Lymm 36, Preston Grasshoppers 41: Hoppers edge entertaining contest

Since then the Cheshire side had recorded a run of six straight wins until their encounter with league leaders Otley last week.

Despite the arctic blizzard which cancelled all the games at Lightfoot Lane, the weather was clear, cold and spring-like as the game kicked off.

From the start it was obvious that Lymm’s backs were a very strong unit and they struck first after 10 minutes.

Hoppers lacked intensity in the first half and a combination of missed tackles and poor handling saw them 17-10 down at half time.

However, in a rerun of last week’s game against Blackburn, head coach Paul Arnold’s message at the break turned the team into a much more impressive unit and within four minutes of the restart they had scored two tries to take the lead.

From then the game became an entertaining watch for those brave enough to face the bitter cold as it became a case of the teams almost matching each other try for try when Lymm pulled level only for Hoppers to score two tries and regain the lead.

When a yellow card was shown to Preston’s Harrison for a high tackle the home side pressed their advantage, replying with another, unconverted score only to see their visitors cross the line again with just 10 minutes of the match left and, despite scoring the final try themselves, Lymm finished the match losing 36-41.

Tries for Grasshoppers came from captain Chris Taylor, Sam Stott, BenDorrington, Matt Lamprey, Toby Harrison and Will Clapham, with Fly Half Alex Ward converting four and kicking a penalty to give them the victory.

Arnold was happy with the result: “We lacked urgency in the first half and I had a quiet word with them at half time. They reacted in the second half and were much better but if they start like that next week we will be struggling.

“Having said that, I think that knowing they are facing Otley next week will give them that bit of a boost to play as they know they can.”

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