SPALDING VETS XV 44
LINCOLN IMPS XV 15
BY JOSEPH VERNEY
PHOTO CREDIT: PETER JUILIAN
Captain Jacob Taylor crossed for a hat-trick as a valiant Lincoln Imps XV battled hard in a 44-15 defeat in blustery conditions in Spalding.
Lincoln were hit with unavailability and injury and only travelled to south Lincolnshire with 10 players, but they played with a lot of heart and refused to give up for the whole 80 minutes.
Spalding showed great sportsmanship and lent Lincoln five players, including up and coming first team player Macauley Cane.
Spalding started strongly and opened the scoring when captain Justin Cole, along with his front row colleague Richard Stevenson, helped to push Harry Sharman over the line for a try.
Jason Chilvers and Ryan Chappel also scored tries for Spalding, while Lincoln’s only score of the first half came via Taylor. The Lincoln skipper took a quick tap penalty from 20 metres out before running through the opposition defence.
Lincoln lost Darren Rorie to injury within 10 minutes of the restart and had to play the remainder of the match with 14 men.
Spalding fly-half Richard Cooke scored the first two tries of the second half with break through runs, which were both converted by Rob Lucas.
Taylor scored a further two tries to complete his hat-trick as Lincoln continued to show great spirit and battle hard.
Excellent team pod work set up Taylor’s second try of the match, but it was his third that was arguably Lincoln’s best of the afternoon after a great team move.
An incredibly strong counter ruck from Liam Horsley and Caleb Coleman-Morley drove a very secure Spalding ruck backwards, with Sam Cave expertly hiding the ball from the opposition scrum-half.
This led to a pick and go from five metres out before Taylor ran through the Spalding defence for a try.
Spalding’s Harry Sharman also grabbed a hat-trick as he added a further two tries, which were assisted by Cole.
The final score of the afternoon was scored by Spalding’s Willie Haighton, who received an offload from Chappel before running from halfway for a great try.
POST MATCH COMMENTS
“Taking 10 boys to an away game is always hard, but they fought outstandingly in defence against a well-drilled Spalding side.
“Spalding deserve all the praise of our team for hosting us on such short notice, and providing the additional players that made the game so enjoyable.”
He added that Gary Cain deserved a special mention for his “outstanding defensive work”, as well as Caleb Coleman-Morley for “some huge running”.
Spalding captain Justin Cole said: “Lincoln put up a strong opposition assisted by one of Spalding’s up and coming first team players Macauley Crane. The game was played in a true rugby spirit.”
