Lymm RFC v Billingham RFC – Saturday 15th March 2025

As ever, it gives me enormous pleasure to welcome you to Beechwood for our 22^nd league fixture (and 11^th home game) of the season. I would also like to extend an exceedingly warm welcome to our old friends and visitors today, Billingham RUFC.

For many of the people reading this, rugby is different from when we used to play – the players are bigger, it’s a more physical game, the skill level is higher and the collisions are sometimes painful to watch. In an interview given to BBC Sport, Leicester Tigers’ Dan Cole described his post-match aches and pains as follows: “You struggle to get a good night’s sleep after a game on a Saturday afternoon because your ear’s hanging off or your shoulders hurt. You get to three o’clock on a Sunday and you start feeling worse. Normally Monday is the worst day for stiffness, tiredness, pain. What hurts most depends which way you’ve been lying, but usually you’ll have a stiff neck or a stiff shoulder. You’re creaky in your lower limbs, but you still get going. Usually by Thursday you’re close to 95%. I’d never say you’re 100% fresh“

That players are getting bigger is undeniable or is it ? A study by Dr Ross Tucker et al in 2021 took the mass of every rugby player from every Rugby World Cup from 1991-2019, analysed their size increase and found that “The body mass of men’s players has stabilised after initial increases following professionalisation. Player body mass may be approaching a plateau, beyond which no further performance advantages occur.” But, given that the game became professional in 1995,  how does that fit in with our firmly held belief that players are still getting bigger? Dr Tucker’s study provides the answer to that question also – he split his data into T1 (established nations), T2 (emerging nations) and Pacific Island players. In 1991, the average Pacific Islander was heavier than the average T1 or T2 player but that gap has narrowed. By the 2023 World Cup, the difference between the heaviest squad (Tonga) and lightest squad (Portugal) was just 11kg. In other words, the T1 & T2 teams have got bigger between 1991 and 2023 and the Pacific Islanders have decreased in size.

The increased physicality and intensity of international rugby is reflected (in relative terms) at Level 4 rugby and it is fair to say that playing at that Level has certainly taken its toll on our young squad this season. As noted in the 2^nd paragraph of last week’s match report: “Continuing the selection disruption that has plagued Lymm since the turn of the year, Saturday’s squad showed 5 changes from the previous week with forwards Ben Lilley, Matty Hand and Isaac Millachip being drafted in to replace Josh Hadland and Oli Higginson; whilst Nathan Beesley and Jack Reynolds replaced Jack Stride, Andy Rowley and Harry Reay behind the scrum”

As to last weekend, Lymm crossed the Pennines to face Leeds Tykes at The Sycamores, the ground they share with West Park Leeds RUFC.  You will recall that Lymm beat Tykes 30-26 at Crouchley Lane earlier this season. To date, that has been Tykes only defeat this campaign and it wouldn’t have taken a mind reader to work out that they would have revenge on their mind for the return fixture. From my perspective, notwithstanding the glorious season we have had to date, the trip to The Sycamores triggered the PTSD I had experienced following our fixture there last season, which we lost 78-17, having been 54-0 down at half time. Our start to last week’s game, however, soon cheered me up as Lymm began brightly, and scored 1^st to go 0-5 up. A few minutes later, Lymm were on the front foot again and almost scored a 2^nd try but an unfortunate knock on prevented a score which would have reflected our early dominance. After 23 minutes the score was 14-10 and my memories of last season’s reverse were diminishing but thereafter, the speed, fitness and strength of Tykes began to take their toll: at half time the score was 21 – 10 and the full time score was Leeds Tykes 50 – 10 Lymm.

But you have to look for positives no matter the outcome and last week it was 3 of our youngest players (Ben Lilley, George Atherton and Isaac Millachip, who were playing schoolboy rugby last season) showing that they did not look out of place playing rugby at this level.  What great experience for them.  We are also still well placed for a top 3 finish with 5 games left to play.

In other Lymm rugby news, last weekend our 2^nd XV beat Manchester 36-15 and the Eagles (to accommodate players moving up to cover for injury) re-arranged their fixture against Marple.

All that leaves me to say (as usual) is that I wish all the teams, their coaches and support staff, who represent Lymm at every level, from Minis & Juniors up to Senior Rugby the best of luck this weekend.