by Andy Leach
LYMM travelled to Morley for their last road trip of 2016/17, their 7th consecutive season at the National 3 level were they went down 41-30.
With the weather more suited to cricket and Pimms than an oval ball game, the Lymm squad showed its customary shuffling, a feature that has dogged them all year. In the backs, the Titherington brothers, Will and Lucas returned, as did James Kimber, replacing Denman, Shard and Phillips. In the forwards Horton replaced the injured Auden and Watson the absent Higginson.
In the end the pace of Morley’s South African full-back, van der Merwe, and the ever-trusty boot of fly-half Chester proved the difference between the two teams. Morley registered the first score when van de Merwe’s entry into the line put the left-wing over in the corner. Unfortunately for Lymm, McEvoy’s despairing attempt to tackle the player was fairly adjudged high and the referee awarded Morley a penalty try under the posts and the Lymm winger a 10-minute breather, 7-0.
Despite being a man down Lymm took the game to Morley and were soon back to parity as Sutherland strolled in under the posts following some powerful forward drives, 7-7.
Almost from the kick-off Lymm suffered a further setback as Ashall was also penalised for a high tackle, joining McEvoy in the dugout. Now down to 13, clear instructions were issued amongst the Lymm ranks to commit fewer players into the contact area. Unfortunately, at the next line-out this appeared to be taken too much to heart as a Morley forward powered straight through the Lymm line-out to score from 20m, 14-7.
Back came Lymm with their own try from a line-out when a driving maul ended up with Baldwin crossing the whitewash. Nolan this time narrowly missed the conversion, 14-12.
Morley’s next score showcased the pace of van der Merwe when he beat a flat-footed Lymm defence on the outside scoring a try from first-phase possession, 21-12. Lymm then replied in very similar fashion when Lymm speedster McEvoy outpaced the Morley wide defence to score. Although Nolan’s conversion hit the post, he made amends on the stroke of half-time comfortably slotting a 50m penalty, 21-20.
Half Time: MORLEY 21 – 20 LYMM.
Morley registered their 4th and final bonus point try mid-way through the second half as a result of van der Merwe’s clever pacey entry into the line from 10m, 28-20.
Lymm then enjoyed a period of pressure, the Morley No 8 headed to the sin-bin and Nolan converted a simple penalty, 28-23. It was now that the trusty boot of Chester came to the fore, slotting two important penalties to make sure that the Yorkshire outfit maintained clear water between them and Lymm, 34-23.
As Lymm felt the game slipping away, they became more expansive but unfortunately an ambitious offload following a powerful break down the left flank towards the Morley 22, ended up in the wrong hands which the Morley wing gratefully accepted running the ball back to the Lymm try line, 41-23.
In the last few minutes Morley felt the displeasure of the referee as two of their players were sent to the bin – one for a high tackle. With the final play Lymm exploited their numerical advantage and McEvoy scored his second of the afternoon, gaining a 4 try bonus point, which Nolan duly converted, 41-30.
Full Time: MORLEY 41 – 30 LYMM.
Squad: 1) Dan Horton, 2) Adam Bray (c), 3) Nick Ashton, 4) Joe Watson, 5) Will Baldwin,
6) Matty Connolly, 7) Jake Ashall, 8) Ali Sutherland, 9) Andy Davies, 10) Rhys Jones, 11), Mike Floyd,
12) Lucas Titherington, 13) James Kimber, 14) Rich McEvoy, 15) Cormac Nolan, 16) Jordan Widdrington, 17) Jack Harper, 18) Will Titherington.
There are no senior rugby games at Lymm over Easter. Lymm 1st XV final game of the season is on Saturday 22nd April at home to Cleckheaton KO 3.0pm.
