There are not many times you score five tries in a game and don’t win but we can now add it to the long list of experiences from this season. We led at half-time and then again with 10 minutes to go but two scores in the closing stages clinched the points for the visitors.

Once again the coaches were left having to re-jig personnel prior to kick-off. Craig Swales came in on the wing with Luke Mallinson switching to full-back and Bucks skipper Martin Todd again answering the call to take up a spot on the bench.

The visitors dominated the opening 10 minutes and quickly raced to a 12-0 lead thanks to a try in the left corner after a simple overlap and rolling maul from a 5 metre lineout. Their offloading game was working well and having arrived with a reputation for running rugby it was starting to look like being a long afternoon.

But, having ridden the early onslaught, we battled back. Tom Armstrong crossed for our first try on 13 minutes, a lovely long pass from Stu Waites allowing the winger to take advantage of space up the right flank. That was followed in the 21st minute with a Jon Boatman try, the number eight picking up from the back of an advancing scrum and diving over the line. Waites conversion levelled the scores and the game suddenly looked very different.

We continued to look the more likely side to move into the lead but it took until the 38th minute for us to do so with the pick of our tries. Ryan Painter got things going with a tap penalty on half-way and after some good support play Dan Boatman was eventually able to slip a pass to Adam Coates who finished things off.

Lymm closed the gap back to just two points with a shot at goal right on half-time and could have taken the lead with another long range shot 7 minutes into the second half only for the kick to drift well wide. As it was, they didn't have to wait much longer to be back in front as a lovely one-handed pass created a try in the right corner making the score 17-20.

Once again we bounced back and began to get on top in the scrum. Two successive penalties at a scrum in the shadow of the Lymm posts resulted in hooker Adam Bray being shown a yellow card and when referee Jack Makepeace spotted another infringement at the next reset he awarded a penalty try, with Luke Mallinson's conversion moving us back into a 24-20 lead.

Although a little under a quarter of the game was still to play it looked as though we were well placed to go on and win but a gift of a try swung things back to the visitors and we never recovered. Mallinson fielded a long kick in mid-field and, trying to launch a counterattack, threw a long pass which didn't reach it's intended target and the loose ball was seized upon and left Lymm a simple run in for the game clinching try.

Any hopes of another comeback were dashed when the visitors scored their fifth try with a minute to go although there was enough added time for Nathan Myers to level things up, in terms of tries scored at least!

West: Mallinson, Armstrong, Cheslin, Edwards, Swales, Waites, Painter, Carr, Rollins, Coates, Robson, Hogan, Barker, D Boatman, J Boatman.

Reps: Pinchen, Myers, Todd

Tries: Armstrong, J Boatman, Coates, Penalty, Myers

Cons: Waites, Mallinson

Lymm: Knowles, Nolan, Williamson, Emmitt, McEvoy, Mitchell, Baker, Ashton, Bray, Witherington, Williams, Darbyshire, Yates, Mullarkey, Higginson.

Reps: McCormick, Rees, Barnes-Smith

Referee: Jack Makepeace [North Group]