LUCTONIANS battled hard to keep Sheffield Tigers at bay as they played out a convincing 26-7 win at Mortimer Park.

Coach Ryan Watkins is still confident his side has turned a corner in National League 2 North as they showed determination to not let Sheffield get a hold in the game in the first half, helped with a strong wind behind them.

“I think the game was won with our performance in the first half,” Watkins said.

“The wind was strong and it was hard kicking down the pitch so only being 7-5 down at half time was a massive help.

“I do think all season we’ve been massively competitions and we’ve come close in a number of games.

“We’ve got some consistency and we build tactically every week.”

Lucs started brightest and kept the Tigers at bay for the first 20 minutes before Josh Watkins’ try got the hosts off the mark.

A conversion attempt by Louis Silver was hampered by the strong wind, and Tigers got on the front foot when they drove Alan Symcox over from a maul close with Mark Ireland’s converting.

Into the second half and helped by the wind, Lucs’ patience paid off as they started to dominate.

Tries from Frank Kelly, Drew Cheshire and a second from Watkins, as well as two conversions from Silver and one from John Morris, saw Luctonians secure a convincing 26-7 victory.

“Tactically we were very good, but the wind was a big factor in the game. It was probably the strongest wind I’ve seen down on the pitch,” Watkins added.

“All season I’ve been pleased with how we’ve been progressing and we’ve got to keep going.

“But we’ve got to be mindful if we don’t that we’re only a couple of points away from the relegations places.”

Next up for Lucs is a home game against Hull. Watkins said he will work on a few pieces in training and hope his side’s recent improvement in form continues.