Match Report – Zingari V Deal & Betteshanger Lions

Zingari 39pts Deal & Betts 2nds 7pts

Try

Will Rayner 2 – Luke O’Regan 3 – Jerome Weigh 2 

Conversion

Luke O’Regan 2

The Zingari took another step in their East Kent League taking on Deal & Bettshanger Lions at Merton lane with a solid performance from both their forwards and backs. It didn’t take long for the city side to get on the scoreboard with will Rayner evading his tacklers to touch down out wide, and ten minutes later returning to the fold after a long absence Luke O’Regan showed us he still had the appetite for the try line with his first try of the afternoon. The Zingari forwards battling hard managed to keep the Lions pended in their own half for long periods, and with the amount of clean possession, Will Rayner was on hand with his second try of the afternoon converted by O’Regan. The city side was beginning to build a comfortable lead when Jez Weigh added to the cushion on the stroke of halftime, spotting a gap on the blind side of a maul took a pass to squeeze in at the corner.

At the turn round, Weigh was on hand again in the opening minutes following pressure from the forwards with a try from short range, and with O’Regan conversion Canterbury began to look out of sight. However, the Lions had other ideas using their forward’s power, and keeping the ball close they started to make inroads into Canterbury territory, it was now the city that had to defend. It was only the city’s fierce tackling that managed to stem the tide before Luke O’Regan put matters beyond reach. With Canterbury getting the ball wide for O’Regan he showed he hadn’t forgotten his finishing skills with two more tries to complete his hat trick, and put the city side beyond reach. The Lions despite this setback continued to mount ferocious attacks, and in the dying moments after camping on the city’s line broke through for a well-deserved consolation converted try.

The following day after the game, we received a message from Bill Hobba, Chairman of Kent Society of Rugby Football Union Referees. In his message, he stated that the Zingari V Deal game was refereed by a young official at the start of her refereeing journey, and understandably mistakes were made during the game. Bill went on to say –

“The players’ attitude towards her was tremendous and they (and Deal) supported her through the game with barely a murmur. It was exemplary and you and they should be proud. It was a timely reminder that the best of our game is alive and well!”