By Adam Bray
LEAGUE Leaders Lymm continued their five-star start to the season with a 57-24 victory over recently promoted Harrogate on a beautiful autumn day at Beechwood.
Four wins, four bonus points and fortune favouring the brave, Lymm’s start to the season has been spectacular and the table-topping starting team bore several changes from the previous week.
Ralph McEachran returned from Sharks’ duty at loosehead; James Pitcher made his first st start of the season at hooker; LJMU product Ethan Kermode made his first start in the 2nd row in place of the injured Maskery and teenage loanee Toby Wilson started at inside centre with Sam Wadsworth moving to fullback and captain Nathan Beesley to his customary wing position.
After an opening ten minutes in which Lymm looked extremely dangerous ball-in-hand but fell afoul of several decisions at the breakdown, the hosts opened the scoring. A Harrogate clearance was charged down by Ste Pilkington and resulted in a panicked kick straight to Paddy Jennings who returned it quickly into the opposition 22. Several phases later, the ball was worked wide to Ben Thompson who finished powerfully from 20m. Conversion from Shard. Lymm 7 Harrogate 0.
Five minutes later, Lymm doubled their lead from deep in their own half. A Harrogate maul was defended well by the pack and, when the ball was shipped wide, Lymm’s line speed forced a turnover for Wilson. The teenager, extremely impressive on debut, set off from within his own 10m and made it to past halfway when he found Beesley screaming up in support and the rest was inevitable. Lymm 14 Harrogate 0 after 15 mins.
At this point in the half, Lymm continued to struggle with the referee’s interpretation at the breakdown and this allowed Harrogate to force their way back into the game. After multiple phases of pressure deep in Lymm territory, including a botched 5m maul attempt, Lymm lost Oli Higginson to the sin bin for a contentious ruck penalty and the visitors took advantage to open their account from a rolling maul. Lymm 14 Harrogate 7 with the Lymm coaching team sending messages on to leave the breakdown well alone. Lymm’s response was nearly instant.
Aggressive line speed on halfway panicked the Harrogate fly half into a poor pass which was seized upon by Thompson who marauded nearly 40m and was dragged down just short. A quick recycle of the ball and McEachran smashed his way over from 5m out. Lymm 21 Harrogate 7.
The visitors, however, weren’t going to lie down and responded themselves – another break down the left edge, followed by several close range phrases, saw them score once again. Lymm 21 Harrogate 14 after half an hour.
Lymm did not have to wait long though to extend their lead again and it was the pick of the tries from the first half. After a Harrogate penalty on half way was kicked dead, Lymm’s multiple phase attack swung into action. Morris, Wilson and Higginson all carried powerfully to take the ball from halfway to the Harrogate 22.
Delightful interplay from forwards and backs, with Pilkington, Wadsworth and Thompson again prominent, forced a penalty advantage and, with Harrogate unable to deal with the speed of ball, Beesley appeared off his wing to fling the final pass for Jennings to score in the corner. Lymm 26 Harrogate 14 at half time and Lymm, in truth, had barely made it out of 3rd gear.
Half time: Lymm 26 Harrogate 14
With powerful wind at their backs for the 2nd half, it did not take long for the home team to extend their lead. A lovely 50-22 from the mercurial Morris, saw a quick Lymm maul carried on by Hadland who was dominant in collision all game. Once again, quick recycling from Shard to Wilson who floated a lovely ball to Beesley who did the rest. Conversion missed from wide – Lymm 31 Harrogate 14.
Minutes later, they scored again. Another Morris kick bounced horribly for the retreating winger who was swallowed up by Harry Martin and Higginson deep in his own 22. The resulting turnover saw Hadland and Higginson power to within 2m from which Morris popped out of a ruck and barged his way over. Lymm 38 Harrogate 14 and the hosts were now in total command after a 5-minute blitz to open the second half.
After a scrappy period of play, with Lymm content to defend and Harrogate unable to exit due to a combination of Lymm’s defence and the powerful wind, the home team scored again. Trapped in their own red zone, Harrogate kicked loosely which was fielded by Shard in the backfield. His long pass was carried on by Pilkington, Jennings and Higginson before Shard again found Wadsworth.
Borderline untackleable all game, the young fullback finished easily fending off two tacklers in the process. Lymm 45 Harrogate 14.
At this point, the game lost some flow but both teams did add a further two tries to their totals – the prolific Saxton-Martin added another to his season total and Pitcher completed the scoring at the bottom of a rolling maul. Harrogate, justly rewarded for their perseverance, scored two late tries from close range to leave with a try bonus point.
Head coach Andy Davies was delighted with yet another win. ‘It was tough playing into the wind in the first half, so it was nice to go in at halftime with a lead especially after Harrogate had played some nice stuff and put us under a lot of pressure.
‘The boys composed themselves and came out firing in the second half. There were some lovely tries scored but, again, the defensive display put on by the team was immense.
‘A huge well done to the 2nd XV who scored a last-minute try to beat Rossendale!
‘It was another awesome day for the club with everyone in great spirits afterwards,’ he concluded.
Lymm remain undefeated with 25 points from a possible 25 and top of National 2. A clinical and physical performance but they will, perhaps, be a little disappointed with the late bonus point scores. Next week, Lymm make the long, difficult journey to Tynedale where they will be looking to continue to build on their outstanding opening to the season.
Starting XV: 1. Ralph McEachran (15); 2. James Pitcher* (72); 3. Matty Hand* (112); 4. Ethan Kermode (2); 5. Ben Thompson (34); 6. Harry Martin (60); 7. Josh Hadland* (43); 8. Oli Higginson* (268); 9. Cal Morris (43); 10. Tom Shard* (139); 11. Paddy Jennings* (57); 12. Ste Pilkington* (70); 13. Toby Wilson (1); 14. Nathan Beesley (c)* (72); 15. Sam Wadsworth* (21).
Bench: 16. Ben Lilley (3); 17. Rob Makin* (69); 18. Dan Hunter (3); 19. Tom Manaton (4); 20. Jack Stride (14).
Number denotes First XV appearances
*Denotes graduate of Lymm Colts Academy
