Sat 12 Feb 2022
In the 15 league games played this season Longlevens have only been tested three times, obviously the away losses at Dings and Clifton, but also the close away win at Old Elizabethans in November. Players and staff knew this game would be no different so set about preparing for a tough encounter.
Levens got off to their customary fast start with a very well executed try after three minutes. A penalty was won on the half way line and kicked to the left corner by Wilkins. The line out was won off the top and spun right. The backs ran a pre-planned move with Blind side winger Tom Barton coming into the centre of the field to receive the ball from 10 Dan Gordon. He ran an outside arc to beat the Elizabethans outside defence and sprinted clear to the right hand corner, no conversion 5-0.
Unfortunately Levens didn’t kick on as they normally do and became embroiled in a dog fight, with the ball being turned over too often and handling errors creeping in. Elizabethans scored from one such turnover after 25 minutes, chipping through and regathering over the line, 5-7.
Levens responded well to this and from a scrum in their own 22 fly half Gordon made a break and fizzed a long pass out to full back Matt Smith. He made metres of his own before offloading to Barton to step inside then out and beat his man for pace to go over, 12-7. On half time Elizabethans knocked over a penalty meaning the Griffins went in at half time only 12-10 up.
This wasn’t a vintage Longlevens performance so far and DoR and captain got that point across to the players in the huddle. Unfortunately the performance didn’t improve too much and Levens conceded a penalty on the hour to fall behind in a match for the first time in many months, 12-13.
They say that character is tested in times of adversity, and so this was proved. With eight minutes to go, and still a point behind, a penalty was won 30 metres out. With the wind howling this wasn’t an easy kick, but Wilkins kept his composure and slotted it over to make the score 15-13.
The game stayed tight right until the very end, but luckily Levens have proven match winners in their back line. A scrum was awarded in the centre of the park and number 8 Fatica picked and moved right. The Ball found its way to Matt Smith who produced a solo effort to split the defence and go over under the posts to seal the game at 22-13.
Old Elizabethans are a good side and hard to beat, but the performance wasn’t up to the usual standards. Improvements will need to be made in order to keep the pressure on Clifton at the top. However, this was a good win in the end and the result should be celebrated.
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