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As expected Leicester provided a much sterner test for
Rugby in the clash of the Lions at Webb Ellis Road on a bright and warm
September afternoon. Early tries in each half seemed to lead to a little
complacency in the home side’s play in what turned out to be a highly
competitive match, if not of the highest quality.
Lions started well into a slight breeze and after the
visitors lost their first and only lineout of the game (they were
excellent in this department in stark contrast to Rugby) Hawks slotted a
penalty when Leicester strayed offside. Straight from the restart, Matt
Davies collected a loose ball and set up a ruck. Toby released Ade Hales
to streak down the line in front of the shed. With perfect timing he
returned the ball to Toby on the 22 metre line to streak over for a
lovely try. Hawks failed with the relatively simple conversion. Thoughts
of last week’s try fest probably raised the home supporters hopes of a
repeat performance but that wasn’t to be.
Rugby conceded their first points of the season when
Wilf was penalised for coming into a ruck from the side. Ex Rugby Lion
Alan Mitchell slotted the kick.
A lovely run from Dominic Wareing from in front of
his own posts led to a dropped goal attempt from Peter Glakin which
drifted just wide. Alan Mitchell then almost crossed the line in the
left corner but lost the ball forward in the tackle.
With 25 minutes on the clock Wilf was given 10
minutes in the bin for handling the ball on the floor. A superb break
from Hawks was carried on by Matt Goode with a deft boot but was
blatantly pulled back by his shirt 5 metres from the line to deny the
try. The referee saw this and gave the penalty but amazingly failed to
issue a yellow card to the culprit. Hawks made matters worse by failing
to add the 3 points.
Half Time:- Rugby Lions 8 Leicester Lions 3
The second half began similar to the first when
Leicester were penalised for jumping early at a Rugby line-out on their
own 22. The ever alert Toby Handley took a quick tap and with the
visitors still trying to regroup, fed Alex Nash to score near the posts.
With the breeze now at his back Hawks slotted the conversion to make the
score a more comfortable 15-3.
From a lineout on Rugby’s 5-metre line Leicester
tried to use their superior size to maul over the try line but Rugby
were having none of it. Instead they ripped the ball from them and began
to drive the visitors back at a great rate of knots only to be stopped
on the 22 when the maul was pulled down. Leicester’s No3 earned a spell
in the bin for his efforts.
Leicester have a lively set of backs orchestrated
well by their skilful fly half and with more possession were beginning
to look dangerous, aided by the home side missing several first up
tackles. Rugby however always managed to regroup and repel any attacks
and never really looked like conceding a try. Hawks added a further
penalty to make the score 18-3. Play was becoming fairly scrappy at this
stage with several errors and turnovers.
It’s early to get too carried away, and tougher
challenges lay ahead, but two wins and nine points in the bag is a very
good start for Rugby, and the fact that we have only conceded one
penalty is testament to our defence. |
