Lancashire 29 Yorkshire 28: match report by Mark Nelson
[Photo of Connor Wilkinson above courtesy of Glenn Hutton]
Lancashire Senior Mens XV have booked their place in the Bill Beaumont Cup Final against Kent at Twickenham next Sunday (28th May) with a thrilling and nail biting Roses victory against the old enemy Yorkshire at Sedgley Park.
The game was played in glorious weather in front of a sizeable crowd with both sides playing with ambition and commitment. The lead changed hands nine times and provided fine entertainment for all those in attendance.
Lancashire got off to a flying start with a 10 phase try in the 2nd minute by flanker Henry Higginson, converted by Fylde colleague fly half Greg Smith. The Lancashire 10 was to come out on top in the battle off the tee with his Yorkshire counterpart Eddie Crossland and this was a key factor in the victory for the Red Rose side.
Yorkshire hit back on 7mins with an unconverted try by Crosland and he added a penalty on 14 mins for a 7-8 lead which was immediately cancelled out by a Smith three pointer. On 25 minutes Crossland slotted a penalty which was again clawed back by Smith to make it 13-11 to Yorkshire. With ten minutes to the interval Yorkshire got a converted try by centre Lewis Minikin and he followed this up with his 2nd try seven mins later to open up a 13-23 advantage. On the stroke of half time Smith reduced it by three to make it Lancashire 16 Yorkshire 23 at the break .
Andy Hughes and Matt Ashcroft came into the fray for Lancashire and four minutes into the second half Fylde Centre Connor Wilkinson outstripped the Yorkshire midfield to reduce the lead to 23-21. Ten minutes later Smith’s boot from a penalty gave the Lancashire side a slender one point lead at 24-23.
Lancashire now played a smart territorial game forcing an ambitious White Rose outfit to attack from deep. However, Yorkshire eventually broke down a hard working defence with their forth try, by Sam Gaudie, to take a 28-24 lead in the 66th minute. Crucially, Crossland missed the extras and a grandstand finish beckoned.
Both sides rang the changes and one of the fresh legs on the Lancashire side, backrower Tane Bentley, took a great support line following a break by Connor Wilkinson to score a fine try on 72 minutes. Smith narrowly missed the conversion and the score was 29-28 going into the last 8 minutes.
Yorkshire now battled for field position to force a kickable penalty shot but the Lancastrians had enough discipline and nous to hold them at bay until a scrum was awarded with a minute to go. In the same fixture last year at the same stage of the game, the same referee, James O’Brien, awarded a scrum penalty which was slotted to give the Yorkies a win.
The Lancashire bench held its collective breath but there was no repeat as Mr O’Brien blew the final whistle. The players in white sunk to their knees, those in red and white punched the air. Lancashire had won 29-28 and earned the right to appear in their first final in five years.
It was a humdinger of a game and a fantastic advert for County Rugby. Whilst the professional game stumbles from crisis to crisis, the players, coaches, support teams and committee people, who all do this glorious County Championship for no payment, demonstrated that the soul of Rugby Union has taken refuge in the Shires and is alive and well.
Lancashire go forward to a final against Kent, a new opponent for the county at Twickenham although they did meet in 2002 home and away in another format of the Championship pool stages.
Click here for Gareth Lyon’s excellent album of photos.
Mark Nelson, Lancashire’s Squad Co-ordinator, said: “This was a tremendous performance by a talented, resilient and ambitious group of Lancastrian rugby players. The coaches led by Alex Loney have built a principle of play which has been bought into by the players under the outstanding captaincy of Danny Birchall. We have earned the right to contest the final next weekend based on three outstanding performances in the group and are relishing the challenge facing us at Twickers next Sunday.“
Lancashire’s Head Coach Alex Loney said: “The match today was always going to be a fine example of why the County Championship needs to remain a major part of English Rugby. It was a tight contest full of emotion and skill in which the match see-sawed in terms of the scoreboard. I am so proud of the Lancashire players returning a result where many outside of the playing and management group felt Yorkshire would be too strong based on results leading into this match.
“Yorkshire didn’t disappoint; they had threats all over the pitch and deservedly scored points that put them in a position to win. We knew their quality before the match and full credit to their players on a hot day at Sedgley Park.
“However, Lancashire certainly had plenty of positive moments in the match with line breaks, field position and forcing pressure through penalty offences. On reflection, the spirit the players showed when points down before half time really set up the victory and then we were accurate enough to take our chances in the 2nd half.
“Getting to a Twickenham final is special, especially as it’s been five years since the last time were there. Winning our regional group is a fantastic achievement, but getting to finals is about performing and getting the win. We will enjoy the build up this week and I am in no doubt the players will be excited to be involved in another showcase match at the home of rugby.”
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Lancashire: 15 Jacob Browne; 14 Henry Hadfield, 13 Connor Wilkinson, 12 Sam Russell (Scott Rawlings 55), 11 Tom Grimes; 10 Greg Smith, 9 Ben Gould; 1 Danny Birchall (c), 2 Ben Godfrey, 3 Dan Rylance (Matt Ashcroft 39, Dan Rylance 69), 4 Olli Parkinson, 5 Rhys Davies (Toby Harrison 69), 6 Toby Harrison (Valu Tane Bentley 64), 7 Henry Higginson (Andy Hughes 40), 8 David Fairbrother.
Non-playing replacements: 17 Corey Bowker, 20 Scott Richardson, 21 Will Hunt.
Yorkshire: 15 Ben Magee; 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Lewis Minikin, 12 Ali Heard, 11 Oscar Canny; 10 Eddie Crossland, 9 Sam Pocklington; 1 Loma Kivalu, 2 Ali Forth, 3 Will Scholey, 4 Joe Makin (c), 5 Sam Brady, 6 Rob Baldwin, 7 Lewis Bradley, 8 George Mewburn.
16 Tom Bairstow, 17 Ethan Thiart, 18 Andrew Malthouse, 19 Tom Collins, 20 Maddison Hunting, 21 Jacob Mounsey, 22 Sam Gaudie.