by Dave Fernyhough
LYMM got back to winning ways defeating Sheffield 38-29 as brothers Joe and Danny Senior joined previous illustrious pairings at the club.
The annual past players’ day and glorious sunshine ensured there were more faces than follicles at Beechwood to see Saturday’s meeting between second place Sheffield and third place Lymm. Indeed, conditions could not have been more different than when the teams met earlier in the season at Abbeywood, in the midst of Storm Darragh. For much of the season it looked like this match would be crucial in the race for promotion but a huge injury list meant Lymm had fallen off the pace recently, and with yet more changes to the line up being enforced on the coaching team – including a debut for young winger Will Day and a first match of the season for Rory Riddell – hopes were admittedly not high among the Lymm faithful. The young and focused Lymm squad were not as daunted however and served up a display that harked back to the pre-Christmas performances, and amply rewarded Director of Rugby, Adam Fletcher, on the occasion of his 250th game at the helm.
The start did little to boost the home crowd’s expectations, with Sheffield executing a line out maul from 20 metres out with effective simplicity. The maul marched 15 metres and a couple of rucks later Sheffield had the opening try. 0 v 5, with the conversion making it 0 v 7.
Lymm responded immediately though with Nathan Beesley leading the way, as befits a captain. A solo rub through the heart of the Yorkshiremen’s defence took the ball deep into Sheffield’s half. The backs then combined with accurate interplay to find the irrepressible left-wing Paddy Jennings in plenty of space and he finished with aplomb. Alfie Simpson converted well, 7 v 7.
Beesley again made a searing break and was unlucky not to score, but the referee penalised Lymm on the try line and Sheffield cleared. Sheffield soon added to their score as they found space and exploited some loose Lymm tackles. A fine covering tackle by Beesley seemed to have thwarted their efforts but they regathered and set up a nice short range try. 7 v 12.
The undersized Lymm pack were instrumental in the next score. Lymm won a scrum centre field, 15 yards out. The pack stood its ground allowing scrum half Cal Morris to find Riddell who had run a great line, leaving the defence floundering as he raced clear to score under the posts, Simpson again converting, 14 v 12.
Both teams continued to attack freely entertaining the large crowd but there was no further score in the half.
Half time: Lymm 14 – Sheffield 12
A fluffed catch from the kick off saw Lymm begin the second half with a scrum inside the visitors’ 22 metre line. Despite immense pressure from the Sheffield pack, Lymm’s scrum held long enough for Morris and Riddell to repeat their move from earlier, with Riddell again cutting the sharpest of lines to score his second. Simpson remained at 100% for his conversions, 21 v 12 Lymm.
Lymm were now displaying the tight defence and well-orchestrated, thoughtful attacks that had been less frequently displayed recently, but Sheffield were still able to break through with some success, in particular via their left-hand side attack.
Lymm though were to put space between the teams when Sam Wandsworth made a trademark break following good Lymm ball movement, before off loading and finding Beesley whose speed made the score a formality, 28 v 12 after Simpson converted again.
Sheffield were not done yet, and again punished Lymm for falling off tackles, creating a converted try that looked simple, but was a result of their attacking nous. 28 v 19.
A 50/22 kick by Morris gave Lymm possession in a dangerous area for Sheffield. Numerous penalties followed incurring a yellow card for a Sheffield player, with Simpson eventually kicking for goal, giving Lymm a 31 v 19 lead.
The visitors came right back, again brushing aside Lymm tackles and taking full benefit from a very long advantage given them by the referee following a Lymm infringement sometime in the Jurassic era. From an attacking line out Sheffield drove over to reduce the lead to 7 points, 31 v 24, as the conversion was missed.
Yet another powerful Sheffield run and a Lymm knock on saw the Yorkshiremen score again, bringing the lead down to a nerve jingling 31 v 29 as again the conversion was missed.
With the assorted bald pates crumpling in consternation, the Lymm youngsters responded admirably. The chase following the restart kick put Sheffield under immediate pressure, and Lymm won a penalty in their opponent’s 10 metre zone. Substitute scrum half, Tom Manaton was alert to the opportunity afforded him and with a quick tap he was gone, squeezing through Sheffield defenders to finish the day’s scoring, except for, of course, another Simpson conversion.
A tremendous performance by a young Lymm squad that has been ravaged by injury and unavailability since the start of the year, who put on a real show in the sunshine coming away as worthy winners with a 5-point league point haul – which pretty much assures that Lymm will finish the season in third place in the league. Sheffield’s defeat also handed the title and promotion to Leeds Tykes.
It was also notable that the Lymm match day squad included brothers Joe and Danny Senior, both products of Lymm’s mini, junior and colts system, playing together in the Lymm First XV for the first time, joining a number of previous illustrious brother pairings such as Newton, Millachip and Bray in this achievement.
Director of Rugby, Adam Fletcher commented: “What a fantastic performance. I thought our attitude in defence was spot on and our attack always looked dangerous. We knew the set piece was going to be a struggle, and Sheffield were dominant in this department disrupting a lot of our ball.
“To score 5 tries without much set piece ball is a testament to the boys. It was great to put on a real show in front of a big home crowd.’
Team
Dan Hunter (12), Rob Makin* (87), Joe Higgins (25), Ben Thompson (50), James Yates* (134), Sean Callender (16), Josh Hadland* (56), Rhys Lilley* (73), Cal Morris (62), Alfie Simpson* (40), Paddy Jennings* (75), Sam Wadsworth* (37), Rory Riddell* (15), Joe Senior* (35), Nathan Beesley* (87).
Gav Woods (137), James Pitcher* (91), Danny Senior* (2), Tom Manaton (21), Will Day* (1).
