Buckingham v Windsor Lions U-10's Marlow v Windsor Lions Under 10's
February 29, 2004by Richard Trott
The listing was posted by
Buckingham 30 Windsor Lions 10
Marlow 5 Windsor Lions 25
The Lions continue with their bizarre season-long reluctance to play a decent first game and as a result of yet another sloppy start conceded 20 points in a poor opening half.
The tackling was half hearted and the enthusiasm in the forwards was distinctly lacking.
The failure of the Lions to take the build-up to kick off seriously will result very shortly in a number of substitutions from the Tigers who are playing out of their skins at the moment.
Skipper Seb Moseley has to realise that along with the captain's armband comes a huge responsibility and he must lead by example and with maturity if he is to hold onto it.
That said, nobody shone in the first half with all players ignoring the game plan of setting up the ball in the forwards and then getting the ball quickly down the line to the wingers.
This changed a little in the second half as the team raised their game with Danny Moseley scoring two fine solo tries but these were cancelled out when Buckingham hit back twice.
At least the team tried to keep to their game plan and the tackling in the backs improved and the forwards raised their game and showed the opposition what they were capable of.
Following the disappointing start, coach Richard Trott read the riot act and the Lions came out for the second game against Marlow in the way they should have done in the opener.
Miracle of Miracles! The forwards set the ball, scrum half Fionn Beary fed it out and the backs actually passed to each other and took the ball at pace and things started to happen.
Oliver Webster, Alex Wilson, Seb Moseley, Louis Murphy and one other unsung hero went over as gaps opened up allowing Marlow to reply only once to earn a 25 to 5 win.
What a difference when the Lions actually listen to their coach and play as instructed.
Let's hope with tough tournaments against Guildford, Marlow, Abbey and Worthing coming up that the skylarking at the start of the game gets the elbow in favour of a focused attitude.
The responsibility for that lies with skipper Seb and his deputy Alex who need to get a grip on their team-mates if they want to pick up any trophies in the season's final six weeks.
Three or four Tigers are on the verge of taking their place in the Lions so their can be no room for complacency because every position on the park is up for grabs each week.
The coaches are looking for "strong tackling" and "strong running" but in particular we are looking for intelligent passing along the line and players taking it at angles and at pace.
Please, no more running up blind alleys away from support and losing the ball!!!
Let's hope that next week on this site we are reporting great successes for the Lions who are at the Guildford tournament and the Tigers who represent us at Beaconsfield tournament.