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Lions
fully deserved their first win in National Division 1 against a ‘Field
side that had its attacking edge blunted by a superb defensive performance
that limited ‘Field to 2 Rob Liley penalties, whilst Lions scored 2
tries themselves.
Lions
versus Wakefield games are usually entertaining, if only for their
closeness, but this one was dominated by the referee’s whistle….he
probably needs a replacement now, as the one he used today must be worn
out. It was a third of the
way through the second half before the referee allowed any sort of real
advantage, leading to a stop / start game that never had an opportunity to
develop.
Lions
welcomed back Tim Collier at lock and Phil Greenbury at prop. However,
with James Ogilvie-Bull sidelined for 2 – 3 weeks, and Eddie Saunders
picking up an injury in training, both wings needed replacing for
today’s game. Sam Tovo’s
absence with rib problems provided an opportunity for Fa’atoto Moananu
to show his paces as Lions’ second overseas player.
With Michael Dods and Nopera Stewart still not recovering from
injury, young scrum half Phil Reed was given the other wing slot.
‘Field
kicked off with a blustery wind at their backs, and Lions were soon
driving into opposition territory but lost possession, only for a wayward
‘Field kick to give Lions their first attacking opportunity from a line
out. It almost proved
disastrous as Ian Hyde’s attempted chip was charged down and collected
by ‘Field, only for the referee’s whistle to call them back as he
seemed to adjudge the charge down to be a knock on.
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Smith, who was a tower of strength throughout, was next to drive into
‘Field territory, but he was held up and ‘Field were awarded the
scrum. This time it was Lions
who charged a kick down, and Stuart Potter, who is getting more impressive
with each game as he regains match fitness, was on hand to collect the
loose ball and race away unopposed. However,
the referee brought him back for a penalty to ‘Field for offside.
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This
gave Rob Liley his first opportunity to put points on the board, but his
kick from near half way drifted wide.
Lions’ drop out was long, but Phil the Belgian (any relation to
Phil the Greek??) collected with ease, and returned the kick to the
Lions’ 22 metre line. ‘Field
stole the line, only for the referee to pull them back and award them a
scrum without really giving them any opportunity to develop an advantage.
Lions’
tackling held firm as ‘Field’s backs sought a way through, but the
referee penalised Lion’s for offside in front of their posts. This time Rob Liley made no mistake with the simple kick.
From
the kick off it was ‘Field’s turn to be penalised, and as Richard
Davis’s penalty hung in the wind, Fa’atoto Moananu leapt to take a
superb catch, setting up possession for Richard Davis to try a drop at
goal. Unfortunately this had
neither height, length, nor direction, allowing ‘Field to clear their
line.
A
good move by the ‘Field backs saw Diccon Edwards with some room, but his
chip was well taken by Pete Roberts, and ‘Field were penalised as they
tore into the ruck. Lions’
possession saw them making little headway, and when they were penalised
again, Rob Liley punished them once more with a straightforward kick from
22 metres.
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Lions’ scrum on halfway almost led to a try with Steve Smith setting up
the position with a typical bullocking run.
Quick ball saw Stuart Potter cut through several tackles, but with
Phil Reed clear outside him he took the final tackle and was brought down.
The chance appeared to be lost, but the Lions’ pack arrived in
force and they were denied a score by illegal means, allowing Richard
Davies to put Lions’ first points on the board from the resultant
penalty.
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Steve Smith leads
from the front again |
Good
hands by the ‘Field backs almost had Diccon Edwards away again, but his
inside pass to the supporting Rob Liley did not go to hand as the Lions’
cover homed in. Lions took
play into the ‘Field half, but when they won a line a ‘Field forward
went down. Lions tried to
make progress, but the man on the ground was clearly impeding the forward
drive. Tim Collier took exception to the player making no attempt to get
out of the way, and decided to give him a little help.
Unfortunately the touch judge’s intervention saw Tim yellow
carded, with no retribution to the ‘Field player who had caused the
incident. As last week, Lions
were again facing a team with a man advantage………but not for long.
‘Field
again attacked wide, but the Lions’ defence held firm.
‘Field were awarded a scrum, but Lions disrupted possession, and
when ‘Field’s Lance Hamilton caught the referee’s eye in the ensuing
maul, he too was despatched to the sin bin.
‘Field were soon back in Lions’ territory as they pushed the
ball wide, but they were forced into touch by a resolute Lions’ defence.
A Steve Smith take at the line allowed Richard Davies to clear to
half way.
Lions’
tackling was hard and true, as typified by a glorious hit and turn by
flanker Will Pilkington that allowed a Lions’ turnover. Quick ball by the forwards and good hands by the backs gave
Phil Reed an opportunity on the wing, but his chip ahead was bundled into
touch by the ‘Field cover. Lions’
now scented a score, and it was not long in coming as Steve Smith took the
line out ball and the forwards drove on for Tristan Prosser-Shaw to claim
the try. Richard Davies’s
kick from the touchline had the Shed cheering as it looked to be over, but
the touch judges signalled otherwise.
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Mr Miller awards the try to Tristan Prosser-Shaw
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Lions
were immediately penalised from the restart, but again the trusty boot of
Rob Liley proved to be not so trusty as his kick from 35 metres again
drifted wide. Tim Collier
returned to the fray just before half time, and the remainder of the half
saw the referee earn the wrath of the Shed for some very strange
decisions……..at least he was being consistent for both sides, but he
seemed determined not to let the game flow.
Half
time
Lions
8
Wakefield
6
‘Field’s
captain and number 8 Glen Wilson did not come out for the second half
having taken a knock on the knee just before half time. Tim Collier was soon in the thick of things again, and earned
a rebuke from the referee for not agreeing with his decisions.
