Home Pitch: Randall's Island, NYC
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Sponsor: Croxley's Ale House
Hotline: (212) 631-3533
Sept. 13, 2008 : Lions vs Bayonne
Men at home vs. Bayonne – A’s and B’s
Lions 46 – Bayonne 15
Click here to view pics from the game!
The Lions men play Bayonne at home on Randalls Island. It’s a humid afternoon with overcast sky as the men are in a good mood watching the girls destroy Brooklyn. Before the match, the team seems relaxed, but concentrated. Danny Newcombe predicts a 37-15 victory. During the warm-up, Pat McJury reminds the guys that communication is key. Shelton (who coaches in Adrian’s absence) tells the team to get their heads into the game.
We’re stretching and warming up for a while to get everyone ready for the first league match of the season. Lions founder Alan Whelan is out in support and looking good. One time, a ball flies his way during the women’s match, and he catches it with ease only to drop-kick it straight back into the hands of the referee. Impressive! 
We hand out jerseys, clapping everyone on as a team. Nice!
Captain Pat McJury: “They have a game already. We have done shit so far. So, let’s go out there and fucking do this.” More warm-up.
Pre-game speeches:
Stevie Raia: Show that you earned this jersey!
McJury: Put them on their behinds! Communication is big.
T$: This is our house!
A Side Match – First half:
Strong start from the Lions. We kick off and recover the ball after a good Stevie Raia hit.
After a knock-on and Bayonne scrum, we wheel it and get the ball. Back-and-forth, nice Goon tackle and run. But it remains a back-and-forth affair early on. Then Justic gets a pass on the left wing, chips it over the Bayonne defense and Captain McJury chases and catches it perfectly and carries it in. Andy misses a tough conversion. 5-0.
Then the Lions pressure again, running at the Bayonne try line in several phases: Trezza, Stevie, Kimo, Bobby. Finally, the ball comes to Goon who makes a little hop and then runs it in for the second try. Andy converts. 12-0.
Then Bayonne gets a penalty half-way into our half. Kick is good. 12-3
But the Lions hit back, pressing again. Several phases at Bayonne’s try line, followed by several penalties. We can’t get the ball in initially, but then Kimo gets a pass and cuts through the defensive lines like a hot knife through butter. Scoooore! McKee converts. 19-3
Then we’re a bit tired and lose focus. Bayonne attacks, and we keep them out for a while.
But in the end, they get a penalty, which they take quickly and surprise our defense to score a try. Missed conversion. 19-8.
Just before half time, Bayonne’s resident short man no. 14 scores. Conversion is good. 19-15
Kallman saves a ball for us. “Kallman is everywhere,” says Youngie. “But the boys are getting ti-ired.” Don’t ask me why he sang the word “tired” here, but he did. Yellow card against a guy who illegally spear-tackles and drops Kallman on the ground. The Lions on the sideline laugh as Kallman gets up unfazed and doesn’t even do anything more than brushing off a bit of dirt.
Half time
Shelton: “You’re getting tired, but also sloppy as shit.”
Adil for Kleparek.
Gubser for Rooney
Red for Goon.
Trezza plays hooker.
McJury: “stop being fucking lazy and fucking tired. We trained to long.”
Second half
Not much happening early on, but then we get into their half and keep up the pressure.
We get a scrum less than 10 meters out and push hard, Stevie gets the ball and touches it down. Conversion misses. 24-15
Big hit by Red. Niiiice! Pat kicks the ball, a Bayonne player slaps it down, but the ref let’s play continue. So, Pat picks up the ball again with a judo-type roll, and we’re running at them again. In the end we get a 2-on-2. Pass goes out to Will who scores with a great run. No conversion. 29-15
A few minutes later, Will scores again with a loooong run in the heat that leaves everyone exhausted and stunned. Conversion missed. 34-15
Raia out, Jim in. Nothing much happens as the Bs start warming up. The heat keeps all in the A side match tired. Then Gubser gets the ball and ruuuuuns down the field like he’s a back. The B side interrupts their warmup for a rousing roar as they celebrate another try. Conversion is no-good. 39-15.
