Chester 20 Leicester Lions 19

League Points 5-1

Chester 20: Tries: Harrison Vare (63 min), Freeman Payne (67 min), David Ford (73 min), Craig Ross (80 min);

Leicester Lions 19: Tries: Sam Benjamin (14 min), Ian Smith (19 min, 53 min); Conversions: Jon Boden (15 min, 20 min)

Leicester Lions were expecting a competitive afternoon against fellow league contenders, Chester.

The game started with evenly contested play with both sides having opportunities.

Leicester Lions started to show their ability with tries by winger Sam Benjamin going over in the corner for a try on 14 minutes, and fullback Ian Smith adding another try on 19 minutes. Both tries were converted by Jon Boden to give Lions a 0-14 lead after the first quarter of the game.

Both sides had their chances in the remainder of the first half, but with no extra scoring.

Half Time: Chester 0 Leicester Lions 14

Leicester Lions continued their successful game plan after the break with a second try by Lions’ Ian Smith on 53 minutes to make the score 0-19.

Lions entered the final quarter looking as they might have a comfortable victory.

Chester were not a side to give in easily and fought back with quick fire tries by winger Harrison Vare (63 min), centre Freeman Payne (67 min) and No 8 David Ford (73 min).

This brought Chester back into the game making the score 15-19 and they were within a try score of Leicester Lions.

Lions seemed to be holding on to the away win but at the last play of the game Chester’s winger Craig Ross drove through to score the winning try for Chester. Not only did this give them victory, but the winning try also gave them a bonus point for scoring four tries.

Leicester Lions moved from looking like winners to just the one losing bonus point.

An exciting game, but a disappointing afternoon for Leicester Lions

Full Time: Chester 20 Leicester Lions 19

Leicester Lions’ Director of Rugby, Ken Whitehead, said we were expecting a tough game from fellow leadership contenders, Chester, but to have a nineteen point lead and let it slip away was most disappointing. We will have to give some emphasis to closing out a lead to make it into a winning result.

Following this week’s games, Leicester Lions are in fourth position in National League 2 North, with Chester in fifth position.

For further details consult www.ncarugby.org

Mike Howkins, Press Officer and Fourth Official Leicester Lions RFC
mikehowkins@gmail.com