LYMM RFC could barely have wished for a better start to their second season at National League level.
Faced with a long trip to Humberside to face Hull Ionians in their first National 2 North game of the new campaign, they returned to Crouchley Lane with a full complement of points thanks to a 39-27 victory.
A second-half purple patch of three tries in 13 minutes proved decisive, with Paddy Jennings, Rob Makin and Nathan Beesley all touching down either side of the hour mark.
Before then, Lymm had been on the back foot in the opening quarter and trailed 10-7 at the midway point of the first half, with a penalty kicking the hosts ahead after Beesley’s first try had cancelled out an early home opener.
Tom Shard booted the visitors level before Jack Reynolds’ try put them ahead for the first time, but more kicked penalties kept the home side in touch.
And when Ionians crossed from a rolling maul, the scores were level at 20-20 with 53 minutes gone before Lymm went up a gear to seal victory.
“A really pleasing performance to start the season,” director of rugby Adam Fletcher said.
“A lot of hard work has been put by the players and coaches over the last few months, so to achieve five points away from home is rewarding.
“There is loads to work on, but what a great start.”
Head coach Andy Davies added: “In the first half, we made a lot of mistakes and gave away too many penalties, but we came in at half time and slightly tweaked a couple of things.
“The boys came out in the second half and put in a great counter-attacking performance.
“I thought our fitness and some quality handling in tricky conditions proved the difference.
“It’s a great result to start the season off but there’s still a lot of areas to improve on moving forward.”
Lymm are on the road again on Saturday as they face a much shorter trip to face Chester.
Lymm: Ralph McEachran, Rob Makin, Matty Hand, Josh Maskery, Rhys Lilly, Harry Martin, Josh Hadland, Oli Higginson; Cal Morris, Tom Shard; Paddy Jennings, Jack Reynolds, Ste Pilkington, Nathan Beesley, Alfie Simpson. Subs: Isaac Millachip, James Pitcher, Joe Higgins, Tom Manaton, Sam Wadsworth
Meanwhile, Warrington RUFC also got their new season off to the perfect start on Saturday.
And coach Richard Park was full of praise for his side’s defence as opponents Liverpool Collegiate were kept off the scoresheet.
They also scored six tries to secure a bonus-point 38-0 victory, with winger Ryan Eastwood touching down twice.
Jude Lightfoot, Josh Downes, Joe Craven and James Hartill also crossed the whitewash, with JP Hudson adding four conversions.
“Our defence was unrelenting throughout the 80 minutes, which reflects the change in mind-set that we have developed during pre-season,” Park said.
“The attacking shape is not yet the finished article but is starting to come together week by week.
“Team spirit, togetherness and camaraderie both on and off the field is there to see in abundance – it augurs well for what will be an exciting season.”
Warrington’s next game sees them visit Oldham on Saturday.
Scrum time for Warrington and opponents Liverpool Collegiate on Saturday (Image: Contributed)
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