Taunton Titans 28 – 29 Lymm

Magnificent Lymm tear up the form book

On Saturday, Lymm ventured to deepest cider country to take on Taunton Titans. Whilst Lymm had prevailed in the reverse fixture played at Lymm in November by 39-33, the form of the two teams since then had been markedly different.  Titans had won 8 of the subsequent 11 fixtures and were coming straight off the back of a notable win at league leaders Camborne the previous week (in fact they had completed a home and away double against the Cornish outfit). Lymm on the other hand had mustered only 3 wins over the same period, including a disappointing home reversal to Hornets last time out.

To make things worse, five players from last week’s squad were unavailable for the trip, meaning call ups for Joe Higgins, Rory Cartlidge, Nick Ashton, Olly Thornton and Will Day – the last three for the first time this season, bringing to 46 the number of players that the Lymm coaching team have called on this season so far. On a positive note, this was winger Paddy Jennings’ 100th appearance in a Lymm shirt and, remarkably his 74th out of Lymm’s 75 matches in the National League.

Taunton’s pitches had been completely flooded 2 months ago, a casualty of the deluge that struck the South West through January and early February, so there was some concern in the Lymm ranks as to what sort of pitch they would encounter. But there was no need to worry as the pitch was in as splendid condition as warm Somerset air and cloudless skies greeted the players as they ran out in front of a bumper crowd of 850.

Lymm started the game as they meant to go on – playing controlled rugby, keeping the ball in hand, protecting it well in contact, and using width when the circumstances allowed, all-in-all making it difficult for Taunton to get their hands on the ball. As the game progressed through its early stages it was clear that Taunton were becoming frustrated with their lack of possession, leading to ill discipline at the breakdown and a growing penalty count against them, which kept Lymm on the front foot for long periods.

On 10 minutes, from one such penalty Lymm had an attacking line out 15m from Titans’ line. Oli Higginson, as he did throughout the afternoon, rose majestically at the back of the line out to claim the ball. The well-constructed driving maul then crabbed infield towards the posts. Although halted just short of the line, after a couple more phases, Maskery was able to force his way to score, with Tom Shard slotting home the conversion. 0-7.

Shortly afterwards taking a quick tap penalty Tom Manaton, linked with Jack Stride who took play into deep into the Taunton 22, but his offload to Higgins, which would have had the prop walking in under the posts didn’t quite go to hand. But Lymm didn’t have to wait long to register their next score. After testing and probing the Taunton defence on and around their 22, the ball was moved quickly towards the left where a Jack Reynolds outside break and well-timed pass created space for Jennings to run in from 12m to score in the corner for an unconverted try. 0-12 after 25 minutes.

With the penalty count mounting against them, it seemed only a matter of time before the referee, Mr Parsons, would be forced to act. Indeed on 26 minutes he brandished his first (and not last) yellow card of the afternoon with Titans’ flanker Archie Spokes being given a 10 minute breather. The resultant penalty offered Lymm another driving maul opportunity which they gratefully accepted. In a similar manner to the first try, whilst Lymm’s momentum was halted just short of the line, subsequent powerful drives by the forwards managed to cross the whitewash, with Matt Hand claiming the score. Shard’s conversion attempt missed narrowly. 0-17 after 30 minutes.

It was at this stage that a feeling of déjà vu passed over the Lymm supporters as this was almost exactly the position Lymm were in 7 days earlier…an advantage on which they failed to capitalise. But this time Lymm did look better organised, confident and more determined.

As the match was heading towards halftime, Titans’ did start to build some momentum and enjoy a period of possession. Two penalties in quick succession had them attacking close to the Lymm line, and scrum-half Scott Gibson, spotting a lack of Lymm bodies close to the breakdown, was able to ghost through from a couple of metres out to score a try which Tom Putt converted. 7-17 after 39 minutes and the final scoring action of the half.

Half Time:  Taunton Titans 7 – 17 Lymm

The view amongst the small band of travelling supporters was that this had probably been the best Lymm half of the season so far, but would the “sniff” that the Titans score just before half-time had given them, lead to a change in momentum in the second half?

