Liverpool St Helens RUFC 3 Leigh RUFC 6

LEIGH made it three in a row, with a hard fought win at local rivals LSH, in very poor weather conditions.

Despite the narrow score line Leigh were well worth the points, as they created more scoring opportunities, and their strong defence allowed them to dominate field position.

LSH were first on the scoreboard with an early penalty, but Leigh dominated the rest of the half.

They went close on three occasions.

Firstly Calvin Crompton burst clear, but his pass to Jimmy Wilkinson lacked the quality of the break.

Secondly, Colt stand-off Rob Drake made a thrilling outside run only to have his ankle tapped metres from the line.

Thirdly, and most controversially Leigh were denied a score from the driving maul when LSH refused to challenge the Leigh drive, and the referee adjudged obstruction.

Leigh did however level the sores with a well struck penalty from Elliott Ryan.

The second half was less eventful, but followed a similar pattern with Leigh in control, but unable to penetrate a determined home defence.

A second penalty from Ryan was enough to take the points, despite a late interception, which was chased down on the heavy pitch.

The whole Leigh side were delighted to beat a side who have had the better of them in recent seasons, but none more so than Chris Houlton, who played his early rugby at LSH.