Longlevens RFC

Longlevens took the path less travelled to Old Elizabethans on Saturday, a journey none of the present team had done before.

Upon arrival the wind was blowing a gale and the pitch was very narrow, indicating the type of game this was going to be.

Things started positively for The Griffins, playing into the wind, with lots of possession and territory. Unfortunately, the theme for the day began to creep in, poor execution in the red zone, and too many penalties. This created a very stop-start game, which the players struggled to get into.

One try was scored though, a loose offload in midfield was fortunately hacked on by Sam Hester on the half way line. He was able to use speed and good ball control to dribble the ball forward and pounce on it over the line, this was converted by Jack Beck, making it 0-7.

Elizabethans were able to convert one penalty into points, which considering the amount given away, was very fortuitous, half time 3-7.

During the half time huddle, the players were very clear about what the issues were, but putting that in to practice was the difficult thing to do.

With the wind now at their backs, Levens were able to play a good kicking game and keep the play in the opposition half. Numerous lineout opportunities were created, and whilst the throw, lift and catch were very well executed, the resulting drive was ineffective, and no tries were scored.

The scrum was also very dominant, with scrum after scrum going forward at a rate of knots, but, to most people’s amazement, very few penalties were received.

An Elizabethan penalty with 10 minutes to go made this a bit squeaky bum time at 6-7, but Levens were able to steady the ship and slotted one of their own, making it 6-10 at the end. The side was very well led by captain Jed Holman-Jones, who made all the right calls, but execution let us down.

This was undoubtedly a tougher test than the last four games, but one that all felt should have resulted in more tries being scored. The cliché ‘good teams win even when they play badly’ probably fits here, but the players would rather play well and win, this was certainly a wakeup call. That being said, Elizabethans haven’t lost at home in a long time, and to quote another cliché, a win’s a win!

A week off now, then the big derby versus Old Richians. UTFG