Sutton & Epsom 7 Leicester Lions 23
Saturday 9th November 2019
Lions get a deserved win and a soaking at Sutton & Epsom
League Points 0-4
Sutton & Epsom 7: Tries: Jacob Bushnell (65); Conversions: James Bourton (65);
Leicester Lions 23: Tries: Ethan Godefroy (5), Kaz Henderson (14); Conversions: Ben Young (5, 14); Penalties: Ben Young (2, 42, 75)
This was the first ever league visit of Leicester Lions to Surrey to play Sutton & Epsom, at Rugby Lane, after Lions’ move to National League 2 South. The rain throughout the game had its effect on the match and the players.
From the kick off Sutton soon conceded a penalty, with Ben Young putting the ball between the posts for Lions to take an early 0-3 lead.
Lions continued their pressure and following smart work by Nick Cairns, Ethan Godefroy went over after 5 mins to score the first try of the afternoon, with Ben Young adding the conversion.
Sutton were working an attack when Lions took an interception for Kaz Henderson to take the opportunity to sprint away and score the second try for Lions, with Ben Young adding the extras, and opening up a 0-17 lead for Lions.
Soon after Sutton stared to sort out their defence and held Lions at bay for the reminder of the first half.
Half Time: Sutton & Epsom 0 Leicester Lions 17
At the start of the second half Sutton conceded another penalty, which was scored by Ben Young for Lions. Lions were starting to take control of the game.
As the second half progressed Sutton came back into the game making more of an impact. They made good use of their replacements to put Lions back under pressure.
A quick penalty taken by Sutton allowed Jason Bushnell to score a try out wide, with James Bourton adding an excellent touch line conversion to bring the score to 7-20.
Sutton put Lions under pressure, with Devon Constant being yellow carded and George Martin receiving a red card.
These incidents proved to be too late in the game to allow Sutton any chance of adding to their score.
In the dying minutes of the game Ben Young, for Lions, added his third penalty and compounded the victory for Lions.
Full Time: Sutton & Epsom 7 Leicester Lions 23
Both sides attempted to make it a competitive game, on a none too pleasant rainy afternoon. One try to Sutton & Epsom and two tries to Lions. Lions made a good start to the game, but Sutton showed some character with their comeback in the second half. A deserved win by Lions.
Following the game Lions are in sixth position in the league and Sutton & Epsom in fourteenth position. A good start to the season for Lions, with seven victories from the first ten fixtures.
Lions’ head coach, Gareth Collins, said, “We played well during the game, making the best of the conditions. The team stuck to the task at hand keeping Sutton & Epsom under control. A good win, on an unpleasant afternoon for playing rugby.”
Teams – Order 15-9, 1-8, 16-20
Sutton & Epsom: Perry Jansen, Jacob Bushnell, Aaron Phillip, James Bourton, Daley Aremu, Jacob Knight, Ben Holt, Raynn Bruce, Chris Farrell, Theologos Skoumbourdis, Matt Harwood, Eric Duey, Oliver Kilgallon. George Drye, Matt Whitaker
Replacements: Alex Mount, David Coutts, Sam Riley, Cole Potts, Jamie See
Leicester Lions: Tom Benjamin, Kaz Henderson, Luke Veebel, Jamel Hamilton, Devon Constant, Ben Young, Alex Smit, James Whitcombe, Drew Rudkin, Shaun Murray, Ollie Tapscott, George Martin, Ethan Godefroy, Jonny Murdoch, Nick Cairns
Replacements: George Taylor-Walker, Rhod McNaughton, Will Ward, Simon Johnson, Sam Eveleigh
Also Sutton & Epson development XV 7 Leicester Lions development XV 12