The Lions win the Showdown at Snowdon

But the new look side was up to the task producing another fine performance. Snowdon started with the slight advantage of the slope & managed to keep the Lions in their own half during the early exchanges but soon their lack of discipline at the breakdown gave Lions the first chance of penalty points, well taken by Stu Adcock, 0-3. Snowdon soon replied with one of their own for an infringement in Deal’s 22, levelling the score, 3-3. Snowdon nearly scored a good try when their scrum half broke through the Deal defence only to be stopped short of the line by a fine tackle by full back Ben Ebden. A mistake by Deal from a 22 re-start allowed Snowdon to move the ball wide to their quick left wing who exploited the stretched Lions defence to score near the posts, the conversion easily slotted, 10-3. The Lions started to make inroads into the Snowdon half & another penalty was awarded for not releasing which Stu Adcock struck well but unfortunately rattled the upright. However, the ball was cleared by Snowdon into touch which the Lions secured from the linout with James Pledger jumping well at the front. The ball was swiftly moved out to the backs & Jason Clarke coming off his wing struck a well timed drop kick to reduce the deficit to four points at half time, 10-6. A couple of changes were made for the second half by both sides & Deal were soon in the driving seat, playing some good flowing rugby, securing their own ball at lineout & scrum. From one such scrum the ball was moved to Gavin Elsam who deftly passed out of the tackle to Ben Ebden who gained yards down the right, passing to Jake Ward who was tackled just inside Snowdon’s 22, the ball was recycled & Gary Dixon broke through, being tackled just short of the line but keeping the ball alive, passed to the supporting Stu Adcock who crashed over the try line. Stu converted his own try 10-13. Shortly after the re-start, Snowdon came right back & a kick upfield was superbly gathered by their right wing to score under the posts for a fine opportunists’ try, 17-13. The Lions, undaunted, drove back into Snowdon’s half & were denied by some strong defensive work by Snowdon. A scrum out wide on their 5 metre line was driven over only for the ball to be held up over the line, after a couple of re set scrums in the same position, a penalty was awarded which Deal decided to take another scrum, again a penalty was awarded for an infringement, with another scrum set, Snowdon’s flanker was binned for interfering with the put in, after two more attempts at re-setting finally the referee had no option but to give a penalty try to the Lions, 17-20. With just under 10 minutes to go, Snowdon desperately tried to score again & could have taken the three points for a draw when the Lions were caught offside at a ruck, but elected to go for the lineout. Fortunately for the Lions in the last minutes they managed to clear their lines & secure the 4 points for a well deserved victory. The team showed great commitment in this exciting game & won through collective discipline. It is difficult to pick out an individual for praise but for another solid performance in the front row & at the breakdown, Man of the match goes this week to Harry Deverill.