Walsall 3rd were involved in a tense game when they faced local rivals Willenhall 2nds in the quarter finals of Staffordshire’s Centenary Cup. Both teams had several scoring opportunities during the first quarter, but it was Walsall’s Simon Peakman that had the scoreboard moving after twenty-two minutes. A fine burst of speed saw him run in a try from twenty-five metres. Ten minutes later the visitors scored a converted try to give them a narrow lead. The hosts managed to regain the lead just before the interval with a Festus Beckley try.
Six minutes into the second half the hosts scored two tries to establish a fifteen-point advantage, A quickly taken penalty by Andy Fitzgerald saw him find Andy Field in support to break through the Willenhall defence. Immediately from the restart Peakman scored another try. The visitors then set up a tense finish as they scored three tries. But Walsall’s No8 James Powell established a ten points advantage for the hosts as he made a well-timed pick up and a strong drive over the Willenhall try line. Outside half Noah Beaty added his second conversion to reestablish the Walsall advantage. Once again, the hard-working Willenhall team fought back and broke away to score another try with the conversion reducing the Walsall lead to just three points with just over five minutes left to play. But it was the hosts that finished the strongest with Powell making another well timed pick up off a scrum and finding Peakman with an accurate pass that saw him score his third try. The referee’s final whistle soon followed.