Bowdon Win Away at Lymm in Cup Semi-Final

The opening ten minutes of the match gave little indication of what was to come, with the home side camped in Bowdon's half. Nerves were clearly evident, handling errors contributing to Bowdon's troubles in clearing their lines. But the visitor's pack then started to show they were the stronger unit, winning a scrum against the head, and counter rucking Lymm off their own ball. A fine run from Robbie Agnew took play into the home side's territory for the first time, and then quick recycling saw Harry Briscoe under the posts for a first score. A shell-shocked Lymm were clearly rattled, and conceded a second try almost straight from the re-start, this time Henry Collins finishing off a fine passing move.

The Bowdon pack continued to gain the upperhand, the winning of a scrum against the head leading to another score for Collins. Lymm did continue to attack, but could find no way through Bowdon's resolute defence, and when the inevitable turnover came Briscoe was on hand to score his second. With all conversions successfully kicked by Tom Peel, the visitors went into half time with a commanding 28-0 lead.

Into the second half, and any hopes Lymm had of mounting a comeback were quickly quashed, Agnew driving through the middle for his first try. The hosts continued to press thereafter, but were unable to threaten the try line,and were routinely knocked back by the intensity of the Bowdon defence. In contrast, the visitors finished clinically, further tries from Collins, Agnew and Will Nicholson causing the referee to end the game a full eight minutes early. A final in early May against Wirral-based Anselmians now awaits. If they can build on this performance, Bowdon will give themselves a great chance of success.