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The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the gods were in their heaven, and they looked down on a dazzling all round team performance from Lions which had been struggling to break free all season.  Forwards and backs combined magnificently, with Lions runnin in 12 tries to delight their supporters who had suffered at the hands of several ignominious defeats in recent weeks. With Eddie Saunders turning in a vintage performance scoring 3 tries, and Jacques Steyn orchestrating play superbly from fly half, this was an effort to savour. But make no mistake, this Camberley team was by no means a poor one, and until they were totally demoralised and ran out of steam in the final quarter, they competed well, but were simply outclassed by a rampant Lions.

The early play was all in the Lions’ half, with Camberley settling the quicker.  The pressure was only relieved by a couple of penalties for Camberley going over the top, but each time they drove the ball back at Lions.  A defensive scrum on Lions’ 22 metre line was wheeled by Camberley who gained the put in.  Lions were looking shaky at this time, but a classic break from defence soon settled the nerves.

Minutes later, Tim Collier, who had his best game of the season so far, blasted a hole through the middle of the Camberley defence.  Gary Becconsall was on his shoulder to take the pass, but he was ankle tapped a metre short of the line.  However, hooker Kevin Dunn was on hand to pick up and dive over.  Steyn again added the conversion. 

Camberley must have felt somewhat aggrieved at this point.  Lions had only been in their half twice, and had scored a try on each occasion.  Again Camberley started to apply pressure, but the Lions’ tackling was superb, as Will Davies, the Camberley centre will testify.  Will looks more like a second row forward than a centre, but when he was hit by a double tackle by Matt Tassell and Sam Tovo, he went down like a chimney demolished by Fred Dibnah!!  The combined intake of breath from the stand must have been felt in the Shed!

It was inevitable that the Camberley pressure would tell, and a penalty for offside allowed Scott Lewis to open their account.  Back they came again, and only good covering by Matt Tassell from a kick through prevented a Camberley score.  Another offside against Lions gave Lewis the opportunity to add to his tally, but his kick was well wide.  However, he was given a much simpler chance minutes later when a charged down Lions’ 22 metre drop out resulted in Dave Muckalt being penalised for holding on.  Lewis made no mistake this time, and Camberley were back in touch……….but not for long.

Another long range effort by Lions saw them held up just short of the line, and again Kevin Dunn was on hand to pick up and dive over.  This time the referee had spotted a crossing incident and awarded the penalty to Camberley.  Enterprising play from the resultant quick tap saw Camberley again take play deep back into Lions’ half.  Attacking line outs and scrums were repelled by a determined Lions’ defence, and a turnover allowed Jacques Steyn to clear the danger.  A penalty by Steyn then put Lions into an attacking position, and an excellent take and drive by the forwards saw Eddie Saunders make good ground before being stopped by the cover.  With the ball being recycled quickly and forwards driving in, the Camberley defence was sucked in allowing Jacques Steyn to crash over by the posts.  Mark Jaznikowski added the conversion.

There was now a determination and sense of self belief in the Lions’ play that has been sadly lacking all season.  It has been at points like this that Lions have eased up or made silly mistakes that have allowed the opposition to get back into games.  But not this time.  Quick hands saw Jacques Steyn make the initial break using Eddie Saunders as a foil, and when Eddie cleverly changed his angle of running, Jacques delivered the perfect inside pass to give Eddie the room to round the fullback for a classic try.  Again Steyn added the conversion.

Camberley were now wondering what had hit them and were reverting to illegal means to stop a rampant Lions, resulting in a final warning from the referee for killing the ball.  Again Lions stormed back, and from a line-out take by Rob Field, the forwards drove the ball infield.  Dave Muckalt cleverly changed the line of attack by breaking blind but his pass to Eddie Saunders was a poor one.  However, Eddie somehow collected the ball behind him, performed a pirouette which Billy Elliot would have been proud of, and dived over in the clubhouse corner with a bemused defence hanging on.  This time Mark Jaznikowski could not add the conversion from wide out.

Now it was Camberley’s turn to show their paces.  Good handling from their backs saw Brad Kane hit the line at pace from full back to slice through Lions’ defence, and winger Dave Scott was on hand to race over in the corner for an excellent try.  With the conversion failing, Lions could look back on a very satisfying first half.

Camberley started the second half as they had the first by applying all of the early pressure.  A penalty gave Scott Lewis the opportunity to add to the Camberley score, but his kick was well wide.  A huge penalty kick by Jacques Steyn gave Lions an attacking line out but a knock on by Ian Hyde allowed Camberley to clear their lines from the resultant scrum.  Lions were now eager to add to their points tally, but some over zealous play by Rob Field saw him sin binned for stamping.  Could this be a turning point?  Could Camberley make their numerical superiority pay and claw their way back into this game?  Lions had other ideas.