Penalty try, and we credit Youngie for it. Good conversion by Bobby. The final whistle saves Bayonne from further damage.
- – -\ – - -
B game – First half:
The Lions come out fast and focused again. Great run from Paul, ball comes to Gill who rips through the defense, passes to Vargo, and it’s 5-0. Conversion is not good.
Petit Chabal scores the next one. The drop goal conversion by Chris is good. 12-0
Then nothing much happens beyond us camping out in their half.
Half time
12-5 after a Bayonne B side player runs the ball in right next to the left touch line. Good defensive work by the Lions as we don’t let them make the gain line too often now. Old Boy 280 shows up and cheers on the Lions. And we show what we got one more time. Bayonne’s lineout is untidy, we get control of the ball and move the ball from the touch line to the middle of the field where Pete catches it and runs it in.
Chris drop goal conversion. 19-5.
They pressure us, but DK shows off a great kick from within our own 22 that takes the pressure off us.Then Little John saves us from a sure try, and Petit Chabal touches down inside our try zone. The sideline crowd roars as the final whistle blows.
What a day of Lions rugby. I’m proud to be a Lion!
August 16, 2008 : Lions vs Providence
LIONS 11 – PROVIDENCE 8
The Lions long trip to Providence reaped rewards with a hard-fought winning serving as a perfect start to the Fall season.
The first half saw the Lions defending wave after wave of Providence attack as they saw all the ball and field position. They managed to cross once out wide after sustained pressure led to an overload. A missed conversion saw Providence take a 5-0 lead to the break.
The highlight of the first half for the Lions came when a Providence breakaway came to an end at halfway with Sleeves putting a HUGE hit on their 10. Sleeves came from nowhere to iron out their flyhalf with a full body shot, showing the benefits of Kallman’s Wednesday Workouts. Not only was it a great hit, it also left their 10 down a rattled and showed the strength of the Lions pack.
At the break Adrian told us he was proud of our first half effort and it was time to go out and win it. The Lions improved fitness was noticeable at halftime with few of the boys breathing hard and the only change was a positional change with Neil moving into flyhalf and Young shifting to the Wing.
The Second Half saw more ball for the Lions thanks to the Forwards winning great lineout ball and dominating the big Providence forward pack. Adrian made a good move introducing new flyhalf Bobby midway through the half. Bobby quickly capitalized on the strong work of the Forward pack charging over next to the posts from close range. A missed conversion followed to leave the scores tied at 5-5 with about 20 minutes to go.
Back and forth rugby followed with a Lions penalty goal putting us in the lead briefly before Providence added their own penalty to leave the game tied up at 8 points a piece.
With 10 minutes to go the Lions really came into their own as our superior fitness started to show. Alex Kallman, who was all over the park as per usual, charged through a gap but got pulled down at the 22 before he could pop the ball to Adil in support. Our inspirational skipper Pat McJury also made a long break from our half but again the Providence fullback managed to put a stop to a potential game winning raid as an inside ball to McHale hit the deck.
The Lions won’t to be stopped though as a final relentless charge down the field finished with a penalty in front of the posts that Bobby calmly potted after the siren for an 11-8 victory.
LIONS 11 (Bobby Try, 2 Penalties) defeated Providence 8 (try, penalty)
Our Players Player Award went to new boy Tyler in his last game before returning to college (we look forward to your return mate) who defended strongly and had their outside backs scared of him after time and again running over and through the players in front of him.
Tyler just beat out Sleeves for MoM and Adrian also called out the performance of Alex Kallman for a ‘coaches award’ ahead of our new second row combination of Kimani and Sleeves – these boys were everywhere.
Our tight five was exceptional on the day, led from the front by Gunner and Trezza who helped pick apart their lineout and dominate their scrum. McJury steered us around the pack strongly from half while the return of Neil Champ boosted our backline. New boy Will excelled in his first 15’s game and picked up the B side MoM performance on the back of a great try and a few other solid breaks.
