RUGBY: Pictures from Lions' rain-soaked victory at Towcestrians

Pictures by Ray Andrews

Midlands 1 East

Towcestrians 10 Rugby Lions 26

Rugby Lions’ latest league encounter was at a very cold and soggy Towcestrians, writes Dave Rushall. The game started in driving rain which was to persist throughout the contest. The early pressure came from the Lions, but the home side were first on the scoreboard following a driving run up the left touchline. The conversion attempt drifted wide in the difficult conditions.

Lion’s pack began to show their superiority, especially in the scrums, and the penalty count conceded by Towcestrians began to rise alarmingly. The pressure eventually told and Chris Wood picked up from the base and dived over to tie the score.

Callum Forsyth picked up from the base of a ruck, spotted a gap, and set off in typical fashion. He was finally halted two metres from the line in front of the uprights, but the home side were penalised for killing the ball with the culprit being shown a yellow card. Lions turned down the three points and opted for a scrum. The drive was on but the try was spurned when the referee judged that the ball was lost forward. Lions' pack drove the home side off their own five metre scrum, and the try was only prevented by more illegal tactics. Lions again opted for a scrum, and again the drive was halted illegally. The referee’s patience had finally run out and a penalty try was rightly awarded. The half time whistle came with the score at 5-12 to the Lions.

Rugby extended their lead early in the second period when fly-half Phil Reed deftly chipped ahead and collected the ball to cross the line and touch down under the uprights. McFedries converted to stretch the lead to 14 points. The next 20 minutes were fairly even although Lions maintained their dominance upfront.

The try bonus point was claimed for Rugby following another set piece drive. Callum Forsyth picked up from the base, and shipped the ball to Andy Morrison who gleefully crashed over the line. McFedries again converted to make the result secure.

To their credit, Towcestrians never capitulated and indeed played some of their best rugby during the closing stages. They scored a well-worked deserved try with minutes remaining to double their tally to ten points.

A lovely cross-field backs move by the Lions, looked to have led to a lovely try in the left corner for Louis Smith, but it was ruled out for a forward pass. This was an excellent five point victory for Rugby to delight the hardy travelling supporters in the atrocious conditions.

Next game for the Lions is on November 9 when they welcome Wellingborough to Webb Ellis Road for a 2.15pm kick off.