Lymm Eagles 39 – 19 Winnington Park 2nds

Eagles Begin Season Reboot 2.0 in High Spirits

Lymm Eagles kick started the New Year with a morale boosting, battling victory against Winnington Park and in doing so begin to rebuild a season that was in danger of going off the rails.

The first half of the season for Lymm has been, to put it mildly, extremely frustrating.  With retirements, injuries, suspensions, holidays, weather etc all taking the toll on the team and a lot of familiar faces missing, it has been extremely difficult for the Eagles to build any sort of momentum and consistency in a highly competitive league.  This has put a lot of strain on captain Olly Brown and his management team to bring the joy and happiness back to Eagles rugby.  A rallying call at Christmas has brought a few more players in and we finally seem to be getting a few injured players back.  Even this scribe has been unavailable. Injuries to son David and my own foot injury, has limited attendance on the sidelines and an absence of the witty (??) and concise (???) match reports.  Hopefully this will not be the case for the rest of the season.

The Eagles couldn’t have asked for more motivation than a return match against local-ish rivals Winnington Park 2s. Fixtures against Park are highly competitive and victories are always hard fought.  The first fixture in October was an extremely feisty affair with the game finishing with 3 red cards and Winnington prevailing 28-12.  Lymm were hoping to gain some redress with a win today.  With a lot of hard work, a squad of 19 trotted down to the bottom pitch.  With Olly missing kick-off to support his eldest son, Dave Coon made a welcome return from injury to lead the team in the front row alongside George “Ringo” Harrison and Craig “Viking” Capewell. Local businessman Adam Halford played his first game of the season in the 2^nd row alongside elder statesman Jez Ure.  Mike Clarke and Ben Stroud provided some muscle and height in the back row, whilst defensive leader Kieran Williams avoided centre duty to play 8.  The spine of the team finally had some consistency, with Chris Fuller, Alan Reddecliff and Tom Baker forming the 9,10 &12 partnership.  The back three of Ash Caffrey, Josh “Tiny Cro” McKean and Liam “Sully” Sullivan provided the pace and power.  Sully’s rugby league teammate Dave Manfredy made his first Eagles appearance at outside centre.  On the bench, the Eagles would look to utilise the youth of back row Sam Cooper and winger Fin Crow to bring some energy whilst it was a great sight to see Jim France pull on a shirt again alongside Marc O’Connor to provide some chaos in the forwards.

The game kicked off in dry, windless conditions, perfect for rugby.  The first 10 minutes were evenly balanced, with neither side able to gain the ascendency.  Winnington were seeing a lot of the ball, without being able to break the resolute Lymm defence, whilst Lymm were struggling to shake off the Christmas malaise, with the forwards struggling to get to the breakdown and being turned over several times.  The scrum was misfiring and several penalties went against Lymm for the Winnington prop hinging (well, that’s what David told me, as it was him that was repeatedly penalised).  On 14 minutes, Winnington used these penalties to enter the Lymm 22.  Despite several last-ditch tackles, a quick reverse in play caught several Lymm defenders having a breather and the Winnington 8 scampered under the posts.  The conversion was bizarrely missed as the Park 10 tried to make sure he didn’t kick the ball in the bushes (0-5).

The game continued in the same manner, with Lymm struggling to get any attack going before being turned over and Winnington only a dropped pass away from scoring again. Only strong defence by Halford and Williams in the middle and McKean and Caffrey out wide stopped further scores.  Lymm quite rightly looked like a team lacking game minutes in the legs and that lack of fitness eventually told on 28 minutes as quicker Winnington ball allowed their strong centre to power over under the posts for a converted try (0-12).

Lymm needed some more impetus and this came from a couple of substitutes.  Olly finally made it down and came on alongside youngster Sam Cooper.  Immediately they added a lot more ferocity and strength in ball carrying and finally put Lymm on the front foot.  The scrum was finally starting to fire on more than one cylinder, and the added bulk of Olly soon had it charging forward.  On 31 mins, off the back of one of these, scrum half Chris Fuller broke the defence and fed Alan Reddecliff, who then passed back inside to Sam Cooper, who rampaged forward and dragged two defenders over the line to score near the corner. The conversion was narrowly missed by Tom Baker (5-12). This was greeted by an unexpected blast of “Bonkers” by Dizzy Rascal from the mobile speaker system of Lymm 1XV announcer Stu Wraith, who had brought his sound equipment with him.  A first for this shocked old school scribe!  The conversion was missed by Macca (okay it was Tom Baker, but Tom has asked me to blame the absent Macca).  Despite several more forays into the Winnington 22, Lymm couldn’t find the equalising score and the referee bought the half to a close.

Half Time: Lymm Eagles 5 – 12 Winnington Park

A frustrating half for Lymm, but some positives towards the end and Lymm knew that they had to keep the momentum going if they were going to get back in the game.  With half the team wanting to play a structured game and the other half wanting the more chaotic style that the Eagles are known for, this basically resulted in disorganised chaos. Kicking when a pass would do and trying to pass 5 metres from your own try line meant Lymm needed to calm down and get back to basics. Lymm needed the ball more and brought on Jim “The Badger” France and Marc “Richard Hunter” O’Connor off the bench.  Youngster Fin Crow was brought onto the wing for his Eagles debut.

Moving to a simpler game plan seemed to do the trick, with forwards steam rollering forward at will.  On 48 minutes, Olly led from the front, sniping round the ruck, catching the markers napping to make 40m up field.  Quick thinking from Baker shipped the ball to Reddecliff, who set off on a trademark slaloming run before executing a cross-field kick to Fin Crow. Fin smartly sidestepped over for a well worked try, although “Macca” missed the conversion again (10-12).

