Match report 13/1/24

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   Blackheath 27 Leicester Lions 29
The Lions made it back-to-back wins in National 1 for the first time this season with a hard earned but much deserved away win against Blackheath. The bonus point victory lifts the side up to 12th in the table and out of the relegation zone.
The home side weren't able to gather the kick off and the Lions' early momentum was rewarded after Dan Lewis made a break on the blind side and his pass sent Jamel Hamilton across within two minutes.
The home side responded only minutes later though when winger Jake Lloyd sent a neat grubber-kick in to the in-goal area which centre Markus Burcham grounded. Fly-half Matt Dalrymple added the conversion for a 7-5 lead.
The game was a fairly even contest, with both defences coping well with the wide attacking intent from both teams. It was the Lions who struck first again though and it was again Lewis and Hamilton who combined on the edge to this time put James Stubbs over who had ran his usual inside support line. This time Lewis converted for a 12-7 lead.
Dalrymple clawed back three points for Blackheath from a penalty kick but a superb chip and chase just before half-time from the impressive Lewis saw him race away unopposed for a deserved 19-10 interval lead.
The Lions controlled the opening exchanges of the second half well, with the two Leicester Tigers' substitutes Tim Hoyt and Simon Koroiyadi making immediate impacts both on and off the ball. It was Lewis again though who sparked the bonus point try as his perfectly weighted crossfield kick was finished by another impressive Leicester Tiger loanee, 18 year old outside back Charlie Davies, who was making only his second appearance for the Lions. (10-24)
It seems as though the Lions were in total control of the contest when Nick Cairns suffered an unfortunate injury with 25 minutes to go but the lengthy delay sparked the home side in to life. Immediately following the resumption of play, Blackheath scored a catch and drive try from the lineout, finished by hooker Billy Harding.
Then almost immediately from the kick off the home side found some space down the blind side and a kick through was dribbled forward by Harding for Burcham to score his second. Darlymple converted to cut the deficit to just two points (22-24).
To round off an incredible 7 minutes for Blackheath, winger Alex Noot claimed a box kick and broke down the left and then found centre Leo Fielding on his inside to cross out wide and take a 27-24 lead.
The Lions finally managed to re-compose themselves and with 7 minutes remaining the Lions man-of-the-match Dan Lewis sent a delicate kick through on half way that was scooped up by Johnny Murdoch who fed replacement scrum-half Fin Ogden, who in turn drew the last defender to send Luke Bouchier over for what was to be the winning score.
A long way to go for the Lions but a second consecutive win against opposition that had defeated them in the first half of the season bodes well for the fight for survival.
Head coach Gareth Collins commented: ''Obviously today was about the win but I actually think it was one of our best performances of the season. Apart from 10 minutes I thought we were the better side and to do that away from home is not easy. We were really disciplined and some of our wide attack was brilliant. Obviously another win improves our position, and gives us more confidence, but we know we've got loads of work still to do. The boys are up for the challenge though, as we saw today, so we're looking forward to another opportunity next week to avenge a defeat from the first half of the season against Plymouth.''

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tigerburnie Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List World Cup Winner Joined: 10 Jun 2012 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 3800	Post Options Post Reply Quote tigerburnie Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Match report 13/1/24 Posted: 14 Jan 2024 at 17:40
	Blackheath 27 Leicester Lions 29 The Lions made it back-to-back wins in National 1 for the first time this season with a hard earned but much deserved away win against Blackheath. The bonus point victory lifts the side up to 12th in the table and out of the relegation zone. The home side weren't able to gather the kick off and the Lions' early momentum was rewarded after Dan Lewis made a break on the blind side and his pass sent Jamel Hamilton across within two minutes. The home side responded only minutes later though when winger Jake Lloyd sent a neat grubber-kick in to the in-goal area which centre Markus Burcham grounded. Fly-half Matt Dalrymple added the conversion for a 7-5 lead. The game was a fairly even contest, with both defences coping well with the wide attacking intent from both teams. It was the Lions who struck first again though and it was again Lewis and Hamilton who combined on the edge to this time put James Stubbs over who had ran his usual inside support line. This time Lewis converted for a 12-7 lead. Dalrymple clawed back three points for Blackheath from a penalty kick but a superb chip and chase just before half-time from the impressive Lewis saw him race away unopposed for a deserved 19-10 interval lead. The Lions controlled the opening exchanges of the second half well, with the two Leicester Tigers' substitutes Tim Hoyt and Simon Koroiyadi making immediate impacts both on and off the ball. It was Lewis again though who sparked the bonus point try as his perfectly weighted crossfield kick was finished by another impressive Leicester Tiger loanee, 18 year old outside back Charlie Davies, who was making only his second appearance for the Lions. (10-24) It seems as though the Lions were in total control of the contest when Nick Cairns suffered an unfortunate injury with 25 minutes to go but the lengthy delay sparked the home side in to life. Immediately following the resumption of play, Blackheath scored a catch and drive try from the lineout, finished by hooker Billy Harding. Then almost immediately from the kick off the home side found some space down the blind side and a kick through was dribbled forward by Harding for Burcham to score his second. Darlymple converted to cut the deficit to just two points (22-24). To round off an incredible 7 minutes for Blackheath, winger Alex Noot claimed a box kick and broke down the left and then found centre Leo Fielding on his inside to cross out wide and take a 27-24 lead. The Lions finally managed to re-compose themselves and with 7 minutes remaining the Lions man-of-the-match Dan Lewis sent a delicate kick through on half way that was scooped up by Johnny Murdoch who fed replacement scrum-half Fin Ogden, who in turn drew the last defender to send Luke Bouchier over for what was to be the winning score. A long way to go for the Lions but a second consecutive win against opposition that had defeated them in the first half of the season bodes well for the fight for survival. Head coach Gareth Collins commented: ''Obviously today was about the win but I actually think it was one of our best performances of the season. Apart from 10 minutes I thought we were the better side and to do that away from home is not easy. We were really disciplined and some of our wide attack was brilliant. Obviously another win improves our position, and gives us more confidence, but we know we've got loads of work still to do. The boys are up for the challenge though, as we saw today, so we're looking forward to another opportunity next week to avenge a defeat from the first half of the season against Plymouth.''