Macclesfield RUFC vs Luctonians RFC
Saturday 25th January 2025
Match Report by Alex Smith
Luctonians got back into their stride with a 17-36 bonus-point victory on the road at Macclesfield last weekend, having been through a tricky spell of form. Back-to-back losses either side of Christmas, followed by an underwhelming performance in a win over Devonport Services last time out had looked like their season may peter out, however the men from Mortimer Park showed a lot of resilience at a tough venue to demonstrate they are far from done this campaign.
On a sticky track, but in fine conditions, both sides felt each other out in the first quarter of the game before the Herefordshire visitors got on the scoreboard with a 40 metre penalty from scrum half Owen Randell to give Lucs a 0-3 lead after 19 minutes. This was the catalyst for both sides to begin exchanging scores freely and swapping the lead four times in the next 20 minutes.
It began with Macclesfield gaining successive penalties, kicking to the corner and from a powerful driving maul, hooker Oliver Longmore buried over for an unconverted score for 5-3. Lucs roared back with their own driving maul and it was lock Caleb Montgomery who dotted down, with Randell converting for 5-10 on 31 minutes.
Macclesfield’s scrum was getting the upper hand throughout the first period and these penalties allowed the hosts the field position to re-take the lead three minutes later, as openside flanker Harry Hughes crashed over following some strong carrying from the rest of his forward pack.
This time William Davies knocked over the extras and the hosts looked like they would hold a slender lead at the break. However the men from Kingsland had other ideas, and with the clock in the red, Macclesfield repelled another Luctonian driving maul, but Montgomery was able to break off the back and force his way over, with Randell again adding the conversion Lucs held a 12-17 lead at the half.
Lucs got the important score at the beginning of the second period. On 43 minutes after the forwards had battered away at the hosts’ line, the backs linked up to put winger Josh Watkins over for another converted try, stretching the lead to two-scores at 12-24.
That buffer allowed Lucs to soak up some pressure, get a yellow card to fly half Tom Jones, concede another forward dominated score on 48 minutes, from second row Harry Harding and still maintain the lead. And this lead was then extended on 57 minutes, just before Jones returned to the field, as winger Charlie Grimes charged down and recovered a clearing kick, to score Lucs’ fourth try and secure a 17-29 lead.
Macclesfield did not give up and really applied a lot of pressure to the Lucs defence, but the black and whites were up to the task, repelled the waves thrown at them and following an excellent turnover, Randell scooted down the touchline fully 50 metres before popping the ball to centre Rob Aikman, who went over for a score to break the home side’s spirit on 65 minutes and finish the contest.
Randell again knocked over the conversion to take his personal haul for the day to 11 points and whilst both side’s received yellow cards in the closing fifteen minutes when under respective spells of pressure, neither outfit troubled the scorers again, with a final score of 17-36.
Macclesfield remain in the bottom two of the division following the home loss, but are well in the fight to stay in the league, sitting just a couple of points from safety. Whilst Lucs will be well-pleased with a return to form that saw them capture their first win on the road since September. They look to maintain that momentum this weekend as they trip to Exeter University.
