Brave Lions frustrated by the Tigers

The Lions put in a determined performance in poor conditions away the Sedgley Tigers but ultimately the home sides' defence was the difference and denied the Lions any points from the game.

The Lions started brightly, with Ethan Godefroy charging down Sedgley's attempted clearing kick from the kick off and then bundling the attacker in to touch. Pressure was then exerted from the lineout which led to a penalty that Godefroy tapped and scored. Dan Lewis added the extras for an early 0-7 lead.

It wasn't long before the home side drew level though. Following a penalty on half way Sedge kicked to the Lions 22 and with their first attempt drove the Lions over their own line, finished by hooker Adam Mallinson. Warren Seals converted (7-7).

The next 15 minutes saw both sides struggling to attack in the wet conditions and both traded kicks for field position. The deadlock was broken on 20 minutes though when Sedge number 8 Tom Ailes benefitted from a defensive error to cut through and score. Seals again converted for a 14-7 lead.

The Lions responded well though and on 30 minutes, after an initial break by Dan Lewis was halted by a high tackle by his opposite number Seals, good hands released full-back Joe Brock to score in the corner. This time the conversion was missed by Lewis (14-12).

Seals was yellow carded for the aforementioned offence so playing with an extra man the Lions pressed to take the lead at the break. It was the home side who extended their lead on 39 minutes though, following a penalty for holding on, that was kicked by full-back Oliver Glasse in Seals' absence. (17-12).

The Lions did have time to kick off and win a kickable penalty themselves, however with the man advantage they went for the corner. The kick went long from Brock though and the half time whistle was blown.

It was the home side who struck first in the second half following another penalty for holding on, this time kicked by Seals who had just returned to the action (20-12).

The remainder of the second half saw the Lions dominate both possession and territory as they tried to find a way back in to the contest but the Sedge defence held firm and were a constant threat at the breakdown. Lewis did reduce the deficit on 58 minutes with a penalty kick (20-15) but it was quickly cancelled out by another Seals effort on 62 minutes (23-15).

The contest was all but sealed on 70 minutes though when, with the ball in the Sedge 22, a handling error allowed the home side opportunity to hack through. The ball then spilled out of a breakdown and scrum half Jacob Tansey profited by scoring in the corner (28-15).

The Lions battered away at the Sedley line in search of a losing bonus point and finally, with the last play of the game, James Stubbs scooted over in the corner following a number of 5m scrum and lineout attempts that had been thwarted illegally and led to replacement prop Harry Thompson seeing yellow. Unfortunately the touchline conversion from Lewis sailed agonisingly just wide to deny the Lions a much deserved point.

Head coach Gareth Collins commented: ''The game could have gone either way and although we didn't necessarily deserve to win it we certainly deserved to get something out of it. Sedge have a big aggressive pack that was perhaps more suited to today's conditions and their aggressive line speed and relentless pressure at the breakdown was probably the difference. We couldn't quite get our attack going the way we wanted to but I can't fault the effort from the lads and the bravery they showed in pursuit of tries. We came here with an attacking mindset but unfortunately today it just wasn't to be. Plenty to work on but plenty of positives to take in to a big home game next week against Rosslyn Park.''