It was easy to see the cause of the frustration, but no matter how
right you are, arguing with the referee will not change his mind.
In fact, all it does is concede another 10 metres for
“backchat”……..what a quaint expression for questioning the
referee’s parentage!!
Richard
Davis came to Lions’ rescue again with another long kick, but again Phil
the Belgian was equal to the task. However,
Fa’atoto Moananu showed his pace to effect a good tackle and force a
Lions’ penalty. Richard
Davies drilled the kick to the corner.
The lineout did not go quite to plan, but Lions secured scrappy
ball and looked to set up an attack.
However, the referee decided that his whistle was going cold and a
shrill blast brought Lions back for a penalty before they had any sort of
opportunity to develop an advantage.
Lions
opted for a close in scrum, and a blind side move almost had full back
Pete Roberts in at the corner. ‘Field
intercepted his pass inside, but they were forced into touch to give Lions
the throw at the line. Lions
needed a score from the early pressure, but possession from the line was
wasted as the Lions’ backs were penalised for holding on in the tackle.
A
series of penalties and free kicks saw play going nowhere for a while, as
the referee’s whistle dominated proceedings.
‘Field attempted to step up the pace by bringing on a couple of
substitutes, and gradually they started to enjoy more possession.
However, Lions’ tackling was superb, with ‘Field often not
making the gain line, and occasionally being driven back in the face of
fierce opposition.
Lions
brought on fresh legs as Marek Kwisiuk replaced Jason Britten at hooker,
Toby Bainbridge-Kay took over the scrum half slot from Tom Walsh, and Ben
Lewitt came into the back row for Will Pilkington, who had enjoyed another
fine game.
Good
hands by the Lions’ backs almost had Phil Reed away, but the final pass
did not go to hand. But
what’s this?!?! Is it a
bird…..is it a ‘plane……no, it’s the referee playing advantage
and then bringing Lions back for an earlier offence to give them a
penalty!! A Richard Davies
“boomer” put Lions into the ‘Field half, and a flowing move almost
had speedy Fa’atoto Moananu away. ‘Field
were penalised in trying to repel the attack, and the trusty boot of
Richard Davies made no mistake to give Lions a bit of breathing space at
11 - 6.
Phil
the Belgian soon had Lions on the back foot with a superb raking kick to
the corner from open play. Now
it was the Shed’s turn to bite their fingernails as ‘Field exerted
pressure in an attempt to get the score that would bring them back into
contention. A kick through
was coolly covered by Fa’atoto Moananu for Richard Davies to clear.
Back came ‘Field, but the thin red (and black) line was in no
mood to be breached as more tenacious tackling denied them.
A
Lions’ counter attack saw a blatant forward pass completely missed by
all the officials. As Lions
carried on the move, a chip ahead by Richard Davies was easily taken by
Neil Summers, and Lions’ hearts were in their mouths as he raced clear. They were soon back in their rightful place in the chest
cavity as the trusty referee’s whistle brought ‘Field back for an
earlier offence and a Lions’ scrum.
Another
period of scrappy play followed as the Shed tried to guess the tune the
referee was playing on his whistle. Consensus
was it seemed to be “the plight of the fumble referee”.
‘Field
were awarded a free kick at a scrum, and Lions were marched back another
ten metres for not guessing the correct tune.
However, when ‘Field were penalised for crossing, Richard Davies
teed up the kick from just inside his own half.
It was a sweet strike, and the Shed were cheering as the ball
looked on course for a magnificent 3 points, but the ball struck an
upright and bounced beyond the dead ball line.
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| In attack
and defence Lions out number Wakey |
‘Field
took the ball from the resultant drop out, and a long clearance kick soon
had Lions back in their own 22. It
looked as though Lions were conspiring to put ‘Field back in the game as
they lost 2 scrums against the head in quick succession, but again the
tackling was superb to keep ‘Field at bay.
When ‘Field were penalised, it was their turn to be marched back
10 metres as Rob Liley was singled out by the referee after claiming that
he could “name that tune in one”, but failing miserably.
Then
came the moment the Shed had been waiting for.
Another long kick by Richard Davies saw Phil the Belgian as safe as
ever, but then the full back made his only mistake of the afternoon as he
tried a cheeky chip over the advancing Lions’ tacklers. Ben Lewitt, who seemed to be everywhere in both attack and
defence, was on hand to fall on the ball, and as the Lions’ forwards
secured possession, Toby Bainbridge-Kay stole up the blind side to gain 10
metres. As he was tackled,
the pack was again on hand to retain possession, but as Toby was now at
the bottom of the ruck, who was it who popped up at scrum half?
None other than Tim Collier. Having
seen Toby gain ground on the blind side, Tim decided to do the same, and
after making another 10 metres he slipped a scoring pass to Fa’atoto
Moananu for the speedy winger to race in at the corner.
Richard Davies added a superb touchline conversion.
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Tim Collier feeds Fa'atoto Moananu
for the decisive score |
Lions
almost had time for another score as a high kick bounced awkwardly, and
little Phil Reed soared high into the air in an attempt to take the ball
but could only get his finger tips to it as it hovered around 6 feet from
the ground. Lions ended the
game on the attack as the referee brought his concerto to a close.
Final
result:
Lions
18
Wakefield
6
Another
spirited performance from Lions that augurs well for the rest of the
season. Paul Turner and
Richard Cockerill are moulding the squad into an outfit that has a certain
steel and strength of character that will stand it in good stead.
With players returning from injury competition for places is
starting to hot up, and performances to date show that the squad has the
strength in depth that will be required to see it through a difficult
campaign. The acid test comes
next week with a trip to “fortress Exeter”.
There is no doubt that the team has the ability, and the belief, to
come away with a result.
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