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What
a day!! After battling round
Morrisons’ supermarket, then battling with the traffic on the M6, I was
looking for some Christmas cheer from Lions as they sought their first
away win since September 30th.
They did not disappoint. Although
never reaching the heights of recent weeks, a workmanlike performance was
enough to give the travelling band of Lions’ supporters the Christmas
present they all wanted more than anything else.
Well, perhaps not more than Christmas dinner with Davina
McCall…….or a free supply of draft Guinness for a year…….but you
know what I mean.
Lions
kicked off into a cold, stiff breeze, and soon tested the Grasshoppers
defence with some solid running by the forwards, but the ‘hoppers
defence held firm. Jacques
Steyn varied the tactics with a series of probing kicks from fly half, but
again ‘hoppers were equal to the task.
Steve Smith, captaining the side in Oscar Wingham’s absence, was
leading by example with some powerful runs that needed several tacklers to
stop him.
However,
it was ‘hoppers who made the first real break with their centre carving
through from half way, but Eddie Saunders was on hand to snuff out the
danger. Now it was ‘hoppers
turn to vary their tactics, and a high kick gave Matt Coley his first test
of the afternoon. Being a
schoolteacher, tests are a mere formality for him, and Matt took an
excellent catch before setting of on the counter attack.
Things looked promising as the ball reached Mark Jaznikowski on the
wing, but unfortunately his kick ahead went straight into touch.
Lions
were by no means having things their own way, and ‘hoppers were enjoying
more of the possession, though they never really threatened to break
through Lions’ solid defence. Lions'
first real scoring opportunity came with a break from their own 22. With men over, all that was needed was to run straight,
commit the opposite number, and release the wing for a simple run in.
Easy isn’t it?? Well, it is from the terraces!!
Unfortunately, the ball was fed out to Mark Jaznikowski with undue
haste, and the cover was able to stem the danger.
Back
came ‘hoppers, but a promising move was spoilt as too many pairs of
eager hands tried to carry on the move, and a knock on gave Lions respite.
However, from the resultant scrum, slow ball to Jacques Steyn saw
his kick charged down. Although
Matt Coley was able to recover the situation, his hurried clearance gave
‘hoppers their first attacking lineout which they used to good effect.
A perfect throw and take followed by a powerful drive saw the
forwards pile over for the first try of the game.
Their hooker, nicknamed “pig” (I’m not sure if this is
because of his “good” looks, his disgusting eating habits, or his
tendency to suffer from flatulence) was last man up to claim the score.
His team mates congratulated him from a safe distance.
Full back Chris Glynn tagged on the conversion.
Grasshoppers
now looked to press home their advantage, and when a free kick was awarded
against Gary Becconsall for feeding the scrum (I think “pig” had been
talking to him), a kick through looked dangerous, but Lions were first to
the touchdown. However, the
resultant 22 metre dropout was charged down, and only a nifty bit of ball
dribbling by Eddie Saunders (is there no end to this man’s talents??)
cleared the danger…….but not for long!
A
penalty against Steve Smith put ‘hoppers into another attacking
position, and this was immediately followed by another free kick. The referee certainly wasn’t doing Lions any favours at
this stage of the game, and as ‘hoppers pressed forward, the position
was won for their fly half to drop an excellent goal.
Lions
were now 10 points down and looking decidedly disorganised.
Memories of our woeful away performances at Nottingham and Fylde
must have been uppermost in most Lions’ supporters’ minds at this
time. But this is not the
Lions team of old. There is a
steely resolve in the ranks now coupled with a strong sense of
self-belief, and it was not long before Lions provided the perfect
response.
From
a scrum in the centre of the field, the ball squirted out untidily and a
good position looked to have been lost.
However, Gary Becconsall recovered the situation with a clever one
handed scoop from the floor to set Lions on the attack.
Dave Muckalt made good ground before being tackled, but Tim Collier
was on hand to pick up and power over from 10 metres.
Jacques Steyn added the conversion to put Lions right back in
contention.
Lions
easily repelled a couple of determined drives by the ‘hoppers forwards
before being awarded a penalty 45 metres out in front of the posts.
Jacques Steyn optimistically chose to go for goal, but his kick was
short and wide (a bit like “pig”!!).
Now
Lions were starting to play a little better, and a Jacques Steyn pop pass
put Matt Tassell in the clear. With
his little legs going ten to the dozen (I was expecting to hear “beep
beep” as he looked so much like Roadrunner of cartoon fame), the support
was unable to get to him to take a scoring pass.
Matt’s progress was halted by an illegal shoulder charge by
‘hoppers full back……if it hadn’t have been, he would probably
still be going now!! This
gave Jacques Steyn the opportunity to level the scores with a kick that
you would normally put money on. Unfortunately,
it looked as though Jacques had received a call from a Pakistani bookmaker
as he scuffed his attempt and the chance was lost.