Sept. 13, 2008 : Lions vs Bayonne
Men at home vs. Bayonne – A’s and B’s
Lions 46 – Bayonne 15
Click here to view pics from the game!
The Lions men play Bayonne at home on Randalls Island. It’s a humid afternoon with overcast sky as the men are in a good mood watching the girls destroy Brooklyn. Before the match, the team seems relaxed, but concentrated. Danny Newcombe predicts a 37-15 victory. During the warm-up, Pat McJury reminds the guys that communication is key. Shelton (who coaches in Adrian’s absence) tells the team to get their heads into the game.
We’re stretching and warming up for a while to get everyone ready for the first league match of the season. Lions founder Alan Whelan is out in support and looking good. One time, a ball flies his way during the women’s match, and he catches it with ease only to drop-kick it straight back into the hands of the referee. Impressive! We hand out jerseys, clapping everyone on as a team. Nice!
Captain Pat McJury: “They have a game already. We have done shit so far. So, let’s go out there and fucking do this.” More warm-up.
Pre-game speeches:
Stevie Raia: Show that you earned this jersey!
McJury: Put them on their behinds! Communication is big.
T$: This is our house!
A Side Match – First half:
Strong start from the Lions. We kick off and recover the ball after a good Stevie Raia hit.
After a knock-on and Bayonne scrum, we wheel it and get the ball. Back-and-forth, nice Goon tackle and run. But it remains a back-and-forth affair early on. Then Justic gets a pass on the left wing, chips it over the Bayonne defense and Captain McJury chases and catches it perfectly and carries it in. Andy misses a tough conversion. 5-0.
Then the Lions pressure again, running at the Bayonne try line in several phases: Trezza, Stevie, Kimo, Bobby. Finally, the ball comes to Goon who makes a little hop and then runs it in for the second try. Andy converts. 12-0.
Then Bayonne gets a penalty half-way into our half. Kick is good. 12-3
But the Lions hit back, pressing again. Several phases at Bayonne’s try line, followed by several penalties. We can’t get the ball in initially, but then Kimo gets a pass and cuts through the defensive lines like a hot knife through butter. Scoooore! McKee converts. 19-3
Then we’re a bit tired and lose focus. Bayonne attacks, and we keep them out for a while.
But in the end, they get a penalty, which they take quickly and surprise our defense to score a try. Missed conversion. 19-8.
Just before half time, Bayonne’s resident short man no. 14 scores. Conversion is good. 19-15
Kallman saves a ball for us. “Kallman is everywhere,” says Youngie. “But the boys are getting ti-ired.” Don’t ask me why he sang the word “tired” here, but he did. Yellow card against a guy who illegally spear-tackles and drops Kallman on the ground. The Lions on the sideline laugh as Kallman gets up unfazed and doesn’t even do anything more than brushing off a bit of dirt.
Half time
Shelton: “You’re getting tired, but also sloppy as shit.”
Adil for Kleparek.
Gubser for Rooney
Red for Goon.
Trezza plays hooker.
McJury: “stop being fucking lazy and fucking tired. We trained to long.”
Second half
Not much happening early on, but then we get into their half and keep up the pressure.
We get a scrum less than 10 meters out and push hard, Stevie gets the ball and touches it down. Conversion misses. 24-15
Big hit by Red. Niiiice! Pat kicks the ball, a Bayonne player slaps it down, but the ref let’s play continue. So, Pat picks up the ball again with a judo-type roll, and we’re running at them again. In the end we get a 2-on-2. Pass goes out to Will who scores with a great run. No conversion. 29-15
A few minutes later, Will scores again with a loooong run in the heat that leaves everyone exhausted and stunned. Conversion missed. 34-15
Raia out, Jim in. Nothing much happens as the Bs start warming up. The heat keeps all in the A side match tired. Then Gubser gets the ball and ruuuuuns down the field like he’s a back. The B side interrupts their warmup for a rousing roar as they celebrate another try. Conversion is no-good. 39-15.
