Preseason Away to Birstall Match Report

The full men’s squad travelled to Birstall for their first preseason game with all players getting at least 20minutes to impress with wholesale changes every quarter. This led to quite an up-and-down display but with many ex-Colts stepping up to their first senior game and the boys getting their first real run out after a hard preseason, there was a lot gained. It should also be noted Birstall had recruited over the summer so were a vastly improved team from last season.

The first 20 minutes was scrappy with Birstall having majority of possession and almost all the territory. Little errors and an unstable set piece meant LRFC’s attacking opportunities were only single phase counter attacks. It was only when Birstall got another wide sweeping move that LRFC’s defence finally got breached as they scored out wide. This coincided with the first set of substitutions.

The performance did start to improve and LRFC finally got a few phases together in the Birstall 22 and converted this into a try for winger Pete Chennells. A real highlight of the first half was newcomer Jacob Abraham’s performance at 13, especially in attack as well as Fly Half Greg Biddle’s tenacity at the breakdown.

The third quarter saw little ex-Colt George Mulligan play his first senior game at scrum half and gave as good as he caught! Flankers Jake Rankin and Toby Williams both chopped everything that moved and centre Lorenzo Tinari scored LRFC’s second try after a good fast LRFC break down the left side. This quarter seemed to show LRFC’s fitness work in preseason had been beneficial.

The final quarter started on the same note but unfortunately Birstall’s first choice players seemed to reappear and ran hard down the middle which was not matched in defence. The final scored ended up 31-12 to Birstall.

The mood in the changing rooms after was not maybe that what would have been expected after a heavy loss - as the boys had seen this as an opportunity to play as a full squad and get some match fitness in a trial game before a full friendly next week and the season starting the week after.

The boys go back into training this week with everyone knowing the standard that needs to be reached now.