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Lions and Rotherham served up a
feast of sparkling Rugby in a game that Lions can take a lot of heart
from. A classy first half display by Rotherham underlined their
Premiership potential, whilst a spirited Lions’ performance after the
break earned them two glorious tries.
Lions started with Jacques
Steyn and Mark Edwards at half back, with Richard Davies moving to full
back to replace Cliff Richards. Jim
Naylor, on loan from Leicester, took one centre slot, while Perry
Freshwater, another loan player from Leicester, started on the bench.
Rotherham were first into their
stride with some solid forward drives and excellent ball retention, but
Lions’ defence was resolute. The
break almost came in the second minute as Rotherham conjured up a half
chance, but Jacques Steyn’s ankle tackle prevented the score.
Having pulled Lions wide on both flanks without finding a chink in
the defensive armour, fly half Link Wilfley tried a speculative grubber
kick. (Sounds like his mother
couldn’t decide what to call him so drew blocks from a Scrabble
board…..or perhaps she just liked anagrams).
Unfortunately Richard Davies failed to gather cleanly gifting a
simple score to Jonathan Shepherd. Fly
half Ken Wilfilly (that well known anagram) added a good conversion from
out wide. Just the start Lions didn’t need!!.
Although under pressure, the
Lions’ line-out started well, and the scrum was very solid against
another big pack. The eagerly
anticipated clash between Alfie Tooala and Sam Tovo was not long in
coming, as Alfie, lurking in his usual centre position, tried to burst
clear, but Sam stopped him in his tracks.
1 – 0 to Sam.
Now it was Lions’ turn to
display some good driving forward play and excellent recycling that earned
them a penalty as Rotherham were caught offside 35 metres in front of
their posts. Unfortunately, Richard Davies’s kick drifted wide.
A clever 22 metres drop out
soon had Rotherham driving upfield again, and a chip into space saw Chris
Jones blatantly bodycheck the kicker to earn a rebuke from referee Nigel
Yates. The penalty to the corner set up the platform for Rotherham’s
second try. A simple take at
the line-out and a series of short passes to the supporting player who
always hit the ball at pace resulted in flanker Leon Greeff crashing over
under the post. Fly half Neil
Wyfkill (think about it!!) added the simple conversion.
A Stuart Potter break in
midfield from broken play raised Lions’ spirits, but determined
Rotherham tackling snuffed out the move.
Rotherham confidently dealt with a Mark Edward’s chip, and a
turnover (from a suspiciously offside position) saw the Rotherham winger
with room to spare. He tried
to go round Phil Reed, but that is not an easy thing to do these days, and
the little winger bundled his opposite number into touch.
A sliced kick by Jacques Steyn
set up Rotherham’s next attacking position.
After pulling Lions wide on both flanks, then sucking the defence
into the centre, a deft chip to the corner bounced favourably for hooker
Chris Johnson who was resting lurking on the wing, for him to
gather and stroll over. This
time fly half Leny Flywilk missed the difficult conversion.
Rotherham were playing
excellent fast incisive Rugby……the best they had played all season
according to people in the Press Box, and later backed up by their
supporters in the Shed. Memories
of Exeter!! Why do teams save
their best performances for Lions???? After more excellent tackling by Lions kept Rotherham
at bay, it was some soft tackling in the centre that allowed Alfie Tooala
to burst through for Rotherham’s fourth try and a bonus point……and
only 30 minutes on the clock. 2
– 1 to Alfie. Again fly
half Willy Kefliny added the conversion.
The familiar sight of Sam Tovo
leaving the field injured had Pig Brittin taking over at hooker, with
Fergie Gladstone moving to flanker.
| A high kick by Rotherham was
well taken by Phil Reed under pressure, and the speedy winger danced
away from the onrushing tacklers to find space down the left. However, he was halted in his tracks by a high tackle as he
cut inside. Although
seen by most people in the ground, both referee and touch judge
missed the offence, although Lions did get a penalty from the bout
of fisticuffs that followed. |
Touch judge....not high!!!!!! |
| It would be harsh
to criticise referee Nigel Yates, as he otherwise made a very
positive contribution to an excellent game of rugby.
|
Lions drove in from the
penalty, when something came flying out of the ruck like a cork from a
bottle. Some thought it was
the ball……some thought it was someone’s head, and ladies
fainted…..it was actually Chris Jones’ scrum cap, and men fainted when
they saw him without it. Some
compared it to the Phantom of the Opera without his mask!! Only joking Mr. Jones senior!!
Chris had another storming game.
Heroic tackling by Lions,
especially by Pig, who managed to launch one Rotherham player several feet
in the air as he took his legs from under him, looked to have denied
Rotherham a further score before half time.
