Rugby Lions produced a fine effort to go very close to causing a big upset by beating third-placed Caldy, who had only failed to win one game away from home this season.

Lions gave a first start to Tom S Harris at no. 8 and he was to have a fine debut in the most difficult circumstances as Caldy had a vastly heavier, taller and more experienced set of forwards.

Rugby avoided the problems they gave themselves when conceding early points against Macclesfield a week earlier.

This time they took the lead with Jeff Gregson’s unstoppable run from well inside his own half with Lloyd Warner giving it full value with a fine conversion from near the shed touchline.

Warner and Caldy kicker Richard Vasey then swapped penalties for 10-3 after the first quarter of an hour had been played in what was already promising to be a very well contested and entertaining game.

Now Lions started to concede penalties under the pressure of Caldy’s forward power and with this came points conceded.

Vasey kicked a second penalty before Andrew Soutar and Paul Arnold scored tries converted by Vasey for Caldy to take a useful and potentially winning lead at 10-20 at the half-hour mark.

But this came only after an Alex Nash break was wasted when all his four support runners went towards the touchline instead of offering options and the golden chance of a try was lost.

Lions didn’t collapse after this disappointment but steadied the ship and Warner’s second penalty kept Rugby in touch at 13-20 at the break.

In the first half there had been one or two minor scuffles but a more prolonged disruption occurred early on in the second period.

After consultation with the touch judge, the referee sinbinned Lions’ Jack Green and Caldy’s Ollie Cooper, who both looked somewhat aggrieved with the crowd calling for the player they saw as the real culprit, visiting lock Jon Nugent, to be punished for punching.

A Caldy penalty led to Derek Salisbury’s try from the subsequent lineout and with Vasey’s conversion, this score seemed to settle the game at 13-27 just before the hour mark.

But the game remained lively, and increasingly opens, as Rugby saw the advantage in moving the ball away from the heavy Caldy pack.

Late on, this paid handsome dividends when a move across the pitch left Tom J Harris running home for a fine try. Warner took the conversion quickly to give his side the chance to score again but his kick slid past the post.

But Lions attacked again and Matt Goode and Warner then combined to send Joe Marston in for a fine try, Warner converting to take his side agonisingly close to at least the draw the Rugby performance surely deserved.

Rugby Lions: Warner, Gregson, Marston, Reed, Harris TJ, Green, Barker, Williams, Spokes, Pateman, Weaver, Campton, Saunders, Nash, Harris TS. Reps: Bradshaw, Goode, Glackin, Price, Major