LYMM Rugby Union got back to winning ways as they over came Penrith 16-6 in an error strewn match at Beechwood.
Lymm had the better of the early exchanges with Nolan, playing on the wing for the first time, confidently slotting over penalties from 15m then 30m in the 10th and 12th minutes respectively. 6-0 to the home side, and the foundation was laid. But Penrith are a much stronger and purposeful side than we saw last year and, with fly half Wood cleverly dictating play, they then enjoyed a strong 20 minute period, gaining territory through a combination of Wood’s boot, strong running by their centres and an increasing penalty count against Lymm. During this period Wood bagged 3 points (from 30m on 18 minutes) but, tellingly, missed another shot at goal from a similar distance and then opted to “go for the corner” on 2 or 3 occasions when 3 points might well have resulted. The Lymm defence held firm and three points were the only return that Penrith earned for all this pressure. During this period, Lymm’s Mullarkey sustained a shoulder injury and was replaced by Giles.
The last 10 minutes of the half was all Lymm. Penrith were reduced to 14 when their No 8, Hodgson, was carded for persistent offending but Lymm, try as they might, could not cross the line being denied once after Allen was adjudged to have been held up and once more as Higginson knocked on in the act of scoring. A dominant scrum against the “Penrith 7” was, bizarrely, deemed to have been turned through 90 degrees despite the fact that both Penrith props were, at the time, looking to the skies trying to spot the incoming Monarch Airways flight from Faro…. The half finished 6-3 to Lymm – however the crowd had been richly entertained when the referee, in his enthusiasm to signal for a Penrith scrum, managed to poleaxe the Penrith hooker….notably, no card was forthcoming!
Lymm started the half strongly and the try, when it came, had a degree of inevitability about it. A penalty for a high tackle on the Penrith 10 yard line, was put into the corner and a perfectly executed catch and drive resulted in Higginson crossing the whitewash. Nolan converted from wide out. The hope was that this would give Lymm confidence to forge on and Penrith the “kick” to “throw caution to the wind”. Unfortunately, what emerged was a largely forgettable period of play with both sides guilty of delivering the sort of rugby you would expect to see in strong wind, driving rain played with a ball resembling a bar of soap….sadly none of these conditions prevailed. The remaining scoring was limited to one penalty each (Wood on 31 minutes and Nolan on 34 minutes both from 30m) with Penrith seemingly more focussed on gaining a losing bonus point than trying to emerge as victors. The only other notable events were Adam Bray losing the ball over the line; Lymm failing to capitalise on an interception and 60m break by Tom Bray; and the red carding of Giles for retaliation. On the final whistle the crowd headed back to the clubhouse to watch the last knockings of the England v Australia match which, due to an electrical problem, thankfully avoided any further rugby misery.
So, match 11 over and Lymm edge into 8th place in the league whilst still delivering far from their potential on the pitch. Hopefully, this win (after 2 losses) will start to build confidence which is vital in making decisions the right ones and those “money passes” go to hand.
Next up is a trip to Rossendale – not an easy place to go to in the second half of November.
Team: (1) Brotherton; (2) Allen; (3) Ashton; (4) Williams; (5) Derbyshire; (6) Higginson; (7) Mullarkey; (8) Bray A; (9) Davies; (10) Bray T; (11) Natrass; (12) Delaney; (13) Knowles; (14) Nolan; (15) Williamson; (16) Widdrington; (17) Giles; (18) Barnes-Smith
