Whitstable U18 Colts v Deal and Betteshanger RFC Colts
Hard won victory
The Lions took on Whitstable U18s Colts at Whitstable. The Lions had 4 members of D.A.S.H come along to help boost numbers due to injuries and unavailability. Its a credit to these players at how they seamlessly fitted into the Lions squad!
Whitstable were a well drilled and physical team. From the offset they were edging the battle in the scrum and ruck. However, dogged determination from the Lions front row of Archie Seward, Josh Friend and Marcus Chudleigh (all 3 were the men of the match) managed to keep us in the fight. Both teams had opportunities in the first 10 mins, but failed to capitalise!
The Lions took the lead in the 12th minute through a well taken penalty kick by Nathan Powell who was acting as stand in Fly Half .
This was shortly followed up with a flowing backs moved that resulted in Archie Grove scoring a try and Nathan Powell again adding the conversion, putting the Lions 0 - 10 up.
Whitstable came flying back with 2 very will worked forwards moves which resulted in 2 try's and a conversion. This took us to halftime with Whitstable leading 12 - 10.
The Lions came out the blocks fast in the second half and another fantastic backs move led to Archie Grove scoring another try. Nathan Powell then converted to take the score to 12 - 17.
Whitstable then added a period of huge pressure on the Lions, using their bigger forwards to great effect. Magnificent defence and excellent discipline from Lions prevented Whitstable from scoring.
The Lions were then awarded another penalty after a line break, with Nathan Powell again converting, taking the score to 12-20. Whitstable were determined to get another score and again applied huge pressure. The Lions managed stay calm and managed their defence perfectly, turning the ball over on our own try line as the last act of the match. It was a very hard fought victory in a match that wouldn't have taken place if it hadn't been for the 4 players from D.A.S.H. A genuinely great game of rugby from all involved.