Leicester Lions 40: Tries: Johnny Murdoch (19), Tom Williams (35), Ethan Godefroy (49), Oli Taylor (56), James Stubbs (68), Will Helliwell (74); Conversions: Ben Young (20, 36), Luke Bouchier (50, 69, 75);
Barnstaple 12: Tries: Brendan Darley (4), Connor Swan (25); Conversions: Tyler Gordon-Oke (5);
Barnstaple show their skill and commitment in the first half, but Lions second half performance wins the day
It was a cold and cloudy afternoon at Westleigh Park for the visit of Barnstaple to play Leicester Lions. There was a gentle wind from the north, with the pitch in good condition for open rugby.
Barnstaple kicked off, immediately putting Lions under pressure, taking the play down to Lions end of the pitch. Their enthusiasm and commitment gave Barnstaple the upper hand with Brendan Darley driving over for a try, converted by Tyler Gordon-Oke.
Lions soon came back at Barnstaple with driving forward play, followed by Johnny Murdoch running through the Barnstaple defence and going under the posts following a telling dummy, with Ben Young adding the extras and levelling the score at 7-7.
Barnstaple returned to the attack and a splendid pass from Gordon-Oke out to the wing allowed Connor Swan to run in to take Barnstaple back into the lead.
Barnstaple conceded a penalty, which Lions kicked for an attacking lineout and prop Tom Williams forcefully drove over to score a try, with Young adding the conversion.
A well competed first half with Barnstaple just about having the better of the play.
Half-Time: Leicester Lions 14 Barnstaple 12
Lions came out for the second half in a determined mood, with their forward driving play starting to show the difference between the two teams. Dominating play by Lions allowed two power tries by Ethan Godefroy and Oli Taylor, with Luke Bouchier adding one conversion, which took Lions into a commanding 26-12 lead.
Smart attentive play by Lions scrum half James Stubbs allowed him to take an interception try, with Bouchier again adding the extras.
To complete the afternoon Lions took the ball out of one of their scrums, moved the ball to the flying winger Will Helliwell who cut through the centre to score Lions sixth and final try of the afternoon, with Bouchier slotting the conversion between the sticks.
Full Time: Leicester Lions 40 Barnstaple 12
An exciting match with Barnstaple testing Lions, especially in the first half, but Lions determination won the day when they dominated in the second half.
Leicester Lions welcomed Oscar McCarthy, who made his first league appearance, coming off the bench to play an excellent final twenty minutes at scrum half.
Lions Head Coach, Gareth Collins, commented:- “Today was a really positive day for the group. With 6 senior players out it gave opportunity to others and it showed the strength in depth we now have. It was great to be able to blood another development squad player, Oscar McCarthy, and I thought he went really well when he came on. Credit to Barnstaple though, they made life really tough for us, forced loads of errors and were clinical when they had chances. Once we settled in to the game though and found some rhythm second half some of our attack and defence was excellent. We’ll have to be better next week to win in Redruth but lots to build on from today.“
Lions Chair, Ken Whitehead, added:- “Barnstaple certainly gave us a tough opening half of the game, but the lads showed their true spirit and grit to come through producing a fine result to deservedly win the game.”
Teams: 15-9, 1-8, Replacements:-
Leicester Lions: WilHuckleberryson, Helliwell, Hamilton, Bouchier, Bean, Young, Stubbs, Roberts, Taylor, Thompson, Tapscott, Godefroy, Johnson, Murdoch, Sumpter
Replacements: Gradwick-Light, Murray, Williams, Rudkin, McCarthy
Barnstaple: Gordon-Oke, Roberts, Murphy, Johnson, Swan, Swales, Gosling, Robson, Mitchell, Snell, Marks, Gohl, Childs, Darley, Moore
Replacements: Incledon, Crouch, Jago, Beer, Lee