Leicester Lions 17 Esher 20
Saturday 18th January 2020
Leicester Lions 17: Tries; Devon Constant (37), Nick Cairns (73); Conversions: Ben Young (38, 74); Penalties: Ben Young (61);
Esher 20: Tries: Dan Rowland (42), Matt Lowes (54); Conversions: James Chaumeton (43, 55); Penalties: James Chaumeton (5, 63)
League Points 1-4
Esher hold out against late comeback by Leicester Lions for a deserved victory.
It was a cold but sunny afternoon, with a breeze across the pitch, at Westleigh Park, Blaby, for the fixture between Lions and Esher.
The game started with even play, but on 5 mins Lions offended and James Chaumeton kicked a penalty for Esher.
There was balanced play in the remainder of the first half with Esher showing good commitment with excellent defence and attacking play, but not quite able to convert pressure to points.
On 31 mins Lions' Drew Rudkin was yellow carded for a technical offence.
Towards the end of the first half Lions put Esher under pressure, driving forward for winger Devon Constant to take the ball over the line for a try, converted by Ben Young, for Lions to take the lead at 7-3.
Half Time: Leicester Lions 7 Esher 3
At the start of the second half Esher pushed Lions back, with Lions knocking on to concede a scrum. Esher ran a simple ball out from the ensuing scrum with centre Dan Rowland bursting through to score a try, with James Chaumeton adding the conversion, for Esher to take the lead 7-10.
On 55 mins Esher show their forward power with prop Matt Lowes driving over for a try, with James Chaumeton adding the extras and stretching their lead to 7-17.
On 61 mins Ben Young scored a penalty for Lions to close the gap to 10-17.
Esher's Andy Hamilton was yellow carded for a no-arm tackle.
Careless play by Lions conceded a penalty, scored by James Chaumeton, taking Esher's lead to 10-20.
Lions started to put Esher's line under pressure and on 73 mins their No 8, Nick Cairns, wriggled his way through the Esher defence to score a try, with Ben Young adding the conversion, to close the score to 17-20.
The last five minutes of the game produced some nail biting play with both teams having attacking chances.
In a late play of the game Lions' pressure allowed them to work the ball out to the right wing and it looked like they might have gone over for a try, but, after a discussion between the referee and the touch judge, a penalty was given against Lions, allowing Esher to take possession and play out the game to take the deserved win.
Full Time: Leicester Lions 17 Esher 20
An exciting close game, with both sides having opportunities, but Esher had just enough advantage in their attacking and defensive play to deserve the victory.
Following the game Lions are in 6th position in National League 2 South, with Esher in 8th position.
Lions’ head coach, Gareth Collins, said: “This was a well contested game where both sides tended to cancel each other out. The Lions’ team played well, but Esher just about had the upper hand overall, which gave them a deserved victory. We felt that we made them have to compete and struggle for their victory”.
Next week Lions are away at Barnes RFC, in south-west London.
Teams – Order 15-9, 1-8, 16-20
Leicester Lions: Max Johnson, Kaz Henderson, Jamel Hamilton, Harry Glynn, Devon Constant, Ben Young, Alex Smit, James Will Roberts, Drew Rudkin, Shaun Murray, Ollie Tapscott, Ed Sumpter, Ethan Godefroy, Jonny Murdoch, Nick Cairns
Replacements: Rhod McNaughton, George Taylor-Walker, Simon Johnson, George Turner, James Stubbs
Esher: Callum Monks, Thomas James, Dan Rowland, Sam Druce, James Booth, James Chaumeton, Sam Bullock, Matt Lowes, Andy Hamilton, Dan Lamb, Cameron Gentles, Adam Bullett, Cameron Wilkins, Ben Davies, Charlie Gossington
Replacements: Patrick Calvert, Thomas Lloyd, Hugh Sloan, Thomas Mitchell, Jack Walsh.
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