Battling Lions Lose at Home to Powerful Wolves

After a tough physical encounter in the Cup the previous week the Lions found this a game too far against a big and mobile Wolverhampton, who increased the gap between the top 3 and the rest with a 38-5 win. Although the final score was a little hard on the Lions a slick visiting back line and powerful runners close to the breakdown proved the Lions’ downfall, with an inability to put players down behind the gain line.

The game started reasonably well with the Lions resisting pressure and mounting some attacks of their own. After an early penalty for Wolves the game sparked into life and a number of promising moves and good pressure almost saw Fallows over following a great cross kick from Robinson, the ball just skidding into touch rather than staying infield.

However, the Wolves forwards were already starting to rumble; fed by the scrum-half they kept rolling around the breakdown and making 10-15 metres each time, allowing the visiting backs to play on the front foot and dictate the game. A converted try after 30 mins was followed by another as Lions tacklers fell off runners down the channels. The score at half-time was 17-0 to Wolves, despite some positive action from the home side and parity in both scrum and lineout.

The second half opened with Lions pressure and a try following a number of phases and a quick penalty from which Trinham went over for an unconverted try. At this point there seemed to be a way back but the visitors scored within 5 mins to put them beyond the Lions’ reach. Further tries after 20 minutes and near the end compounded the problems facing the Lions.

There were positives for the Lions, despite the score. They kept going right to the end and resisted manfully at times, winning the major share of the lineouts and keeping more than parity in the scrums, but this did not hide the fact that they were outgunned in contact and at the breakdown, where only a few put in the tackles required to drive Wolves backwards.

There was a need to hit Wolves runners at or behind the gain line; instead too much time was taken, allowing big forwards to get up to speed and break one and two tackles each time. In addition, promising moves, especially in the 1st half, fell down with a final pass or too much urgency, allowing Wolves to take full advantage.

The final is likely to be against Wolves – in the meantime it gives us the opportunity to see where the mistakes can be rectified.

JON DEWS