1st TEAM Match Report
Saturday 11th November 2006
League Fixture
LOUGHBOROUGH 1st XV: 17 V LUTTERWORTH 1st XV: 19
Another win, now ten in a row, for Lutterworth but they were by no means convincingly superior in this close fought contest. Loughborough chose to play with the strong wind that was sweeping diagonally across the park and during the first period amassed a substantial but catchable lead of fifteen points to nil. Lutterworth certainly have these days the skill and ability to play dynamic and entertaining rugby but consistently let them selves down in two areas. The ball carriers insist on going that last yard before offloading, spoiling the good work and often resulting in the second problem; conceded penalties. Loughborough’s first points came after ten minutes from one of the eighteen penalties that the visitors gifted to them in the first half. The visiting forwards easily defended a series of driving mauls by Loughborough but when their winger broke through the midfield he was given a green light by Lutterworth defenders who missed tackle after tackle. Loughborough could have accumulated an unassailable lead had they not botched two penalty kicks and a conversion but just before the whistle they eventually organised their pack to overcome the visitor’s defence with a well worked lineout catch and drive, coming, of course, from another Lutterworth infringement.
All credit though to Lutterworth who ground out a second half margin of nineteen to three. In typical fashion, captain Dennis Hall touched down at the back of a five-metre push over try and a tremendous lineout catch and drive of over ten metres was converted by hooker, Alan Johnson. These two are racing neck and neck to head the try-scoring list. Loughborough replied with another kicked penalty but winger, Ben Stretton went over in the corner and stand in kicker, Jim Croucher hit a difficult and nail-biting drop kicked conversion to snatch the narrowest of victories. Loughborough, not surprisingly, named prop, Paul Wilford as man of the match.
If the winning run is to continue Lutterworth must raise their game significantly and address the basic errors that are spoiling the potential of the best squad of players that has graced Ashby Lane for some time.
Scoring: 3-0; 10-0; 15-0, 15-5; 15-12; 18-12; 18-19.