Lymm 15 Sheffield Tigers 34

LYMM were unable to tame Sheffield Tigers on Saturday as the visitors ran away in the second half to secure the points in National League Three North.

Tries from Joe Knowles and Jordan Widdrington had the hosts within touching distance shortly after the break, before sin-binnings for Tom and Adam Bray left Sheffield with a numerical advantage.

A series of scrums on the Lymm line led to a well-worked pick and drive that resulted in the Sheffield winger crossing for a converted try.

Good work from Tom Bray and Cormac Nolan garnered an immediate reply for the hosts, putting Knowles in at the corner. Nolan was unable to add the extras.

Sheffield’s response was to hoist a high kick, with the Tigers full back able to chase and gather his own ball unopposed to increase their lead after 15 minutes.

Lymm enjoyed the majority of the pressure for the next 20 minutes but, despite looking dangerous with ball in hand, failed to convert their chances.

With five minutes of the half remaining Sheffield capitalised on Lymm’s profligacy and extended their lead nine points, with the hosts hitting back via a penalty.

Lymm started brightly in the second period and Nolan was stopped narrowly short of the line.

Rowley then went on a snaking run and from the subsequent ruck, Tom Baker darted forward only to be held up short.

The ball eventually found Widdrington to flop over and, with Nolan adding the conversion, Lymm had reduced the Tigers’ deficit to two points.

Sheffield’s next trip into the Lymm half resulted in a converted penalty and the hosts began to lose their discipline, with Tom Bray the first to be shown a yellow card for speaking out of turn to the official.

The clinical visitors made the most of this advantage, pushing the score out to 27-15 after a Rowley try for Lymm was chalked off for a double movement.

At the other end Tigers brought their total up to 34 for the day and frustration told for Adam Bray, who fell foul of the referee and ensured Lymm would finish with 14 men.

A depleted Lymm thirds side travelled to promotion-chasing Liverpool Veterinary with 14 players and came away on the wrong end of a 48-7 defeat in Division Three South.

Despite going behind, the visitors stuck to their game plan of dominating up front and secured a five-metre scrum from which number eight Matt Rooney scored their only try.

Lymm 1st: Auden, Bray, Widdrington, Kaihau, Williams, Mullarkey, White, Ashall, Baker, Bray, Rowley, Dugdale, Nolan, Knowles. Subs: McEvoy, Williams, McGuiness.

Lymm 3s: Grant, Coon, Brown, Cartwright, Calders, Hickman, Rooney, Woolvine, Lev, Mahoney, Merrils, Forrest, Harris, Lawson.