Two 1st Team Players Reach Another Milestone

After Saturday’s home win over Blackburn, the Lymm players and supporters gathered for the presentation of his “200 Blazer” to Cormac Nolan by Club President, Neil Kelly, and to acknowledge Tom Shard’s achievement in reaching his 100 cap landmark.

Cormac Nolan

• Has joined Adam Bray, Oli Higginson, Tom Bray and Jordan Widdrington in the 200 Club – 200 league matches for Lymm at Level 5.
• Joined Lymm aged 16 as a Junior Colt, playing in a highly successful team – initially as fly-half – that collected a lot of silverware over a 3 year period.
• Made his first appearance for Lymm 1stXV on 27^th October aged 19 in a home fixture v Harrogate.
• The result? – an inauspicious 29-3 defeat – but Cormac did open his point scoring account.
• His first try came in his 5^th match, a home fixture v West Hartlepool, and his first hattrick in the return fixture in April 2013.
• His points tally before today’s match stood at 1,881.
• This comprises 68 tries; 382 conversions; and 259 penalties – each a club record at Level 5.
• Since his first appearance Cormac has played in 86% of Lymm’s fixtures and scored almost 32% of Lymm’s points over this period.
• This notwithstanding two long periods out with injury and two season where he was not the first-choice kicker.
• His best seasons so far have been 2013/14 where he scored 270 points in 26 matches; 2017/18 254 in 24; and 2019/20 241 in 22.
• The current season is also shaping up well with, before today’s match, 128 points in 9 appearances.
• In the 2021/22 season, along with Oli Higginson, Cormac’s outstanding form and performances enjoyed peer recognition in his selection to the League team of the season.
• Most of all he’s a great club man which has been evident to all given his relocation a few years ago to Loughborough.

Tom Shard

• • Today Tom has become the 16^th member of the Lymm 100 club.
  • He has played at Lymm through the M&Js into Colts – where he played in the same successful team as Cormac, where they formed a half-back partnership.
  • Tom made his debut for Lymm 1^st XV on 15^th November 2014, in the narrow home loss (17-21) against Morley.
  • Since then he has amassed 285 points – amongst the highest of the current squad.
  • This comprises 6 tries; 90 conversions; and 25 penalties.
  • Of these 72 have been scored this season when he has covered admirably in Cormac’s absence.
  • Tom has played in both half-back positions for Lymm, establishing himself in the fly-half berth over the past 12 months a position he is set to keep….as anyone else would be swamped by the bespoke number 10 shirt he wears!!
  • All this has been achieved with a long enforced absence due to a bad shoulder injury which required surgery and rehabilitation….and maybe sufficient time in the physio room to propel him on the road to fatherhood!
  • Like Cormac, Tom is a great club man which reaching this milestone confirms.