This pundit will attempt through the seasons to report on what happened. I neither pretend to be 100% accurate or unbiased, but I do promise that if I post a match report of sorts, it is legit as I was there.

That being said, what a game it was. Warm, dry and sunny conditions made for a firm pitch and a desire to hydrate and that was from me on the sidelines! I wasn`t the only one out of sorts as the Blues quickly took a 15-0 lead with 3 unconverted tries within the first 20 minutes. I`ve seen enough games to know that this could be heading for an ugly game for the Lions, but NOT TODAY!

The turning point was an innocent Gary Owen by the Blues. Cory up from full back made a great leaping catch at half way only to be cart wheeled into the ground. His opposing 15 recklessly and needless to say dangerously ran through him while in the air never bothering to A) look for the ball B) wrap up nor C) letting Cory land before making contact. I think it was only stunned disbelief at the sheer stupidity of the act along with Narc and Daly`s cooler heads marshalling the team that prevented a reaction. With Ben administering to Cory, the referee quickly showed the Blues player the red card and it was 15 on 14 for the rest of the game.

With memories of Cory on the ground (at least I like to think that was it), the Lions switched on and for the remaining 60 minutes or so played some of the best rugby I`ve seen them play. With excellent tries from Casey, Phillip, and Cory the team narrowed it to 22-20 with the conversion to come. Casey calmly put it in the air from what looked like a difficult angle and the upraised flags put the two teams at a standstill. Seemingly the next play saw Dan break down the wing where he deftly put in a quick chip over the Blues winger. With some neat footwork he toed it beyond the covering Blues player and a chase was on for the tryline. From my vantage point of about 5 feet from the side it looked like Dan`s dive into the corner while fending off his opponent looked good, but the referee, lagging some 20 or so feet behind deemed it a knock on. You can imagine the reaction, but it is what it is.

The next 5 minutes or so were frantic, with both sides wanting to win, but also fearing the counter and it ended all tied at 22:22. It was a good draw if that’s possible and I think the team can take heart from their performance, especially the last 60 minutes.

It is hard to pick my unofficial Man of the Match as there were some really good candidates. Narc and Daly put in some great hits and led from the front as always. It was my first time seeing John starting alongside Daly as the other prop and to me had a great game. Loads of promise in that bloke. Craig was everywhere from his flanker spot diving for loose balls, taking and making hits and getting into his almost customary discussions with the opposition while holding each other’s jerseys. Ben and Parker were solid as usual in second row and Aaron and Ben rounding out the pack played their usual games. The backline played a great game and really came to the fore in this game. Wanger and then Ryan had good games at scrum half. Billy was his usual self at 10 and added to his game, but putting in a great kick that led to one of the tries. Rowan and Phillip at the centers had their hands full with the Blues inside center and did a great job shutting him down. Cory at full and Dan on one wing were tremendous. Dan and what should have been his game winning try and Cory rebounding well from the foul play with a try would have been both worthy of Man of the Match, but they were nudged out by one other Lion. I think that honour should go to Casey Jones. He has his usual great game on the wing plowing through people and of course dotting down, but I think his kicking today was what made him stand out; especially that last conversion. So to this hack, Casey was today’s unofficial Man of the Match. Great game guys and I`m proud to be a Richmond Lion.

Starting 15

1 – Narc
2 – Daly
3 – John
4 – Parker
5 – Goeke
6 – Craig
7 – Aaron
8 – Ben Martin
9 – Wanger
10 – Billy
11 – Dan
12 – Rowan
13 – Phillip
14 – Casey
15 – Cory

Subs

16 – Blair
17 – Tyler
18 – Z
19 – Jeremy
21 – Ryan
22 – Duke

Try Scorers

Philip Perrault, Cory Engelhard, and Casey Jones

B-side Report

I don’t have much on the B-Side game as I had to leave after my 10 minutes of glory so I’m not even sure who won, but Liam did have one heck of a try to end the first half!

Next up, the Virginia Beach weekend tour!