Back

1st TEAM   Match Report

Saturday 1st March  2008

League Match

LUTTERWORTH  1st : 27pts  V  NORTHAMPTON OS 1st 21pts

The long wait is over; Lutterworth chalked up their first win since Christmas with a fine display against a spirited Old Scouts. Victory was due in no small part to a inspirational performance by skipper, Chris Gregory, who not only collected a hat trick of tries but led his team from the front with unbridled passion and determination. However this shouldn’t take away from equally uncompromising commitment by all the forwards, especially welcome was the return of Matt Randle and Simon Deacon on the flanks.

Starting with the squally wind pretty much at their backs, the hosts, despite fumbling a couple of early scoring opportunities, were soon in the ascendency. After ten minutes, Gregory, playing at number eight, broke through the Northampton defence and from the resulting ruck a scrum some five metres out was awarded to Lutterworth. The formidable Lutterworth pack was right back on top of its old form and it was hooker, Paul Riley, who touched down as they drove remorselessly over the touchline. The next two scores were of a similar scenario; the second after twenty minutes came from a penalty kick to touch. Ian Johnson took the lineout catch effortlessly and Gregory peeled off to score the first of his three. Fifteen minutes later the Lutterworth forwards piled on the agony for Scouts with another unstoppable scrum that powered onwards ten yards or more before Gregory grounded from the back. Unfortunately the wind seemed to make things difficult for kicker, Bobby Williams, and the lack of conversions meant that a converted Old Scouts try brought them right back into the game. The Lutterworth pack had other ideas and with five minutes of the first period to go, lock, Adam Conway went over after a textbook display of ‘pick and go’ by the forwards.  Williams this time converted and despite a late successful penalty kick by Scouts Lutterworth looked well in control taking a twelve-point lead into the second half.

Although the visitors had no answers to the dominance of the Lutterworth pack, their three quarters looked potentially very dangerous and now with the wind at their backs they controlled the third quarter. A try aided by that old Lutterworth ‘Bette Noir’ of missed tackles and two converted penalties soon got them to within one point of the lead. Into what seemed to be the ever strengthening wind, twenty minutes to go and nothing in it the Lutterworth supporters’ desperate demented cries from behind their fingernail bitten hands at last seemed to wake up the team. Doing what they do best, the forwards refused to let Scouts anywhere near the ball and after phase on phase of hard driven yards Lutterworth were awarded a penalty some five metres out. The cries of ‘take the scrum’ must have been heard all the way back in the town centre. Scrummage, of course, they did and it was fitting that proceedings were brought to a close by Gregory going over again from the back of the push over.

Scoring:  5-0; 10-0; 15-0; 15-7; 22-7; 22-10, 22-15; 22-18; 22-21; 27-21.

 Team:                      Wilford      Riley   Stevens

                                         Conway    I.Johnson

                                 Deacon     Gregory       Randle       

                                          Court    Croucher

                               Daffern  Williams  Nolan  Ford

                                                 Hooper

Reps:   Faulds,  Bell, Stretton