The Richmond Lions shined under the lights at Dorey Park shutting out the James River squad, 30-0.

Line-up

1 – Narc
2 – Neander
3 – Parker
4 – Evan
5 – Goeke
6 – Jeremy
7 – Chowda
8 – Ben Martin
9 – Ryan
10 – Strunk
11 – Billy
12 – Mopey
13 – Arnold
14 – Casey
15 – Kempf

Try Scorers: Billy Tilson (2), Phil Kempf, Ben Martin, Arnold Odera

Match Report From Tony

This was my first trip to Dorey Park since they installed the night lights and I must say Henrico County did a wonderful job! We should all thank the hard working, dedicated employees of the Planning Department that reviewed the plans to ensure they were only the best for our Lions! We should also thank them for pitting the lights on a timer that annoyed our own Mr. Willis to no end. He must have asked about 5 times to see when the lights would come on, you’d think he’d worry about other things like his bright yellow socks being too high. I digress, but I must say, did everyone read Heath’s account of Friday night? It is a must read and inspired me to get this done before the Old Boys Tournament this afternoon. So to the game. From looking at the starting 15 I was immediately struck by an old adage, you can never have too many hookers in your life. With Daly out with a recurring injury, it is a good luxury to be able to switch Neander back to hooker without too much fuss. It was also nice to see Petta back at open side, fresh from his tour of Argentina with the ‘Quse Rugby Team.

The game started almost started off with a thud as potential try scoring pass was intercepted by the River winger. It looked like he had plenty of real estate to run one in against the grain of play, but he was quickly cut down. I thought the wind played a bigger that normal factor for both sides, the usually windless Seven Pines is a sharp contrast to the open and windy Dorey Park. The Lions used the wind to our backs to our advantage and constantly pinned River in their own half. The few times they attempted relieving kicks, the back 3 of Billy, Kempf and Casey Jones counter attacked mercilessly. The constant pressure from the Lions led to the first try being scored by Arnold close to the corner. It was one of his typical runs with him dragging defenders, making good extra YAC as they say in gridiron. The conversion wasn’t the easiest and Strunk lobbed the tee back to me with a grimace as it sailed wide. After a couple more minutes of good open play, including Perrault bowling over the imported River fly-half, Strunk calmly slotted over a drop goal as if to say, screw you, I CAN kick. The next 10 minutes or so proved to be an even contest with River threatening a couple times, but each wave was pushed back with Martin, Petta and Wasser seemingly either making every initial hit or being the first to the breakdown. This was my first time seeing Jeremy playing blind side for the Club and I was certainly impressed with his tackling and his ability to just be at the right place. His support kept a couple of moves flowing as he seemed to be on the shoulder of the ball carrier and available for the simple pop pass. To close the half Strunk took a long poke for goal and it just tailed off at the end to hit the far upright. With the River players seemingly in a daze, Tilson alertly scooped up the rebound that had hit the ground and pushed for the tryline. His valiant efforts were only stopped by the sheer mass of River bodies that had surrounded him and he was judged to have been held up. I think if he had my bulk he would have pushed them and the ball to the ground, but then he probably would never have made it to the ball in time either! So ended the first half; Lions 15, River 0. For those counting along, either Billy or Kempf also scored an unconverted in that first half, I just didn’t write down when it happened.

The second half started the same as the first half, River were putting up a good fight and testing the Lions pack and the back line to a lesser extent. Injuries to Hunt and Perrault had seen Moon and Bartelt come on, but the rest of the side remained the same. At this point the Lions were piling on the pressure and River to their credit were holding them out, but the cracks were beginning to appear. The breaking point in my mind was the well orchestrated proverbial pack try as they pushed the scrum over the line giving #8 Martin a simple and well deserved dot down. Unfortunately, Strunk missed the conversion, but it was from far to the side with a weird wind blowing. As the game progressed the Lions squandered chances with dropped balls and missed passes (I can see passing drills in their future at Tuesday’s practice) but another try was scored by Billy or Kempf. At this point Coach Lowery called off the dogs, the side was up 25-0 and some of the bench players came on. Elzie and Rowan came on for Moon and Bartelt, followed shortly by Wenger for Ryan and lastly Andy for Kempf. The last couple of minutes were a bit disjointed with the new players getting into the rhythm of the game. The outcome was the same though with River having no choice but to absorb the constant pressure. It was at this time that you would expect the game to get chippy, but to their credit both teams kept cooler heads and just played rugby. Right at the end of the game, Tilson took a quick pass from a lineout and dove into the corner for his well deserved second try. Strunk’s attempt was again close, but no cigar. Final score, Lions 30 and River 0. Captain Morgan said it best at the half with his comment that the shutout was the goal for the Lions and to their credit they came through. It wasn’t a great win, more workmanlike, but still a well deserved win in the bi-annual, cross town tilt. The last piece of business in my mind was Man of the Match, I know that Perrault was named the MoM at the social, but for my money (sorry Phillip) it should have gone to Ben Martin or to Billy Tilson. Martin was especially destructive at the breakdowns and I for one and very glad he is on my side! He also, to his credit kept his passions in check and let his game speak for himself. Tilson was equally driven this game and was equally at home making the long run as he was cleaning out the opposition. As Strunk told me later, he was all over the field in the backline, leading rucks, digging the ball out and generally looking for work, always a great trait for a winger. I think that all in all, the honours should go to Martin.

Starting Side:
1 - Ben Narc Morgan (Captain)
2 - Aaron Neander Meadows
3 - Andrew Parker
4 - Evan Hunt
5 - Ben Goeke
6 - Jeremy Wasser
7 - Andrew Petta
8 - Ben Martin
9 - Ryan Penglase
10 - Phil Strunk
11 - Billy Tilson
12 - Phillip Perrault
13 - Arnold Odera
14 - Casey Jones
15 - Phil Kempf

Reserves:
16 - Brian Moon
17 - Craig Nicholson
18 - Gustora Nick Z Elzie
19 - Andrew Rowan
20 - Andy Krause
21 - Thomas Wenger
22 - Tyler Bartelt