Lions tamed by Wolves

As the story goes this was a game of two halves – unfortunately the first half belonged to Wolverhampton better than the second belonged to Stour! The final score of 29-15 reflected that the home side were more clinical in attack than the Lions who, nevertheless for a period, silenced the constant triumphalist home crowd when they came back to 24-15. Ultimately it wasn't enough but the Lions can ponder a game where they could and should have made more of their chances.

The first half saw a slick and effective home back line, playing downhill, carve huge holes in a seemingly porous Lions defence, again down the middle. Three of the four home tries, however, came from critical mistakes in the Lions defence or in one case where the ball was dropped in a fatal position just outside the Lions 22. To be 24-3 down at half-time was to worry about the potential for a heavy defeat by the end. However, on many occasions in the first period the Lions had threatened the home 22 without anything other than an Owen Williams penalty to show for it. Too many passes went astray or the ball was lost in contact and the home pack had enough experience in the scrum and in the lineout to put pressure on our attacks and slow the ball.

The second half was a complete contrast, with the Lions scoring 2 good tries, one converted, both through loan signing Merran and going close on a number of occasions. At last there was significant pressure on the home line and the crowd became increasingly nervous as the Lions spent much time in the home half.

The first Lions try came from a break out and harrying down the right by Boffey, with a series of passes letting Marc Merran over for a converted score. The second also came from a flowing move for an unconverted try. The home side had the last word, however, with one of the forwards crashing over.

A good second period from the Lions that somewhat hid the failings of the first half, where too many tackles were missed or brushed aside. There were good performances from Owen Williams at full back, Merran in the centre and a finely judged effort from Robinson at 10. The back row came into the game more and more and Strangward gave a lot in defence and in supporting attacks. More is needed, however, with the lack of focus at key times and with the lack of robust and dynamic tackling. In the end, though not good enough to win the game there was more than enough to again give the coaches material to work with.

JON DEWS