Luctonians get the better of the Bees in a game of two halves

Bees fans, further bolstered by the welcome return of the away game minibus, travelled to Leominster on Saturday in good spirits, following the previous week’s heartening home win against Otley.

Luctonians “did the double” over the Bees last season and Eugene Martin’s men were keen to put right both the 39-5 drubbing in the rain at Mortimer Park last November and the last gasp 21-22 defeat at Portway in April.

The Bees always know that they are in for a tough game when they play a side coached by ex Bee Alex Davidson, but they knew they had the ability to dent Luctonians 100% record to date.

The first half was a cagey affair, with neither side able to break down each other’s solid defence. Indeed it wasn’t until the 24th minute that the first kickable penalty was awarded - Adam Canning stroked the ball sweetly over the posts from 40 metres out to give the Bees a 0-3 lead.

Penalties in front of the posts at either end – firstly from Lucts fly half Will Burton and then from Adam Canning brought the half to a close at 3-6 to Bees. Both sides had shown plenty of industry in the first period, although both would have been disappointed with the number of handling errors, particularly in the near perfect playing conditions.

The Hereford side’s half time team talk must have been effective because 4 minutes in from the re-start, Lucts left wing Alex Rumsey finished off a nice move in the left hand corner to give the home side an 8-6 lead, with Will Burton failing to add the conversion.

Lucts dominance continued and four minutes later Rumsey was denied a second try only by a marginally forward pass. Bees rang the changes upfront with Jonah Boyce replacing the evergreen Matt Long, with Lucts also bringing on another familiar face in the shape of ex Bee Adam Clayton at No.8.

But if was referee Nick Williams who was to be centre of attention on the 12 minute mark, as he was laid out following an accidental clash was several forwards. With both referee’s assistants seemingly unwilling to take over the whistle, a very groggy Mr Williams continued.

In the short term this was probably good news for the Bees as Canning was lucky to avoid a yellow card following a retaliatory dig at the pugnacious Clayton, although John Morris slotted the resulting penalty to extend Lucts lead to 11-6.

The visitors rallied and an excellent 10 minute spell saw the Bees score 9 points – all from the boot of Canning (one penalty and two drop goals) to give the visitors a 14-15 lead, with a penalty from Morris keeping the game on a knife edge.

However, the home side had other ideas and an impressive rolling maul led to a penalty. A tetchinesss that had been bubbling away since the start of the second half boiled over into a full blown fracas, with Boyce and Lucts No.8 Hulland shown yellow.

Lucts opted for a line out and a second rolling maul led to a try for the home side and further “handbags”. Although Morris failed to slot the conversion, Lucts now led by 19-15.

Bees never managed to seriously threaten the opposition’s line in the last 10 minutes, with Morris kicking a final penalty on the 40 minute mark to seal a 22-15 victory.

A losing bonus point was small consolation from a game that the Bees could well have won, with Will Radburn’s men more than a match up front to a well drilled Lucts outfit.

They could also be forgiven for thinking that concussion was not conducive to effective refereeing.

However it was in the backs where the home side always looked more dangerous with the ball and no doubt this will be an area of particular focus for the performance squad this week, as they prepare for the forthcoming home game against high flying Darlington Mowden Park.