Match report v Moseley
Leicester Lions 10 Moseley 20
Leicester Lions’ winning run came to an end against a strong Moseley side who showed their experience to win on what can only be described as a very heavy Westleigh Park pitch.
The side who won the battle up front was always going to be favourite to win in those conditions and it didn’t take long for Moseley to show their superiority in that area. Having already gained a lot of ground with their first driving maul of the afternoon they then scored from their second with Ollie Stedman crossing for a converted score on 6 minutes (0-7).
The away sides’ lead was soon doubled when winger Aquile Smith went over in the corner on 14 minutes following more pressure being exerted from the visitors' set piece (0-14).
The second quarter was much more favourable for the Lions who showed some excellent attacking rugby despite the conditions. Their lineout struggled though and a number of 5m opportunities came and went. Finally an attacking lineout was won on 39 minutes and the backs were able to find some space out wide for Luke Bouchier to score in the corner. Dan Lewis slotted the difficult touchline conversion with the last play of the half (7-14).
It was Moseley who again scored first in the second period, this time through a Jolly penalty, but following that it was the Lions who dominated both possession and territory but were finding it difficult to break down a physical Moseley defence.
When Moseley's Ollie Allsopp was yellow carded for foul play, and Dan Lewis kicked a penalty to reduce the deficit back to 7 points on 69 minutes, it seemed as though momentum was with the home side and they may go on to win the contest. However the Lions failed to exit their half from the restart and a scrum penalty led to another Jack Jolly penalty to restore their 10 point advantage. (10-20).
The Lions bravely attacked from deep and earned a penalty with time up but this week Luke Bouchier's 55 metre kick drifted agonisingly wide of the posts to deny the Lions what could be a vital losing bonus point.
Head coach Gareth Collins commented: ''It was always going to be tough in those conditions for both sides but they certainly favoured the big Moseley pack. The first 15 minutes was so costly, and ultimately what lost us the game. We played well for the remaining 65 minutes but it's so difficult to chase a game in those conditions, especially when you're 14 points down. Credit to Moseley though, they managed the game and defended well, and thoroughly deserved the win. We've been on a good run and won't let this result affect us. At the end of the day they are 3rd in the league for a reason and we once again more than competed with them so we have plenty of positives to move forward with. It'll be a huge challenge at Rams next week but we're always excited by the challenge those occasions present and we'll go there confident of an upset.''
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