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Lions
turned in a far more committed performance than of late, but it was still
not good enough to stop Birmingham Solihull progressing to the next round of
the Powergen cup.
Lions
made several enforced changes with Jon Boden being cup tied, Rob Hurrell
sustaining an injury in midweek playing for Leicester Extras, and Tim
Stannard suffering from flu. Jacques
Steyn moved to fly half, with Alex Taylor coming in to partner Chris Frara
in the centre. Matt Hunter
started at lock, with Ben Smith covering at number 8.
Other changes saw Phil Reed move to the wing to give Eddie a rest,
and provide an opportunity for James Bingham at scrum half.
The other changes were in the front row where Simon Black, Marek
Kwisiuk, and Richard Tarrant were given an opportunity to stake their claim.
Lions
got off to the worst possible start when a Jacques Steyn “Gary Owen” was
superbly taken under pressure by Bees full back David Knight in his own 22.
Not content with that, he spun away from several would be tacklers
and created space for Leigh Hinton to race clear up the right.
Support was on hand and a try looked imminent, but was denied on the
line by a flying Phil Reed tackle. However
Bees arrived in numbers to secure possession, and it was that man David
Knight who was on hand to finish off what he had started to go over from
close range. Leigh Hinton added
the conversion to immediately put Lions on the back foot.
( 0 – 7 ).
Lions
were looking somewhat disorganised. A
slow pass from a scrum saw Jacques Steyn in all sorts of trouble, and Lions
were caught offside in trying to recover.
The kick was tapped to the corner and the line-out duly won.
Lions tackling was firm, but when the ball was spun wide, excellent
handling created just enough space for Leigh Hinton to crash over in the
corner. He was unable to add
the conversion from wide out. (
0 – 12 ).
A
long Jacques Steyn kick saw Nick Baxter covering, but the wing opted to run
from defence. Wrong choice!!
He was swallowed up by the advancing Lions’ tacklers, and conceded
a penalty for not releasing the ball in the tackle.
Lions opted to kick to the corner, and Guy Manson-Bishop rose to take
the catch. When the ball was
moved inside, poor handling by Lions’ backs allowed Bees to break clear.
Again Lions were indebted to Phil Reed’s defensive qualities as he
stifled the attack with another good tackle.
However,
Bees continued the attack, and a series of drives saw the ball held up over
the line for a 10 metres scrum. A
quick heel, a pick up and feed by number 8 , and scrum half Paul Knight was
over for a simple try by the posts. Leigh
Hinton added the equally simple conversion.
( 0 – 19 ).
Oh
dear…….here we go again!! I sense another cricket score coming up.
It looked as though Bees would add to their tally when Matt Vines
tried to tap a kick through into touch, but only succeeded in putting the
ball straight into Nick Baxter’s hands.
Another try looked on the cards, but fortunately the ball was knocked
forward as it was moved inside.
Lions
kicking from hand was poor, and another misdirected effort saw Bees driving
back, but they were penalised in the process.
Jacques Steyn’s kick took Lions into the Bees’ 22.
Another poor line-out almost lost possession, but the ball was
retained, more by good luck than judgement.
However, Lions made the most of the possession.
Jacques Steyn feinted right, but cut back left.
A shimmy and a dummy saw him create space for Phil Reed to arrive at
pace and his perfectly angled run took him inside a bemused Bees defence to
score under the posts. Jason
Critchley added the conversion. (
7 - 19 ).
Lions
were now looking much more purposeful and solid tackling denied Bees any
headway. Ben Wheeler sustained
an injury playing his part in the action, and was replaced by Ryan Banks.
Another
Jacques Steyn “bomb” had Nick Baxter in all sorts of trouble, but Chris
Frara just failed to take an awkwardly bouncing ball and the opportunity was
lost. Alex Taylor was next to
show as he cut through, but a high tackle illegally halted his progress.
Jason Critchley made no mistake with his penalty kick.
( 10 – 19 ).
Lions
were soon back on the attack following a crunching midfield tackle by
Jacques Steyn. Guy
Manson-Bishop made the initial break, and Marek Kwisiuk was on his shoulder
to continue the move. Guy was
on hand again, and with Bees defending desperately, the ball was moved wide
where Matt Vines used a 3 man overlap to dummy his way over.
