Confidence booster for Lymm

LYMM came into the game on the back of a couple of heavy defeats and while performance-wise, the two games were better than the results suggested, there must have been an issue with confidence in the camp. The visit of Kendal who languished second from bottom of the league provided the perfect opportunity to bounce back and regain some confidence. In the early season fixture Lymm had beaten Kendal with what many say was their best performance of the season. All predictions were therefore for an easy bonus point win for Lymm. Speaking with the Kendal coaching staff they were equally confident, coming off the back of two wins themselves.
The Lymm team was at virtual full strength, just missing Brotherton, Emmitt and Giles. ‘ Jimmy’ Borthwick returned with the flag, having passed himself fit and Tom Bray was another to pass a late fitness test…..
Conditions for rugby were great, with a slight breeze, for the first time this season this reporter was able to feel his fingers and hold his pen while compiling the match report. All was set for a perfect afternoon!
The game kicked off and Kendal started in the ascendancy. The Lymm scrum was under pressure and the big Kendal forwards employed the driving maul to great effect. For the first 15 minutes Lymm simply didn’t play and Kendal trundled up the field at will. When Lymm did get the ball they either dropped it or delivered slow misdirected passes. The Kendal pressure was rewarded with a penalty, a deserved 3-0 lead to Kendal after 15 minutes.
This at least woke Lymm up and they proceeded to take a driving maul half the length of the field. From the back of the maul Adam Bray broke off but failed to ground the ball to the referee’s satisfaction. Lymm remained on the Kendal line, Tom Baker crossed, but again the referee failed to give the score. Lymm failed to convert the pressure into points and Kendal cleared the lines. Next it was Kendal’s turn in what was rapidly turning into a driving maul fest. For the final 10 minutes of the half possession swung back to Lymm but anything promising was snubbed out by slow ball, poor passing, poor support lines and angles of running and what seemed a total lack of confidence. Backs would make half-breaks then kick the ball aimlessly, forwards anxiously broke off driving mauls too early.
To cap a dreadful half captain Olli Higginson was sin-binned on 36 minutes for standing off-side. Olli had been warned but to be fair to him the ball came back so slowly. Both sides were struggling to bring any pace to the game and play with any belief. The half finished with the score 3-0 to Kendal and a bonus point victory a pipe dream.
Tom Bray had to be replaced at half-time and Tom Baker stepped up manfully to play centre. This meant a re-shuffle of the back-line, switching Joe Knowles to stand-off, Dave Williamson to full-back and the introduction of a new scrum-half. Suddenly things changed and the new scrum-half got things going with quick ball from the rucks and a simple short passing game. Suddenly players were coming onto the ball at pace and at great angles. Jordan Widdrington was to the fore and after three breaks from the prop he eventually twisted over the line for a great score. The whole atmosphere had changed and you could see the player’s confidence rushing back. Adam Bray, who was a handful all afternoon, made another break, Jordan again carried it on and the ball eventually reached Joe Knowles who twisted and turned himself to score the second try. Everything that had been wrong with the first half was suddenly turned on its head as the promptings of the new scrum-half saw Lymm play with pace, power, accuracy and confidence!
Joe Knowles was running things at 10 and the backs were keeping the ball in hand. Dave Williamson was back to his elusive best at full-back and Cormack Nolan started to show his footballing skills by running and not kicking. Forwards took turns to cross the gain line. Ben Rees, Sam Mullarkey and Olli Higginson all making huge ground every time they got the ball.
On 25 minutes Lymm got a reality check, when the Kendal winger intercepted a ball on his own 10 yard line to run the whole length of the field to score, making it 12-11 to Lymm.
But this was just a brief interruption in proceedings and Lymm came flying back with Olli Higginson carrying tremendously. After several phases Joe Knowles threw out a superb long pass to Dave Williamson who splashed down in the corner. Cormack Nolan slotted an excellent conversion to make it 19-11. From the re-start Sion Williams caught the ball and made 50 yards off-loading to Pete Allen in the 22, who just managed to stagger over the line, Cormack again slotted the extras and with five minutes remaining the game was up. The bonus point victory which looked a long-way off at half-time was achieved.
If ever there was a game of two halves this was it. As bad as Lymm had been in the first half they were excellent in the second. As for the scrum-half who came on at half time and changed the game, he’s got a great career behind him, but I suspect after today’s performance he might quite rightly claim there is a bit of life still left in the old dog!
Team: Joe Knowles, Richard McEvoy, Dave Williamson, Nathan Fernyhough, Cormack Nolan, Tom Bray, Tom Baker, Nick Ashton, Pete Allen, Jordan Widdrington, Sion Williams, Olli Higginson, Tim Oakes, Sam Mullarkey, Adam Bray, Chris Kinsey, Tom Darbyshire, Ben Rees.