The Lions Suffer Heavy Defeat at East Grinstead

It was obvious from the first ten minutes that the Lions task faced a daunting task in trying to contain a side which oozed talent from one to fifteen. It took the home side just two minutes to open up the scoring with an unconverted try by their inside centre. This was quickly followed by a second try scored by the same player and converted by the fly half.12-0 to East Grinstead
It was crystal clear from very early in the game that to have any chance of containing a side like East Grinstead you needed organised defence and resolution in the tackle but sadly the Lions were found wanting in these areas with a few notable exceptions.
It took the home side very little time to achieve bonus point for four tries as they built up a 22-3 lead with two further tries from their right wing with the Lions responding with a penalty by Ollie Best.
East Grinstead, who were full of running with backs and forwards combining in some breathless phases of play, took their lead to 29-3 with a converted try before the Lions scored their only try of the match. This came from a good period of pressure by the pack inside East Grinstead’s 22 ending with Joseph Hinkins diving over from a driving maul. Any pleasure travelling fans might have derived from this score was quickly dampened as the home side scored another converted ry for a 34-8 lead at the break.
There was little change in the pattern of play after the interval with the home side in complete control. The only area where the Lion’s came close to parity was in the tight with the Deal and Betteshanger’s pack doing fairly well against bigger and heavier opponents. The home side took little time to get their scoring machine into action running in tries from all areas of the field. East Grinstead scoring a further 36 points against a bedraggled Lions outfit with six more tries and three conversions ended what had been a truly miserable afternoon for the Lions, in a game where it has to be said they made a very good side look brilliant.
The only comfort the Lions can draw from the match was the pack play in the tight and the courageous tackling of young Jamie guy at full back.
The Lions next game is on the 27th with a home fixture against Warlingham. Kick off 2.15. All other games to be arranged

Reporter Gerald Griffiths