WEST OF ENGLAND LIONHEARTED 10 SOUTH WALES SCORPIONS DEVELOPMENT 46

By Matt Anniss at Corsham RFC

South Wales Scorpions Development put in a composed display in difficult conditions to sweep aside the West of England Lionhearts 46-10 at Corsham RFC.

The Lionhearts, a brand new representative side featuring players from community clubs in the West of England, battled manfully throughout but could not match the firepower or organization of their visitors from across the Bristol Channel.

After an evening opening in which the Lionhearts matched their opponents up front, it was the Scorpions who drew first blood. After 12 minutes, left-winger Lewis Hughes finished off a scorching, 50-metre break, with skipper Ben Jones adding the extras.

Ten minutes later, and with conditions worsening, right-winger Brandon Lamb crossed the whitewash to extend the visitors lead. Once again, Jones made no mistake with the conversion.

The young Scorpions side began to dominate their opponents, and it wasn’t long before the scored again. This time, it was second row Mike Edwards who crossed the try line, shrugging off some weak attempted tackles to dive over under the posts. Once again, Jones slotted over the conversion.

Lionhearts continued to work hard with and without the ball, and a period of pressure ended with a try in the left corner for Oxford Cavaliers stand-off Dan Brooker. He forced his way over from close range, before missing with the attempted conversion.

On the stroke of half time, the Scorpions extended their lead further. Having fought off a wave of Lionhearts attacks, the South Wales side took advantage of some bad defensive organization to streak away. In the end, it was centre Josh Stafford-Smith who scored, sliding over from a few metres out despite the attentions of fullback Ash Lewis.

The Lionhearts began the second half in a positive mood, and were soon putting pressure on their visitors’ line. However, the Scorpions defence was up to the task, and they repelled countless sets of six close to their own line before brilliantly counter-attacking. It was through one of these breaks that they created the position for Lewis Hughes to dive over in the corner for his second try of the afternoon. The Scorpions were now 28-4 up with just over 20 minutes remaining, and cruising to victory.

Quick-fire tries from loose forward Daffyd Hellard and hooker Huw Parks – the latter cutting back inside to nutmeg West fullback Ash Lewis – confirmed the Scrorpions dominance.

With time running out, the home side grabbed a deserved consolation try through impressive loose forward Colin Maragon – Ash Lewis slotting over the conversion in Dan Brooker’s absence – before Hellard charged over the in dying minutes to grab his second try of the game. Ben Jones seventh conversion from eight attempts completed the scoring, and a solid win for the young Scorpions.

MATCH FACTS

WEST LIONHEARTS

1. Ashley Lewis
2. Ronan Treble
3. Rhys Evans
4. Reece Walters
5. Joe Hart
6. Dan Brooker
7. Connor Tomley
8. Ben Brinkworth
9. Doug Chirnside
10. Tom Davies (captain)
11. Byron Edwards
12. Dean Cooper
13. Colin Maragon

Interchange (all used)

14. Justin Powell
15. Alex Potts
16. Matt Blacker
17. Goerge Cowley
18. Rich O’Donnell
19. Tom Jones

Tries: Dan Brooker (33), Colin Maragon (75)

Goals: Ash Lewis 1 (from 1)

SCORPIONS 

1. Ben Jones
2. Brandon Lamb
3. Josh Stafford-Smith
4. Lloyd Shelby-Smith
5. Lewis Hughes
6. Shane Lee
7. Fraser Stroud
8. Jake Thomas
9. Huw Parks
10. Rhys Davies
11. Mike Edwards
12. Laim Maule
13. Daffydd Hellard

Interchange (all used)

14. Macauley Harris
15. Josh Bardon
16. Cobi Green
17. George Lenton-Hall

Tries: Lewis Hughes (12, 58), Brandon Lamb (22), Mike Edwards (26), Josh Stafford-Smith (39), Daffydd Hellard (65, 78), Huw Parks (70)

Goals: Ben Jones 7 (from 8)

Referee: Darren Hayes (Southern Society)

MAN OF THE MATCH AWARDS

Lionhearts: Colin Maragon (loose forward)

Scorpions: Daf Hellard (loose forward)