Greedy Lancashire make it nine wins under Nelson
FLY-HALF Chris Johnson notched 22 points to help Lancashire defend their County Cup title with victory over Hertfordshire.
It took two late tries to seal the win at Twickenham, enabling Fylde prop and Red Rose captain Adam Lewis to lift the trophy.
It was Lancashire’s 25th County Championship triumph in all and their ninth in 16 seasons under the stewardship of head coach Mark Nelson, the former Fylde supremo now in charge of Rossendale.
Lancashire had romped through the group stages, averaging 60 points in their their three group games, but the final was less predictable with the lead changing hands four times in the second half alone.
Sean Taylor put Hertfordshire in the lead with a penalty three minutes in before Lancashire’s Johnson replied with a penalty of his own to level the scores.
Elliot Byfield scored the first try of the game, linking up brilliantly with Sean Taylor to cut through Lancashire’s defence and score in the corner to make it 8-3.
Johnson slotted a drop goal to narrow Hertfordshire’s lead after 20 minutes and knocked over two more penalties to give the defending champions a 12-8 lead at the break.
Byfield broke the deadlock in the second half with his second try, turning the ball over at the ruck before diving over the line to make it 13-12 to Hertfordshire.
Another three points courtesy of Chris Johnson after a Hertfordshire tap down gave Lancashire the lead once again with 17 minutes left on the clock.
But the lead was shortlived after a high tackle gave Hertfordshire’s Taylor the chance to nudge his side ahead once again to make it 16-15.
It looked set to stay that way until full time before the ball was spread wide to Lancashire winger Anthony Bingham who made use of an overlap to sprint over in the corner with the try converted by Johnson.
A further penalty from Johnson all but secured the win and a try in the final minute from Steve Collins added gloss to the scoreline.