As ever, the opposition had the greater weight and height but they also had a settled side while Lions had to move Phil Reed to fly half and play youngsters JackYoung and John Carruthers as their centre pairing.

None of these players let the team down at all but the re-arrangement and the absence of Matt Goode was bound to hamper Rugby’s cause.

Lions nonetheless got off to a good start when scrum half Lewis Barker tapped a penalty and sent Jeff Gregson in for a try converted by Lloyd Warner for a 0-7 lead after just 3 minutes.

Lions were attacking the end of the pitch facing the imposing Lockwood Viaduct and were therefore a little bothered by the bright sunshine in their faces which could suddenly appear between the viaduct arches.

But more problematical for Rugby were an inability to string together enough coherent moves and the greater thrust of the Huddersfield ball carriers.

With 7 minutes played, Huddersfield’s kicker Chris Johnson kicked his side’s first points with a penalty, only for Warner to cancel that out soon afterwards.

Both kickers had perfect place-kicking performances with some very difficult kicks included, but Warner was far more positive in his all-round influence.

A strong Huddersfield attack led to a tapped penalty and a try on the left by winger Donovan Van Vuuren. Johnson added the conversion from the touchline to level the scores at 10-10.

Huddersfield, captained by former Lion Nick Sharpe, visibly gained in confidence and took the lead with their second try by James Wood after Lions missed a tackle in midfield.

Although it was ’Field’s bigger players who were needing physio attention, the impact of their runs must have been taking its toll on the Lions tacklers and after Johnson’s second penalty, Huddersfield took a 20-10 lead into the interval and they looked just about worth it.

Rugby began the second half with a spell of possession and this eventually produced a Warner penalty.

On 50 minutes, Rugby looked likely to score but after Warner’s run, Barker could not quite make the tryline and he was injured in the process although he stayed on the pitch.

The subsequent Rugby scrum only produced a Huddersfield penalty for crossing and Lions’ best chance of the second half had gone.

A late tackle sent wing Tom Harris flying and Wood to the sinbin, Warner kicking the resultant penalty to put Lions in reach of the lead at 20-16.

But Rugby could not make their numerical advantage work for them. In fact, Huddersfield enjoyed most of the territory and added another penalty as Woods returned.

Huddersfield now looked to run the clock down, kicking effectively deep into Lions’ half.

Late on, there was some sustained pressure from Rugby but no real scoring opportunity was produced and they had in the end to accept the losing bonus point for their somewhat disappointing display.

Rugby Lions: Warner, Gregson, Young, Carruthers, Harris, Reed, Barker, Williams, Price, Pateman, Weaver, Braband, Saunders, Munro, Nash. Reps: Marston, Warrilow, Spokes, Walton, Carney