WITH the weather wiping out all of last Saturday’s senior fixtures, Widnes RUFC can take a brief but well-earned breather and look back on what has been an eventful first half of the season.
Fifth in the league and a run in both the Lancashire Trophy and Intermediate Cup is a decent return so far for a team that was hit by retirement and injury before the season began.
A big hole had already been left by the retirement of the experienced centre duo of Gareth Davies and Mark Sibson, but this was followed by the loss of promising forwards Mark Wilcox, Andy McVey and Kevin Farrow.
A serious knee injury to captain Andrew O’Neill was followed by a succession of broken bones and other long-term injuries, meaning that Widnes would face the toughest of starts.
But the coaching staff needn’t have worried too much as their new breed of young talent really stepped up to make their mark in what is turning out to be another tough and competitive season in South Lancs Cheshire One.
Indeed, Widnes have turned things around in such a way that the players currently out injured are going to have a real fight on their hands to get back into the side when they are fit again.
