2nd XV – 49 Not Out
Luctonians 2nd XV are bearing down on the half-century this weekend when they travel to Barkers Butts, as they currently sit with 49 wins from their past 49 league fixtures.
This extraordinary tally started back on the 3rd September 2022 when the lads visited Stourbridge Lions and came away with a 13-51 bonus-point victory in their first outing in the RFU leagues. What would follow that season, was 21 further bonus-point victories, as the 2nd XV finished top of the Counties 1 Midlands West (North) division with 110 points out of 110, winning the division by 16 points from 2nd placed Tamworth 1st XV.
Having been denied promotion, due to the RFU regulations at the time not allowing promotion for reserve sides, the 2nd XV went to work again at Level 7, this time with a sideways transfer into the Counties 1 Midlands West (South) league to play some fresh teams. What followed was 22 more wins out of 22 further games, where the team dropped just one bonus-point in the entire season and finished with 109 out of 110 league points to their name, winning the league even more comprehensively as they opened up a 22 point gap to runners-up Ledbury 1st XV. Once more champions at this level, the RFU rules would deny promotion again in 2023/24, but the disappointment of not going up was removed slightly by the lads going on to become the first ever reserve team to lift the North Midlands Cup, as they beat Level Five 1st XV Bromsgrove in the final 20-19, to become league and county cup champions for an historic club achievement.
The 44th league win, a 12-33 victory away at Manor Park 1sts, not only finished the 2023/24 league campaign, it also equalled the club record league run, when Luctonians 1st XV managed an unbeaten 44 game league stretch from November 1992 to September 1996, as they were promoted relentlessly through the divisions.
This season, the side have started in similar fashion to the last two seasons, with five bonus-point victories out of five games, including most recently a 36-14 win over 2nd placed Alcester 1st XV. The victory ensured the side extended their lead at the top of the division to six points, but also stretched the run to 49 league wins on the spin.
As the half-century potentially approaches, the numbers involved are incredible.
- 49 wins
- 48 four-try bonus points
- 2044 points scored
- 535 points conceded
- 337 tries scored
- 22 different sides played
- 91 players used
- 63 home-grown players used
- Jonty Monk – leading appearance maker – played 38 out of 49 games
- Joe Hughes – leading try-scorer – scored 27 tries in 25 appearances
With the RFU now having changed the regulations about reserve sides getting promoted, Luctonians 2nd XV will be hoping to maintain the run all the way through this season to achieve promotion into Level 6 at the end of this campaign.