, Wigan were pushed hard in the 3rd quarter and conceded one more than they could muster (only for the lack of a TMO on a dubious decision - no sour grapes!). Despite the obvious advantage, Preston however couldn't break Wigan's resolve and with another convincing performance in the final quarter, Wigan ran out convincing winners in the end.

Having had time to take in their victory - namely on the adventure playground next to the 1st team pitch (Clarky - when's ours being installed!) the players gathered for the match awards. With parent's votes counted, Tom C had been dominate all day, with a strong attacking game together with his usual defensive display, taking the reward of Parent's Player. With the coach again in a difficult position, the Coach's Award was as usual hard to choose. Having witnessed everyone play past their potential (the usual marker for the award) it was decided that having defended without fault all morning and really taken on an attacking role, Owen had proved his part in what was without doubt a team performance, to take home the award.

A fantastic performance by all and a well deserved victory, cementing Wigan's standing at this age group.

Wigan RUFC

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