OLD Hales failed to lift themselves in final game of season despite having an outside chance of a play-off place.

A bumper crowd turned up at Wassell Grove last weekend for the final game of the season.

Saturday's game again saw injuries to the Hales team, including losing fly half Steve Powell in the warm up to a thigh strain. Already out was top scoring centre Andy Robinson with a thigh tear and skipper Richie Taylor with a fractured cheek bone.

Lymm played some dominant rugby from the off and punished every Hales mistake, which included three pass interceptions which resulted in tries.

Half time saw Hales trailing 19-7 thanks to a home try just before the interval from Simon Sabel, converted by Chris Hooper. Renewed effort saw Hales claw their way back into the game with a converted push over try scored by Mark Evans to take the scores to 19-14.

This was followed by what seemed to be a try from hooker Pete Fitzgerald, which the referee deemed to be short of the line. Lymm once again took advantage, kicked the ball clear for their backs to chase down and carry the length of the pitch for what was a decisive try.

That was followed by another excellent try from Lymm's backs who finished the game on a high with an additional penalty, taking the final score to 32-14.

Hales squad and coaches were disappointed with the result but can take great comfort from what has been an excellent first season in national rugby finishing in fourth place.

Team manager Simon Hussey said: "I'm really proud of how the players have performed during a really tough season. To finish in fourth place out of 13 teams is quite an achievement.

The rest of our club teams have also played some great rugby against strong opposition. This can only be good for the club as we aim to continue building through our mini/junior section to senior sides next season.