So two weeks ago I watched the Lions play at Mowden Park and missed the home game against Waterloo. I have to admit that it was very difficult to focus on the game in front of me as the 1st XV scores kept coming in and although we the 1sts lost, the final score of 45:47 was close and with 14 tries in the match was a real humdinger. But do you know what, you can't please all the people all the time and that is what makes this wonderful game of ours so great.

I went straight to Mowden to watch the Lions having just returned from Cardiff where I saw a depleted England team wield their bow of burning gold and watched the welsh clouds and plans unfold. Was it a great game of rugby in every sense? Well the match for me had it all. However, in many ways so did the Lions at Mowden. They were soundly beaten by Mowden Park 2nds 54:0, but the score doesn’t tell the whole story. Lets be honest Mowden play two leagues above and really shouldn’t be in the same league but at half time is was only 12:0 and whilst their intensity, size, training and sheer size of squad eventually came to the fore, we were still fighting until the death and did not concede in the last 10 minutes and nearly scored on 2 occasions.

The same goes to the Waterloo game, okay we were beaten but we were down 14:28 at one point and then when we got back into the game they moved away again and we were 26:47 down. But again we had belief, we had determination and of course our indomitable ‘spirit’ that gave us the strength to pull back to 45:47 and it could have been closer if the game was not concluded by the referee after a deliberate knock on and what should have been a penalty to us.

Why am I telling you this? Well, a) its interesting to know what are teams are up to and b) its not always about the score. Despite the comeback against Waterloo and despite losing by 2 points, some would say (and some did say!) we just weren’t good enough on the day. For some people, win or lose, it was never the same as it was in their day…come on guys move on..the game was different then! Waterloo are a great team and okay we lost, but on our day we don’t fear anyone and at the same time just take a look at our team. Its young, its developing and it is currently sitting 6th in the league by 10 clear points.

And that takes me onto last weeks trip to Westoe. So last week I went with the 1st XV in hope of us securing a win, but not just any win, our first win away at Westoe! Upon arrival, we were greeted by their 2nd team who were traveling to Greenwood Road to play the Lions in the County Cup. They only had 11 players so we said, travel and we would at least get some sort of friendly on, let be honest sometimes you just want ton play rugby. We informed our guys the game was forfeit but lets get some sort of game on. Next thing we knew we were being asked if we were calling the game off? So being sceptical of what might be afoot we decided to keep our squad just in case. Anyhow the good news was Westoe turned up with 19 (via South Tyneside College we understand) and the match was on. Was the game already forfeit or was it the cup match still being played – who knew.

Anyway back to Westoe, it was dark, overcast and rain threatened. The omens looked bad and once they scored to go 5:0 up I started to doubt this was going to our day and so it stayed until half time. But, I needn't have worried. We absorbed their pressure, absorbed their typical forward play, and did all of this up the hill. Come the second half the game was different. Our defence throughout the whole match despite the one try conceded was outstanding and they never looked like scoring against us again. So into the second half and a nice interchange in midfield saw Joe Evans cut their defence in half and score under the posts ..now it was only a matter of time. A penalty by Peter and a try shortly after from Luke Wilson and it was over, but not until Craig Shepherd went over twice in the corner and the game concluded 5:25. Our first win at Westoe and what a win and oh, the Lions score…well despite the confusion over the tie, it was settled by the fact we won 73:0.

A great day for Billingham and the bragging rights were well and truly ours.

Oh and the 5th best team:
1. Newcastle Falcons
2. Blaydon
3. Mowden
4. Tynedale
5. Billingham

Happy days