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The Lions came looking to extend their winning run, they did not
disappoint, but to quote a phrase...'It was a damn close thing'
The Lions kicked off down THE
slope and Wakefield knocked on to give Lions the put-in in the Wakefield
22, unfortunately the ball was lost into touch.
On 11minutes Lions were
caught off-side and up stepped Rob Liley to put the first points on the
board.
Wakefield 3 Lions 0
Lions were immediately on the
attack but Roberts was bundled into touch ending the effort. After 14
minutes good work by Jacques Steyn (in his first match back in the league
since breaking his leg) resulted in a penalty which ‘Cliff’ Richards
pushed wide.
The Lions scrum became more
solid but line-outs and ball retention were poor allowing Wakefield the
better of both territory and possession. Constant Wakefield pressure
put the Lions on the back foot. Diccon Edwards burst through the
line and though held up just short, he managed to slip the ball to
Liley who scored by the posts. Surprisingly he failed to convert.
Wakefield 8 Lions 0
Wakefield continued to exert
pressure on a lack lustre Lions team and another penalty by Liley took
them 11 points clear. This was not looking good for the Lions
and they then lost Rob Field who was suffering from an earlier
blow to the head. (Field was in for cold victim Tim Collier- sorry my
mistake it's flu!) He was replaced by the ever dependable Paul
Thompson.
Lions first score came from a
rare bit of pressure and ‘Cliff’ Richards duly kicked the 3 points.
HALF-TIME Wakefield 11
Lions 3
Lions returned and now had
the task of playing up the famous ‘slope’. Yet another poor
kick-off put Lions firmly on the back foot again, they were
penalised and Wakefield kicked to the corner (twice for some reason?).
Smith stole the ball from the line-out but possession was turned over and
Wakefield powered over the line for another try. The conversion was
missed.
Wakefield 16 Lions 3
GAME OVER?.......................
OH NO IT WASN’T !!
It was now time for the
players to stand up and be counted. Tom Walsh picked up from the
base and powered towards the line, unfortunately out-stripping the
supporting players. Somehow Wakefield gave away a very kickable
penalty and up stepped ‘Cliff’ to plant the ball between the posts
Wakefield 16 Lions 6
16 minutes into the
second-half Steve Smith who had earlier picked up a dead leg was replaced
by ‘Sir’ Fergie Gladstone. Despite missing out on the New
Year’s Honours List he was to have a major impact on the game. 4
minutes later a well worked move resulted in the Lions first try scored by
Paul Thompson. ‘Cliff’converted.....................It was NOW
game on !!
Wakefield 16 Lions 13
Wakefield decided their cause
would be better served by bringing on half the bench. With Lions
spirit and belief running high this proved costly as the Wakefield rythmn
was now well gone. The Lions were firmly in the box seat. But,
could they pull it out of the hat?
With 3 minutes left Dickie
Davies made a clean break well supported by Ben Lewitt who was having his
best game to date in a Lions shirt. The ball was worked out to Pete
Roberts on the far side and joy of joy he was over to make
it.................
Wakefield 16 Lions 18
The Lions then grimly ran
down the clock against determined pressure.
The ref blew his whistle and
celebrations began.
Full-time
Wakefield 16 Lions 18
THIS WAS A CLASSIC GAME OF
TWO HALVES BUT THE LIONS PROVED THEY DO HAVE THE HEART AND THE SKILL TO
MOVE UP THE TABLE
............. ..........BRING
ON EXETER!!
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