At last Lions gave their faithful supporters something to shout about with a performance full of commitment and guts, with a superb display from the pack which outshone the Manchester eight.  Unfortunately the Manchester backs proved bigger, faster and stronger than their Lions’ counterparts, but there was still some heroic defence to savour.  Taking the situation as a whole, Manchester just about deserved the victory, although the margin was somewhat flattering.

A glorious autumn afternoon augured well for a game which had the added bonus (?!?!?!) of a trip to Harlequins for the winners.  The opening exchanges were fast and furious, with Manchester enjoying most of the possession, but Lions putting in some big hits with Steve Smith to the fore.

Now it was the Manchester backs’ turn to show their paces.  A kick and chase by their left wing almost saw him in for a score, but Lions’ defence held firm and forced a knock on by Manchester.  Unfortunately the clearing kick by Gary Beconsall from the resultant scrum did not find touch, giving Manchester’s full back,  Swindells, the opportunity to launch a counter attack.  This time their left winger was not to be denied as he powered over for the opening try.  Swindells added an excellent conversion from wide out. 

Manchester had certainly had the better of the opening 10 minutes, but Lions quickly showed that they were not going to give this game up easily.  A steal by Rob Field at a Manchester line-out saw Barry Muir put a dangerous kick deep into Manchester territory, but a superb running take by Swindells allowed him to clear the danger.  Lions were now coming more into the game with their pack gradually winding up the pace, and a series of powerful drives had Manchester on the back foot.  Lions were awarded a penalty, and when a free for all broke out, the referee singled out the Manchester left wing as the initiator of the mayhem, and after a long lecture gave him a yellow card. 

Lions sensed a score, and with Manchester a man short, opted for a series of close in scrums.  However, it looked as though we were in for the same old story, with Lions unable to turn pressure into points.  Handling errors gave Manchester the chance to clear their lines, but unlike previous weeks, Lions simply kept coming back.  Another steal at a Manchester line-out in their own 22 saw a pop pass from Barry Muir to Owen Coyne allow the centre to power through the first line of defence to set up yet another attacking position in the shadow of the Manchester posts.  The forwards arrived in force, and skipper Oscar Wingham was driven over for a well deserved try, which Barry Muir converted.

It was nip and tuck now, with neither side giving an inch.  Lions’ forwards were playing superbly as a unit, solid in the scrum, dependable in the line-out, and devastating in the loose.  Unfortunately it was Manchester who scored the next points, nicely gift wrapped by Lions.  Another attack from Lions was halted when the referee awarded Manchester a penalty.  Lions were not amused and let the referee know exactly what they thought, for which they were immediately marched back 10 metres.  With the defence in disarray, the Manchester number 8 took a quick tap and released their scrum half to race to the line for the softest of tries.  The ever reliable Swindells added the conversion.

This was scant reward for all of the Lions’ efforts, but things could have been much worse minutes later when from a scrum the Manchester backs sliced through Lions defence, but luckily Swindells inexplicably knocked on with the line at his mercy.  Manchester were finishing the half looking the stronger side, and again they pounded the Lions line, but the defence stood firm.  The pressure was relieved when one of the Manchester prop forwards found himself amongst the backs and tried a delicate chip over the defence.  The result showed just why he was in the front row, as the kick went straight into the arms of a grateful Mark Jaznikowski who cleared the lines.

Back came Manchester, and the Lions defence finally buckled when the Manchester pack drove over for a try on the stroke of half time, again converted by Swindells.  Tremendous play by Lions almost gave them a score, but time ran out and the half ended with Manchester enjoying a comfortable 14 point lead, which was rough justice on a gutsy performance from Lions.

Lions got off to the worst possible start when a blatant knock on by Manchester was ignored by the referee (who did not have a good game) which allowed them to go on and score by the posts. Swindells converted to a chorus of boos from the Shed, and with Lions now 21 points adrift it looked all over bar the shouting.

However, Lions had other ideas, and again their magnificent pack tore into Manchester, and was rewarded with the best try of the match.  Steve Smith was having an immense game, and from yet another of his rampaging runs, the position was set for Barry Muir to feint a pass inside and put Mark Jaznikowski through the outside gap.  This time the final pass went to hand, and Matt Coley steamed in for the try.  Muir converted to give Lions some hope.

With Muir converting, Lions were now right back in the game, and Manchester were reeling.  A 25 metre drive by the Lions forwards almost saw the backs sneak in at the corner.  A blatant punch on Matt Coley resulted in another yellow card for Manchester, this time for one of their second rows.  Now Lions had the scent of a score in their nostrils.  The penalty was kicked to the corner.  Another superb take and drive from the forwards saw Oscar Wingham emerge from the bottom of a pile of players to claim his second try.  Sadly Barry Muir scuffed his conversion attempt, but Lions were now within 5 points of the Manchester score.

It was now all Lions as they threw everything at Manchester, but unfortunately it was Manchester who got the all important next score.  An attempted chip by Mark Jaznikowski in the dying seconds was gratefully accepted by his opposite number who was able to race in unopposed.  The Manchester celebrations looked as though they had won the cup!  Swindells again converted to give Manchester a victory which they just about deserved.

Final result:

Lions    26            Manchester       38

On reflection this was a good result for Lions.  They more than held their own against opposition from a higher division, but at least we now do not have to go to Harlequins where we would surely have suffered a morale deflating heavy defeat.

This was an extremely encouraging performance from Lions, and highlighted the strength of the pack, but sadly the attacking inadequacies of the backs, although their defence was generally sound.  This should be the platform for Lions to move forward and start to destroy teams in the League.  Sadly we now have a blank Saturday next week.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we could rearrange one of our League games so that we could give someone a good stuffing at Webb Ellis Road!!  

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The Lions take on Manchester in the 4th round of the Tetley Bitter cup on 4^th November at Webb Ellis Road, kick-off 3pm.

Although languishing just above Coventry at the foot of the National Division One with two wins from seven played, they will surely provide a stern test for a Lions team who themselves are struggling to find any consistency or cohesion.

Rugby will need to be at their best to stand any chance of creating an upset by beating their higher league opponents.

However, the fact that this is a rare home match for the Lions must surely give them every confidence, and the lure of a lucrative trip to the Stoop to face the mighty Quins in the next round in seven days time should generate all the motivation required for them to perform at their peak.

The potential of the team is apparent and when everything click into place, we will surely start to annihilate teams.