Leicester Lions Match Report

Rugby is back!

After 18 months of silence and stillness, the peaceful Alwoodley air was once again split by the sound of blood and thunder as a Leos team took to the hallowed field for the first time since 7 March 2020. The visitors on this joyous occasion were a touring team from Leicester Lions, who lived up to both their touring AND veterans’ status by arriving 30mins late and significantly half cut/inebriated. Good lads.

All that was known about Leicester Lions prior to kickoff is that “they have a Wikipedia page” (unsure who ventured this crucial information) and that they play fixtures as far away as Cornwall, so it was concluded that they were likely to be quite good. This was proven accurate immediately; despite their veterans’ status (and faithful adherence to the rules that vets > 35 years old) the Lions exuded physicality and aggression from the off, driving forward with purpose and thumping into rucks in a fashion that caught Leos cold. The opening 20 minutes was all one way traffic, with Leos struggling to cope with the Lions’ direct, physical approach and conceding two converted tries. It took Leos some time to reacquaint themselves with full contact rugby – for many lads, this will have been their first go at it since before the pandemic – but even in that difficult first quarter there were bright sparks, with Mark Kerruish and Kenny Parsons winning key turnovers and Sam Bender leading the Leos’ pack with some juddering tackles.

More notable however was that when Leos did manage to retain possession for a few phases they inevitably caused the Lions’ defence problems, especially when they were able to move the ball wide. The Leos’ back three of Victor Gachoki, Joe McCartney and Joe Davidson caused serious issues for the somewhat older, less pacy Lions backline. Leos responded around 25mins in when the forwards won a couple of phases, fly half Tom Tweddle spread the ball wide and the speedy Gachoki tore down the outside, outpaced the Lions’ wing and fullback and scored near the corner.

Whilst the backs had shown their threat, Leos almost evened things up immediately via the most direct route possible. The restart fell to Sam Bender who sidestepped the upcoming chase and then tore straight through the middle of the Lions’ defence and charged upfield. With the Lions’ scrambling defence closing in, Bender looked to Kerruish by his side, but unfortunately the number 8 experienced a temporary and poorly-timed moment of forgetfullness about how hands work, spilling the pass on the ground when it would have otherwise been a walk-in beneath the sticks. Despite this misfortune Leos were bouyed by their increasing control in the face of a Lions team who were already tiring (to be fair, they’d had a seriously respectable session Friday night/Saturday morning) and the second half boded well. Half time: Leos 5 – 14 Leicester Lions.

At half time the chat was all about how achieving parity up front would be key to the outcome. To their great credit Leos were able to achieve this in the second half against a very experienced and physical Lions pack, even if it was a desperate scrap at times. As the game went on Leos increasingly brought their wide men into play and it was from this that the second try was scored. Once again the forwards, led admirably by Bender, won a few phases and tightened the Lions’ defence, allowing halfbacks Mweti Muritthi and Tom Tweddle to move the ball wide. This time it found its way via Tom Bindloss to Alasdair Clipston, in plenty of space and with two defenders to beat. With the crowd roaring him onwards, the flying Scotsman tore down the wing and past the covering defence to score a superb try.

Suddenly Leos were finding their groove, with Mweti controlling everything from 9 and the backs looking to spread the ball at every opportunity. It wasn’t long before Leos hit the front for the first time when Sam Bender won a lineout cleanly and the ball was moved wide. Seeing space in the backfield, Tweddle put boot to ball. A Lions player went up for the catch but spilled it under heavy pressure and as the ball ran free the main danger was that a combination of Tom Bindloss, Joe Davidson and others might indulge in a “too many cooks” moment. Thankfully composure reigned supreme and Davidson was able to dot down to put Leos into the lead. Not to be outdone, Robbie Scrambler on the opposite wing added to the score not long after with a sharp finish after some good hands.

Whilst the game appeared to be turning inexorably in Leos’ favour, the Lions weren’t done yet and seemed stung into action. Smashing away at Leos’ defence led to a string of penalties, carrying the Lions deep into Leos’ 22. When Leicester made the decision to go for the corner it was obvious what was coming, but less obvious what could be done about it. Despite Leos’ best attempts, a well-organised, grizzly and experienced maul powered over from close range to narrow the scoreline.

This was the last time that Leicester troubled the scorers however and Leos were able to add another score through Victor Gachoki, whose two tries were ample reward for a fine performance. Robbie Scrambler was almost able to grab a brace of his own, slicing through out wide, but was unfortunately run down by the Lions defence on the last play.

Overall this represented a satisfying first game back after such a long hiatus. It took some time to readjust to full-on, physical rugby and Leos will need to ensure that they don’t start so slowly in the future, but ultimately there were a lot of positives in terms of good phase play, a solid scrum and some exciting work out wide. Credit must also go to Leicester Lions, who were a solid and physical set of opponents who exuded a strong vibe of being really, REALLY quite good in their prime – thankfully we caught them a few years on! Man of the Match was indisputably Sam Bender for an all-action performance in attack and defence, but honourable mentions should go to Mweti Muritthi who ran things brilliantly at 9 whilst also posing a sharp attacking threat, Mark Kerruish who was a rock in defence, Alex Passingham who led the way in terms of low tackles and the outside backs who posed a neverending threat to their opposite numbers.

All in all a fine start which will stand Leos in good stead. Onwards and upwards!