Cinderford 26 – 17 Lymm

Spirited Lymm recovery falls just short

Lymm made their final trip down the M5 on Saturday to play Cinderford from the Forest of Dean, so concluding their season’s 4,200 mile road trip in satisfying 13 away fixtures. In the reverse fixture at Crouchley Lane back in December, the visitors had prevailed 43-33, with their last play try denying Lymm a losing bonus point.

For this match, Lymm were forced to make 5 changes to the squad with the unavailable Oli Higginson, Matty Hand, Ste Pilkington, Dal Ngoma and Rory Cartlidge being replaced by Cormac Nolan, Joe Heaton, Matt Hill, Tom Elphick and Alisdair Broadbent, the latter making his First XV debut and, alongside Jamie Cope and Ed Millachip, bringing to 3 the number of 18-year-old Senior Colts in the squad. Lymm were led for the first time by James Pitcher, the 4th captain Lymm have called on this season, which together with the 49 players utilised highlights the challenges that Lymm have endured throughout the season.

Cinderford kicked off and, with more than a sense of déjà vu, Lymm fumbled the kick-off giving the ball back to their hosts. After a few strong drives by the Cinderford forwards and good ball retention, play was soon deep in the Lymm 22. Two more phases and former Gloucester and Italy Number 8, Jake Polledri, was on hand to score from close range. Fly half Sonny Greenman easily added the extras. 7-0 after 2 minutes and Lymm had, once again, got off to the worst start possible.

Lymm then enjoyed a period of possession and worked their way into Cinderford’s 22 where they were awarded a kickable penalty in front of the posts, which Tom Shard gratefully accepted. Lymm were on the scoreboard, 7-3 after 10 minutes.

The sense that Lymm were now building a head of steam quickly evaporated in unfortunate circumstances. With Lymm in possession around their own 22, a loose pass was recovered by Nolan 5m from his own line. He first ran towards the left touchline before changing direction towards the right, evading several Cinderford would-be tacklers, before putting in a towering kick to touch to relieve the pressure – only for the officials to rule that the ball had been taken back into the Lymm 22. The catch and drive from Cinderford’s attacking line out was halted by Lymm, but Polledri had the ball at the back and was able to sneak round the blindside to score close to the left-hand touch for an unconverted try. 12-3 after 13 minutes.

A few minutes later and, from a lineout just inside Lymm territory, Cinderford moved the ball sharply through their backs – courtesy of a couple of questionable passes – before the ball ended up in the hands of left wing Brendan Llewelyn, who showed his pace to outstrip the Lymm defence. Greenman added the simple conversion and, for the second week running, Lymm had conceded 3 tries in the first quarter. 19-3 after 20 minutes.

When 5 minutes later, Lymm’s Thornton was yellow carded for a technical offence (he was injured at the same time and played no further part in the match) the writing looked on the wall for Lymm. However, if anything, this seemed to galvanise the players with an outstanding Paddy Jennings tackle on halfway, which forced a crucial turnover, epitomising the change in momentum that was taking place. Shortly afterwards, Lymm were awarded an eminently kickable penalty 30m out, in front of the posts. This time though, Shard elected to kick for touch. Lymm won the line out and when the subsequent driving maul was stopped a couple of metres short of the tryline, scrum-half Cal Morris was on hand to dummy his way behind the posts to score a try which Shard easily converted. 19-10 after 30 minutes.

Whilst there was no further scoring in the half, it had been a much better quarter from Lymm. They now seemed to have the “bit between their teeth”, and were retaining the ball well and, as a consequence, Cinderford were now offending more often, drawing a warning from referee, Mr Marshall.

Half Time: Cinderford 19 – 10 Lymm

The next quarter followed in a similar vein with Lymm enjoying the majority of possession and field position. There were strong runs by Millachip, Cope and Jennings which had Lymm on the front foot whilst Lymm’s off-loading game and general ball handling was much more assured than in recent weeks. In this period, Lymm thought they had scored but the unsighted officials ruled that the Lymm player had been held up over the line. The referee’s warning to Cinderford at the end of the first half resulted in a yellow card to prop forward Oliver Johnson for a technical offence. Shortly afterwards, Lymm lost replacement second row Hill to a bad looking knee injury.