Despite seeming to have the momentum, it was Winnington who struck next.  Lymm were penalised several times for not rolling away, slowing the ball and multiple high tackles which allowed Winnington to piggy back up the pitch.  A good example of attacking structure from Park eventually saw their tall 2^nd row stroll over for a converted try on 51 minutes (10-19).

This took the wind out of Lymm’s sails, and it took them a good 10 minutes to regroup.  The game seemed to turn on 58 minutes.  Lymm managed to hold up a Park player and win a scrum.  Quick ball from the scrum released Fuller who got the ball to Baker who made good metres before passing the ball off to Cooper who steamed over for another great try, converted by Baker (17-19).

20 minutes to go, game on! Throughout the game, all the kick off balls from Park were expertly fielded by Ben Stroud and his strong breaks, supported by Capewell, Harrison and Clarke got Lymm up field and into the 22.  Excellent defence from Park stopped several attacks, but quick thinking from Reddecliff on 61minutes, utilising a low bouncing pass to prevent the Parks centres attempt at an intercept, saw the bouncing ball find its way to centre Manfredy who dived over for a debut try, the conversion missed by “Macca” (22-19).

The music from Stu’s speakers had barely silenced when Lymm struck again.  A panicked Park clearing kick, found speedster Sully waiting in the backfield, who set off on a jinxing run to round the defence and touch down for 2 tries in two minutes, but the conversion was once again missed by the unfortunate “Macca” (27-19).

Daylight for the first time but by no means safe.  Lymm even managed two excellent and well planned 50:22 kicks; the first from Sully and then from Baker (well one looked planned, the other a more fortunate fly hack).  From the second resulting lineout on 69 minutes, the forwards set up a driving maul and marched forward 10metres for Olly Brown to fall expertly over the line.  Not bad from Olly, who had brought himself off the bench 10 secs earlier just for the maul.  The conversion was unfortunately again missed (32-19) (bloody hell “Macca”).

The energy appeared to have gone out of Park, but fair play to them that they kept going even as the game started to slip away from them.  Unfortunately, their scrum was under great pressure and on full retreat, but credit must be given for not taking the easy way out.  Lymm continued to pile forward, with Reddecliff making metres for fun, aided and abetted by Adam Halford, who ran every line Alan asked him to, only then to be completely ignored as Alan broke through the gaps that Adam created in the defence.  Eventually more pressure at scrum time on 75mins saw O’Connor break for the line and managing a cheeky offload to Jim France who powered over for a try, well converted by Baker (39-19).

Unfortunately, another nasty looking knee injury would end Jims’s match 2mins later and both teams saw out the last few minutes of the game with no further score.

Full Time: Lymm Eagles 39 – 19 Winnington Park

An excellent victory for the Eagles, although some would say, with a flattering scoreline, considering how close the teams were after an hour.  For a team with a lot of “old” blokes in, not known for their fitness, it was wonderful to see Lymm step up in the last 20 minutes.  It was wonderful seeing the lads with smiles on their faces and finally being back in the winner’s enclosure.  A big thanks to the referee, who this scribe thought was excellent, despite being under assessment by the man with the clipboard on the far sideline. The best comment I could get from the players was “he missed things on equally for both teams”.  A big thank you to Winnington players and coaches for an excellent game.  After the antics of the first game where neither team covered themselves in glory, this game was played in great spirit and camaraderie.  Good luck for the rest of the season.

A few shouts for the man of the match.  Alan Reddecliff ran the show and persevered with his gameplan well.  Sully once again was solid under the high ball and only needs a half a yard of space to show his dangerous speed.  Fin Crow and Dave Manfredy added some much needed power and pace.  Adam Halford and Kieran Williams were colossal in defence.  Despite several calls and messages from himself, Olly Brown was just pipped this week, with Man of the Match going to young Sam Cooper, whose physicality, pace and perseverance turned the game when Lymm needed it most.

A good afternoon of team driven Rugby finished with a great social get together in the Clubhouse. Over a few beers going into the evening, everyone agreed that there is a place for everyone at this great rugby club.  We suggested that young Sam Cooper should look at the wonderful example of Max Ure.  Max has played with the Eagles for several years but is now ripping it up for the 1s and 2s while his father Jez (over half a century old!) continues to play a vital role in the Eagles.

Playing for the 3s/Eagles should be seen not as detrimental to the chances of playing rugby at a higher level or as a retirement community for those already with a long career in rugby.  It can provide a chance to take your first steps in the senior game and develop into senior rugby in a less pressurised environment and get to play with some of the most experienced players and finest gents this scribe has had the pleasure to know.  Some of the old sods (aka veteran players) would gladly have a week off if the youngster players would like to give it a go and have a game.  So for anyone out there wanting to play senior rugby, speak to Fletch, speak to Olly, Toby and Matt and give it a go, you just might enjoy it!!

No game for the Eagles next week but please get down to Crouchley Lane to support the 1s against Camborne, or over to Stockport to give our 2s a cheer!

Tries: Sam Cooper (31,55), Fin Crow (48), Manfredy (65) Liam Sullivan (67), Olly Brown (69), Jim France (75)
Conversions: Tom Baker (55,75)

Team: 1) George Harrison 2) Craig Capewell (C) 3) David Coon (C) 4) Jez Ure 5) Adam Halford 6) Ben Stroud 7) Mike Clarke 8) Kieran Williams 9) Chris Fuller 10) Alan Reddecliff 11) Ash Caffrey 12) Tom Baker 13) Dave Manfredy 14) Josh McKean 15) Liam Sullivan REP 16) Sam Cooper 17) Fin Crow 18) Marc O’Connor 19) Jim France 20) Olly Brown

Match Report: Pete & David Coon