Glossop 2nds 3- 63 Lymm Eagles

Eagles Fly High in Peak District

“Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends! Ladies and Gentlemen, we present Lymm Eagles”

After a lengthy summer break during which most of the Eagles obviously enjoyed the sybaritic lifestyle of the lotus eaters, doing little other than feasting on ambrosia and drinking nectar (food of the Gods), they made the 30-mile trip to Derbyshire to meet Glossop 2nd XV on Saturday for the opening game of the 25/26 season. Not having played Glossop for many years, and only a few knowing where Glossop was, the Eagles were not sure as to the calibre of the opposition but were impressed to see a well drilled full Glossop squad already on the pitch as Lymm arrived almost an hour before kick-off. From their size and ability, it was assumed that this must be their First XV until it was pointed out that the firsts had an away fixture.

In fairness to the Eagles squad, many of them had continued to hone their playing skills (?) to a razors edge at mid-week sessions of touch rugby and were looking sharp and in good form. Nevertheless, Captain Olly Brown still struggled to raise a viable squad for the first game and by Wednesday only had 9 names on his selection sheet. The word went out to the wider rugby community in retirement homes, rehabilitation clinics, witness protection etc, accompanied by the usual threats, bribes, blackmail and guilt trips. Although not available himself, Martin Henderson even persuaded some of his former senior colts, Oscar Stone and Sam Cooper to come along. Apparently, they thought that they were on a compulsory school trip.   Forward Quinn Peers returned from his international adventure in Australia to provide support from the bench, whilst back row Joe Corkish made a first Eagles appearance, having supported the second team so well last season. Well done guys for stepping up to the mark. These lads together with veteran front row, Craig “Viking” Capewell returning from a bad shoulder injury, a new slimline (- 4 stone!) Rob (2 Fs) Griffiths, a surprise appearance from Tom Graham as well as all the other usual suspects, Olly was able to field the maximum allowable squad of 20 players. The massed ranks of the Lymm spectators (4 plus 2 dogs) were swelled by the guest appearance of Tony “that’ll be £10 each and park properly!” Halford which raised the average age of the Lymm support crew to 75 years.  Hopefully he can convince his sons Adam and Rick to come with him next time!

Lymm won the toss for the kick off and promptly kicked the ball straight out of play. This initial error was explained as a deliberate attempt to lull the opposition into a false sense of incompetence. However, this was soon forgotten as Lymm stepped up the gears and started their domination of the game.  Great teamwork and excellent passing allowed Lymm to repeatedly gain and retain possession with the ball being moved quickly across the field looking for opportunities. After only 7 minutes, Eagles full back Richard McEvoy ghosted his way round the last 3 defenders to open the scoring with a self-converted try (0 -7). The whole of the pack was operating at their proven best with the front row of Olly Brown, Craig Capewell and Davd Coon, powered by Jez Ure and Mike Clarke, winning ball against the head. Scrum half Chris Fuller was spot on with his accurate passes to fly half Alan Reddecliff who opened his legs and showed every inch of his class by running in two good individual tries in succession over the next 10 minutes. Ric McEvoys accurate boot provided the extras to bring the score to (0-21) after only 18 minutes. Lymm continued to pile on the pressure and Glossop struggled to hold back the surging forwards. Only minutes later, flanker Joe Corkish was the final recipient of a great series of passes and crashed his way through several sets of grasping Glossop arms to score close to the posts for an easy McEvoy conversion. With the score at (0 – 28) after the first quarter of the game, Lymm looked like they were going to run away with the game. However, Glossop regathered their efforts and started to put together some well worked moves. This definitely slowed down Lymm’s advances and the game was without further score until just before half time when McEvoy caught a high kick from Glossop deep in the Lymm 22 and started one of his trademark long distance runs, jinking round several tiring Glossop players to score a converted try under the posts (0 – 35).

HALF TIME: GLOSSOP 0 – 35 LYMM EAGLES

Olly Brown used the interval to rest some of the players and give the younger Colts and others on the bench an opportunity to show the benefits of youth, agility and a fast pair of legs. As soon as the second half started, Lymm found themselves on the back foot as Glossop tried hard to get on the score board. A successful penalty kick 10 minutes ensured that they would avoid a whitewash. With players being forced to play out of position, Lymm struggled to maintain the coherence of the first half which led to an increasing number of infringements and penalties from Lymm. An atmosphere of frustration seemed to descend on the pitch which unfortunately led to some unseemly conduct from both sides. This resulted in Lymm No.8 Keiran Williams being sidelined for an enforced 10-minute rest. Despite, harsh words to both teams from their captains and the referee, the behaviour on both sides did not noticeably improve and a few minutes later the referee felt obliged to award another pair of yellow cards, one to each team, with Lymm’s Mike Clarke obliged to join his teammate on the naughty step. Mike’s protestations of innocence and excuse of mistaken identity were difficult to accept, particularly when spectator’s photographs of the incidents were examined in the bar after the match.

Strong words from Captain Olly Brown persuaded his team to return to playing rugby. Replacements Jim France and Marc “Richard Hunter” O’Connor brought fresh legs and a renewed sense of urgency and speed to the game. With their thinking heads back on, Lymm were able to regain the upper hand as the game moved into the last quarter of the game and youngster Oscar Stone scampered in for a great individual try under the posts. This was followed quickly by tries from Tom Graham and two more from Richard McEvoy who again added all the conversions for every try.

FULL TIME: GLOSSOP 3 – 63 LYMM EAGLES

A very encouraging start to Lymm Eagles season with a good deal of positives to take away. Thanks to all those who made themselves available and particularly to the ex-senior colts, Oscar Stone and Sam Cooper, both of whom made a valuable contribution to the game. However, the flattering scoreline did not really reflect the effort and determination shown by the Glossop XV who were unlucky not to have been able to turn this into more points. We wish them well for the rest of the season.  Next week, the Eagles are at home to Heaton Moor in their first game of the season. Last year they finished with an unbeaten record, and they will clearly be keen to try to continue their winning ways. The Eagles will really need to turn up and play at their very best. All welcome as ever.

Tries: R McEvoy (7, 37, 67, 79), A Reddecliff (9, 18), J Corkish (22), Oscar Stone (61), T Graham (75).

Conversions: R McEvoy (7. 9, 18, 22, 37, 61, 67, 75, 79)

Team: 1) Olly Brown (C) 2) Craig Capewell 3) David Coon 4) Mike Clarke 5) Jez Ure 6) George Harrison 7) Joe Corkish 8) Kieran Williams 9) Chris Fuller 10) Alan Reddecliff 11) Ash Caffrey 12) Tom Graham 13) Rob Griffiths 14) Josh McKean 15) Richard McEvoy REP 16) Oscar Stone 17) Sam Cooper 18) Jim France 19) Marc O’Connor 20) Quinn Peers

Match Report: Pete & David Coon