A customary slow start by Manchester resulted in an early converted try for the hosts when an easy three points was rejected for a tap-and-go, the gamble rewarded by the extra points for a 7-0 lead.

Manchester soon settled however, and a try down the right wing seemed likely when the first of many breaks by Luke Tyrrell was fed out to Chris Nuttall. Unfortunately the support runner wasn’t used and the opportunity was lost. Fifteen minutes of even rugby was played out, but a misfiring Manchester lineout lost field position a few times so that it was LSH who extended their lead, again from a tap-and-go penalty to make it 12-0.

The game came alive on the half hour mark when a superb interchange between Tyrrell and Gareth Bridgman bamboozled the defence for a memorable Bridgman try, converted by Chris Nuttall to 12-7.

Bridgman’s confidence was justifiably high and he was almost in again soon after when his own kick was chased, the bounce was favourable, but a high tackle denied his progress. A penalty award at least closed the gap to 12-10.

Manchester’s backs were playing all the rugby now with clever offloads from James Brodie and the wings not afraid to come inside to support the centre’s efforts in midfield. The half closed with just the two point deficit but with Manchester now in the ascendancy.

The lead was earned five minutes after the break courtesy of another Nuttall penalty (12-13), but the credit has to go to Tom Fantom for his relentless work at the breakdown which had achieved the field position.

The change in the lead cued an even tighter style of rugby from LSH so that it was now Manchester who were making all the running whilst their opponents tried to hold the ball, clearly understanding the risk posed by their visitors’ expansive approach. A third try from Manchester created some daylight however when Brodie fed the ball to Tyrrell who ‘on a mission’ forced his way through the defence to make it 12-20 following Nuttall’s conversion.

With ten minutes to play, LSH were back in the game after grinding their way towards the try line, seemingly being held up, but then allowed to spread the ball wide towards the corner to make the score an uncomfortably close 17-20.

There had been a match long dialogue between the referee and a representative of LSH’s front row, and whether this had a tiring effect on the official or whether it was simply that the Manchester pack were tiring, the balance of scrummaging power certainly swung towards LSH. The last five minutes of normal time was a torrid time for the Manchester set piece, and inevitably a penalty was awarded as a get out of jail card for the home side. The ball was sent into the corner, the lineout secured, and the winning score made with barely time to restart (22-20). Or was it?

In fact, the drama wasn’t over as a determined chase from the restart yielded a penalty that could have snatched the game back with the last kick of the game – just as LSH had done the previous season with their 44-42 victory. Not this time though, the kick was close but wide, and Manchester will feel hard done by with just a losing bonus point for their adventure. LSH meanwhile, who looked for all the world as if that would be their consolation prize with minutes to go, marched off the field with all five match points to keep them in touch with the league leaders.