Edge Hall Road, Orrell RUFC, 1950-2007
If things had gone differently in the final game of the 1991/92 season, Edge Hall Road would have been the home of English champions. Having gone toe-to-toe with Bath all season, it was a final day defeat to Wasps for Dewi Morris’s Orrell that cost them the title.
A ground infamously labelled ‘a lay-by on the M6’ by a Harlequins committee member attracted crowds of more 6,000 as they challenged one of the world’s most successful rugby teams. Orrell were formed in 1927 and spent their formative years playing at assorted grounds, before the purchase of Edge Hall Road in 1950, and it was here they enjoyed their greatest moments. In the 1960s they started to become a force in rugby and, reflecting their status, they became the first club in Lancashire to erect floodlights in 1968. It was during their time at Edge Hall Road that they enjoyed their ten Lancashire Cup wins, the first in 1972, the last in 1997, when the game turned professional, omitting the likes of Orrell from the competition.
In that first professional season, 1996-97, Orrell were part of the twelve-team top division, but were relegated in the maiden campaign to the Championship, dropping a division further in 2001. Edge Hall Road had been graced by internationals and British & Irish Lions, including the likes of Morris, Austin Healey and Nigel Heslop, who had helped bring famous victories in both cup (in which regular semi and quarterfinal appearances were made) and league, and this proud history meant changes had to be made to restore its reputation.
Dave Whelan, the multi-millionaire behind Wigan’s league and football sides, purchased Orrell and Edge Hall Road in 2001 with talk of creating a holy trinity of sporting giants in the north west, and the club were promised £10m of investment over five years. Whelan said at the time: ‘Maurice [Lindsay] and I have one ambition and that’s to win the Zurich Premiership’.
Off the pitch, the original clubhouse was lost in a fire, but on the pitch, things looked promising returning to the Championship, where they were immediate contenders, finishing fourth in 2003, their first season back, and then second in 2004, before things would sadly unravel.
Whelan pulled his funding and with it, Edge Hall Road, which was used as Wigan Warriors training base.
Unable to pay players, Orrell began to fall through the leagues, and left their famous home in 2007, where a young side was beaten 17-24 by Morley in their truly final home game in what was then the Third Division [North].
But while the Edge Hall Chapter closed, the club began to rebuild, with many of their famous sides still involved, including many previous captains and players. They joined with Orrell Anvils – a side created when the game went professional – in 2007, and played rugby in the South Lancs/Cheshire Division 2, a division they later won in 2011. They currently play their rugby in North Two West (seventh tier).
Although still owned by Wigan Warriors, Edge Hall Road, pictured, is not currently used, while Orrell lease pitches for their seniors and thriving youth section and are looking at their options for a new home. It may not be possible, but there isn’t a rugby fan out there – especially those of a certain vintage – who wouldn’t love to see the two famous rugby names reunited.
