Lymm 39 – 33 Taunton Titans

Lymm back on song

Another thriller was served up at Beechwood in the first meeting between these two teams. Taunton travelled on the back of a victory last week against previously unbeaten league leaders Camborne.

The big news for Lymm was the 100th appearance for hooker James Pitcher (a fact announced loudly to the crowd by game announcer Maggie…once he got his ACDC under control. He then followed this up with an allegory concerning octogenarian goal keepers Peter Shilton, Ray Clemence and a disturbing gambling addiction. I am sure the significance was not lost on young Pitcher!).

Lymm had a perfect start to the game. Having kicked off, Lymm retrieved the ball 20 metres inside Taunton’s half. The ball was swiftly moved to the right-hand side where Alfie Simpson, Paddy Jennings and finally Joe Senior made good, straight yards. Senior scoring in the corner after less than a minute.  Simpson’s touchline conversion was good, 7 v 0.

Taunton responded aggressively, setting a pattern for much of the match, and their possession saw their right winger in space. A pass to him was knocked on, resulting in a yellow card early in the game for full back Cal Morris. From the ensuing penalty, the visitors went through 3 phases to score from short range.  The successful conversion brought the scores level. 7 v 7.

The next score came from Lymm applying pressure and keeping Taunton stuck in their own 22. Lymm eventually found themselves in possession of the ball in a more dangerous position and a fine Tom Manaton pass found winger Senior who finished well to notch up his second try. This time the conversion was missed, 12 v 7.

Again, Titans responded immediately, creating space for their right winger who benefitted from a crisp pass from his centre to race away from the 14-man Lymm defence to score, with the conversion giving Taunton the lead, 12 v 14.

With 4 tries in little more than 15 minutes, a further score looked inevitable. Taunton looked set to be the beneficiaries creating an overlap on the left wing but were thwarted by a fine tackle from nowhere by Josh Hadland.  Indeed, by the standards of the contest thus far, the next try would be a while in coming and followed a period with both sides kicking to establish territory but then, once secured, knocking the ball on.

A huge hit in the middle of the park by Rhys Lilly knocked the ball free and Lymm seized on the broken play opportunity. Morris took the ball on and tore through the Taunton defence, a slight dummy at the end of his run allowed him to exploit the opportunity and score a fine individual try. The conversion fell just short and Lymm had regained the lead, 17 v 14.

The next score was again built on the back of solid Lymm defence, restricting the zones on the pitch available to the Somersetonians. A Taunton scrum deep in their own half saw them keep the ball at the number 8s feet for too long, allowing Simpson to steal possession. The ball was moved out wide and found Steve Pilkington whose powerful run ended with him being hauled down inches short of the try line. However, Jennings was on hand and his pirouette on the tryline enabled him to add to Lymm’s total, earning a bonus point try by half time. The conversion again fell just shy of the crossbar.

Half Time:  Lymm 22 – 14 Taunton Titans

Taunton started the second half very strongly and quickly added to their total. Their sustained pressure inside Lymm’s 22, resulted in a 5m line out and the maul saw them overwhelm Lymm’s forwards for an unconverted, taking them to within 3 points of the lead, 22 v 19.

With the game going through another period where both teams were kicking deep to their opponents in the hope of forcing a mistake, Morris, much to the surprise of the other 29 players, the officials and the crowd added to Lymm’s tally with a quite audacious drop goal from 40m.  25 v 19.

Lymm then began to find their range with the boot and repeated 50/22s allowed them to put stress on the Taunton defence.  Nothing came of this though, and another period of ragged play ensued, with kicks going awry on both sides. One such kick found a Taunton player in plenty of space who the made huge yards through a split Lymm defence. He was eventually halted just short of the line, but Taunton were able to use their short yardage game to good effect and again score from the back of a ruck. The conversion in front of the posts was good, 25 v 26 and Taunton had, once again, nicked the lead.

Lymm now introduced the experienced Tom Shard and Ben Thompson from the bench, and their influence was clearly apparent in an increased poise, confidence and control to Lymm’s offence.

The orthodoxy of this contest again demanded an immediate response and with Morris becoming increasingly influential in attack, it made sense that he would be the one to add to the try tally. A line out inside the visitor’s half was secured and the ball was again carried straight with well-timed passes, until the ball reached Morris who once again beat the opposition with his pace, finishing a fine team effort. Shard converted excellently from the touchline, 32 v 26.

The next try broke the tit-for-tat pattern that the contest had delivered so far, with Lymm adding to their total as Manaton seized on Taunton’s lack of direction in their passing, intercepting the ball 25 metres out and racing into a huge space behind the Taunton offensive line to score which, with another fine Shard conversion, took the score to 39 v 26.

Both sides continued to press as the game reached the closing minutes and Taunton gained a well-deserved bonus point at the very end, building possession on back of a series of penalties awarded against Lymm, and scoring from a scrum 5 metres out.

The overwhelming response among the faithful throng on the sidelines was that the game had been a treat to watch. Lymm had found their tempo again, a tempo which seems crucial to the style rugby we identify as being Lymm.

Full Time:  Lymm 39 – 33 Taunton Titans

After the match, Head Coach, Andy Davies, commented:

“I thought it was a fantastic game of rugby that had a bit of everything.  We had talked all week about trying to put all aspects of our game together for a complete performance.  While there were still errors, that was one of the best games we have played this season against a very tough and well drilled Taunton side.”

“There were some outstanding performances throughout the squad but I want to say massive congratulations to James Pitcher on reaching 100 caps.  Each and every one has been thoroughly deserved for the effort he has put in over numerous seasons.”

Director of Rugby, Adam Fletcher, reinforced this assessment saying:

“After an excellent start to the game, I thought we scored some really well-worked tries throughout the match. Taunton are a strong, physical outfit who put us under a lot of pressure for the full 80 minutes.  It was hugely pleasing to see our defence and attack come together for a sustained period for, probably, the first time this season.  There were some excellent individual performances throughout the squad, and it is great to be going into a break on the back of such a positive performance.”

Team: Ben Lilley (30); James Pitcher* (100); Dalitso Ngoma (8); James Yates* (144); Sam Wicks (10); Rhys Lilly* (81); Josh Hadland* (68); Oli Higginson* (288); Tom Manaton (34);  Alfie Simpson* (48); Paddy Jennings* (88); Joe Heaton* (6); Ste Pilkington* (91); Joe Senior* (37); Cal Morris (73).
Bench:  Jack Lightbown (6); Max Ure* (6); Harry Wasdell (3); Ben Thompson (59); Tom Shard* (155).

( ) = number of Lymm First XV League appearances

* Former Lymm Academy/M&J player

Referee: Michael Harris

Match Report: Dave Fernyhough

Lymm’s next fixture is on Saturday 6^th December when they travel to Devon to take on Barnstaple, KO 2:00.

Man Of The Match

100 Appearances