Jason Critchley failed to add the conversion from a very kickable
position. ( 15 – 19 ).
With
half time fast approaching, a powerful drive by the Bees’ pack saw Lions
penalised for coming into the maul from the side, and Leigh Hinton planted
his 35 metres kick between the posts. Lions
half time hoodoo strikes again. (
15 – 22 ).
However,
there was still time for Bees to be penalised at the restart, but Jason
Critchley’s 40 metres kick fell just short.
Half
time
Lions
15
Birmingham Solihull 22
How
many times have we said that it is crucial for Lions to score first after
the break??? It nearly came
with a delicate crossfield kick from Jacques Steyn that almost had Jason
Critchley away, but the bounce took the ball away from him.
However, Lions retained possession, and when the ball was swung back
crossfield, I bet you can’t guess who was lurking in the centre.
You’ve got it…..that man Guy Manson-Bishop.
Phil Reed was outside him completely unmarked and screaming for the
ball, but the lock used him as a foil to crash over.
Jason Critchley’s conversion brought Lions on level terms.
( 22 – 22 ).
A
lovely take and mark by Jacques Steyn allowed him to feed Matt Vines for the
full back to clear 40 metres. However,
he was taken out with a late tackle and Lions opted for the penalty where
the ball landed. Jason
Critchley made no mistake with his 35 metres kick to put Lions’ noses in
front with 15 minutes to go. (
25 – 22 ).
Jason
had the opportunity to repeat the exercise when the Bees prop was penalised
for boring in at a scrum, but his 40 metres kick sailed wide.
Bees
now made changes with Thomas Jordan and Paul Knight being replaced by Nathan
Carter and Gavin Cattle. The
scrum half made an immediate impact with a lovely break, but prop Terry
Sigley, who replaced Andrew Collins just after half time, was shown the red
card in the follow up for illegal use of the boot.
Lions
should now have turned the screw, but they conspired to lose the attacking
line-out from the penalty, and Bees released wing Leigh Hinton who was
hauled down by a desperate Lions’ cover.
Lions
lost their numeric advantage when Tristan Prosser-Shaw was sin binned for
killing the ball. Now it was
Bees with their tails up, but determined attacking was repulsed by equally
determined defending by Lions. The
first scrum after the Bees’ prop’s dismissal saw Andrew Colling return
to the fray in place of number 8 Fakatou Hesekele.
Lions were penalised at the scrum for offside as they broke round,
and the penalty was tapped to the corner.
Lions held out a series of determined thrusts, but Bees’
persistence paid off as Gavin Cattle sniped his way over from short range.
Leigh Hinton added the conversion to put Bees back in front.
( 25 – 29 ).
Wholesale
replacements followed with Bees bringing on star fly half Luke Smith for
Steven Perry, and Gordie Houston for Robert Merritt.
Lions replaced both props, with Richard List and Phil Greenbury
taking over from Simon Black and Richard Tarrant, both of whom performed
admirably both in the tight and the loose.
James Black came on in place of James Bingham and took the wing
berth, allowing Phil Reed to move to scrum half.
Tristan Prosser-Shaw also returned after his indiscretion.
Luke
Smith made an immediate impact when Lions were penalised as he fired over a
40 metres kick to stretch Bees’ lead.
( 25 – 32 ).
An
almighty punch up ensued from the restart instigated by Bees’ prop Andrew
Colling, but it was Bees’ lock Neil Fletcher and Lions’ prop Phil
Greenbury who received yellow cards.
It
was that man Luke Smith who put the final nail in Lions’ coffin as he
sliced through from 22 metres to score by the posts, and then added the
conversion. ( 25 – 39 ).
Final
result:
Lions
25
Birmingham Solihull 39
A
more spirited display from Lions, but more will be needed next week when we
resume our League programme against Plymouth.
I
refuse to muse any more as I am getting tired of repeating myself……but
just one more time for posterity. Please,
please, please can we have a coach who can bring some passion and planning
into our performances??????? However,
methinks we might have passed the point of no return…….but how I would
love to be proved wrong.
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