Back

1st TEAM   Match Report

Saturday 10th December 2005

LEAGUE:  MIDLANDS 3 EAST (South)

NORTHAMPTON OLD SCOUTS 1st XV: 35   V  LUTTERWORTH  1st XV: 32

Christmas came early not only for Old Scouts who clawed back a fourteen point deficit after an hours play but also for the spectators who were treated to a selection box of rugby thrills and skills in this hugely entertaining game.

The show began at a furious pace and Old Scouts conceded three early penalties in as many minutes. Lutterworth fly half, Tim Jeffs failed to punish Old Scouts with his boot but did set the game alight after five minutes, breaking from the half way line and beating three defenders to take the ball over in the corner. Jeffs hit a fine conversion to give the visitors a seven-point lead. The Lutterworth forwards were well in control especially the second row of Evans and Williamson whose work rate in the loose was matched by their superiority in the lineout. Lutterworth increased their lead after twenty-two minutes when winger Dave Simpkin, back into the side after a prolonged absence, scored the first of his hat trick of tries. Number eight, Adam Conway presented the ball to scrum half, Gareth Court who kicked perfectly over the top of the defence to set up Simpkin. Jeffs converted easily but shortly afterwards missed another penalty attempt to leave the scoreline at 14 to 0.  The home side however never looked beaten and their backs hit back just before the break with a beautifully crafted try.

The Lutterworth forwards began the second period as they finished the first. A huge forward drive of some forty yards gave the backs the room to spin the ball wide culminating with a fine run from full back Jim Croucher who set up Simpkin for his second score. The Northampton side hit back with seven points but Gareth Court added a well-deserved try followed by a successful penalty conversion by Jeffs. Despite being twelve points adrift, Old Scouts started to climb inexorably back into the game, their confidence showing when they decided to kick, rather than run, a penalty awarded in front of the visitor’s posts. It looked as though the game was out of their reach when Simpkin completed his hat trick from the blind side of a scrum to regain the visitors a fourteen-point lead with only half an hour to go. Alas it was not to be, that last thirty minutes belonged to the home side who gained confidence at the same rate that Lutterworth lost the plot. Old Scouts accrued twenty points by way of three tries, a conversion and a penalty whilst the visitors could reply only with a single penalty and a game that looked in the bag slipped away by three points.