Lichfield RUFC took advantage of the fabulous condition of the Cooke Fields pitch to produce a display of running rugby and secure a 62-14 win over Northwich.
Within minutes of the start the hosts had found their rhythm and phase after phase saw the visitors concede a penalty in front of their posts. Greg Massey calmly slotted the kick.
Well taken kick-offs were a theme for the day and Lichfield’s instantly saw them make inroads into the Northwich half.
With the visitors trying to play out and the home defence well organised, a set piece lineout saw Tom Adams break the line to find Ollie Winter on his inside shoulder to score under the posts. Massey converted to give his side a ten point lead.
It was Northwich who scored one of the tries of the match in response. A blind side break saw them offload several times out of contact, before a neat cross field kick was gathered to be offloaded to supporting runners to muscle over the line.
This rallied Lichfield and for 25 minutes they put their guests to the sword. Paul Maxwell-Keys, Rich Burton, Dan Rowlands and Brad Rowlands found their way over the try line in what was a dominant display.
The second half started very much in the same way. The home defence tightened up and Northwich struggled to find any let up.
Lichfield played patient rugby, though they were guilty of wasting opportunities. Both forwards and backs interlinked well and for every line break there was a supporter on hand.
With injuries occurring, players were shuffled around and reacted fantastically. Greg Massey, Will Cotterhill and Paul Maxwell-Keys all crossed the try line to take Lichfield’s tally to 62 points.
It was Northwich who had the final say, with the rarest of visits to the home half. Some careless penalties allowed them to play intense direct rugby, before another quick tap from five metres saw them scamper over the line, just beating the inside defender.
Lichfield are looking to end the season as they started and with every game worth an important five points, they turn their attention to Camp Hill this Saturday (March 16).
Lichfield: Craddock, Albutt, Bassett (c), Thompson, Taylor, Winter, Milner, Burton; W Cotterhill, L Massey, B Rowlands, Maxwell-Keys, Adams, D Rowlands, G Massey. Subs: McDonough, Abel and Lote.