Penalty try, and we credit Youngie for it. Good conversion by Bobby. The final whistle saves Bayonne from further damage.
- – -\ – - -
B game – First half:
The Lions come out fast and focused again. Great run from Paul, ball comes to Gill who rips through the defense, passes to Vargo, and it’s 5-0. Conversion is not good.
Petit Chabal scores the next one. The drop goal conversion by Chris is good. 12-0
Then nothing much happens beyond us camping out in their half.
Half time
12-5 after a Bayonne B side player runs the ball in right next to the left touch line. Good defensive work by the Lions as we don’t let them make the gain line too often now. Old Boy 280 shows up and cheers on the Lions. And we show what we got one more time. Bayonne’s lineout is untidy, we get control of the ball and move the ball from the touch line to the middle of the field where Pete catches it and runs it in.
Chris drop goal conversion. 19-5.
They pressure us, but DK shows off a great kick from within our own 22 that takes the pressure off us.Then Little John saves us from a sure try, and Petit Chabal touches down inside our try zone. The sideline crowd roars as the final whistle blows.
What a day of Lions rugby. I’m proud to be a Lion!
August 16, 2008 : Lions vs Providence
LIONS 11 – PROVIDENCE 8
The Lions long trip to Providence reaped rewards with a hard-fought winning serving as a perfect start to the Fall season.
The first half saw the Lions defending wave after wave of Providence attack as they saw all the ball and field position. They managed to cross once out wide after sustained pressure led to an overload. A missed conversion saw Providence take a 5-0 lead to the break.
The highlight of the first half for the Lions came when a Providence breakaway came to an end at halfway with Sleeves putting a HUGE hit on their 10. Sleeves came from nowhere to iron out their flyhalf with a full body shot, showing the benefits of Kallman’s Wednesday Workouts. Not only was it a great hit, it also left their 10 down a rattled and showed the strength of the Lions pack.
At the break Adrian told us he was proud of our first half effort and it was time to go out and win it. The Lions improved fitness was noticeable at halftime with few of the boys breathing hard and the only change was a positional change with Neil moving into flyhalf and Young shifting to the Wing.
The Second Half saw more ball for the Lions thanks to the Forwards winning great lineout ball and dominating the big Providence forward pack. Adrian made a good move introducing new flyhalf Bobby midway through the half. Bobby quickly capitalized on the strong work of the Forward pack charging over next to the posts from close range. A missed conversion followed to leave the scores tied at 5-5 with about 20 minutes to go.
Back and forth rugby followed with a Lions penalty goal putting us in the lead briefly before Providence added their own penalty to leave the game tied up at 8 points a piece.
With 10 minutes to go the Lions really came into their own as our superior fitness started to show. Alex Kallman, who was all over the park as per usual, charged through a gap but got pulled down at the 22 before he could pop the ball to Adil in support. Our inspirational skipper Pat McJury also made a long break from our half but again the Providence fullback managed to put a stop to a potential game winning raid as an inside ball to McHale hit the deck.
The Lions won’t to be stopped though as a final relentless charge down the field finished with a penalty in front of the posts that Bobby calmly potted after the siren for an 11-8 victory.
LIONS 11 (Bobby Try, 2 Penalties) defeated Providence 8 (try, penalty)
Our Players Player Award went to new boy Tyler in his last game before returning to college (we look forward to your return mate) who defended strongly and had their outside backs scared of him after time and again running over and through the players in front of him.
Tyler just beat out Sleeves for MoM and Adrian also called out the performance of Alex Kallman for a ‘coaches award’ ahead of our new second row combination of Kimani and Sleeves – these boys were everywhere.
Our tight five was exceptional on the day, led from the front by Gunner and Trezza who helped pick apart their lineout and dominate their scrum. McJury steered us around the pack strongly from half while the return of Neil Champ boosted our backline. New boy Will excelled in his first 15’s game and picked up the B side MoM performance on the back of a great try and a few other solid breaks.
