Orrell St James returned to the top of the National Leagues' North West Conference on Thursday night with a commanding 44-0 victory over Woolston Rovers.
Two tries from Sam Burns, a controlled performance from stand-off Brad Calland and a lively showing from hooker Harry Mosley set the tone as Orrell built a 22-0 half time lead and doubled it after the break. Harrison Stanton added six goals as the hosts crossed eight times in total.
For head coach Sean McHugh, the clean sheet meant as much as the score-line.
“Yeah, really, really pleased with the nil, and really pleased with the performance,” he said. “We were quite a few numbers down today and we didn’t know how to go. So, yeah, really pleased and it sets us up nicely for our weekend away at Wembley.”
With bodies missing, Orrell were forced into some unusual combinations.
“We had four middles on the bench, so just moving people about,” McHugh explained. “They’re a good bunch of lads and they all understand that, you know, everybody’s got to get a game and we all mucked in.”
The opening exchanges were tight.
“In the first 20 minutes, it could have gone either way and then we pulled away a little bit second half,” he said. “But, no, it was a good game.”
What stood out was the quality of Orrell’s tries - something McHugh sees as central to their identity.
“We pride ourselves on our ability to do that, you know. We practice long and hard with that and, yeah, I think we always like to be known as a rugby team.”
He added: “We want to let lads come and express themselves and enjoy themselves…but you’ve got to be able to play both sides of the ball and I think today we did that.”
Orrell’s consistency at the top of the table reflects how well they’ve adapted to the revamped structure. McHugh believes the level has risen.
“Quite possibly, yeah, because a lot of the teams were in the NCL, you know, so we’re playing NCL teams every other week apart from Blackbrook who are doing quite well.”
He added that the early standings challenge old assumptions:
“It probably shows the misconception that the North West Men's weren’t a good league.”
What he is most enthusiastic about is the RFL’s decision to localise the competition.
“I think it was a brilliant idea by the RFL to have a local league because we would have never gone into a national league,” he said.
“Making it a local league has helped us and it gives us a better game every week.”
After years of repetitive fixtures, the change has been refreshing.
“It’s been a bit of a breath of fresh air,” McHugh said. “We’ve been in North West Men's Prem for seven, eight, nine, ten years and, you know, it was getting a little bit boring playing the same teams every week.”
Now for Orrell St James, they are facing clubs from Warrington, Saddleworth, St Helens - teams they haven’t met in years.
“It just gives you a new outlook on it,” he said. “I think it’s long overdue…so that teams like ourselves can get up there and play in the higher leagues without having the travel costs that you endure if you’re going to the Prem.”
For Orrell, the philosophy is clear.
“We want local lads to play, we don’t want to be getting lads from all over the place because we have to travel every week. We’re just happy with the lads that we’ve got just doing what they’re doing.”
By Dave Parkinson
Photo Credit: 13 Pro Am Community RL
