Lymm 54 – 35 Loughborough Students

Eight-Try Lymm Overcome Loughborough Attacking Threat

Lymm welcomed Loughborough University’s first visit to Crouchley Lane making five changes to last week’s squad. Makin and Yates returned up front, and Reynolds came in at full back. Lightbown, on debut, and Rigby were on the bench. Millichip started at 7, and Beesley returned to wing, having been fullback last week.

Conditions were a bit better than the tropical rains that welcomed Lymm to Redruth last week, with Loughborough kicking off into the wind in the first half and Lymm attacking the clubhouse end on what was to be a points-packed afternoon of rugby.

From the outset, it was clear that Loughborough played a similar brand of rugby to Lymm, with a blend of forward driving and fast and clever back play only held up by solid Lymm defence in the opening minutes. Having won the ball back and ventured into Loughborough’s 22 for the first time, Lymm could not take advantage of the position and were pushed back into their own half.

The influential Loughborough No. 10 created opportunities from open play, and a clever inside pass led to the first score of the day, which was successfully converted. The score was 0-7 after just 7 minutes.

Loughborough continued to look for opportunities to run the ball, but Lymm’s tackling began to force the opposition backwards. Lymm found themselves with a lineout just ten meters from the Loughborough line, and Morris darted over to score from the subsequent driving maul. Shard made a great kick from a wide position, levelling the score at 7-7 after 18 minutes.

Lymm then started to exploit gaps in the opposition’s defence, and effective kicking allowed them to score two tries in quick succession. Beesley sprinted over to score an unconverted try in the corner, followed by Rigby, who came on for the injured Millichip and scored under the posts after a powerful play from the restart. This brought the score to 19-7 in favour of Lymm at the 27-minute mark.

Lymm continued their momentum and scored again after a break by Thompson in midfield. A last-ditch tackle halted his impressive 50-meter sprint. However, Pilkington was in the right place to receive the offload and scored from just one metre out. Shard successfully converted the try, increasing Lymm’s lead to 26-7 at the 32-minute mark, and Lymm now seemed to be in control of the game.

This was further emphasised at the 36-minute mark when Morris seized the opportunity to take a quick penalty from a Loughborough infringement and dived over for another score, which Shard again converted.

As the half ended, Loughborough had possession and territory. The last action of the half featured a “Lymm-like” move, with Loughborough’s quick right winger racing through a gap to score close to the posts. The conversion brought the halftime score to 33-14.

With the wind picking up, the question remained: would their 19-point lead be sufficient? That last-minute try might prove to be critical. Lymm had played well, with a strong defence and effective set pieces, securing their first try-scoring bonus point of the season.

Half time: Lymm 33 – 14 Loughborough

The second half started scrappily with a series of knock-ons and both teams pushing into the opposition territory. From a scrum, Loughborough’s backs ran the ball wide to score, 33-21, and it looked like it may be a tight second half with the scores now closing. But Lymm stayed calm. A penalty to the corner allowed the effective lineout to gather the ball, and the driving maul led to a Makin score, which was converted. 40-21 after 55 mins.

Lymm’s defence stayed solid as Loughborough attacked from the restart. But eventually Loughborough’s no.7, running a good line, found a gap in the Lymm defence to score a converted try, 40-28.

Lymm responded immediately, with Wadsworth catching the restart and bursting through the opposition’s defence to score under the posts, the try converted. 47-28 with 8 mins to go.

Wadsworth again broke through the Loughborough lines following the restart to put Jennings into space for Lymm’s final score of the afternoon. 54-28.

However, Loughborough were to have the last word with their nos. 10 and 15 jinking through the Lymm defence, and a grubber kick allowed the winger to score a converted try.

Final Score: Lymm 54 – 35 Loughborough

For most of the game, Lymm appeared to be in control, with their defence thwarting Loughborough’s effective backline and backrow. Lymm dominated the set pieces and established a solid platform for the backs to exploit the gaps that opened.

Lymm scored eight tries, from both backs and forwards, from distance and close range, from set pieces and open play, with Shard contributing twelve points by converting six out of eight tries on a blustery day.

‘We knew Loughborough had a strong attacking shape and that if they saw enough possession, they’d cause us problems,’ observed DoR Adam Fletcher.

‘Our plan was to play for territory and use our power game, and both came through in what was close to a perfect first half. The second half was tighter than we’d have liked, but I was pleased with how we closed it out.’

That ability to score from anywhere, keep the scoreboard ticking over and to withstand pressure from the opposition will undoubtedly keep the Lymm supporters entertained, and this excellent team is competing strongly at this level.

Lymm are sitting in fifth place ahead of their trip to unbeaten Camborne next week.

‘The Second Team also picked up another strong win, beating Wirral 12 – 18, keeping the pressure on when it comes to selection. The competition is healthy, and squad morale is in a really good place,’ Fletcher concluded.

Team: 1 Ben Lilley (24) 2 Rob Makin* (91) 3 Dalitso Ngoma (4) 4 James Yates* (139) 5 Ben Thompson (55) 6 Harry Wasdell (2) 7 Isaac Millachip* (18) 8 Oli Higginson* (284) 9 Cal Morris (68) 10 Tom Shard* (151) 11 Paddy Jennings* (81) 12 Sam Wadsworth* (43) 13 Ste Pilkington* (85) 14 Nathan Beesley (c)* (93) 15 Jack Reynolds (36)

Replacements: 16 Dan Hunter (18) 17 Jack Lightbown (1) 18 Sam Wicks (3) 19 Nick Rigby (3) 20 Tom Manaton (27).

Match Report: Paul Nolan

Man of the Match – Nick Rigby