Lymm 37
Kirkby Lonsdale 20

A visiting gaggle of golfists, special guests for the day from Lymm Golf Club, were on hand to witness a game that was in turns tatty and sublime.

There were some changes to the previous weeks team, Head Coach Fletcher was forced to move fullback Cormac Nolan to scrum half, with long term injuries nobbling both his usual options. Tom Bray remained at 10, with Scott Redfern, returning from a week away filled in at 15. Matty Connelly started in the second row and Jordan Widdrington and Steve Pilkington came onto the bench with Cashel Chilvers.

Lymm kicked off and the KL full back sliced his clearing kick. Lymm made full use of the territory they had been gifted, winning a penalty in front of the posts which Nolan coolly dispatched, 3 – 0. From the restart Lymm were again able to advance deep into the visitors half, with Joe Senior making a break. A try looked a real possibility but Lymm executed the pass poorly.

There was some light rain about and the temperature was gradually dropping but with such a bright start to the game, the Lymm support was feeling optimistic but the loss of talismanic number 8, Adam Bray after only 5 minutes brought them back to earth. Bray adds heft to a quite lightweight pack and his loss was a concern. His replacement Cash Chilvers however had a real influence on the game later on. The size difference in the pack was most obvious at the scrum and KL duly won a penalty which was well converted, 3 – 3.

The next chunk of the game was as exciting as watching wood warp. Neither side was able to put together more than a couple of phases before knocking on, kicking the ball away or being penalised. However, the mess was mainly occurring in KL territory, with only the occasional crossing of the half way line.

It would be Chilvers who would finally add some excitement to proceedings. A scrum to the Cumbrians inside their 22m saw them run the ball from the back of the scrum. Chilvers covered this well stealing the ball in the tackle and slipping an off load to Oli Higginson. Higginson was aided by his team mates to push over underneath the posts. Nolan easily converted, 10 – 3.

Again both sides reverted to turgid rugby, ably abetted by the referee’s whistle. However this time KL were being handed the ball back further up field. Their scrum was very strong and was looking a likely source of more penalty points. Sure enough this opportunity soon came and from 25m out the kick was good, 10 – 6.

A Tom Bray break took Lymm once more into good field position, and to no ones surprise another penalty ensued. Nolan again added the 3 points, 13 – 6. Within minutes Lymm were again on the attack. A penalty awarded on the Lymm left was taken quickly by Nolan, he did not kick into touch as expected but made a quick break, zig zagging through the KL defence, and being tackled just shy of the line. Once more Lymm’s support for the runner paid off and Chilvers was on hand to make another impact and add his try to Lymm’s total, Nolan converted, 20 – 6.

The half finished with Kirby forwards battering Lymm’s try line and Lymm’s defence repelling them. The addition of Jordan Widdrington at prop secured the Lymm scrum and it seemed they had won the ball back when trapped on their own line. However this was due to an offence by Nolan and he was yellow carded. KL responded to the second chance they had earned and drove over to score a converted try from a maul, 20 – 13. Before the interval, Lymm did have one more crack at their opposition, which ended with a KL defender being yellow carded for a high tackle. Lymm missed the penalty. Half time was reached with just a converted try between the teams.

HT 20 -13

Half time entertainment took two forms. Some brave souls had managed to find the secret portal that confers entry to the tarmac surround of the lovely new pitch. They enjoyed their promenade around the emerald plastic hugely, until it came time to find a way out. For those who had chosen to remain in the elevated viewing position above them, this provided its own amusement as the promenaders became increasingly disoriented,  and begged those watching above them for guidance. As is to be expected, none of the suggestions were helpful, some were physically impossible and others probably illegal. One proposal was most certainly illegal and punishable by the removal of appendages in some judicial systems around the world.

When everyone had been rescued, the second half began. Steve Pilkington had been brought on as sub for injured Ben Stansfield, Matty Hand into the back row for injured Higginson.

Kirby were looking the more dangerous of the two sides in the initial exchanges but their passing too often let them down at key points. Their attack became blunted somewhat when a further yellow card for a trip reduced them to 13 men against Lymm’s 14. Lymm meanwhile were benefitting from winger Nathan Beesley’s excellent kick chase. Scot Redfern’s lengthy clearances were allowing Lymm to pressure KL deep in their half.

Next followed some of the sublime play mentioned at the start of this report. The new centre combination of Kimber and Pilkington combined slickly to allow both wingers, Beesley and Senior to attack at pace for the latter to score an excellent try in the right corner, Nolan’s conversion taking the score to 27 – 13.

Lymm still had more defending to do, which they did with full commitment throughout, before Kimber, Pilkington and Beesley again launched a blistering attack. The speed was assisted by quality and timing of passes and again they scorched down the right wing with Beesley tackled into touch feet from the try line.

The three were soon launching another blitz, Kimber hitting Pilkington with a nice short pass before Pilkington, who had run a great line, fed Beesley, who this time was unstoppable in scoring. Nolan remained faultless from the kicking tee, 37 – 13. With time running out, KL remained fully committed to the cause, and a good 3 minutes of pressure on Lymm’s line was rewarded with a short range consolation try.

Final score 37 – 20.

The game saw Lymm’s 3rd consecutive win and the emergence of some interesting options for Coach Fletcher. Nolan looks quite at home at scrum half, and the Kimber / Pilkington axis worked very well in the centre.

The golfists of Lymm had heard much during the pre-match meal (nice pie) of the way this new pitch suits Lymm’s style. During the first half they must have wondered what the fuss was about. However in the second half they were treated to some of the finer aspects of Lymm Rugby. How much the pitch contributes is debateable but it certainly doesn’t harm…

‘Great to get a third victory in a row’, commented DoR Fletcher.

‘The lads showed some real character today. To lose 3 players before half-time isn’t ideal, especially when one of them is the skipper. We had to rejig the pack and I thought that the lads adapted really well.

 ‘Our defence is getting tighter and our attack is starting to flourish. Looking forward to next week, away to 2^nd placed Harrogate’.

Squad