As
the referee blew to end the first half, Lions could reflect on a not too
impressive performance with no real pattern or purpose.
Chances had gone begging, but Lions were still well in contention
and another big second half performance was called for in order to take
the spoils.
Half
time:
Preston
Grasshoppers
10
Lions 7
Lions
had an early chance to apply pressure in the second half as they were
awarded a penalty, but Gary Becconsall inexplicably took the kick with
undue haste. Instead of Lions
having an attacking line out, ‘hoppers were able to touch down the poor
kick and clear their lines with a long 22 metre drop out.
Now
it was all Lions as they stormed back, but a Jacques Steyn knock on gave
‘hoppers some respite……..but not for long.
Lions were awarded a very kickable penalty, but with Jacques Steyn
leaving his kicking boots at home, Gary Becconsall chose to take a quick
tap to catch the ‘hoppers’ defence napping.
Matt Coley took full advantage to give Lions a well-deserved try.
Poor old Jacques Steyn again missed what should have been a simple
conversion for him.
Lions
were now in front, and another score was needed, if only to settle the
supporters’ nerves!! With
Jacques Steyn not having one of his best games at fly half, now was the
time to bring on Paul Turner to weave some of his magic and allow Jacques
to display his undoubted talents in his favoured centre spot.
Sadly Paul was unable to make the bench today, but hopes were high
that Jacque’s temperament would see him through.
Lions
were now showing more purpose, and Paul Shadbolt tore in to charge down an
attempted clearance. Unfortunately
the ball struck him in the Christmas baubles, and as Lions set up an
attacking position, Paul was left counting quietly to himself. However, he quickly recovered to take part in Lions’ next
score. A typical take and
drive at a line out saw the Lions pack working their way towards the
‘hoppers line, when Tim Collier suddenly burst clear like a cork from a
champagne bottle. One
‘hoppers defender hurled himself onto Tim’s back in an attempt to stop
him getting nearer to the posts. Now
let’s be honest…….if you want to stop a charging bull, you don’t
jump on its back. Needless to
say Tim planted the ball over the line exactly where he wanted to.
Unfortunately, Jacques Steyn again pulled the simple conversion
wide.
One
more score would surely kill off ‘hoppers, but they were determined not
to give up without a fight. A
penalty to the corner set up a similar position from where they had scored
in the first half, but Lions easily held the drive from the line out. A change of tactics saw the backs try their luck, and a long
pass to the wing gave him room to manoeuvre, but Eddie Saunders was having
none of it and bundled his man into touch.
The
referee now incurred the wrath of the home crowd with a series of
penalties against ‘hoppers. One
of these was for a high tackle that stooped a Lions’ attack in full
flow. Although the kick was
only 10 metres out and in front of the posts, Gary Becconsall took another
quick tap, and there was the rampaging Tim Collier on hand to go over for
his hat trick of tries. An
awesome display of strength, power, and determination.
This time Mark Jaznikowski took over the kicking duties and landed
the simple conversion.
Now
it was all Lions, and as the referee awarded yet another penalty to Lions,
this time for offside, a fracas broke out between several players.
Lions’ Marek Kwisiuk and one of the ’hoppers’ props were
singled out as Christmas turkeys to spend the rest of the game in the sin
bin. With Mark Jaznikowski slotting the penalty to give Lions a commanding
lead, they chose the moment to bring on Kevin Dunn to fill the vacated
hooking role.
.
The
last ten minutes were fairly nondescript, although Lions could have had
another score as Jacques Steyn cleverly intercepted a ‘hoppers’ pass
and as he was closed down he delivered an intelligent kick into the path
of the supporting Ian Hyde. However,
with the line beckoning, instead of hacking the ball on, Ian chose to
attempt a pick up, and knocked on.
Final
result:
Preston
Grasshoppers
10
Lions 27
This
win was not achieved with the scintillating rugby we have seen over the
last few weeks, but Lions showed that they now have the character and
resilience to carve out a victory even when things are not going well for
them. But for a disappointing
display with the boot by Jacques Steyn, Lions would have won this game by
a much more comfortable margin.
With
Rosslyn Park beating Bracknell, who must be suffering from a confidence
lapse after last week’s mauling at Webb Ellis Road, Lions are now
sitting proudly at the top of the League.
All we have to do now is to continue with the winning brand of
Rugby that we all know the team is capable of.
We need Bracknell to lose one more game as they are now a point
behind us with a game in hand, but what we need to do is to keep on
winning. Next week’s game
against Wharfedale gives us an opportunity to see off another challenger
for a promotion spot. On
current form, Lions should fear no one, especially at Webb Ellis Road.
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