LINCOLN 3RD XV 47
LINCOLNSHIRE POLICE XV 12
BY TONY CLAYTON
A hot day at Longdales Park saw the great mix of youth and experience of Lincoln 3rd XV kick-off their season with a friendly against Lincolnshire Police.
This was a memorial game which began with a minute’s silence to remember Steve Powell, a former Lincoln player and Lincolnshire Police officer. It was also to remember Police Sergeant Graham Saville who recently died in the line of duty while bravely attempting to save a member of the public, and our thoughts are with his friends and colleagues.
The game began frantically with both sides making early handling errors while the players attempted to shake off the summer cobwebs.
On 10 minutes it was Lincolnshire Police who were first to string together a few passes, finding some space in the Lincoln defensive line. Ollie Jones then managed to drive back two defenders to scramble over the try line.
This was absolutely the wake-up call that Lincoln needed and they proceeded to score 47 unanswered points.
The first was from Aron Smith who collected a short pass from the base of a ruck and showed great determination to touch down at the base of the upright. Tyron Peachey added the conversion.
The second Lincoln try was set up by man-of-the-match Peachey, who was fed the ball by fly-half Henry Uings on the Lincoln 22 yard line. Peachey went on a mazy run before being tackled by the recovering Lincolnshire Police full-back just five metres short of the try line.
However, he was alert to the outstanding support provided by Louis Johnson, who received the ball from a Peachey pop pass off the ground and burst over for the try. Peachey added the extras.
Lincoln turned the ball over on the halfway line midway through the first half. Scrum-half Ryan Tinsley gave a short pass to Johnson on the charge, who was too strong and elusive to be stopped as he scored his second try, which Peachey converted.
If the previous tries were about speed and agility, the next was brute force and aggression. Another surging run from the Lincoln centre combination of Tom Ardon and Nathan Foster was supported by winger Sam Jones who drew a penalty for a high tackle on the Lincolnshire Police five metre line.
George Chirila took the ball with only one thing on his mind as he bulldozed his way through the defence to score a try out wide.
On the stroke of half-time, Lincoln flanker Chris Smith took the ball at pace from a ruck on the Lincolnshire Police 22 to score under the posts.
Peachey successfully slotted over the conversion to give Lincoln a 33-5 lead going in at the break.
Lincoln made changes at half-time which retained the momentum. Outside centre Michael Robinson was fed the ball from fly-half Luke Brodrick in the centre of the playing field and demonstrated blistering pace to outstrip the Lincolnshire Police defensive line and score under the posts. Brodrick added the extras.
Lincoln's final try was almost a carbon copy of the last as Robinson was again fed the ball in the centre of the field. This time, Lincolnshire Police were up to the task and brought him down on their 22-metre line.
Great support by Tinsley was rewarded as Robinson popped the ball from the ground, before his teammate at scrum-half rounded the full-back to score under the posts. Brodrick added the extras.
The heat was starting to take its toll on both sides. However, it was Lincolnshire Police who rallied late on and provided the final action of the game.
A strong drive from the pack drew in Lincoln's defence and left gaps that Lincolnshire Police were able to exploit. Liam Asquith drove into the tackle and appeared to drop the ball as he crossed the line when a try seemed inevitable.
However, the referee saw a defensive infringement in the act of scoring and awarded a penalty try to Lincolnshire Police.
After the match Lincoln's 3rd XV Manager Tony Clayton said: “It’s great to get the win and even better to see a crop of new players make the transition to senior rugby and integrating well with the older players.
"Some standout performances right across the squad with backs' pace and agility, mixing well with pack strength and cohesion; overall a really pleasing day.
"Huge kudos to Lincolnshire Police for the way they conducted themselves while never giving up. Great to hear that they have a number of fixtures arranged for this season and we would like to wish them well in their forthcoming UK Police cup fixtures.”
