Gravesend quickly started the scoring , the result of poor tackling by the Lions and several ‘soft’ tries were conceded . There were some attacks by the Lions backs but the support of the ball-carrier was not good enough , nor was the rucking by the forwards nearly as good as it has been in some previous matches .The resultant good possession by the Visitors led to two good breakthroughs by their strong outside centre, resulting in tries . The Gravesend kicker also ably converted the tries and a penalty . Joe Clifton, who had started at Full-back moved to Fly-half and he brought urgency to the Lions’ attack. Towards the end of the first half a good, simple blind-side attack resulted in a good try by Chatterton and signalled a recovery .
Having played badly in the first half the Lions began the second half in a much more combative mode and put great pressure on the Opposition . Callum Brayne, making a welcome return to rugby after a long-standing injury, made some telling runs on the wing and some very good tackles . The Lions scored more tries after sustained pressure on the Gravesend line , which was only kept outby strong Opposition tackling . Also, the Gravesend pack were allowed to frustrate the Lions with some illegal play, which was not given its due punishment , and The Lions did not get the advantage that was due to them . The game ended with Gravesend just holding out, but the second half had been dominated by the Lions . On balance, this was a worthy win for Gravesend, as they had been so dominant in the first half. The recovery by the Lions was good to see, but much still needs to be improved in the performance.

Reporter

David Storrie