Leigh Rugby Club was the venue for Southport men’s first team fixture this week in what promised to be another stern test for this young side. Leigh came off the back of a close win last week against Sefton but with ‘Port breathing down their neck, just one place below them in the table, the visitors were quietly confident. Southport welcomed back Niall Cooney and Joe Mawdsley to the front row, with scrum half Joe Parkinson missing out at with a broken hand.

Leigh kicked off the first half with a strong gale blowing straight across the pitch, which was in extremely good nick bearing in mind the torrential rain that had fallen. It wasn’t long before Leigh showed just how damaging they could be out wide as their fullback, Jimmy Wilkinson, was at the end of a good passage of play, showing a clean pair of heals to the Southport backs and scoring an unconverted try in the corner. The visitors were soon back in the game and following a penalty and kick to the corner, the resultant line was won and the ball spun down the line where Adam Wood was able to make enough space to set up Tom Peacock who bulldozed his way over the line to even up the scores. Southport then suffered a cruel blow losing 3 players in the space of 10 minutes with Alex Leadbetter, Jack Parker and the hugely influential Hayden Barnes all side lined for the remainder of the match. Leigh were playing well and defending soundly and when in possession they looked dangerous with the ever-present Wilkinson again at the end of some good ball handling, dotting down out wide with the conversion putting the Home team 12 – 5 ahead. Southport responded well with Charlie Attis yet again playing a key role in the game, managing to evade a couple of tackles before releasing Jake Mann to score under the posts. This put the scores equal at half time.

Leigh upped their game in the second half putting more pressure on Southport. Their elusive fullback, Jimmy Wilkinson, once again creating mayhem and scoring his third try under the posts putting Leigh 19 – 12 ahead. Southport then enjoyed their best period of the match with regard to possession but were unable to convert the pressure into points culminating with Jordan Caldwell being held up over the line. The resultant scrum was lost against the head and following a missed penalty by the home team, the crucial turning point of the match took place in which Leigh gathered the Southport kick off and with some poor defending allowed the elusive Jimmy Wilkinson to score his fourth converted try. Southport were forced to try and play expansive rugby but following a professional foul they were down to 14 men and Leigh were able to reap the benefits to score their final try to lead 33 – 12. The away team fought to the end with Gareth “pugs” Lang scoring a consolation try - final score 19 – 33.

The weekend proved to be unsuccessful for all of the senior men teams with the second team losing to Orrel 2nds 0 – 54 after some woeful defending and thirds losing 75 -14 to Garstang 2nds. Next week the men’s first team are at home against Rochdale, who sit second in the table, kick off at 2.15. Southport’s youngsters will be thoroughly tested again and it should be a cracker.

Sunday saw Southport Ladies host Nottingham team Ashfield in a double header with the winner taking points for both the home and away fixture. With 4 yellow cards and a red dished out, the game was a real tussle between 2 teams with both determined to take all the points on offer.

The start saw Southport kick to Ashfield and, with their strong forwards rumbling up the pitch, it was a huge defensive test for Southport. The port ladies held strong but with numerous high tackles, the first yellow card for Southport was issued and they were down to 14 within the first 20 minutes. Undeterred, the ladies held firm and with Ashfield unable to break through it was an interception from fly-half Meghan Montgomery that kick started Southport's dominance. She kicked the ball through for full-back Ruth Thomas to chase who then kicked on up the pitch and Southport’s speedy winger Emily Derby pounced on the ball to claim the first of her 6 tries! Thomas added the extras and Southport were on the front foot. With some strong counter rucking from Ashfield, possession constantly switched. Hard runs from the forwards, in particular prop Laura Walton, earning her forward of the match, ensured that Southport made vital yards. Phase after phase Southport bundled forward but a good rip from Ashfield saw the ball passed out to their fly-half who made a clearing kick straight into the path of winger Emily Derby. She turned on the afterburners and ran over half the length of the pitch to score under the posts. The conversion was unfortunately missed with a sliced kick.
From the restart the game played out in the same way, strong runs, counter rucking and ripped balls, plus another yellow for Southport for yet another high tackle. But it was a perfectly run line from 2nd row Natalie Burns that enabled her to shrug off 2 tackles and crash over in the corner for her first of the game. With the angle too tight, the conversion was missed. Just before half time, and after some good controlled play from the forwards, the ball was passed through the hands of the backs all the way to Emily Derby who ran in for her 3rd try of the half. The conversion was good and the score going into the second half was 24-0 to Southport.

Even with the score as it was, it was still up to Southport to not underestimate the opposition. With the second half underway and Southport still down to 14, everyone put a shift in and after a knock on by Ashfield, the strong Southport pack allowed the ball to be passed out to the backs who, with some slick passes, got the ball to Emily Derby who ran around the Ashfield line to score her 4th try and for Ruth Thomas to make her 3rd conversion. Ashfield refused to be beaten and some strong runs from their forwards saw them rewarded with a try in the corner but the conversion missed.
From the restart Southport continued to apply the pressure and with tempers starting to rise, the 3rd yellow was dished out to Southport and, again, they were down to 14. With Ashfield in possession deep in their own half, another clearing kick from the fly-half saw Ruth Thomas take it cleanly, make some yards and off load to Emily Derby who still had plenty of work to do but made a blinding run from her own half to score her 5th try. The conversion, however, was missed. Soon after, tempers flared again and the 4th yellow was shown to Southport and a red to Ashfield. With just a few minutes left of the game Southport were awarded a scrum 5 metres out and with an injury to Southports prop and no front row replacement, the scrums went uncontested. The ball was passed down the back line to super winger Emily Derby who ran in for her 6th and final try. Again, with a tight angle, the conversion was missed. The final whistle was blown and Southport had ground out a 41-5 win against a very physical Ashfield team.

Forward of the match - Prop Laura Walton
Back of the match - Winger Emily '6 tries' Derby

Next week Southport Ladies travel away to Broughton Park.