However, against the run of play and on their first entry into the Lymm 22 of the half, Cinderford scored their 4th, bonus point, try when prop forward Matt Cotton forced his way over from a rolling maul, with Greenman adding the extras. 27-10 after 63 minutes.

On 70 minutes, Cinderford were awarded a penalty 22m out and 15m in from the right-hand touchline. Surprisingly, Greenman elected to have a shot at goal. His attempt missed and Lymm, with renewed confidence in their play, ran the ball from behind their own line, and through good link play, strong running and Nolan’s clever kick, soon had the Cinderford defence scrambling in their own 22. Whilst nothing came from this passage of play, it was symptomatic of the changing dynamic in the match. Shortly afterwards, Lymm were awarded a penalty, which Tom Manaton, now on for Morris, took quickly only to be tripped by Cinderford’s Alex Bosworth, earning the replacement a yellow card. Lymm kicked the penalty to the corner but the driving maul went to ground a foot short of the tryline, with Lymm’s subsequent claim of a try being disallowed by the referee for a double movement.

On 78 minutes though, Lymm did deservedly score their second try. On about halfway the ball was moved by Lymm across their backline to Nolan on the left wing, he made progress deep into the Cinderford 22 but was then halted illegally. Nolan took a quick tap penalty but his link with the supporting Lymm player, who would have been clear to score, was frustrated by an off-the-ball tackle by Cinderford’s Jack Condliffe, earning the full back a yellow card and Lymm a penalty try. 27-17 after 78 minutes.

Lymm were now close to a losing bonus point, but with play after the restart around halfway, had a lot to do in the time remaining. Tempers were now getting a little frayed, and following one dust up the referee gave both sides a warning. However, the subsequent line-out resulted in a further altercation as Polledri, the chief protagonist, made a beeline for Lymm’s Stride. Play was halted and despite Lymm being awarded the penalty, the officials chose to issue two yellow cards when, to those close to the action, a red card for the Cinderford player was likely.

With time running out, Shard elected to attempt a penalty to earn the three points that would have secured Lymm a losing bonus point. The kick was hugely ambitious – from halfway, 5m in from the right-hand touch – but despite the barracking from a section of the Cinderford crowd, Shard struck it well and the ball was on target to split the uprights only to frustratingly fall 2 feet short of the crossbar – and that was the end of the match.

Full Time: Cinderford 26 – 17 Lymm

For three quarters, this was a performance full of character by a young, relatively inexperienced, Lymm squad. The first 20 minutes though had been hugely disappointing and, ultimately, determined the outcome of the match.

After the match, a reflective Director of Rugby, Adam Fletcher, commented:

“To go away to Cinderford and push them close is a credit to the boys’ attitude. A lot of boys stood up, especially the 3 senior colts – Ed, Jamie and Alisdair. I thought we were good for at least one point, so to come away empty handed is disappointing. The bigger picture is that we bloodied three of the next generation, so the future is definitely looking bright.”

“Thanks to all the travelling support, it was much appreciated. Looking forward to finishing the season with a bang at home next week.”

Team: Ben Lilley (42); James Pitcher*(c) (113); Joe Higgins* (39); Olly Thornton* (7); Josh Maskery (10); Jack Stride* (39); Jamie Cope* (2); Rhys Lilly* (94); Cal Morris (85); Tom Shard* (165); Paddy Jennings* (102); Jack Reynolds (51); Ed Millachip* (2); Andy Williams* (30); Cormac Nolan* (223)

Bench: Tom Elphick (6); Matt Hill* (4); Alisdair Broadbent* (2); Tom Manaton (44); Joe Heaton* (19)

( ) = number of Lymm First XV League appearances

* Former Lymm Academy/M&J player

Referee: Max Marshall

Match Report: Andy Leach

Lymm’s next fixture is on Saturday 25th April 2026 when they host Luctonians from Herefordshire at Crouchley Lane, KO 3:00.