Report by Neil Allen
LYMM welcomed Old Redcliffians, the team from Bristol, for their first-ever visit to Beechwood.
The earl- season away fixture had seen Lymm come out on top in a high-scoring affair – and with both teams now lying next to each other in the table, this promised to be an equally close encounter.
Having won on the road at Syston last week, Lymm were looking to consolidate their league position away from the relegation zone with another morale-boosting victory. Sadly, neither came to fruition with Old Redcliffians dominating the game and Lymm left to consider the slide towards the bottom of the league.
The team sheet saw a couple of key changes from the previous week, with Oli Higginson taking a well-earned rest in the run-up to what is hoped will be his 300th game before the end of the season, and stalwart centre Ste Pilkington was making his 100th appearance for the club. On the bench, there was a welcome return for Jack Reynolds to bolster a back division, which had lost some of its cutting edge in recent weeks.
After a fine morning in Cheshire, the heavens opened right on kick-off time and the rain did not relent for the whole 80 minutes. With the alternative distractions of the Ladies Luncheon and the England game, the crowd was torn between the clubhouse and the sidelines. With both matches an equally difficult watch, most seemed to plump for the prosecco option.
Lymm had got into the recent habit of starting games slowly and today was no different. Not so Old Redcliffians, who had clearly come to play some rugby. It only took two minutes for the team from Bristol to cross the line, a couple of missed tackles and the second row was over untouched, with the extras added, Lymm were 7-0 down and not at the races. Lymm continued to be off the pace and after 10 minutes went further behind as Old Redcliffians kept the scoreboard ticking with a penalty. 10-0 to the opposition.
It was clear that Old Redcliffians had come to play and were impressive all day, with a game plan based on solid defence, ball playing forwards and fast skillful backs it was like watching Lymm of old.
Sadly, watching Lymm today was not like watching Lymm of old. After 20 minutes, Lymm started to remember there was a game on and, with Callum Morris to the
fore, started to gain some territory and ask questions of Old Redcliffians. Unfortunately, the away team had the answers all afternoon and Lymm found any number of ways to halt their own progress through conceding penalties, kicking away possession, dropping balls or butchering passes. The basic skills which Lymm have always prided themselves on seem to have deserted the team in recent weeks.
Lymm continued to plug away but were met with a red Bristol wall. On 30 minutes after a period of Lymm huff and puff, another turnover saw Old Redcliffians break free and run in the second try of the afternoon to make it 17-0. The end of the half was played in the Old Redcliffians twenty five, but with Lymm forwards struggling to get over the gain line and backs drifting sideways in possession, it was easy for the opposition to shut Lymm out. The half-time whistle was blown with the away team
sitting comfortably at 17-0.
Half-time: Lymm 0 – Old Redcliffians 17
Lymm needed to start the second half quickly and score first to have any chance of getting anything out of the game; they didn’t. After 3 minutes the away team slotted a penalty to take the score to 20-0.
The second-half followed the same pattern as the first with plenty of individual endeavour from Lymm, particularly Josh Hadland and Rhys Lilley, but little by way of end product, as Old Redcliffians dealt easily with any danger relatively easily.
On 60 minutes, Lymm finally got on the scoresheet through a driving maul, which James Pitcher got on the end of. Alfie Simpson added the extras and suddenly at 20-7, despite the performance, Lymm had a sniff of something. With 15-minutes to go, Lymm were now playing all the rugby, however another poor pass in midfield fell into the grateful hands of the Old Redcliffians substitute, who ran over unopposed from the half-way line to extinguish any hopes of a comeback.
25-7 to Old Redcliffians and that is how the game ended. Lymm at least made the last 10-minutes a frantic affair running at the opposition with a bit more of the threat of old, but it was all too little too late.
Full-time Lymm 7 – Old Redcliffians 25
Whilst the individual endeavour could not be faulted collectively, Lymm were poor; kicking away possession, missing tackles, conceding penalties – all traits which have now become worryingly regular features of Lymm’s play. What was more concerning today is the skill levels totally deserted the team, simple passing and catching was woefully lacking, and whilst the conditions didn’t help, it did not seem to deter Old Redcliffians, who were worthy winners.
Director of Rugby Adam Fletcher commented: ‘This was a really disappointing day. Old Reds deserved the win and outplayed us in all aspects. We need to find some form quickly. We’ve got to knuckle down for the remainder of the season.’
Next up, Lymm face Exeter University Students away on Saturday 28 February, desperately searching for another win to halt the slide.
Team:
1. Ben Lilley (38 caps), 2. James Pitcher* (108), 3. Dai Ngoma (14), 4. James Yates* (152), 5. Ben Thompson (65), 6. Rhys Lilly* (89), 7. Josh Hadland* (77), 8. Max Ure* (14), 9. Callum Morris (82), 10. Alfie Simpson* (52), 11. Joe Heaton* (15), 12. Ste Pilkington* (100), 13. Paddy Jennings* (97), 14. Jack Stride (35), 15. Nathan Beesley* (103).
Reserves: 16. Matty Hand* (132), 17. Tom Elphick (4), 18. Liam Stewart (7), 19. Tom Mananton (43), 21. Jack Reynolds (46).
( ) = number of Lymm First XV League appearances
* Former Lymm Academy/M&J player
