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Leicester Lions vs Canterbury 1st XV
LEICESTER LIONS 35 CANTERBURY 0
by David Haigh
This was the third time this season that Canterbury have been whitewashed and it left Head Coach Matt Corker frustrated at his side’s failure to score. After conceding three tries in the first sixteen minutes they mounted enough pressure to put themselves back in the game but could not translate it into badly needed points. In a crucial ten minutes at the end of the first half the inability to pierce a quick and organised Lions defence was pivotal to their chances but they made nothing of it. Canterbury had plenty of lost ground to make up in the Leicester mud as the Lions shot into that early lead. Fly Half Ben Young’s shrewd kicking led to early tries for wing Devon Constant and full back Alex Wilcoxon. Number Eight Ed Sumpter claimed the third from a driving maul, all converted by Young. When the city side got their hands on the ball they were poor at keeping it and the home side thrived. To their credit Canterbury improved as the half wore on but that blank scoreline was to follow them into the last 40 minutes. They had an equal share of territory after the interval and thought a surging maul had earned a try only for it to be ruled in touch. They could make nothing, either, of a flurry of yellow cards for the home side but by that time the ever dangerous Constant had made an interception and sprinted 80 yards for his second try. Canterbury’s troubles were compounded by injuries to Jamie Stephens, Tristan King, and Jessie De Vries and when back rower Simon Johnson grabbed Lions fith try, and Joe Brock added his second conversion, it gave Matt Corker many questions to ask of his squad before next week’s encounter with Barnes..
Canterbury: D. Corcoran, S.Sterling, W.Waddington, K.Braithwaite (repl F.Morgan), M.Halliday, R.Best, B.Cooper, B.Young, T.King (repl A.Coopr), D.Herriott (repl W.McColl), R.Cadman, S. Churchyard (rel D.Irvine), J.De Vries (repl G Hilton), J.Stephens, T.Oliver
