The victorious Boston Buccaneers. Back row left to right - Ryan Cuthbertson, Chris Barrett, Nathan Speight, Lewis Wilson, John Hummel, Grant Laws, Sam Jewers, Archie Sawyer, and Tom Balderstone. Front row left to right - John Stanfield Snr, Cynyr Jones, George Baldwin, John Stanfield Jnr, Luke Whitby, and Harry Marks. | Photo: Mark Cleaver
Co-captain Lewis Wilson crossed for a brace of tries as Boston Buccaneers began their league season with a 30-16 victory away against rivals Nottingham Outlaws.
Wilson and his co-captain John Stanfield were said to have marshalled the team superbly in what was a difficult away battle, with coach Jim Dearing and manager Mark Cleaver having just 15 players available to choose from.
Archie Sawyer and Chris Barrett from Deepings RFC, and Lincoln’s Cynyr Jones, were given debuts for Boston in the RFL Midlands Merit League match.
Boston’s co-captain Lewis Wilson scored two tries against the Outlaws. | Photo: Mark Cleaver
Strong direct running from Lewis Wilson, Grant Laws and Ryan Cuthbertson soon had the home side on the back foot.
The halfback pairing of Harry Marks and Luke Whitby linked up well, with the latter hitting the line at speed and jinking his way over for a try, which Tom Balderstone converted.
The young Outlaws side put pressure on the Buccaneers line as they tried to get back into the game, but the Boston defence led by man-of-the-match Sam Jewers stood firm.
Boston’s man-of-the-match Sam Jewers organising the defence. | Photo: Mark Cleaver
Boston extended their lead when Sawyer handed off several defenders and sprinted 40 metres down the side line for a great try, which Balderstone converted.
The visitors continued to impress and mistakes from the Outlaws also helped to gift them great field position.
Marks whipped the ball out to centre John Hummel who cut inside the cover defence. Hummel then skilfully offloaded the ball to Balderstone, who outpaced the full-back to go over for a try in the corner which he also converted.
Boston’s John Hummel in action against Nottingham Outlaws. | Photo: Mark Cleaver
Boston full-back Cynyr Jones then created the perfect platform to launch another attack after a superb kick return. John Stanfield set up Wilson who ran a great line to score under the posts and Balderstone added the extras.
The lack of interchanges started to take its toll on the Buccaneers who showed signs of flagging. The home side’s pressure finally wore down the Boston defence and led to an unconverted try in the corner.
A mistake from the kick-off allowed the Outlaws to mount another attack close to the Buccaneers’ line. It wasn’t long before the Outlaws crossed for another unconverted try as Boston took a 24-8 lead in at the break.
Boston’s Luke Whitby passing to Archie Sawyer. | Photo: Mark Cleaver
Boston started the second half strongly and a good kick chase caught the Outlaws out on their own try line, forcing a kick from beneath the posts.
Quick ball from Stanfield and Whitby found loose forward Wilson on the charge and the defence couldn’t stop the skipper from scoring under the posts. Balderstone successfully slotted over the conversion.
Grant Laws, Cynyr Jones, Harry Marks, and Lewis Wilson all play rugby union for Lincoln RFC and rugby league for Boston Buccaneers. | Photo: Mark Cleaver
Boston began to show signs of fatigue in the closing stages of the game and the Outlaws were rewarded for a good period of pressure with two quick-fire tries.
The Buccaneers will return to league action with their first home match of the season against Sherwood Wolfhunt, which will take place at Boston Rugby Club on Saturday, May 21 (1.30pm kick-off).
Boston Buccaneers are coached by Jim Dearing (left) and managed by Mark Cleaver (right).
Meanwhile, new team Hykeham Rugby League will be playing their first match away against Sherwood Wolfhunt’s academy on June 11. The fixture will be followed by Sherwood’s first team fixture against Derby Elks.
Hykeham Rugby League hold their training sessions every Tuesday at 8pm at Rustons Sports and Social Club on Newark Road.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
An Ingoldmells caravan park will face a near 6% pitch price hike after council bosses approved the measures on Wednesday.
East Lindsey District Council’s executive board members voted unanimously in favour of the 5.8% increase in pitch fees from January 2023, which bosses said represented around 50% of the latest Retail Price Index (RPI) figures.
Councillor Richard Fry, executive member for finance, told members: “As a key measure inflation, using the all items RPI as a basis for uplift is reasonable and proportionate as RPI increases are often the minimum increase applied to the council’s own costs.”
He said that continuing early payment discounts as part of the price list “demonstrates the extent to whcih the council values its loyal licensee customers”.
Following a question from Councillor Adam Grist, he admitted that the council would be taking a net loss on its income when further inflation was taken into next yet.
However, he said: “We do have a loyal licensee base site, and bumping it up by virtually 12% in one shot, even though that is the figure that is currently being used [elsewhere] seems somewhat unreasonable.”
Caravan owners locked in a court battle with ELDC around new limits on the age of carvaans have previously said the price hike would only serve to discourage people from coming to the site.
Stuart Allen previously said many members were “surprised” by the move.
“The site is still only occupied around 50%, with a significant number of the vans on site being directly owned and operated by the council,” he said.
“Increasing the ground rent will further encourage people to leave and discourage people to buy onto the site.
“For multiple years the council refrained from applying any increase in site rent, since COVID and the loss of vans on the site we have had inflationary increases every year.”
Twenty new electric vehicle chargers will be installed in car parks across North Lincolnshire – giving drivers unprecedented access to clean, green energy.
The project, designed to create a future-proof network of charging infrastructure ahead of the global transition to electric vehicles, has been developed with £80,000 of Government cash.
Cllr Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “We know electric vehicles are the future of transport and, with Government cash, we have started the transition to ensure the infrastructure is in place to support the anticipated growth – clear evidence of levelling-up.
“And, at the same time as future-proofing North Lincolnshire for the global transition to electric vehicles, there is an immediate benefit to those people already driving electric vehicles.
“Many more drivers can now more conveniently charge their vehicles – and take advantage of the two hours free parking available across the area.”
Chargers in the Parishes car park, Scunthorpe, have already been installed and are now live. More are scheduled for Robert Street and Kings Street/Winterton Road car parks.
Others will follow through the summer in the car parks at Bottesford Road, Ashby; Old Courts, Brigg; Cottage Lane, Barton; Potts Lane, Crowle and Church Street, Epworth.
The council is exploring other technologies including solutions to enable access to charging points in communities where off-road parking spaces are at a premium.
Cllr David Rose, cabinet member for the environment, said: “This latest cash from Government will make a huge difference to way people travel across North Lincolnshire and further encourage the transition to electric vehicles.
“This latest project is a part of our Green Future environmental agenda – is at the forefront of everything we do, and this is a big step forward in making sustainable living accessible for everyone.
“This is a significant step-forward towards our ongoing commitment to protecting and enhancing our environment now and into the future.”
The chargers – which have been part-funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV)- are all fast, 22w charging points.
An RFID card is needed for access – go to the Swarco E-connect website, which also has tariff and availability details.
Whatsapp
