The Lions visited Orrell for the first time in the league on Saturday and came up against a well drilled talented side. With the Orrell pitch still frozen solid in places both sides decided that the game would go ahead although bizarrely the referee decided that no play was to be allowed by the corner flags on the Orrell tryline.
The match kicked off at a terrific pace and it didnt take long to Orrell to show that they were a different side to that which had visited Hudson Park in October and the first half passed in a blur with Orrell registering five well taken tries, with their full back and right wing expertly linking up in the line to create overlaps on several occasions. The Garstang pack were playing well and competing at the break down, despite loosing JC to a recurring shoulder injury (he was replaced by the evergreen Simeon Glen, returning after the birth of his child) and the whole side were putting in some crunching tackles but the Wigan lads rugby upbringing gave the boys a masterclass in running rugby.
With the Lions making two changes at half time, a father/son swap with Matt Almond replacing his dad Stuart and the fleet footed and fast lipped Ian Walling replacing Tim Leveridge the second half started with Orrell registering another score to take the scoreline up to 38-0. At this point the referee, a former teammate of vice captain Richard Ayers at Southport, decided that the pitch by the Garstang try line was ''too dangerous'' and ordered that the teams swap ends. This had a massive impact on the visiting Lions who were really fired up by the decision.
At the restart the Lions forwards stole the ball at the breakdown with some ferocious counter rucking and proceeded to blaze a trail upfield through a series of pick and drives which put the home side on the back foot and forced them into conceding penalties at the breakdown. Thirty seconds later Mike Saxon drove over the line from a 5 metre tap penalty to register the Lions first score.
With Chris Duda nailing the conversion the Lions yet again turned the Orrell pack over at the restart and after a series pf barnstorming runs by Toby Kenyon and John Outram captain Bobby Johnston scurried over the line from the base of a ruck to register his first try of the season and the Lions second score. With the conversion going narrowly wide the scoreline now stood at 38-12 and it was game on.
By now both packs were starting to tire but the intensity in the forwards exchanges stayed high and Orrell were denied the level of possession in the 2nd half that had enabled them to be so dominant in the first half. Unfortunately as the game drew to a close the home side brought on fresh legs and registered a further two tries to leave the final score at 48 points to 12.
Captain Bobby Johnston said after the game '' we were beaten far and square by a well drilled outfit who played in the right spirit from.start to finish''
Squad: R Ayers, R Quinn, J Outram, J Corless, E Moss, M Saxon, S Almond, T Kenyon, R Johnston (Capt), S Dawson, S Ord, S Rigby, H Almond, T Leveridge C Duda Reps: S Hall, I Walling, S Glenn, H Almond