Another big hit by Tim Collier in midfield gave Lions turnover ball, and quick hands by the backs saw Eddie Saunders again in space, and again he did not disappoint as he ran in another superb try from 30 metres.  Steyn narrowly missed the conversion from wide out.  Now Lions were playing with an air of supremacy, confident in attack, and devastating in defence.  Time and again Camberley raids were knocked backwards as Lions stamped their authority on every aspect of the game.

With Ian Hyde suffering an injury, Paul Turner came on from the bench and moved to fly half, with Jacques Steyne moving to centre, and Mark Jasnikowski taking the wing berth.  Paul Turner made an instant impression putting Sam Tovo through with a superbly weighted pass.  Sam was having another storming game, and with the Camberley defence struggling to hold him, quickly recycled ball gave Paul Turner the time to stroll through a huge gap in the defence to score by the posts.  Steyn again added the conversion.

Another deft pass from Paul Turner saw Gary Becconsall bursting through with Eddie Saunders in support.  Another typical weaving effort from the seemingly ageless winger saw him evade, bounce off, and hand off several would be tacklers before being hauled down in the shadow of the posts.  Camberley were now defending grimly, and an offside decision allowed Tim Collier to smash his way over from the tap penalty to bring up a well deserved 50 points for Lions.  That man Steyn added the conversion.

Paul Turner again showed his class when he found himself with the ball and seemingly nowhere to go.  Like a seasoned American football quarterback, he took 2 paces backwards, summed up the situation, and put a perfect kick into acres of space to allow Mark Jaznikowski to follow up and score.  Steyn duly added the extra 2 points.

Now Camberley must have felt like King Canute as they were overwhelmed by wave after wave of Lions’ attacks.  Heads were going down in the face of relentless pressure and large gaps were appearing in their defence.  Another perfectly timed pass by Paul Turner saw Matt Coley set up the position from where Jacques Steyn was able to race over for another try which he also converted.

A Dave Muckalt drive and a kick and chase by Mark Jaznikowski saw the winger with an excellent pick up to put Sam Tovo over.  Need I say it?  Jacques Steyn again converted.  This was now becoming an almost embarassingly one sided affair.  But were the Shed faithful embarrassed.  Not a bit!!  This was the performance they had been dreaming of all season, and now it was a reality, they were making the most of it.

There was one final piece of action to cheer them into the bar as another good line out take and drive by the forwards, supported by strong running by the backs, saw Matt Coley juggle the ball for a full 15 metres before placing it firmly over the line.  Jacques Steyn had the honour of tagging on the extra points to take Lions to the 80 point mark.

The referee finally ended the contest to prevent Camberley taking any more punishment, and his whistle concluded an awesome display of 15 man rugby from Lions, every one of whom fully deserved the standing ovation they received

Final result:

Lions    80 (eighty)            Camberley         13

What a difference a week makes!  Last week Lions were ruing several poor performances that saw them slipping ominously down the table.  Doubts were rasied about the team’s ability to make up lost ground.  The slide was stopped last week with a gutsy performance at Kendal.  Mal Malik said that he thought that was the turning point of the season.  He certainly seems to have got that one right.

Today’s performance was one to savour for both the team and its supporters.  We have known for some time that the ability was there, but for some reason it has never been fully harnessed.  Whatever was done over the course of last week has certainly found the answer.  However, we must not now become complacent.  We have seen what can be done, and the players should now have the confidence to go out each and every week and impose themselves on the opposition.  Next week against Esher should be a good opportunity for the team to build on today’s superb performance………then bring on Bracknell!!

Eddie Saunders

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Preview - by Dennis Keen

Would you believe this is the third Saturday in a row that Lions face newcomers to the their fixture list. This time thankfully it is a home game. Camberley RFC was formed in 1931 lapsed during WW2 and reformed in 1947/48.

 It is their third season in National Division 2 though they were lucky to avoid relegation last season finishing twelfth above Reading. Life in a faster lane has not been without its problems.  

Of the three clubs new to Rugby Camberley is the least successful this season, currently placed just above West Hartlepool but with two games in hand. Of their eight games they have won only two, a one point home win over Harrogate and an eight point victory at Fylde. Away games were lost at Bracknell, Newbury, Lydney and Rosslyn Park. 

This game would appear to be a chance for the Lions to sharpen their teeth and to get their three-quarters into full working order. Lions are now only fifth highest points scorers in the division and time is trickling away.   

This weekends other matches

Lions team news...

Camberley's results this season