Ionians Match Report

Lions faced Hull Ionians this week in a match that would be important for both sides with Ionians looking for possible promotion and Lions looking to bounce back from a couple of bad results in recent weeks.

Lions started promisingly with both sides even early on. A penalty from Ionians saw them take a 3-0 lead after 10 minutes but Lions fought back earning good field position through the boot of Mike Hogan. Lions were unable to convert territory into points and Ionians scored a break away try on 19 minutes which was successfully converted making the score 10-0 Ionians.

It seemed that this score was the trigger that got Ionians into gear and began to turn on the burners as a good couple of phases from Ionians eventually broke down the Lions defence and led to a try on 26 minutes which again was successfully converted.

Lions bounced back with phases being put together and putting Ionians temporarily on the back foot through the strong carrying by Rob Young and Drew Rudkin. Small errors in the Lions attack led to multiple turnovers of which Hull took advantage and were to score again just before half time leaving the score at 24-0 to Ionians.

The second half started with a bit more defiance from Lions with line breaks from Nathan Donnachie and Kane Nixon but again Lions were unable to convert and Ionians began to put the game beyond the Lions reach with another breakaway try on 47 minutes.

Ionians continued to dominate in most aspects of the game and after multiple phases created an overlap which was duly finished. 4 more tries followed as Ionians went on a rampage leaving the Leicester defence wanting. The final score was 53-0 to Ionians which leaves Ionians in second place in the table and in strong contention for promotion.

A disappointing result for the Lions who were hoping for a similar display to the one against Ampthill and District before Christmas. Lions will look to move forward and end the season on a high with very winnable games approaching in the next few weeks.

Report by Dan Burke