Luton leave it late to share the points

‘Onwards and upwards’ said Director of rugby Paul Allen after a game, that saw his side get off to the best start possible as Bedford Blues bound Steve Ellis scored a try in only the first minute, after intercepting the ball from kick-off and bamboozled the Romford team with a mazy run. They increased their margin to seven, via the boot of Rick Hobbs, whose kicks were to play a major role in the afternoon’s proceedings.

After a tetchy opening period where both sets of players looked to get the upper hand, the game started to flow a little bit more. Obstruction from a running ball by a Luton player enabled the visitors to gain an advantage in the hosts’ territory, where they won a line-out, and the Romford number four Matt Catchpole slammed home a try. The ensuing conversion tied the game at 7 each, in the twelfth minute.

Moments later, the home side took the lead through another penalty by Hobbs. As the first half wore on, a number of players were treading a thin line, as the referee had to stop play on more than one occasion to calm the players. After half an hour of pulsating action, Romford sensed the anxiety of the home side and within a matter of minutes they seized control of the tie through Ben Lawrence’s try and a conversion kick.

Lutonians did not buckle under the relentless pressure from the visitors, as a Rick Hobbs penalty narrowed the deficit down to a point. Two minutes before the interval, Romford’s number seventeen was sent to the sin-bin, stemming from a high tackle on Luton’s number four. Hobbs then gave the home side the advantage with another trade mark penalty. Unfortunately the Lutonians were unable to hold onto the lead, and Ben Lawrence scored a penalty for his side, thus ensuring the visitors went into the break, leading with the narrowest of margins (16-17).

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with players sending sloppy passes and more rucks and line-outs being the order of the opening ten minutes. Unfortunately the home side did not learn from their mistakes in the first half, as Romford’s number five was allowed acres of space to run through the invisible defence. Ben Lawrence's conversion gave the visitors the lead to make it 24-16.
Substitutions were the theme in the 60th minute as both sides looked to freshen up their squads.

Amidst all the flurry of changes and water-breaks interrupting play, Rick Hobbs managed to score a penalty after a foul on Luton’s number thirteen. From then on, play from both sides was rather uneventful, as the substitute’s settled into the game. In the 38th minute, Luton’s Chris Davis gave the home side something to cheer about, as he slammed home the game-tying try after a brilliant passage of play. Unfortunately, Hobbs could not apply his magical touch as his kick cannoned off the post.

In the final minute, Luton were again awarded a penalty following a needless foul, but Hobbs’s long range kick landed wide of the posts. So honours even.

Following the conclusion of the game, Luton's Director of Rugby. Paul Allen said that ‘Romford dominated us physically which is pretty disappointing, considering the fact that we came with a plan, but this was a good test for the games ahead’.

To see a gallery of match photographs go to the Ian Nancollas Photography Flickr site.

Nigel Makale
LRFC Match Reporter