Presidents Welcome – Saturday September 24th 2022

It is with great pleasure that we welcome the return of our local neighbours “Port” back to Beechwood after several years away. As Davenport, and latterly Stockport, they achieved success reaching National 2 status before falling away to level 6 over several years. Last season saw them win all their 26 games and secure promotion. A fantastic achievement achieved by very few clubs and if we are to win today we will have to break a winning league game sequence that has continued uninterrupted since 7^th March 2020! In an early season meeting, in the Cheshire Cup, Lymm were on the losing end of a difficult game.

The restructure of the leagues and their promotion brings us together but more importantly Stockport currently sit on top of the table with an unbeaten record and maximum points from their opening 3 games having comprehensively beaten Kirkby Lonsdale, Kendal and Burnage and acquiring a significant points difference of 122. This of course compares to our own unbeaten record with maximum points and  a points difference of 63, with victories over Northwich, Rossendale and Sandbach. Perhaps it could be argued that we have faced the tougher opposition and if so, my view is that Lymm are well prepared and “battle hardened” going into today’s game off the back of notable victories over Rossendale and Sandbach. In both games Lymm have demonstrated their dogged defence and patient attacking flare, with an ability to strike from anywhere.

Across the league an average of almost a point a minute (68) and 8 tries per game has given the spectators plenty of entertainment, however I do hope that this does not signal a division in the league where a limited number of teams are able to compete at this level.

It was a pleasure to be joined by Adam Bray, our former Captain, wearing his club blazer and waistcoat for over 200 appearances, at the pre-match luncheon for his debut as an “Ali and the official scribe” for the Sandbach game. It was interesting to watch as he screamed his observations into his phone and lived every tackle and decision. In the week where rugby lost Eddy Butler, a former player turned reporter and commentator, it will be interesting to see if the power of the pen proves as combative off the field as Adam was on it!

Last weekend saw a clean sweep of victories across all our senior teams. Congratulations to Agina Nonso who scored the bonus point try with an athletic leap on his first team league  debut, followed by the customary visit to the beam!

Let’s hope that today’s game proves both competitive and entertaining and Lymm can continue their progress up the table!

See you in the bar later!

Neil Kelly – President