LUCS FRONTED UP WELL AGAINST A PHYSICAL CLIFTON OUTFIT
Luctonians RFC vs Clifton RFC
Saturday 26th September 2026 – Mortimer Park
Match Report by Geoff Vickress
A large crowd at Mortimer Park for the Annual ‘Luctonians in the Community‘ Charity day, witnessed an action-packed game with Luctonians running in 5 tries to beat previously top of the table Clifton, who were denied a bonus point by a stubborn home side defence.
No less than 8 yellow cards were shown by referee Mr Lloyd Davies, with the home side finishing the match with just 12 players on the field, but they held out despite Clifton throwing everything but the kitchen sink at them in the closing stages in a match lasting well over 100 minutes with stoppages.
An early score from Clifton’s swift winger Zak Ahmed in the first minute, before Lucs had touched the ball, but not converted (0-5), appeared to give the away side the momentum they were looking for early in the game. But Lucs, playing in green shirts which were to be auctioned immediately after the game for charity, rallied and prop Brad Smith’s charge to the line was thwarted by Clifton.
Lucs however won a penalty soon after and, from the resultant line out drive, Ben Link was once again over the whitewash to dot down, Owen Randell converting for a home side lead (7-5) on 9 minutes.
Clifton were trying to set their back row for attacking runs, and fell foul of a crunching John Kelly tackle in midfield, where the ball broke loose and Lucs’ Bryn Goodall capitalized with deft footwork to kick the ball into the Clifton try-zone, where he dived on it to add to the Lucs lead after 16 minutes. The conversion was missed. (12-5)
Charlie Overton received the first of Lucs’ yellows after 26 minutes for a tackle that was deemed high when defending deep in their redzone and, from the penalty Clifton scored their second try with Freddie Myatt eventually getting over the line. Tom Quinlan converted to level the scores at 12-12 on the half hour.
Lucs again benefitted from an excellent Bryn Goodall interception in midfield and, from halfway, his run and sweet pass to wing Charlie Grimes, saw the home side retake the lead, with Randell’s conversion pushing the score to 19-12, with just minutes to go until the midway turnround.
George Bennett still had time to make a superb last ditch tackle, when wing Hamid was all but over the line as the clock ticked away. But somehow, within the time added, about 10 minutes, former Luctonian, Clifton’s Brad Talbot bounced off Lucs defenders from 30 metres out to score and, with the conversion from Quinlan, the sides went in for hot tea with the scores level at 19-19.
Half Time Score
Luctonians RFC 19 – 19 Clifton RFC
Lucs were under intense pressure early in the second half, as Clifton started to show their National One credentials, albeit they were relegated at end of last season. They were now starting to turn the screws on the home side, but another Bryn Goodall try, following superb work from the Lucs forwards, saw them ease into a delicate lead; Owen Randell converting for 26-19 soon after half time.
The game was starting to get feisty, and referee Lloyd Davies had his hands full with both Caleb Montgomery of Lucs and Mitchell Spencer of Clifton were sent to the bin for an altercation on 52 minutes. Clifton were then reduced to 13 men on the hour as Brad Talbot also had to leave the field for foul play, and the game became somewhat error ridden as both sides struggled to make any headway with numerous penalties and stoppages.
However, that changed when Man of the Match Bryn Goodall once again intercepted a pass in Lucs’ own half, and his pace saw him outstep the Clifton defence to score after 70 minutes for his hat-trick of tries. The conversion was missed, but the home side had a 31-19 lead.
The last 10 minutes had the home support chewing their nails, not least as it probably lasted 20 minutes, with numerous stoppages and injuries to players on both sides. George Bennett for Lucs and visitor Tom Quinlan both received yellows for another bust up. But Mr Davies had two cards left in his pocket as Lucs, manfully defending their whitewash deep into added time, lost both James Mear and Thai Brock, each to Yellows for technical infringements.
Full Time Score
Luctonians RFC 31 – 19 Clifton RFC
The Lucs coaches were well pleased with the result, especially as they fronted up well against a physical Clifton outfit, this despite a high penalty count. They move on with a game away at Hornets next week in Weston-super-Mare.
Man of the Match
Bryn Goodall
Luctonians RFC
Luctonians Tries:
Ben Link (8); Bryn Goodall (16,43,69); Charlie Grimes (33)
Luctonians Conversions:
Owen Randell (9,37,44)
Clifton Tries:
Zakaria Ahmed (2); Freddie Myatt (29); Bradley Talbot (39)
Clifton Conversions:
Tom Quinlan (29,40)
On our Facebook page, you can check out the Live scoreline and shortly, a raft of great action pictures from Andrew Hargraves, together with a grandstand view of the try highlights.
Picture Credit – Andrew Hargraves, Luctonians
