Following last week’s thrilling 48-40 nail-biting home win over Exeter University, it’s back on the road for Lymm on Saturday as they head to the Somerset coast to take on Hornets of Weston-super-Mare.

Hornets are not quite an unknown quantity for Lymm as they did meet in a pre-season encounter in 2024, but that was on neutral territory rather than at the Hornets’ aptly named home of “The Nest”.

As it turns out, there are actually several similarities between the two clubs:

• Lymm were founded in 1960, with Hornets following two years later in 1962.
• Both clubs have had AGPs courtesy of the RFUs Rugby360 programme, with Hornets’ facility being opened in January 2017, a little ahead of Lymm’s, which opened for business in October 2019.
• Hornets were promoted to National League 2 in 2022/23, just a year before Lymm.
• Both clubs won the now defunct National U17 Cup, with Lymm’s success over Exeter Chiefs in 2009, being followed 4 years later by Hornets’ victory over Lymm’s Cheshire-based neighbours, Warrington. Interestingly, on Warrington’s team sheet that day was Lymm’s current captain, Nathan Beesley!

Then there is the Curtis Langdon connection.  Curtis learned his rugby at Hornets, starting at the age of 6, before leaving to Join London Irish at the age of 15.  His professional career then took him to Sale in 2016, and in 2019 his links with Lymm began when he was appointed to the part-time position of forwards coach, a role he took up with great passion and commitment.  This relationship ended in 2023, when Curtis moved, briefly, to Worcester and then Montpellier, before returning to England in 2024 with Northampton Saints – where he is a teammate of Lymm’s Alex Mitchell!

As far as this season is concerned, Hornets are currently sitting in 6^th on 25 points, two places and 5 points behind Lymm.  Looking at the 5 identical fixtures that the two teams have played so far this season (Luctonians (A); Chester (H); Redruth (A); Loughborough Students (H); and Camborne (A)), Lymm’s 156-141 combined record, shades slightly Hornets’ 130-138 tally, with Lymm’s opening day victory at Luctonians being the principal difference.

So, another close affair looks likely to be on the cards on Saturday, and with away victories being like hens’ teeth in this league this season, you must suspect that any bookies odds would likely be in the Somerset side’s favour.  But, as previously the Lymm squad will travel with confidence down the M6 and M5, especially coming off the back of three consecutive 5-point wins.

The Lymm squad for the match shows three changes from last week with the unavailable Ben Thompson, Dan Hunter and Rob Makin being replaced by James Yates, Jack Lightbown and Joe Senior.