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1st TEAM   Match Report

Saturday 11th December 2004

LEAGUE:  MIDLANDS 3 EAST (South)

LUTTERWORTH  1st XV: 18     NORTHAMPTON OLD SCOUTS  1st XV: 10

Lutterworth toppled league leaders, Northampton Old Scouts, from the top spot after what must rank as one of their best performances for some considerable time.

A large home crowd at Ashby Lane were treated to an enthralling and closely fought contest by these two evenly matched teams.

A strong and determined start by Old Scouts initially put the home side on the back foot but the storm was weathered and the game developed into an exciting ebb and flow of attack and defence by two teams both determined to stamp their mark on the game. A missed drop goal attempt by Tim Jeffs was matched by an Old Scouts missed penalty but after 30 minutes Lutterworth were penalised after a scrummaging infringement and a well worked move by the Northampton backs was taken over by their winger. Lutterworth came back strongly and a rampaging attack by the forwards was rewarded with a successful penalty attempt by Jeffs. The turning point of the game came just before half time when Lutterworth’s opportunist winger, Phil Daffern, intercepted an attack just outside of the Lutterworth twenty two and sprinted seventy yards to touch down under the posts with two defenders in agonisingly close pursuit. The first period ended pretty much even stevens at 10 to 7.

The second half really belonged to the home side with an epic display of forward play both in the set piece and the loose led by the front five but fully aided and abetted by superb back row performances from Simon Deacon, Rob Sands and Adam Conway. An early penalty by Scouts was matched by Jeffs and the defining moment of the game came when Ian Johnson (one of the three Johnson brothers on the pitch) touched down after a brilliant period of pick and go rugby. During the final ten minutes Old Scouts tried again and again to breach the Lutterworth line but were kept out by massive tackling by all Lutterworth fifteen.