LIONS FADE AFTER FINE START

Just before 70 minutes the score stood at 33-15 to the Lions and a comprehensive victory seemed on the cards against a competitive Shrewsbury side that belied their bottom of the table position. 5 tries and the bonus point looked likely to be supplemented during the last few minutes but as with so many occasions this season the home side lost focus, stamina, discipline, call it what you will and a fine performance was marred by 2 tries to Shrews in the last 5 minutes to leave the score at 33-27 and 2 bonus points to the away side we should never have allowed. That we moved up to 6th in the table with 3 wins and 3 defeats was little consolation.

The first half was a pulsating affair with each side having periods of pressure and ascendancy. Stour struck first when, after a disallowed effort by George Tildesley, Scotty Langdon scored a fine try on the left after breaking from a scrum on the Shrews 22. On 22 mins Ben Trinham scored a penalty after further infringement at the breakdown and the Lions seemed in control.
However, a minute later back came Shrews with a try where missed tackles let the Lions down and a further penalty after 35 mins brought the scores level. This time, however, the Lions didn’t panic and a pass on halfway from a ruck by Tibbets left Will Fallows with a brilliant solo dash to the line. Half-time was reached with a 13-8 lead.

An early penalty by Trinham and then another fine try by Sam Wilson after a slick backs move put the Lions into a seemingly unassailable position at 21-8 after 20 mins of the second half. Then came a competitor for try of the match with Ben Tibbets breaking through a ruck and jinking through several defenders on a 30 metre run to the line. 26-8 and the game seemed over, but a converted try by Shrews brought them back into contention at 26-15.

Nerves were settled somewhat when another backs move and a fine break from Duncan Chance put Cass Brookes over. Sam Wilson’s conversion put the home side 18 points in front but then came the last 5 minutes.

Overall there were fine performances by the front row, Scotty Langdon in the back row and by the backs in general in attack, with Ben Trinham running the moves at 10. However, there is still the worrying lack of focus, a concerning brittleness down the middle and the fade-out in the last 10 minutes almost cost us the game. Wolverhampton are up in the next few games and we need a level of concentration not seen yet in order to face them up.

JON DEWS