Rugby Lions progressed to round three of the EFD National Trophy following a hard fought victory over an impressive Midlands 1 Luctonians at a bitterly cold Webb Ellis Road.

The visitors kicked off facing a strong wind, and it soon became clear that a home victory would not be a formality. A strong down the left flank by Tom Harris was halted by last defender Chris James, who refused to release the tackled player and was promptly shown a yellow card by referee Andy Bickle. Harry Owens went for goal from near the touchline, but his kick was narrowly wide.

After Luctonians were caught offside on their own twenty-two, Lion’s put the visitors under severe pressure with a series of pick and drives. The visitors defended manfully, and just when they appeared to have weathered the storm and almost reached halfway, they lost the ball, which gave Ade Hales the opportunity to run through and score in front of the clubhouse. The conversion attempt by Owens hit the upright.

Luctonians then enjoyed a spell of territorial advantage without ever threatening Lion’s try line. Back came Rugby, and moving the ball down the back line, the chance was on for Tom Harris. With two defenders in front of him, he defied his stature and showed great strength in barging through them to score in the left corner. The conversion was again narrowly missed.

Luctonians must have been pleased going in at half time trailing by only ten points, and must have fancied their chances of overturning the lead. They soon put their first points on the board with a penalty by James, and when a long kick through over the try line was failed to be grounded by Justin Parker, Peter Smith fell on the ball for a try converted by James, and the scores were level at 10-10.

Rugby then stepped up a gear, helped by a number of replacements, and the pressure finally told when Alex Nash crashed over following a quick tap penalty by Toby Handley. Owens converted to give Lions a seven-point lead.

A nice piece of skill by Stuart Riding set Michael Rust off on a run down the left touchline, but he was tackled into touch just short of the line.

Shaun Brady then combined with Alex Nash who shrugged off three or four tackles to put the game safe at 24-10, following the conversion by Owens.

With the light fading and the temperature dropping fast, Lions played out the remainder of the game in the visitor’s half to seal a deserved win.