Rugby Lions - The Rugby Football Club, from the Home of the Game

Match Report - by a hardy soul who travelled to Plymouth

A reshuffled Lions side was, in the end, very soundly beaten by a Plymouth side who dominated in the pack and had the backs to exploit the gaps that inevitably appeared as Rugby tackled themselves to a standstill in the second half.

Rugby had seen their Wasps loan players recalled by the Premiership side but recalled Rob Hurrell. The bench was half-filled with Colts who had impressed against the Royal Navy in midweek.

Lions looked lively early on after both sides made errors and a sustained attack led to Phil Reed, again at full back, sending over a thirty metre drop goal.

Albion fly half Tom Barlow, who was to have a very influential game, equalised with a 6th minute penalty and Jon Boden replied three minutes later.

It was already clear the Rugby pack was going to struggle. Their own scrums were turned over or simply turned with regularity and penalties were conceded as the ball was clung on to at all costs.

When the backs got the ball, however, inspired by Boden, they looked enterprising and sure-handed but could not break through to score the points they needed with Plymouth having the wind and bright sun in their faces.

Plymouth started to exploit their forward superiority by taking lineouts and scrums from kickable penalties. This led to tries by Will James and Dan Ward-Smith before Barlow ghosted through for the one soft try of the first half. Boden's penalty left Lions 10 points down at the interval.

Half time score Plymouth Albion 22 Rugby Lions 12

Rugby now had wind and sun to contend with but also knew they had an inexperienced bench. Hurrell did reappear after a karate chop to his throat but Steve Smith skirted with the sinbin with regular arguments with the ref.

Lions had occasional attacks with James Baker carrying most threat, but they spent most of the half in defence.

Between the 47th and 60th minutes, Plymouth rampaged through the Lions defence to score 19 points despite what was definitely a spirited and courageous Rugby performance. But Richard List was sinbinned for most of this time for a 'team offence'; he was just the unlucky one after the ref ran out of patience with technical infringements.

Plymouth brought on five replacements for the last 10 minutes. Lions gave league debuts to Colts Dan Facer and David Clements late on.

Two late tries took advantage of a very tired Rugby side but their heads had not dropped and they never stopped trying to tackle. No one could complain at the attitude of the players available to take to the pitch.

Lions team

Reed, Baker, Critchley (McAdam), Taylor, Bale (Clements), Boden, Jenkins, List, Williams, Greenbury (Tarrant), Smith S, Hurrell, Harvey (Banks, Tarrant temp), Prosser-Shaw, Wheeler (Facer)

Reps not used: Mee, Gareth Collins

Scorers DG Reed Pen Boden (3)

Match Preview

Lions team

by Dennis Keen

It is a very long time since Rugby Lions last played at Beacon Park. It was in fact on April 10^th 1993 when Rugby were on an Easter tour of the West Country. They played their opening game there with tries for Bishop and Revan producing an 8-12 victory.

This season continues to be a horror story for Rugby Lions and the chances of the team registering a solitary league victory diminish by the week. It is strange to recall that the nearest Rugby came to a first league victory this season, was on the day that Plymouth came to Webb Ellis Road last October. A win at that stage of the season could well have made way for some more, and relegation might therefore have been avoided.

Plymouth have won eight out of the nineteen league games they have played so far, and are in eighth place in the league table, three points ahead of Coventry, by virtue of a superior number of try bonus points. Losers at Beacon Park were Bedford, Birmingham, Manchester, Moseley and Wakefield. The four winners on Plymouth turf are all in the top six of the table, Exeter, London Welsh, Rotherham and Worcester; Orrell, in third place, shared the points. Away wins are fewer, just three; at Manchester, Otley and Rugby. Plymouth were losers at Birmingham, Coventry, London Welsh, Moseley (how?), Rotherham and Wakefield.

Can the Lions win? The answer to this question, so beloved of the late Peter Watkins, very much depends on who is in the team or, more precisely how many replacements will be on their bench. The smart money has to go on Plymouth.

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Reps