Yorkshire 33 v Lancashire 31: match report by Simon Taylor
Lancashire were edged out by their old foes Yorkshire in a thrilling and high-quality War of The Roses classic at West Park Leeds on Saturday. A titanic tussle that saw the lead change hands several times was ultimately settled by an 80th minute penalty for the home side. In glorious sunshine and in fine surroundings the spectators were treated to an excellent game, Lancashire edging the try count five to four but left to rue a slow start and the late call on a scrummage offence.
Despite excellent pre-match preparation Lancashire were caught cold and flat-footed in defence in the first minute. Yorkshire re-gathered their own kick off and slid a kick in behind the Lancashire back line, Lewis Minikin running through to touch down and open the scoring with an unconverted try. Lancashire hauled themselves into the game with scrum half Matt Sturgess taking a quick tap penalty and creating a two on one only for the final pass to be knocked on, and from the resulting scrum a tremendous kick from their own 22 all the way into the Lancashire one gave Yorkshire the line out throw. This led to a penalty which Minikin kicked to give the home team an 8-0 lead.
Back came Lancashire with a strong front row of Pete Altham, Ben Gregory, and Simon Griffiths providing a stable set-piece to work from. John Blanchard and Matt Gallagher when they were called on from the bench were highly capable replacements. Second rows Olli Parkinson, Bob Birtwell and Matt Garrod when called on ensured quick line-out ball was available. The front five along with the back row of Toby Harrison, Mark Goodman, Harlan Corrie and Matt Lamprey from the bench were all dynamic ball carrying options and robust in their defensive duties.
Scrum half Matt Sturgess has had a stand-out season with Fylde and has shown he can step up a level in the County games. Veteran stand-off and Captain for the day Chris Johnson was, as ever, directing traffic and probing for any sign of weakness in the Yorkshire defence so he could utilise his strike runners Matt Riley and Ollie Glasse in the centres, Henry Hadfield and Rhys Henderson on the wings and Sam Carleton at full-back. Replacements Gregg Smith, Sam Stott and Jordan Dorrington on the bench showed the strength in depth the Lancashire coaching staff of Mark Nelson, Warren Spragg, Paul Arnold, Alex Loney and Steve Briers had at their disposal.
On 13 minutes Lancashire unlocked the White Rose defence for the first time when quick hands through Olli Parkinson and Henry Hadfield saw a third Fylde player Sam Carlton put in space wide out on the right. Carleton’s pace took him to the line and he forced his way through the cover defence to touch down and get Lancashire on the scoreboard at 8-5. A Minikin penalty saw Yorkshire move ahead 11-5 before a series of penalties saw Lancashire camp out in the opposition 22. From the last of these a catch and drive line-out was executed perfectly allowing Ben Gregory to be smuggled over for the try. Johnson’s excellent conversion from wide out saw Lancashire take a narrow lead for the first time at 12-11 on 26 minutes.
On the half hour Lancashire fell behind again in very unfortunate circumstances. With the penalty advantage being played replacement number 8 Matt Lamprey set off on a bullocking run into the Yorkshire 22 only for a supporting player to illegally clear out at the breakdown. This reversed the penalty and Yorkshire kicked to the Lancashire 10-yard line. The Yorkshire throw in went astray over the tail of the line-out but as Lancashire looked to swoop the cruel bounce of the ball fell for a Yorkshire player to take advantage of a now fractured defensive line and put scrum half Will Hardwick in under the posts. Minikin converted and Yorkshire were back in front at 18-12.
Lancashire again responded and it was the right wing that was proving to be a rich source of opportunity for them. Great hands under pressure from Matt Riley put Henry Hadfield into space on the halfway line and he flew into the corner for a well worked try. The touchline kick was missed but Lancashire were back at 18-17 with just a minute left to the break. Sadly, that minute was enough time for Yorkshire to score again as Lancashire made a hash of the re-start and gifted Yorkshire a penalty. They kicked to touch and whilst tremendous defence repelled a series of big ball carriers battering away at the line the home team kept coming and George Mewburn was able to force his way for the try. Minikin converted and a fiercely contested first stanza ended with Yorkshire ahead 25-17.
