Lymm 52-26 Chester

Lymm win local derby in style

On the final match weekend of 2024, in what has been a phenomenal year for Lymm Rugby Club, Chester made the short trip along the M56 to Crouchley Lane for the first time since the 2012/13 season, when the teams were in National League 3 North. A local derby, with a Chester support hoping to avenge the 19-51 loss suffered at the start of the season made for a great atmosphere as anticipation built before kick-off.

The home side made four changes following their victory over Preston the previous weekend. James Pitcher came in for Rob Makin at hooker, who would both make their presence felt on the day. Ben Thompson started in the second row, and Tom Shard returned at fly-half from five games out with a broken hand. This allowed Cal Morris to return to his accustomed 9 jersey, while Jack Stride came in on the wing to complete the dangerous and versatile backline. Josh Hadland was also making his 50^th appearance for the 1^st XV.

Chester kicked off towards the car park end, with a stiff breeze going directly across the pitch toward the clubhouse touchline, but thankfully, the day remained dry, allowing both teams to play some entertaining rugby. Lymm enjoyed some good territory to start the game, and after 5 minutes, a switch of play by Morris and a deft pass by Sam Wadsworth put the charging Thompson through a hole in the Chester defence before drawing the final defender and giving the ball to Nathan Beesley to score under the posts. With this try Beesley became the joint highest all-time try scorer for Lymm. More on that later…

Chester responded well, with some possession in the Lymm 22, but missed a couple of opportunities to draw level. Eventually the pressure told, and a Lymm clearance was returned by the Chester 15, before some strong carries set up an opportunity for the scrum-half, Ellis, to dart under the posts.

Five minutes later, a Chester clearance on the full was deemed to have been carried back into their 22, and from the resulting maul, Lymm won a penalty. The kick to the corner led to another powerful maul, with Pitcher going over for the try, 10 metres from the left touchline. 12-7.

Lymm were looking dangerous with the ball-in-hand, but neither team could get a foothold in the game, with some handling errors and penalties halting good possession. A Shard penalty stretched the lead to 8, before a breakaway try extended it further. Hard running from back rows Josh Hadland and Seb Kelly took Lymm down the field, and Kelly put in centre Wadsworth to continue his fine try-scoring form.

A frantic end to the half saw Chester held up over the line (although this was loudly contested by the travelling support), before an opportunity for Lymm to pull clear was missed with an overthrown lineout 5 metres out. Chester finally broke through the Lymm defence and the final pass, although suspiciously forward looking, found the prop to score next to the posts.

20-14 at half time, and there was a feeling that Lymm hadn’t quite hit the level that the home crowd had grown accustomed to.

Half time: Lymm 20 – 14 Chester

With the darkness drawing in on the shortest day of the year, the second half kicked off. The opening minutes of the half were similar to the start of the game. Lymm controlled possession and probed the Chester defence for 13 phases until a pass from Shard gave Beesley the ball in a 2-on-2 situation.

Those who have been watching Lymm over the past five years could have guessed what happened next. Beesley scorched around the outside of his man to go over in the corner and score his 74^th try in 81 appearances, to become Lymm’s all-time leading try scorer. A tremendous achievement for a player who has stepped up into a leadership role over the past couple of seasons and has been a huge part of Lymm’s success in recent years.

Mirroring the first half once more, Chester responded with a try of their own after a few minutes of pressure in the Lymm half, although the conversion was missed after the ball fell from the tee during the kicker’s run-up. Shard kicked a penalty to make the score 28-19 with 20 minutes to play, and there was a feeling that the next score in the game would be crucial. This came to Chester. A Lymm clearance kick from the 22 was charged down by the Chester 7, and a swarm of red shirts eventually saw the ball touched down under the posts. With the conversion made, the score was 28-26 with around 12 minutes to go.

Lymm had played well in parts but had not killed the game off and had made too many errors, whilst Chester made the most of their opportunities and deserved to be in the game heading into the final 10 minutes. In this situation a year ago, Lymm may have shrunk in confidence and been pipped to the win. However, this season’s team look fitter and more confident to see these games out, and they did this emphatically.

From the kick-off, Lymm won a penalty for one of the Chester subs not rolling away, and Shard kicked to the corner. The resulting lineout was well taken by Rhys Lilly, and the forward pack, transformed this year in the maul, surged forward to allow Makin to dive over 10 metres from the right touchline. Into the wind, Shard nailed the conversion, and 4 minutes later, Hadland won a penalty on half-way which was slotted by the returning fly half to extend the lead to 12.

From the kick-off, a good box kick from Morris was collected by Wadsworth, and after offloads from Beesley, Makin and prop Ralph McEachran, the other prop Matthew Hand went over in the corner to the delight of the home players and support. From the kick-off, Kelly, who was outstanding all game, bounced off several weary Chester defenders and surged into the opposition half.

An offside penalty gave Lymm another chance to kick for the corner, and the lineout on the 22 was driven almost 20 metres before stalling close to the line. Chester recovered the ball and were trying to play from the back, when Paddy Jennings ripped the ball away to regain possession. He managed to get a tremendous offload to Makin, who used all of his athleticism to pick the ball up off his laces and give the ball to McEachran to power his way over the line with the last play of the game.

Lymm had racked up 24 points in 10 minutes, and although the game did not go quite as planned, this blistering finish was an appropriate way to end 2024 for the side.

Full-time: Lymm 52-26 Chester.

After the game, Director of Rugby Adam Fletcher said, “It was great to finish 2024 with a big win, making it 13 out of 14! But credit to Chester who kept within touching distance until the 65^th minute.

“For the second week running, we finished the game super strong and scored 20 points. The hard work the boys have put in with their conditioning is really paying off”.

He continued, “2024 has been mega! I would like to thank all involved with the club and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. To be sat joint top of the league is really exciting. Bring on 2025”.

 Team: Ralph McEachran (20); James Pitcher* (81); Matty Hand* (121); Rhys Lilly* (63); Ben Thompson (41); Seb Kelly (8); Oli Higginson* (277); Josh Hadland* (50); Cal Morris (52); Paddy Jennings* (66); Ste Pilkington* (77); Sam Wadsworth* (30); Jack Stride (22); Nathan Beesley* (81).

Bench: Ben Lilley (11); Rob Makin* (78); Joe Higgins (16); James Yates* (124); Jack Reynolds (29).  

*Denotes graduate of the Colts Academy

(Number) denotes caps for the First XV.

Referee: Andrew Shaw

Match reporter, Water boy and Ball boy: Cormac Nolan