Wolves rally to boost their promotion bid

The clash seemed to be heading the way of the visitors after they recovered from conceding an early try to Alex Bird, which was converted by Ben Barnes, to lead 21-7 at the break.

But Wolves then roused themselves during a half-time pep-talk and came out flying at the start of the second half.

Luke Brough bagged two tries with George Smailes also crossing and Barnes adding another conversion as Wolves powered into a 24-21 lead.

Tamworth rallied and nosed back in front with a try but Wolves were not to be denied with Jack Walker crossing to make the final score 29-24, much to the relief of stand-in coach Ian Harley, who took charge in the absence of Matt Jones.

The victory lifted the Castlecroft men a point clear of Tamworth and into the play-off place behind leaders Ludlow.

“It was a big win for us but I have to admit it didn’t look too good at half-time,” said Harley.

“We scored an early try but we were just not in it for the rest of the half after that.

“We didn’t get out of our own half. There was no pace or conviction to our game and our set-pieces weren’t working.

“We had a chat at half-time and the lads rallied each other up.

“We hadn’t played how we said we were going to. Tamworth are a big side and we wanted to move them around the park. We hadn’t done that.

“We came out flying at the start of the second half, upped the tempo and scored three tries.

“Then we reverted to how we had been playing in the first half and they scored a try. But thankfully we responded and Joe grabbed what proved to be the winning try.”

Wolves face a double header at Leek on Saturday when league points and a place in the final of the Staffs Cup are up for grabs.

“The Staffs Cup was a competition we targeted at the start of the season,” added Harley.

“It’s not often you get a chance at winning some silverware and it would be great if we could do that. But it’s going to be a tough game at Leek.”