Lancashire’s coaching staff got to work during the break and they came out of the sheds for the second half with a noticeable uplift in their tempo, focus and accuracy. Half time changes saw Matt Gallagher and Jordan Dorrington on for Ben Gregory and Sam Carleton and Lancashire set about their task with purpose from the kick off. They controlled possession and upped the pace to a level that stretched the Yorkshire defensive structures. On 43 minutes this allowed Matt Sturgess to snipe from the breakdown and feed the supporting debutant Ollie Glasse who raced in for the try. Johnson converted and Lancashire were again just a point in arrears at 25-24.
On the hour mark Lancashire forced their way back in front. An excellent midfield break from the strong running Sam Stott put the home defence on the back foot and when the ball was recycled a lovely long miss pass put winger Rhys Henderson in the clear for a run-in try, converted by Johnson, meaning Lancashire took the lead again at 31-25.
Chris Johnson then made way for Greg Smith at stand-off and both teams were having their say in the parry and thrust of battle. Yorkshire were looking to dominate things up front and keep the contest tighter whilst Lancashire looked to move the ball at pace and from deep whenever they could. As the second half wore on Yorkshire started to turn the screw in the almighty arm wrestle for possession and territory, and Lancashire were finding it harder to get out of their half and get that crucial score that would give them some breathing space. Committed and fierce defence kept the home team at bay time and again but penalties and the catch and drive line out strategy finally paid dividends on 75 minutes with second row Sam Brady the try scorer. Minikin’s conversion was wide meaning Lancashire kept the lead but at 31-30 it could not have been narrower.
The last 5 minutes were understandably a tense and nervous affair, both teams knowing any errors or penalties conceded could be crucial. Minikin failed with a penalty attempt from the halfway line but he was to be given one last chance. Lancashire had shown ambition to run all day but an error in the offload wide on the left on their own 22 gave the scrum feed to Yorkshire. The scrummage had been even all day with few if any penalties at the set-piece. Lancashire looked to have disrupted the home scrum who were retreating but as the scrum broke down the decision went against Lancashire, who were deemed to be not driving straight. Minikin stepped up and this time found his range to edge Yorkshire back in front at 33-31. With barely enough time left to re-start Lancashire knew they needed to get the ball back quickly. Unfortunately, the decision went against them again as they conceded a penalty in their attempts to do so. Yorkshire kicked to touch and the final whistle went giving the White Roses the bragging rights.
It was a cruel way for the game to end but both teams should be commended for a high-quality game which shows the very valid and meaningful value of the County Championship. Lancashire Coaching Executive Mark Nelson said, “We knew at the outset of the Competition getting to the final was going to be a tough ask. We set an ambitious challenge to our coaching group and the players based around the tagline ‘tries are king’. I feel our ambition could not be faulted throughout the tournament and everyone concerned in both games gave it their utmost. This was personified over at Leeds in the Roses game where we threw everything at Yorkshire in an attempt to gain the victory and improve our points difference in the process. It was galling to lose what was a very hard-fought and well contested game with the penalty right at the end, but you have to accept these things, and taking all the positives I was very proud of the performance and the shift the lads put in.”
Lancashire Team: Sam Carleton, Henry Hadfield (both Fylde), Ollie Glasse, Matt Riley, Rhys Henderson (all Sedgley Park), Chris Johnson (Captain, Sale FC/Heath), Matt Sturgess (Fylde), Simon Griffiths (Sale FC), Ben Gregory (Fylde), Pete Altham (Preston GH), Bob Birtwell (Sedgley Park), Olli Parkinson, Harlan Corrie (both Fylde), Toby Harrison (Preston GH), Mark Goodman (Sedgley Park)
Replacements: John Blanchard, Matt Gallagher (both Sedgley Park), Matt Garrod (Fylde), Matt Lamprey (Preston GH), Greg Smith (Fylde), Sam Stott, Jordan Dorrington (both Preston GH).
Photos of Fylde players courtesy of Gill Burns & Lancashire RFU colleagues.
