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After
their league defeat at Rotherham, and the win against Halifax in the cup by
the narrowest of margins, Worcester were determined to get their promotion
drive back on track against Lions….and they did it in style with an 11 try
demolition job. Lions were given a lesson in slick, powerful 15-man rugby
as Wuss’s pack dominated possession for long periods. At least Lions’ heads
didn’t drop and the whole team battled hard for the full 80 minutes.
Recent signing Jon Roper made his debut in the centre alongside Jacques
Steyn, with Alex Taylor and Jason Critchley on the wings. Phil Reed
reverted to his favoured scrum half berth. With Simon Black and Tim
Stannard added to Lions’ seemingly never-ending injury list, Glen Carson
started at prop. Another new signing, Jimmy Fornoni was due to make his
debut in the back row, but with Rob Hurrell dropping out through illness, he
moved to lock and Ryan Banks came in at flanker. Rhys Williams, on loan
from Leicester, started at hooker, which was rough justice on Richard List
who has done enough in recent weeks to retain his place in the starting
line-up.
Wuss
tore into Lions from the off with a series of forward drives and good hands
along the backs, but Lions’ tackling was hard and true. Matt Vines had to
be at his sharpest to cover a couple of probing kicks by Wuss fly half Tim
Walsh. However, there was little that could be done to release the pressure
that Wuss were building up. In their eagerness to knock Wuss out of their
stride, Lions were caught offside beneath their own posts. Wuss opted to
scrummage it, but the Lions held firm. The ball was moved wide at pace and
Tim Walsh was on hand to dive over in the corner for the opening score after
10 minutes. His touchline conversion failed. ( 5 – 0 ).
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Lions
first real period of possession saw a good break from Jon Roper, but the
ball was lost in the tackle. It wasn’t long before Wuss’s second try
arrived, and it was that man Walsh again who scythed through the Lions’
defence from a scrum on half way, and full back Duncan Roke was on hand to
take the pass to go over under the posts. This time Tom Walsh added the
easy conversion. ( 12 – 0 ).
Lions
were living off scraps of possession, gained mainly from some good line-out
work on Wuss’s throws. In fact Lions probably took more catches from Wuss
throws than they did from their own. As Wuss drove in again, determined
Lions’ tackling forced a penalty for holding on in the tackle, and Lions
were able to clear. But the respite was brief. Lions were again penalised
for offside and the kick was duly despatched to the corner. This time Lions
were unable to steal possession from the line-out, and the powerful
Worcester pack drove on. Well organised defence by Lions halted the initial
thrust, but unfortunately, once the pack is stopped, the explosive backs are
brought into play!! Slick cross-field handling gave wing Tom Richardson
just enough room to outpace the cover into the corner. Tim Walsh’s
conversion attempt from wide out failed. ( 17 – 0 ).
Lions
were penalised for a supposed high tackle following a loooooooong advantage,
but good line-out work on the Wuss throw allowed Jacques Steyn to clear with
a booming kick. However, this time Wuss took the resultant line-out, and
text book flat passes with the men hitting the ball at pace had
international centre Ben Hinshelwood punching through the Lions’ defence to
put Tom Richardson over for his second try. Again the conversion failed.(
22 – 0 ).
Lions
were still battling hard, and they got their just reward on the stroke of
half time (yes……Lions scored just before half time!!!) when Wuss were
penalised 35 metres out and Jon Boden struck the ball sweetly between the
posts.
Half
time
Worcester 22 Lions 3
Lions
got off to a disastrous start in the second half, with Wuss scoring three
quick tries. First Lions failed to deal with the kick off and in the
confusion, Wuss wing Nnamdi Ezulike (I could have called him Asyoulikeit,
but I bet it’s been done before!!) sprinted over with barely a minute on the
clock. Tim Walsh added a good conversion. ( 29 – 3 ).
Lions
were soon under pressure again, and as their scrum was shunted off its own
put in 20 metres out, wing forward Richard Nias was driven over for the
try. The conversion attempt was wide. ( 34 – 3 ).
The
third try quickly followed as Lions desperately tried to regain their
composure. A series of knock-ons in the build up were ignored by the
referee to allow Tom Richardson to dash in for his hat trick. Tim Walsh’s
conversion looked to be going wide, but somehow crept just inside the post.
( 41 – 3 ).
At
last Lions finally got their act together. When Wuss were penalised, a
quick tap and some good recycling saw Lions move deep into Wuss territory.
Another penalty, and Wuss were looking worried!! A good line-out take and
the ball was moved wide, but a poor pass resulted in the ball being lost.
Wuss were quick to counter as they moved the ball back crossfield, but the
Lions’ cover was there to stop the attack 10 metres short. Lions were
penalised, but the decision was reversed for some foul play by lock Martin
Morgan who was duly dispatched to the sin-bin.
Any
hopes that Lions had that this might relieve some of the pressure were
quickly dashed. Again Lions were penalised in their desperate attempt to
stem the tide. The kick was to the corner, and the line-out take saw the
Wuss 7 power their way to the line for hooker Chris Hall to touch down.
Again the conversion was wide. ( 46 – 3 ).
In an
almost exact replica, Lions were again penalised, and again the kick was
dispatched to the corner. This time it was prop Tony Windo who was driven
over from the line-out take to bring up the 50 points. Replacement fly half
Craig Chalmers added the conversion. ( 53 – 3 ).
Lions
were now looking very tired…..inevitable with the amount of chasing and
tackling that they were being forced to do. With their pack restored to
full strength, Wuss now shunted a Lions’ scrum 15 metres out back at pace,
and when the ball squirted out, there was Craig Chalmers to say “thank you
very much” and pick the ball up to cross for a simple try. He also added a
good conversion from wide out. ( 60 – 3 ).
Lions
tackling was still hard and true, but Wuss always seemed to have players
available to continue the move. With another Lions’ scrum under pressure,
the defence found themselves with the ball over their own line, and a
desperate kick unluckily hit the post and bounced dead to give Wuss an
attacking scrum……a candidate for “what happened next” in years to come. It
was centre Ben Hinshelwood who scored the last try, powering his way over as
the ball was again moved wide at pace. Craig Chalmers added the conversion
to end a miserable afternoon for Lions.
Final result:
Worcester 67 Lions 3
Don musings
I
suppose this was a typical top versus bottom clash, but Lions will be
disappointed with the score after recent good performances. However,
Worcester are in another league and few sides will be able to live with
them. It will be intriguing to see the result of the fixture when Rotherham
go to Sixways.
The
positives from today? There was little opportunity for Lions to show their
attacking capability, but the tackling was generally good. There is little
that can be done against the speed and power that Wuss showed throughout
this game.
Lions
now have to put this defeat firmly behind them and concentrate on the next
game…..and what a game it is. Coventry at Webb Ellis Road is certainly a
challenge, but I firmly believe that we now have the squad and the coach to
start to challenge just about every team in the Division……including
Coventry. If the players show the determination and commitment to the cause
that we have seen recently, then the first win of the season is a very real
possibility.
It
was a real eye opener walking into the clubhouse at Wuss and seeing the
players who are currently injured but who will hopefully soon be returning
and looking to force themselves back into the team……Steve Smith, Sam Tovo,
Tim Stannard, Ben Wheeler, Guy Manson-Bishop, Simon Black, Ben Smith, James
Baker. Hopefully some of them will be fit for the fray over the Christmas
period. It will be good to start the New Year with most of these players
fit and raring to go. Then we can start to claw our way up the league……all
is not lost yet. Once we get a couple of wins under our belt, there will be
no stopping us.
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