Westcliff 12 Leicester Lions 19

Saturday 21st September 2019

Lions’ commitment gets the better of Westcliff in a close game

League Points 1-4

Westcliff 12: Tries: Joseph Vandermolen (26), Sean Triana (79); Conversions: Greg Bannister (27);
Leicester Lions 19: Tries: Devon Constant (15), Ed Sumpter (36), Kaz Henderson (42); Conversions: Greg Loydall (16, 43)

It was a sunny afternoon for the first ever league visit of Leicester Lions to Westcliff, at The Gables, Westcliff, Southend on Sea, after Lions’ move to National League 2 South.
In a closely competed game both sides tested each other out in the first fifteen minutes, with balanced play and both sides having opportunities.
On 15 mins Lions worked their way down the touchline to send their winger, Devon Constant, away for the opening try of the game, with Greg Loydall adding the conversion.
Lions’ Nick Cairns was yellow carded for a technical offence on 22 mins.
Good tight play by Westcliff drove the play towards the Lions’ line, with Westcliff’s Joseph Vandermolen going over for a try, with Greg Bannister adding the extras and levelling the scores.
Lions replied putting Westcliff under pressure with Lions’ Ed Sumpter outrunning the Westcliff defence to go over for a try and Lions going ahead at the break.

Half Time: Westcliff 7 Leicester Lions 12

Lions continued their attacking game after the break with an electric run from their winger, Kaz Henderson, who, with a smart interchange with Sam Benjamin, went over to score Lions’ third try, with Loydall adding the conversion and opening the gap to 12 points.
Westcliff were not for giving up easily and returned putting Lions under pressure.
On 69 mins Lions’ Oli Taylor was yellow carded for a technical offence and on 75 mins Lions’ Drew Rudkin was similarly yellow carded, during pressure on the Lions’ line.
It looked like Westcliff might be coming back into the game and on 79 mins their winger, Sean Triana, skipped over for a try, taking the score to 12-19.

Full Time: Westcliff 12 Leicester Lions 19

Two tries to Westcliff and three tries to Lions.

Some competitive rugby by both sides saw a well balanced game, but Lions ability allowed them to come away with a deserved win.
Following the game Lions were in eighth position in the league and Westcliff in thirteenth position.

Lions’ head coach, Gareth Collins, said, “It was good to get our first away win of the season under our belt. Westcliff gave us a tough game and little space to play with. Many congratulations to the Lions’ team who put a lot of effective and skilful effort into their game, against Westcliff who produced good endeavour throughout the match.”

Teams – Order 15-9, 1-8, 16-20
Westcliff: Aaron James, Sean Triana, Greg Bannister, Chris Bolton, Jack Hogarth, Elliot Croft, Henry Morrant, Will Weston, Will Morrant, Ewan Binneman, James Scoggins, Joseph Vandermolen, Blaine Webber, Chris Marsh, Sam Reynolds
Replacements: Ben McKeith, Connor Binstead, Kostas Dellas, Kwame Kwaasi, James Webster

Leicester Lions: Sam Benjamin, Kaz Henderson, Jamel Hamilton, Luke Veebel, Devon Constant, Greg Loydall, James Stubbs, Will Roberts, Oli Taylor, Shaun Murray, Ed Sumpter, Will Ward, Ethan Godefroy, Jonny Murdoch, Nick Cairns
Replacements: Charlie Loveday, Drew Rudkin, Simon Johnson, Max Johnson, Alex Smit

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