Emerging England
v
Wales
played on 19 July 1998
at Auto Quest Stadium, Widnes
Attendance: 5,154
Referee: John Connolly (Wigan)
| Emerging England 15 |
defeated |
Wales 12 |
Andy Goodway
Gary Broadbent (Salford)
Paul Sterling (Leeds)
Nathan McAvoy (Salford)
Keith Senior (Sheffield)
Francis Cummins (Leeds)
Graham Holroyd (Leeds)
Sean Long (St Helens)
Steve Molloy (Sheffield)(capt)
Paul Rowley (Halifax)
Darren Fleary (Leeds)
Andy Hay (Leeds)
Simon Haughton (Wigan)
Lee Gilmour (Wigan)
Mark Hilton (Warrington)
Paul Davidson (St Helens)
Paul Johnson (Wigan)
Danny Orr (Castleford)
|
Coach
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
|
Clive Griffiths
Paul Atcheson (St Helens)
Jason Critchley (Castleford)
Damian Gibson (Halifax)
Daio Powell (Halifax)
Anthony Sullivan (St Helens)
Iestyn Harris (Leeds)
Lee Briers (Warrington)
Kelvin Skerrett (Halifax)(capt)
Keiron Cunningham (St Helens)
Neil Cowie (Wigan)
Dean Busby (Hull)
Richie Eyres (Rochdale)
Karle Hammond (St Helens)
Gareth Stephens (Sheffield)
Martin Hall (Halifax)
Rowland Phillips (London Welsh RU)
Martin Pearson (Halifax)
|
Andy Hay
Paul Davidson
|
Tries |
Daio Powell
Keiron Cunningham
|
|
Graham Holroyd (3)
|
Goals |
Iestyn Harris (2)
|
|
Sean Long
|
Field Goals |
|
England did just about enough to win this first international game of the season, but it was a lack-lustre affair. Several players were given their chance to impress in the Emerging England team, but apart from Sean Long and Andy Hay, the rest missed the opportunity.
Most of the points came during the first quarter. Graham Holroyd put England ahead with an 8th min penalty, but the Welsh hit back immediately with the first try of the game. Paul Atcheson dragged the cover defence across towards the touchline with a diagonal run, before sending out a perfectly timed pass to Daio Powell, who came charging up on his inside. Iestyn Harris added the extras and Wales had a 2-6 lead.
The lead changed hands again on 13 mins, with the first try from England. Keith Senior spun around in a tackle close to the Welsh line and Andy Hay was on hand to take the off load for the touch down. The lead was short-lived, however, for just three minutes later, the St Helens pair of Karle Hammond and Keiron Cunningham teamed up for another Welsh try. It was Hammond who did most of the work, but the glory went to Cunningham.
England went close to levelling up the scores on 30 mins, with a move on the left flank, but Senior was obstructed as he went to take what would have been a try-scoring pass. Jason Critchley was despatched to the sin-bin for the infringement, but the gamble paid off. Wales had prevented the try and their defence withstood the pressure of being down to twelve men for ten minutes.
A lead of 8-12 to Wales at the interval fairly reflected the first half play, but coach Goodway would not have been happy with his players' performance. The likes of Lee Gilmour, Darren Fleary and Paul Rowley, who are all stars with their clubs, were virtually anonimous and Graham Holroyd's kicking game left much to be desired.
The third quarter was very much a non-event, with neither team managing to add to their score, but they did add significantly to the ball-handling and missed tackles statisics. The Welsh forwards were visibly tiring in the later stage of the game and England took advantage, with the match-winning try. After putting much pressure of the Wales line, the defence eventually cracked and Paul Davidson stormed through for the try. Holroyd hit the conversion to give England a 14-12 advantage and Sean Long added a field goal a few minutes later, to round off the scoring.
Man of the Match was England's halfback Sean Long. With Test Match places up for grabs in the forthcoming series against New Zealand, he who was one of the few players on his team to impress. For the Welsh, forwards Neil Cowie and Dean Busby led the way, but Iestyn Harris had a quiet game.
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©1998, Richard Bailey, Matthew Webb