Fast Start for Wirral
It was the home side who struck first, taking advantage of a couple of penalties deep in Rossendale’s territory. Their scrum-half spotted a gap and darted over under the posts, with the simple conversion making it 7-0 to Wirral.

Rossendale responded quickly, capitalising on a penalty five metres out. From the resulting scrum, Terence Babarinsa powered his way over the line, and with Lewis Allen adding the extras, the scores were level at 7-7.

Rossendale Take Control
Momentum stayed with the visitors as Byron McGuigan bagged their second try. A well-worked line-out just inside Rossendale’s half saw the ball moved into midfield, where Alex Ropeti crashed through before feeding McGuigan on the wing. A couple of strong hand-offs later, he dived over near the posts, and with Allen on target again, Rossendale led 7-14.

Allen then slotted a penalty after Wirral were penalised for a high tackle on Ropeti though the lack of a card raised a few eyebrows extending the lead to 7-17.

Wirral weren’t going away, though. Sustained pressure on the Rossendale line saw their fullback squeeze in at the corner, though the missed conversion left the score at 12-17.
Rossendale hit back again through Matt Lamprey, who surprisingly found himself out on the wing after a break through midfield by Israr Asif. The ball was worked out to Lamprey, who showed his pace to race in from 30 metres. Allen’s conversion pushed the lead to 12-24.

Wirral Fight Back
However, Rossendale then found themselves on the wrong end of three quick penalties for backchat, and Wirral took full advantage. A converted try brought them back to 19-24, and they then grabbed the lead for the first time since the opening minutes. A scrum five metres out provided the platform, and their number nine sniped around the back before stretching for the line. The successful conversion put Wirral 26-24 ahead, and Rossendale were struggling to get their hands on the ball.

Just when they needed it, Rossendale found a response. A well-executed kick through from Allen caused chaos in Wirral’s defence, with McGuigan reacting quickest to gather and stretch over in the corner. The missed conversion left Rossendale with a slender 26-29 advantage.

Late Drama
With tensions rising, Rossendale were reduced to 14 men when Brendan Berry was shown a yellow card. Wirral wasted no time in making the extra man count, scoring out wide, but the conversion struck the post. That left them with a narrow 31-29 lead heading into the final minutes.

Rossendale needed something, and Allen delivered. A well-won penalty allowed him to nudge his side back in front at 31-32 with six minutes to play. Another penalty soon followed, this time from just inside Wirral’s half, and Allen made no mistake, making it 31-35.

The drama wasn’t over yet. In the dying seconds, Wirral thought they had won it, crossing under the posts, but the referee pulled them back for a forward pass. With that, the final whistle blew, confirming a hard-fought win for Rossendale.

Hard-Fought Victory
This was a game full of twists and turns, but in the end, Rossendale showed the composure needed to grind out a crucial victory on the road. Despite struggling for possession in the second half, their ability to take chances when they arose proved to be the difference.

Sophie Macintosh