After a disappointing defeat last weekend against RBS, Lordswood were keen to bounce back against Footscray who were yet to concede a point in their opening three matches.
From the kick off Lordswood pressurised the opposition, pushing them back into their own 22. With pressure building, Lordswood stole a line out and the driving maul saw Rhys Gue go over for his first try on only his second 1st team appearance.
Footscray’s strong scrum responded and the Lordswood front three found it hard to stop their momentum. Eventually Footscray’s offensive scrum was rewarded with a pushover try in the corner to silence the home crowd and bring the away team back into the match. With the conversion going over, Foots Cray were 7-5 up at the Woods and it was certainly game on.
The tension continued to build with Footscray’s scrum continuing to place pressure on Lordswood. However, the front row of Toby Pearce, Dave Evans and Sean Frankland showed strong resilience to keep them at bay. From field position created by Michael Scaifes kicking game, a line out in the corner saw Allan Mount go over from another driving maul to make the score 12-7 at half time.
With Captain Chris Callaway moving into the front row and Dennigan Tyson coming on at second row, Lordswood were growing in confidence and Footscray’s scrum appeared to be tiring a little. Strong running into the heart of the Footscray defence from Wayne Crowhurst and Allan Mount generated quick ball for the backs only for Paul Hyland to score in the corner making it 17-7.
Lordswood continued to grow in confidence with the back line of Mark Dorman and veteran, Simon Howell, finding gaps. Lordswood’s passing speed resulted in some quick play from the right side of the field and a one handed pass by Paul Notley allowed Joseph Kirwin to get his try for the season. A great team effort. Scaife’s reliable boot converted to make it 24-7.
The final try of the match saw Dave Evans, prop forward, show his deceptive turn of pace and break through to notch another try for the season. Scaife stepped up to convert to make the final score 31-7.
Lordswood were pleased with an improved performance against a physical opposition who must be given credit for the part they played in an entertaining game despite the damp conditions.
Lordswood face Faversham away on Saturday 8 October.