Rugby Report: Lincoln gain losing bonus point on the road

Lincoln’s 1st XV were forced to settle for a losing bonus point in a battling 24-17 defeat in very windy conditions at Ilkeston.

The home side opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes when missed tackles allowed Charlie Clarke to run in for a try, which was converted by Harry Walton.

Lincoln hit back after impressive work from a maul saw prop David Beveridge power over for an unconverted try.

Ilkeston crossed for two tries through Tom Pottinger to move further in front before Lincoln’s Grant Cowe scored a try for the fifth successive match, reducing the deficit to 19-10 going in at the break.

Lincoln cut the gap to just two points when constant pressure in the opposition 22, and great forward carries, set up Matt Keeton who charged his way over for a try. Jack Noquet then successfully slotted over the conversion.

Ilkeston made use of an overlap as Liam Gavin crossed for a try to ensure a win for the Derbyshire side, but Lincoln hung on to at least secure a losing bonus point.

After the match Lincoln’s 1st XV captain Lewis Wilson said: “It was a tough day at the office. We didn’t execute well enough and play the conditions.

“We will take the positives and negatives and build on them in training and we will go again next week.”

Captain Jacob Taylor crossed for a hat-trick as a valiant Lincoln Imps XV battled hard in a 44-15 defeat in blustery conditions against a Spalding Vets XV.

The Lincoln skipper scored his first try after running through the defence from a quick tap penalty, before adding a second from excellent team pod work.

Taylor’s third try was arguably Lincoln’s best and came from an incredibly strong counter ruck from Liam Horsley and Caleb Coleman-Morley.

They drove a very secure Spalding ruck backwards, with Sam Cave expertly hiding the ball from the opposition scrum half, before Taylor ran through the defence to score.

Harry Sharman grab a hat-trick of tries for Spalding, while fly-half Richard Cooke scored two.

Jason Chilvers, Ryan Chappel, and Willie Haighton also scored tries for Spalding, while Rob Lucas kicked two conversions.

Lincoln played with great spirit and refused to give up for the whole 80 minutes, despite travelling with just 10 players due to injury and unavailability, and having to borrow five players from the opposition.

Other Results

In the Midlands Premier, Scunthorpe returned to winning ways with a 14-10 home win against promotion rivals Sheffield.

Ollie Cole and Al Fagan scored the tries for Scunthorpe, with Tom Alldridge kicking two conversions.

Scunthorpe Ladies were also in league action with a 19-7 home win against Doncaster in the Women’s NC 2 North (East).

Scunthorpe captain Becky Clark was initially stranded in Edinburgh and missed the first half. She managed to arrive at the game ready for the start of the second half and, with her first touch of the ball, she scored a try.

Cassie Milestone scored two tries for Scunthorpe, including a fantastic solo effort, while Jazz Cark kicked two conversions.

In Midlands Two East (North), Market Rasen & Louth’s trip to Ashbourne was postponed due to snow in Derbyshire and has been rescheduled for January 22, 2022.

Stamford secured a losing bonus point after a 26-24 defeat away against Wellingborough in Midlands Two East (South).

Harry Ayton, Jack Jones, Gareth Ramsden and Tristan Small scored the tries for Stamford, with Iain Downer kicking two conversions.

In Midlands Three East (North), Joe Raddings, Dan Turner, Adam Draper and Martyn Parker all scored tries as Kesteven bounced back to winning ways with a 24-17 win at Ashfield.

Matt Grinny kicked two conversions for the visitors, while Gav Purvis was named as Kesteven’s man-of-the-match. Joe Dickinson and Arran Ward-Worley enjoyed successful first team debuts for Kesteven.

Josh Cook scored his side’s only try of the match as Boston lost 26-10 at Birstall.

Wayne Harley kicked the conversion and one penalty in what proved to be a tough game for Boston.

Grimsby’s 1st XV endured a frustrating afternoon when their trip to Bakewell was called off by the opposition while the visitors were on their way to the game.

Grimsby’s 2nd XV were in action though as four tries from Morgan Gant helped them to a 37-15 win against touring side Aylestone Athletic.

Jon Overton, Tom Brocklebank and Billy Stainton also scored tries for Grimsby, with Gant adding one conversion.

In Midlands Three East (South), second-placed Bourne were awarded a home walkover against Queens.

Due to a high number of injuries Spalding were left with no choice but to concede their away match against league leaders Stockwood Park.

In Midlands Four East (North), Ben Watson grabbed a hat-trick of tries as league leaders Gainsborough won 41-0 in the top of the table clash against second-placed Ollerton.

Jordan Beresford, Martin Rice, Jordan Holden and Daniel Chadwick also scored tries for Gainsborough, with Tudor Roberts kicking three conversions.

One of the stand-out tries from Gainsborough came when Jono Day stole a lineout and set up Harry Beresford, who went on a 50 yard run through the defence. He handed off five players before offloading the ball for Rice to go over for a try.

Captain Daniel Mackie scored two tries and kicked four conversions as Sleaford claimed an impressive 48-0 victory away against Worksop.

Joe Jones, Dave Titmus, Adam Loveday, Alex Schofield, Jack Osbourne, and Dan Jones also scored tries for Sleaford.

Deepings’ trip to Brackley was called off in Midlands Four East (South).

Luke Thornton scored two tries as Cleethorpes’ 2nd XV secured a narrow 10-0 win away against Skegness.

Skegness battled hard throughout and were helped by the addition of three players from Kesteven – Ash Austin, Neil Roberts, and Skegness-born Sean Cummings.