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Sat 27 Sep 2014 ·  Midlands 2 West (North)
Lions XVOld Saltleians
7
36
LIONS GO DOWN TO OLD SALTS AT HOME
Michael Hollis28 Sep 2014 - 20:32
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The Lions lost their second consecutive game when Old Salts returned to Stourton Park
The Lions lost their second consecutive game when Old Salts returned to Stourton Park for a thoroughly merited revenge win following their defeat here in the cup. Throughout the Old Salts back line were very effective with 9 and 10 running the game and the left wing outstanding. The Lions made far too many mistakes in possession and were bullied off the ball in the contact area.
Initially there seemed little alarm for the Lions and they took the lead in the first 15 minutes with a try that started on the edge of their own 22. No. 8 Scotty Langdon, the Lions man of the match, made ground upfield from a scrum and offloaded to Danny Cox. Cox continued the move down the right wing and produced a fine inside pass to scrum-half Trinham who cleverly cross kicked to the centre of the field on the 22 where Langdon dived on the ball and a fine pass off the back of the ensuing breakdown left Dews with a simple run in under the posts. Wilson’s conversion left the score at 7-0.
However, the rest of the half belonged to Salts, with a penalty soon after, a try and 3 goals to leave the game 7-29 at the half. By 25 minutes the Lions had lost Wilson to the sin-bin for a misjudged late tackle and the Lions were 15 points down. There was an almost collective loss of focus and control, with missed passes, knocks-on and missed tackles that contributed to an almost insurmountable points gap.
The second half opened with 5-10 minutes of extreme pressure from the Lions, with 3 incisive moves that should have ended in tries failing with the last pass or a dropped ball. To their credit the Lions, despite huge pressure from Salts, refused to buckle, continuing to attack at every opportunity. Eventually, though, a tiring defence was penetrated for the final score, a converted try resulting in a 7-36 scoreline. With chances for both sides in an exciting second half the score could easily have been 50-30 in Salts favour.
This defeat was a sobering experience for a young side but one that will be a sound learning experience for them and an early exposure to one of the top teams in this division. There is still huge promise and there were some sound performances under pressure in the forwards and backs. They all appreciate where they need to improve and there is time to do so. This week there is a chance to put training into practice with a friendly at RAF Cosford.
Initially there seemed little alarm for the Lions and they took the lead in the first 15 minutes with a try that started on the edge of their own 22. No. 8 Scotty Langdon, the Lions man of the match, made ground upfield from a scrum and offloaded to Danny Cox. Cox continued the move down the right wing and produced a fine inside pass to scrum-half Trinham who cleverly cross kicked to the centre of the field on the 22 where Langdon dived on the ball and a fine pass off the back of the ensuing breakdown left Dews with a simple run in under the posts. Wilson’s conversion left the score at 7-0.
However, the rest of the half belonged to Salts, with a penalty soon after, a try and 3 goals to leave the game 7-29 at the half. By 25 minutes the Lions had lost Wilson to the sin-bin for a misjudged late tackle and the Lions were 15 points down. There was an almost collective loss of focus and control, with missed passes, knocks-on and missed tackles that contributed to an almost insurmountable points gap.
The second half opened with 5-10 minutes of extreme pressure from the Lions, with 3 incisive moves that should have ended in tries failing with the last pass or a dropped ball. To their credit the Lions, despite huge pressure from Salts, refused to buckle, continuing to attack at every opportunity. Eventually, though, a tiring defence was penetrated for the final score, a converted try resulting in a 7-36 scoreline. With chances for both sides in an exciting second half the score could easily have been 50-30 in Salts favour.
This defeat was a sobering experience for a young side but one that will be a sound learning experience for them and an early exposure to one of the top teams in this division. There is still huge promise and there were some sound performances under pressure in the forwards and backs. They all appreciate where they need to improve and there is time to do so. This week there is a chance to put training into practice with a friendly at RAF Cosford.
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