by Rob Sparkes
A slumbering first half, enlivened by a scintillating second half saw Lymm run out comfortable 54-18 victors over Ilkley.
Now for a change the weather was being kind– with seasonally overcast conditions at Beechwood, it was dry and whilst the sun did not make an appearance it did remain dry all afternoon, though with an increasingly strong breeze developing from the south. On the AGP surface, both teams would be anticipating and hoping for an open fast game of rugby.
So bearing that in mind, Lymm started with what is oft becoming a poor start to their games, handing much of the initiative and the momentum to the visiting team. And thus after just one minute of play the Ilkley number 5 Luke Pearson was able to break through some poor tackling in the centres and score under the posts. The conversion was simple for their No. 10 – Ed Brown, 0 -7.
The next twenty minutes saw the Lymm side demonstrate its current fragility of not being able to turn possession into pressure, through either poor tactical kicking, or falling foul of the referee’s whistle, in particular at the breakdown. Ilkley for that matter did not look like the side who are bottom of the league – they played with some pace and purpose and were giving Lymm much to think about. More possession was wastefully kicked away and then a penalty for handling in a ruck, led to a successful penalty scored by Ilkley’s No 8, John Henry Johnson on 16 minutes, 0 – 10.
Eventually, Lymm started to eradicate some of their earlier faults. A line-break by centre Steve Pilkington took play into the Ilkley half. This was taken on by Oli Higginson, and following successful recycling led to the ever present Josh Hadland to receive the finalpass to score under the post in the 20th minute. This was the impact that Hadland was to have on the game and the scoreboard during the afternoon. Cormac Nolan converted, 7 – 10.
Lymm were now getting more possession. Following a tapped penalty on about the half-way line, a controlled maul in the Ilkley 22m, led to a break by Higginson with Aaron Rasheed in support to dot down next to the posts after 29m. Nolan converted, 14 – 10.
This was the time when Lymm should have pushed on, however some habits are hard to forget and as before, possession was being squandered and penalties conceded. It was fortunate that following a superb break by the Ilkley scrumhalf, that a last-ditch Nolan tackle thwarted a score in the corner. Lymm then regained possession, only for this to be undone by conceding another penalty on the stroke of half time. Brown adding the points.
Half-Time: LYMM 14 – Ilkley 13
It is often said in sport – “a game of two halves”. And what a second half it would turn out to be for Lymm. As immediately from the kick-off Lymm put intense pressure on Ilkley in their 22. An Ilkey defensive scrum in only the 42nd minute was taken by Lymm, which led to some slick passing for Hadland to score his second of the afternoon. The conversion by Nolan was good, 21 – 13.
Lymm now to start to assert their dominance – in all areas. Their defence was tighter and their kicking more astute and accurate. Following one kick that took play into the Ilkey half, possession was gained and another fine break by Pilkington saw Lymm only missing out on a score by the ball being dropped on the line. However, they were not to be denied, a quickly taken tap penalty and there was Higginson on hand to drive over for a much deserved bonus point try, Nolan converting, 28 – 13.
If the first ten minutes had been good, the next ten were equally sublime. Possession was nearly total, and breaks occurred on numerous occasions, as did some very tasty handling moves. All resulting in two further tries for Lymm. Skipper Adam Bray got on the scoreboard in the 56th minute and on 59 minutes, winger George Norman scored, following good hands within the backline. And yes, Nolan kicked both conversions, 42 – 13.
But, Ilkley never gave up hope, and on 60 minutes, their scrum half Morgan made a great braek from within his own half all the way into the Lymm 22. The Lymm defence held out for six minutes, but relentless pressure [and a subsequent penalty]led to a fine try being scored on 66 minutes by the Ilkley winger – Harry Swarbrick. The conversion, though was missed, 42 – 18.
On 69 minutes, the players decided to get better acquainted and had a scuffle – more like the proverbial ‘hand-bags’ than anything more serious, and the only untoward behaviour seen all afternoon.
The final ten minutes saw Lymm again in near total control. Their defence was rarely threatened, and they enjoyed large amounts of good possession. Before full time they scored two more tries. First in the 78th minute, the dynamo that is Hadland scored his hat-trick try, Nolan converted. And as the final whistle was approaching and again on the back of some very good handling, a try for James Kimber. Alas, Nolan was proven to be fallible, and the conversion was missed.
Director of Rugby Adam Fletcher said after the game:“Not the best 1st half. We lacked intensity in defence and were inaccurate with the ball.
“However, a wonderful second half display scoring 40 points was very impressive. We moved the ball well and scored some great tries, with Cormac Nolan producing a near perfect kicking display with seven conversions. It was good to get back to winning ways”.
Next week Lymm are making the trip to 8th placed Kirkby Lonsdale.
Squad: 1. Gavin Woods, 2. Adam Bray (C), 3. Jordan Widdrington, 4. Aaron Rasheed, 5. James Yates, 6. James Hadland, 7. Matty Connelly, 8. Oli Higginson, 9. Tom Shard, 10. Scott Redfern, 11. George Norman, 12. Steve Pilkington, 13. James Kimber, 14. Nathan Beesley, 15. Cormac Nolan, 16. James Pitcher, 17. Matty Connelly, 18. Ben Stansfield.
