THE top of the table clash between Lichfield and Dronfield did not fail to deliver in terms of high quality rugby with the result in question right to the end.
The win for the city side takes them to top place, but they will be keen to ensure the victory is a building block rather than a season-defining performance.
The opening quarter was a cagey affair and both sides seemed to be paying respect to one another with defences on top.
Jake Steade, the Dronfield captain, pulled a straight penalty wide after 15 minutes of neutrality.
The opening try was pure simplicity after 20 minutes when Ditch Burton – who was the main ball carrier on the pitch for Lichfield – picked up at the base of a ruck five metres out and jogged over with no one in front of him. Kai Lucas-Dumolo added the first of his two conversions to give the home side a 7-0 advantage.
This remained the state of play for another 15 minutes with neither side able to build pressure nor unlock some determined defence.
With 35 minutes on the clock Lichfield were awarded a penalty on the 22 right in front. In such a tight game Lucas-Dumolo rightly slotted over the kick.
The ten point lead only lasted five minutes though with Dronfield scoring a try under the posts through Steade, which he converted, right on half-time. That attack did not seem to be going anywhere, but fly half Andrew Hodgson, who found himself as the outside attacker, slipped a clever ball inside to his captain, who found his way to the sticks untouched.
The second half started in a similar fashion with scoring opportunities rare. Slowly but surely Lichfield began to dominate the game in terms of possession and territory. Breaks started to appear in the Dronfield rearguard, their scrambling defence was excellent to prevent further tries – some of the passing was also not as secure as it should have been.
Just as it seemed that the Myrtle Greens would eventually score, it was their opponents who took the lead with 15 minutes to go. Scrum half Michael Reynolds did a simple run round move on halfway and suddenly his team was away down the right flank for wing Reika Mahmid to score near the corner. Steade converted.
The Lichfield response was positive with more penalties coming their way as pressure mounted again.
Sam Benson and Josh Butler had come on early in the second half and their efforts added zip to their side’s back play and a Butler penalty to touch was perfect five metres out. The line out was a quick one and Rory Davis was driven over.
At 15-14, a rip-roaring ending was expected, but Lichfield had the game under control when it mattered.
With three minutes to go everything was put to bed as Burton, from a scrum 15 metres out, sucked in the initial defenders before one more pass allowed Paul Maxwell-Keys to force his way over for the final converted try and a deserved victory.
