BOSTON COLTS 31
LINCOLN COLTS 27
NLD COLTS GROUP 3
BY JOSEPH VERNEY
PHOTO CREDIT: TOM ROBERTSON
Stan Matthews crossed for a hat-trick of tries as a depleted Lincoln Colts side produced a performance full of character in a narrow 31-27 defeat at Boston on Friday night.
Kieron Fields and James Tomlinson each scored one try for the visitors, with the latter also successfully slotting over one conversion.
Lincoln went into the game with over 30 regular players unavailable and a squad of just 16, but what they lacked in numbers they more than made up for with heart and determination.
Boston put Lincoln under a lot of early pressure and, although the visitors did well to initially keep their opponents out, the home side eventually worked their way over for an unconverted try after 10 minutes.
Lincoln hit back and pushed up the middle through Finn Clements, who got held up. Matthews came back around the corner to get the ball from his teammate before dancing around six defenders to run in for a try to level the score.
After a good amount of possession in Boston’s 22, Lincoln moved the ball left to right with some excellent handling skills. The visitors then found an opening far out on the right wing to set up Fields to run in for a try.
The conversion was missed in very windy conditions as Lincoln took a narrow 10-5 lead going in at the break.
Boston levelled matters with an unconverted try early in the second half, but it didn’t take Lincoln long to regain their lead.
After being awarded a penalty just outside the 22, Lincoln opted for a scrum. Lincoln picked up the ball from the base and Matthews went on a loopy run before exchanging passes with Clements and running in for his second try of the evening.
Lincoln extended their lead after another good scrum move. The ball then went through the hands of the backs and Matthews ran down the middle to score a try and complete his hat-trick. Tomlinson added the extras to give Lincoln a 12-point lead.
Boston reduced the deficit soon after the kick-off, moving the ball well down the right-hand side of the pitch to set up a converted try.
Boston then used the wind to their advantage with a nice big kick. Lincoln competed well at the resulting lineout and managed to disrupt it, but Boston kept possession and moved the ball out to the wing.
After a battle on the try line, Boston managed to find some space with two passes out wide leading to a try. Boston added the conversion to edge in front by two points.
After a Lincoln knock-on and a good Boston scrum, the hosts crashed up the midfield. Lincoln defended well initially until Boston found a gap at the side of a breakdown to run 20 metres for a try.
Lincoln refused to give up and kept battling hard. After a couple of penalties in the opposition half, Boston knocked on near their own try line. From the resulting scrum, Lincoln moved the ball left and found space for Tomlinson to run in for a try.
It wasn’t enough to change the result, but Lincoln’s youngsters should be very proud of their performance.
POST MATCH COMMENT
After the match Lincoln's Director of Age Grade Rugby Chris Briggs said: “Lincoln travelled to Boston having 38 players not available for the Colts.
“Sixteen lads turned up and a sub got put on in the first half, so there were no more subs.
“They battled their hearts out and went in disappointed. This has got to be a turning point for Lincoln.
“The character they showed was amazing and they stayed in the fight right until the end, scoring tries toe-to-toe with Boston. It just fell a little bit short, but it was a very competitive game.”
