DINO Radice was delighted to see his side grind out a hard-fought 15-10 victory against Lymm while still be able to stick their playing principles.

Played in horrendous conditions at Ramsgreave Drive, Burn’s two tries were enough to record an eighth win of the season to remain in fourth place in the North Premier division.

It was a far cry from the free-flowing rugby Blackburn have produced this season - they ran in seven tries the previous week in the 49-24 win against York - but Radice knows his side have to be able win games in different ways if they want to remain at the top end of the table.

“The conditions were awful and at one stage, we didn’t even know if the game would go ahead,” he said. “When we did know it was on, it was a case of getting stuck in and showing that we wanted it more because there was no way Lymm were going to back down.”

Blackburn opened up a 12-0 lead thanks to tries from Tom Burtonwood and Josh Jarrold and a conversion from Paddy Gaffrey.

Lymm pulled a try back after the break but a penalty from Gaffrey extended Blackburn’s lead.

In the closing stages, a late try and conversion earned Lymm a losing bonus point.

“Fair play to Lymm they kept on battling like I thought they would and got the bonus point,” added Radice. “When we got that penalty to extend our lead, I knew we were in a good position and it was nice to get another victory in tough conditions.”

Having impressed as an attacking force this season, Radice said he was glad that his players got a chance to test themselves in difficult conditions.

“We still tried to play the way we like to play, you just have to play narrower and remain focused,” he said.

“Just because the weather was bad, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to abandoned how you like to play.

“You have to present the ball better, support each other better and communicate better. That is what we did and that will help the players going forward.

“We did try to throw the odd long pass because that is the natural way we play. But when the wind takes it and the ball goes to ground you quickly realise you have to be a bit smarter in the way you play.”

Blackburn, who are 11 points behind leaders Otley, have two games remaining before Christmas and Radice is hoping to get to the break without losing another game - starting at Kirkby Lonsdale on Saturday.

“You set little targets and that is ours,” he said. “We have two tough games. Kirkby are struggling at the bottom of the table but it is never easy going up there and coming away with a victory.

“We finish the year with a home game against Wirral the following weekend. So two wins would put us in a good position going in to the second half of the season.”