Lymm 32 - 29 Luctonians

Summer Arrives Early: Lymm Caps Off Season with 32-29 Win to Send Off Lymm Legends

Summer arrived early for Lymm’s final game of the 2025/26 season. Old Luctonians, who were riding high in the table, came to Lymm hoping to improve their standing in the race for promotion playoffs.

A cloudless sky and a large crowd welcomed the players onto the pitch for a particularly special game. Led out by skipper for the day, Oli Higginson, making his final appearance for Lymm after an incredible 300 game career. This was also Lymm Director of Rugby Adam Fletcher’s final game in charge after 12 years.

Lymm had started the season back in early September at Old Luctonians, coming away with a 13-24 win.

Lymm kicked off into a slight breeze, with Luctonians securing possession and quickly spotting space on their left side. Luctonians’ full-back glided through a gap in the Lymm defence to put the left wing in space for the first try of the day, unconverted. There were questions about the final pass being forward, but the officials were happy. Not the start Lymm needed, 0-5 after 1 minute.

Lymm stormed back, winning the ball from a Luctonians line-out after the restart. Lymm moved the ball into midfield, where a high tackle allowed Shard to kick to the left corner for a Lymm line-out. Lymm won the line-out, but Luctonians were penalised again. Strong running by the pack was finished by Higginson, who powered through two tacklers to score under the posts, a fitting start for the skipper in his last game. The try was converted by Shard, and after a shaky start, Lymm now led 7-5 after 10 mins.

Luctonians enjoyed much of the possession in the next period, with Lymm having to defend well, holding the Luctonian pack up over the Lymm try line at one point and ripping the ball in the tackle on the next play to regain possession. The game settled into a midfield battle, with the sides evenly matched and both coming close to breaking through for the next score.

An intercepted pass by Luctonians, as Lymm looked to move the ball wide, looked certain to end in a try until Millichip made an incredible, try-saving tackle, and a turning point in the game.

Lymm now moved back up the pitch, and slick handling from Millichip and a disguised inside pass from Nolan made enough space for Reynolds to sprint in from 22m for Lymm’s second try, converted by Shard, 14-5 on 25 mins.

From the restart, Luctonians again camped in the Lymm 22m, but could not break through the solid Lymm defence, and their rolling maul was held up over the line again– drop out to Lymm.

Again, Lymm moved up the pitch, breaking tackles, finding support and securing rucks, into the Luctonians 22m, where they were awarded a penalty, knocked over nonchalantly by Shard, to extend the lead to 12 points on 37 mins. The large crowd at this point would have been happy for a quiet few minutes of Lymm possession to run the clock down to half-time.

However, after regaining possession from the restart, a rare dropped ball on the Lymm 22m gave Luctonians a scrum – probably the strongest part of their game – which they won, putting the Lymm defence on the back foot. A midfield tussle for the ball favoured Luctonians, who scored an unconverted try, 15-10, and surely there was no time left for a Lymm response.

There was one last opportunity. Lymm won the restart and moved the ball into midfield, breaking tackles and recycling possession. Luctonian defenders were being drawn in, and a perfect line from Heaton against the grain saw him sprint into space and over the line for an unconverted try, and half-time.

Half Time: Lymm 22 – 10 Luctonians

From a worrying first minute of the game, Lymm has bounced back, playing their special brand of attacking rugby, finding gaps in the league’s most miserly defence (Luctonians have 100 fewer points against them than any other side in the league) whilst also defending solidly against a big and powerful side.

Lymm, playing towards the clubhouse in the second half, started much the same way as they ended the first, taking play into the opposition half, bursting through the defence, finding support and safe hands, and finally allowing Morris to crash over the line. 27-10 after 45 mins, Lymm now looked to be enjoying the day and so was the large crowd.

The midfield battle of the first half repeated itself for the next 10 minutes. Luctonians’ continued strength in the scrum led to Lymm being penalised, with a penalty kick to the corner. A successful driving maul brought the visitors back to 27-17 after 59 minutes.

Lymm won the restart battle and a penalty. Shard’s kick to the corner set up the opportunity to respond immediately with a driving maul try of their own. But Luctonians won the line out. Lilly then charged down the attempted clearance kick, the loose ball was picked up by Pitcher, who bundled over with 2 defenders attempting to tackle him. The score moved to 32-17. Twenty minutes to go.

Lymm continued to pressurise the Luctonian defence but could not break through. Luctonians also looked to raise the intensity of their game, taking more risks, hopeful of a bonus point or more in the remaining minutes. On 68 minutes, Luctonians scored from an interception, but a hurried kick was unsuccessful, 32-22 going into the last 10 minutes. It was Luctonians who scored again from another line-out and a driving maul close to Lymm’s line. 32-29 at 75 min. The 17-point lead was now down to 3.

But this day, of all days, deserved a happy ending.

The large crowd had come to celebrate the team’s season, their last home game, Higgo’s last match for Lymm and Fletch’s end of tenure as Director of Rugby.

As the clock ticked down, Higgo leapt like an Olympic high jumper once again, as he has perhaps thousands of times over the years, plucked the ball from the clear blue Lymm sky, and returned it safely to earth. The referee blew the final whistle to bring the game, the season, and this chapter in the careers of two exceptional Lymm men to a close.

Final Score: Lymm 32 – 29 Luctonians

Head Coach Andy Davis said, “A fantastic win and performance against one of the league’s strongest teams. We knew today was a special, emotional day for the team. We wanted to give Higgo and Fletch a final performance to remember. To do that, we had to stick to our plan – and we did that to a tee today. We had to dig deep at times today, as we have all season. We have used over 50 players this year, with many debuts and a host of young players introduced to this level.”

Director of Rugby, Adam Fletcher, on his last game in charge, “What a day! We kept fighting and working hard for each other, and we deserved the result. Days like today at Lymm are special, families down, players of all ages, past and present, watching, the juniors getting to do a lap of honour to show off the medals they have won. This is a special club. We have a young team that can continue to grow and develop, with the support of the more experienced team members. Lymm can have many more days like today.”