However, in the 3rd minute of added time, a penalty to
the corner saw the simple take and drive that was too powerful for Lions,
and Chris Johnson was driven over to claim his second try.
That man fly half Willy Kefliny added the conversion as the referee
blew for half time.
Half time
Lions
0
Rotherham 33
This had been by no means a
poor performance by Lions, but Rotherham had played some irresistible
rugby that would have produced points against any team in the Division.
Lions started the second half
with Perry Freshwater and Glen Carson (from Lions’ under 21’s) taking
over in the front row from Phil Greenbury and Bennett Smith.
It was a rejuvenated Lions
(perhaps due to a breath of fresh water??) that tore into Rotherham.
First a Richard Davies’ break and chip had the Rotherham defence
scrambling clear. Then
Rotherham failed to find touch with a penalty, and Richard Davies again
made the initial break before finding a flying Pig on his shoulder to
carry on the move. 50 metres
gone and 20 to go. There was
Richard Davies again to carry on the move before finding Phil Reed with a
lovely pass between defenders. A
score looked inevitable, but a superb tackle by Dave Scully stopped the
winger inches short. The move
certainly deserved a try.
Lions drove in for the kill,
but it was Rotherham that killed the ball on the floor…..an offence for
which Lions have suffered a yellow card several times this season.
The penalty was tapped to the corner, the line-out throw was good,
and again Rotherham were penalised for illegally stopping the move.
Another tap to the corner, another excellent catch, but this time
the Lions’ pack was forced into touch on the corner flag, and Rotherham
were able to secure their own line-out and clear.
Lions were now playing some
excellent rugby, and another scorching break by Richard Davies down the
left touchline produced a brilliant score as his kick through was inch
perfect allowing Mark Edwards to outpace the defence and dive to gain the
touchdown. Richard Davies
topped things off with a good conversion from wide out.
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| Davies kick ahead |
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Mark Edward touches down |
Rotherham were looking
decidedly rattled by an all action Lions team, that was incisive in attack
and decisive in defence. Another
score was not long in coming as fierce Lions tackling forced the error and
the ball was lost by the Rotherham midfield.
When it was hacked into space, Phil Reed was on it in a flash to
execute a brilliant pick up off his toes and accelerate away from the
clutches of the would-be tackler to sprint 30 metres and dive triumphantly
over under the posts. Richard Davies added the simple conversion.
Stirring stuff!!
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| What a pick up |
|
Under the posts |
Wholesale changes now followed
for both teams. Rotherham
replaced Alfie Tooala and centres Mike Umaga and Jonathan Shepherd with
Howard Parr, Andy Northey, and Jason Keyter.
Lions brought on Will Pilkington for the injured Tristan
Prosser-Shaw, Tom Walsh for Mark Edwards at scrum half, and Bennett Smith
returned to the fray with the unlucky Glen Carson being forced to retire
through injury.
Rotherham were now stung into
action as they drove deep into Lions’ territory, but an excellent tackle
and steal by Will Pilkington set up a Lions’ scrum.
However, as the ball squirted untidily from the scrum, Rotherham
were quick to seize it and several short burts later flanker Leon Greeff
burst over for a simple try. Fly
half Flik Yellwin added the conversion.
More changes followed with
Jason Cundick coming on for Les Bone in the Rotherham front row, and
Alistair Newmarch taking over on the Lions’ wing from Pete Roberts.
Lions were soon snapping at Rotherham’s heels, as first little
Tommy Walsh made a sniping run, then large Chris Jones almost found a way
through. A penalty eventually
brought Rotherham some respite as they made even more changes with Andy
Gravil and Charlie Harrisson replacing hooker Chris Johnson and fly half
Kelly Filwin.
Despite all Lions’ endeavors,
it was Rotherham who struck next with a try of stunning simplicity.
A scrum in midfield 30 metres out saw Howard Parr pick up from the
base and feed scrum half Charlie Harrison for him to scythe through and
deliver the perfect pass to Peter Massey who strolled over under the
posts. Scant reward for all
the Lions’ efforts. With
fly half Wilf Linkley now off the field, Dave Scully added the conversion.
Rotherham looked a very tired
bunch as Lions tore into them again, but their last fling was forced into
touch as the excellent Nigel Yates blew an intriguing game to a halt.
Final result:
Lions
14
Rotherham 47
Rotherham certainly displayed
their Zurich Premiership potential in this game, but by no means did they
have it all their own way. Lions
can take a great deal of heart from the whole performance, especially in
the second half. More of the
same for 80 minutes next week against Henley would be just the job.
Let’s hope that we do not lapse into our old ways of playing just
below the opponent’s ability level.
Mention must be made of the
excellent travelling band of Rotherham supporters who cheered their team
vigorously, but warmly applauded the Lions’ efforts.
It was a pleasure to entertain them. |