But these fears proved to be wholly unfounded as Lymm began the second half much as they had played most of the first, with the early minutes of the half being played exclusively in Taunton territory. 8 minutes into the half and Lymm pressure had Taunton running the ball out from behind their own goal line. An infringement in contact by Titans on their 22 gave Lymm a penalty. The ever-alert Manaton then took a quick tap and, although halted short of the line, had Andy Williams on his shoulder to take the ball and score. Shard’s excellent conversion restored Lymm’s 17-point lead. 7-24 after 49 minutes and a try bonus point secured.

Shortly afterwards the Titan’s captain, Number 8 Ratu Vakalutukali, was shown a yellow card. On 63 minutes, Lymm scored their 5th try. Lymm moved the ball expertly from right to left across their back line, to Day who made good ground into the Taunton 22. An offence in bringing the Lymm winger to ground gave Manaton another quick tap penalty opportunity. The scrum-half was halted inches short but the ball was recycled and moved across the back line to the left where an unmarked Stride showed his pace to score from 15m. Although Shard’s touchline conversion attempt missed narrowly to the right, Lymm were now 29-7 ahead with 64 minutes gone.

Lymm continued to press and next it was Titans’ winger Freddy Elliott who received a yellow card. Lymm were now camped in Taunton’s 22 and a further score looked on the cards, but an opportunity from an attacking line out was missed as the throw went awry and then a dose of “handbags” saw Lymm’s Higgins and Taunton’s Gibson both receive yellow cards.

As the game went into the last 10 minutes, the Taunton scrum finally got the better of Lymm and they were rewarded with a string of penalties. This, combined with the fatigue showing in the Lymm legs, led to gaps across the field as Taunton finally got the upper hand, resulting in them scoring 3 converted tries (Putt, Vakalutukali, Elliott) in the final 6 minutes – the last off the final play of the match.

Full Time:  Taunton 28 – 29 Lymm

Whilst the scores by Taunton in the final 6 minutes painted a picture on the scoreboard of a close match, in reality, Lymm were by far the better team on the day sticking to an effective game plan which they executed brilliantly. Certainly, the best 80-minute performance since the opening day of the season, which following on from Wednesday’s presentation of the Kings Award for Voluntary Service, capped off a brilliant week for Lymm Rugby Club!

After the match a beaming Director of Rugby Adam Fletcher commented:

“What a win. We had a clear game plan and the boys executed it to a tee. At 29-7 we had a real chance to push it to 34-7 but, unfortunately, the line-out wasn’t straight. Then, in true Lymm fashion, we made the last 7 minutes pretty nerve wracking! We 100% deserved that win against a very strong side. Taunton have a great set-up and the atmosphere was brilliant.”

“All 20 lads played their part, but a few deserve special mention. Olly Thornton on his starting debut and Josh Maskery in his first start in over 18 months were outstanding in the second row. Will Day, making his first start of the season on the wing, showed exactly what we’ve been missing. And Nick Ashton answering the SOS call to play his first 1st XV game in 2 years – what an effort!”

“The performance and result is just what we needed. The boys can rest up and prepare well for the Barnstaple game in 3 weeks.”

Team: Joe Higgins* (37); James Pitcher* (111); Matty Hand* (135); Olly Thornton* (5); Josh Maskery (8); Rhys Lilly* (92); Jack Stride* (37); Oli Higginson* (c) (299); Tom Manaton (46); Tom Shard* (163); Paddy Jennings* (100); Jack Reynolds (48); Andy Williams* (28); Will Day* (3); Cormac Nolan* (222).

Bench: Dal Ngoma (17); Nick Ashton (118); Rory Cartlidge (3); Joe Heaton* (18); Alfie Simpson* (55).

( ) = number of Lymm First XV League appearances

* Former Lymm Academy/M&J player

Referee: Harry Parsons

Match Report: Andy Leach

Lymm’s next fixture is on Saturday 11th April 2026 when they host Barnstaple at Crouchley Lane, KO 2:30.