– Thomas Belli contributed to this report.
Lincoln 2nd XV brushed aside league opponents Aston 2nd XV, as they stormed to a 0-46 victory.
Lincoln 2nd XV travelled away to Aston in the hope of putting the previous week’s defeat behind them, and the players couldn’t have asked for better playing conditions.
It was the visitors who imposed themselves early on, highlighted straight away by Lincoln leaping to steal the initial kick off. But, with a strong team out, Lincoln looked more like the home side for the early duration of the game, playing comfortably and looking very threatening.
They nearly made it count when a quickly taken penalty in Aston’s 22 was popped to second row, Rob Anthony. He charged to the line and reached out with a stretch of the arm for what should have been a certain five points but the ball slipped in the act, much to the dismay of the visitors.
Further pressure came minutes later when Lincoln worked Aston’s defence with well executed scrum moves, allowing Dan Robinson to feed a well weighted kick in behind the home side, nearly setting up fullback James Cowell.
Clearly all of Lincoln’s back three had scoring at the forefront of their mind, as young winger, Jordan Foster proved to be a very tricky customer, coming close to his first university try.
Steadily, Aston managed to wake up as the game progressed; making a couple of ventures into Lincoln’s half, assisted by a succession of penalties in their favour.
But it was short lived as Lincoln worked their way back in to point-scoring territory, earning themselves a penalty in front of the sticks, which was calmly slotted over by Dan Robinson.
It seemed like things had clicked into place for Lincoln, as within quick succession they scored two tries of very different calibres. The first highlighting the back’s pace and slick interchange of hands, allowing Alex Tilbury to blaze down the wing.
The second came from substitute forward, Joe Cook, crashing through a series of weak tackles to touch down. With both tries converted, it left the half time score at 17-0.
Lincoln started the second half as they had finished the first, intensity gaining them instant territory.
It was a training ground replica that got Lincoln their next score; a clean lineout ball formed a driving maul and as they marched towards the line. Rob Anthony peeled away to score, making up for the near miss earlier.
It wasn’t just Lincoln’s attack that was stepping up, but their defence was also on form as they were eager to finish the game with a clean sheet. Aston’s kicker put them close to the try line on numerous occasions, but fierce hits from the likes of Rob Darcy and Guy Wright kept the home side at bay.
Chances kept coming for Lincoln and they were ruthless with them. Second row, Joe Cook managed to get on the scoreboard for a second time, when he ghosted through the Aston defence, much to his own surprise.
It was Dan Robinson that was at the heart of many of Lincoln’s attacks and, from a sharp turnover in their own half, the backs were able to spin the ball out to him on the wing. Enthusiastic to boost his tally for the day, he raced down the touchline, burning past his opposition to score under the posts.
Simply converting it himself, he not only stamped his ownership on the man of the match award, but also pushed Lincoln further ahead to 0-34.
Unfortunately for the home side they were limited to only their 15 members on the pitch, whilst Lincoln boasted a full complement on the bench. With fresh legs added, Lincoln was able to score again through replacement Sam Brewer.
Finally, Josh Casbon marked his captain’s seal of approval on the game. With the final conversion from Sam Strickson signalling the final whistle, it left the 2nd XV celebrating, as their league performances seem to grow from strength to strength.
The final score was Aston 0-46 Lincoln.