National league 1 - 2023/24

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Half time score Lions 7-14 Moseley

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Full time Lions 10- 20 Moseley

[tigerburnie]

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.''

[tigerburnie]

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Two Tigers return for the trip to Reading, Charlie Myall and Malalili Satala a both start.

[tigerburnie]

FT Rams 33 (5) Leicester Lions 12 (0)

[tigerburnie]

Rams 33 Leicester Lions 12
It was always going to be a tough ask for the young Lions side to take on a very strong Rams team who started the day in second place in National 1. The hosts showed their class in a very dominant display which, due to Chinnor's loss at Blackheath, put them joint top.
It took the hosts less than two minutes to open the scoring, the impressive centre Axel Kalling-Smith crashing through a number of would-be tacklers to score from 20 metres out. His try was converted by Fraser Honey (7-0).
It wasn't long before Rams doubled their lead when a clever lineout move was finished off by the powerful winger Charlie Robson. Again Honey was on target with the conversion (14-7).
Following the difficult first quarter that saw the home side dominate in all areas, the Lions settled in to the contest but, playing against a stiff breeze, were finding it difficult to win territory against a formidable Rams defence.
Had the Lions managed to hold the hosts to two scores they may have given themselves a chance but a further two scores in the last 5 minutes of the half all but ended the contest. The first came from prolific hooker Max Hayman who finished following a number of pick-and-goes and then 3 minutes later when a box kick was partially charged down it fell rather fortunately to Robson who fed Ben Atkins to score under the posts. Honey maintained his 100% record off the tee for a 28-0 half time lead.
Playing with both the slope and the wind second half, the Lions dominated territory and the home side began to make some errors. The Lions were moving the ball from edge to edge, as has become typical of this side, and eventually they were rewarded with a score when young Leicester Tiger Malelili Satala, back from England Under 20's camp, crossed in the corner. on 51 minutes. The difficult conversion was missed by Dan Lewis (28-5).
When Satala scored his second on 63 minutes, collecting a clever kick through from Jamel Hamilton to gather and dot down impressively whilst in mid air, it seemed as though an incredible comeback could be on the cards. Lewis this time slotting the conversion from the touchline (28-12).
However the Lions failed to gather the resulting kick off and this gave the home side the platform to control the last quarter. Having twice been held up close to the goal line, they eventually got a deserved fifth try on 71minutes through the man-of-the-match Mike Hoyt who crashed over from close range (33-12).
A tough day for the Lions but they can take heart from their second half performance against a very good side.
Head coach Gareth Collins commented: ''We were beaten by a top side, who on the day played better than us, and we just have to accept that. It was really difficult to get out of our own half against the wind first half and so our errors were punished. We showed a lot of character second half though and once we moved the ball like we wanted to we were able to open them up. There were a lot of positives today so we'll move forward with those in to a huge game at home against Sedgley Park next week.''

[tigerburnie]

Match highlights include two tries by Tigers senior academy player Malelili Satala
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2.00 pm kick off as Lions entertain Sedgley Park
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In the battle of the big cats in Nat1 Leicester Lions entertain Sedgley Tigers at Westleigh Park Blaby, 2 pm kick off. Leicester Tigers academy player Malelili Satala starts with Simon Koroiyadi and Charlie Myall on the bench

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[ay2oh]

Leicester Lions beat Sedgely Park 36-17

[tigerburnie]

Week off next week, just one catch up game from a cancellation in Nat 1 then a tricky visit to London to play Rosslyn Park, but they won the last two games away down there so you never know. This weeks win is particularly a good one, 13 Lions and Satala started the game, with an ex Lion from last season on loan from Coventry and then two Tigers off the bench, so not reliant on premiership academy players, they are a huge help, but the core of the side is growing stronger.

[tigerburnie]

Leicester Lions 36 Sedgley Tigers 16
The Lions got back to winning ways with a bonus-point victory against a determined Sedgley Tigers side. Despite the heavy pitch the Lions scored 5 tries in a fine display of running rugby.
The home side were led out by Simon Johnson on his 150th appearance for the club but it was the visitors who started the better and won early territory through a series of long kicks from fly-half Warren Seals. After missing an earlier attempt, Sedgley were rewarded when Seals slotted a penalty kick for an early lead on 8 minutes (0-3).
The Lions dominated the remainder of the first half though and got their first try through a fine Fin Ogden break off a lineout play on 24 minutes. Dan Lewis converted (7-3).
This was quickly followed by a score from Johnny Murdoch when he broke from a driving maul close to the Sedgley line. Again Lewis converted to double the lead. (14-3).
Lewis completed a dominant first half with a penalty kick with the last play of the half to give the Lions a commanding 17-3 half time lead.
The home side picked up where they left off in the second half and man-of-the-match Jamel Hamilton crossed after only three minutes following a line break from Jake Sterland that involved some excellent interplay between the backs. Lewis was again successful with the extras (24-3).
Sterland then became the try scorer himself just 5 minutes later when he pounced on a loose ball to hack through and dot down out wide. Lewis missed his only conversion of the day. (29-3).
The Lions perhaps got a bit complacent and their ill-discipline gave the visitors some territory from which they scored on 54 minutes through prop Daniel Rylance. Seals converting successfully (29-10).
The Lions responded quickly though and more good play out wide was finished by full-back Joey Patrick on 60 minutes. Lewis was back on target with the conversion. (36-10)
To Sedgley's credit, despite the contest being over, they were the stronger side in the last quarter, and continued to apply pressure on the Lions line. The home side showed some excellent defence with some big hits from Hamilton, Charlie Myall and Malelili Satala, the latter pair both back from England "0's duty. The visitors finally got a deserved consolation score late on though when winger Will Bradley went over from a smart line close to the breakdown. Seals converted to end the scoring (36-17).
Head coach Gareth Collins commented: ''Off the back of two losses, it was really important we got a result today so I'm obviously delighted with the outcome. Some of our attack was excellent, especially on the edges, which is where we prepared to try and exploit Sedge, so I was really pleased with that. Credit to them though, they started and ended the contest the better side and didn't make anything easy for us. We knew they were a really physical side, and would challenge us in that respect, so again I was really pleased with how we coped in the contact areas. We'll enjoy the rest week now and look forward to giving everything we can in the last block of games.''

[tigerburnie]

Lions "trylights" from thew win last weekend
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Two young Tigers feature Malelili Matala starts and Charlie Myall is on the bench