Game drifts away from Cheshire after officials make close call

May 12 2008 by Staff Copytaker, Liverpool Daily Post

LANCASHIRE’S efforts to regain the County Championship they have won four times in the last six years could hardly have been more complicated than it was at New Brighton on Saturday.

Not only did it take Steve Nutt’s final kick of the match to clinch victory, but it was an extremely doubtful decision over the former Waterloo full-back’s conversion of a try by centre Richard Kenyon after 22 minutes that even made that result possible.

Several people who were directly behind the kicker were quite sure the ball drifted wide at the last moment.

But the touch judges ruled that it didn’t and gave Lancashire the two points that ultimately helped to decide the final result. Just to emphasise the unusual feel of the whole afternoon, try scorer Kenyon wore the number 13 jersey and when it was all over, the team discovered that main rivals Yorkshire, whom they are due to meet next Saturday, had managed to lose to Warwickshire.

Equally surprisingly, Lancashire’s forwards were outplayed for the second game in a row, winning only a third of possession and generally finding themselves on their back feet.

They should have Seb Moss back again on Saturday, but they really do need to work hard on gaining good possession so that some very useful backs can play their part.

Cheshire had an excellent fly-half in Tom Eaton from Stockport, and a good full-back in Manchester’s Ben Coulbeck, but it was their pack who enabled them to dominate so much of the game, with Matt Holt (Caldy), Jonathan Keep from Manchester and skipper Jon Sewell from Birkenhead Park all doing very well.

Nutt and Eaton both landed early penalties before Simpson touched down for a Cheshire try that Eaton converted, Kenyon following with the interception that enabled Nutt to equalise.

Lancashire lock Louis McGowan was sin-binned just before the interval, something that helped Cheshire go ahead again with a try that was not improved, before both Nutt and Eaton added further penalties.

Winger Oliver Brennand put Lancashire in front for the first time with a fine try that Nutt improved, but a long penalty from Eaton regained Cheshire’s lead, which was wiped out with Nutt’s final kick of the match.