Lions match report

By The Bee Hive
September 20 2013

Birmingham Bees 29 Leicester Lions 21 Leicester Lions made two changes from the starting side that beat Dudley last week - Kane Nixon came in on the wing for the injured Gareth Collins to make his Lions debut and Dale Ager replaced Ollie Taylor at hooker. 

Lions led out by Matt Tuckey, due to the absence of Collins, were put under pressure by the home side from the outset and their early dominance was turned in to points from the boot of Adam Canning who pushed the Bees in to an early 6-0 lead. Lions were defending resiliently and had certainly sorted out their kicking game that had been a weakness last week. However they struggled to get their hands on the ball as ill-dscipline and handling errors handed the home side territory, and with it scoring opportunities. It was Lions who got the first 5 points of the match though following a rare venture in to the Bees 22. One facet of the Lions game that did function very well was the scrum (apart from a few very interesting refereeing decisions) and it was from a 5 metre scrum that led the official to award a penalty try without hesitation. Converted by Jon Boden (6-7).
It was the 5 minutes either side of half time that was to effectively determine the result. Firstly Rob Connelly crossed for the Bees just before the break and Adam Canning converted before he added an early penalty, try and conversation straight after the break (23-7). This left the Lions with a huge ask to get back in to the game but they did start to put some attacking phases together and looked far more threatening than the home side with ball in hand in the second half. The task was made even harder when openside Drew Rudkin was yellow carded for what was seemingly a soft offence - he was adjudged to have made a high tackle even though it was no more than two feet off the ground - and Canning landed the 3 points to stretch Birmingham's lead (26-7). Lions did sustain the pressure during the 10 period with 14 men and a certain try scoring opportunity went begging as Tom Morris was adjudged to have got up after being held only a metre or so short of the Bees line. Lions did finally cross the whitewash on 69 mins when lively scrum half Danny Campbell sniped from close range. Converted by Boden (26-14). With 10 mins left, and the Lions on top, another crucial referring decision gave Canning a chance to put the result beyond doubt. It seemed as though the Lions had driven straight though the Bees scrum, as they had done on a number of occasions, but this time they were adjudged to have done so illegally. From the resulting penalty Man of the Match Canning drilled the kick over from distance to effectively end the chance of any comeback (29-14). Lions did hit straight back through a try from replacement lock Austin Watts who spun out of a tackle and was driven over (converted by Boden). This set up a chance of a bonus point but despite the best efforts of centres Steven Cross and Alfie Malloy to attack from deep on this occasion it wasn't to be. Final score 29-21 to the Bees. 
The Lions will certainly see this as a missed opportunity as, although they were well under par, they should have gained at least a losing bonus point. In the end the Lions outscored the hosts three tries to two but it was the five penalty goals from Canning that made the difference. Although they were on the end of some harsh decisions the Lions must sort out their discipline if they are going to win such matches. They also took an hour to get in to the game by which point they had left themselves with too much to do. Away wins are not easy to come by in this league and today was an opportunity gone begging. Much to work on still, especially in attack, with tougher opposition to come in the next few weeks, but with four straight home games in a row the Lions will be looking to make the most of home advantage and get their season back on track.