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Hull Ionians 15 Leicester Lions 25 - National 2 North Photos MM Photos Programme
Hull Ionians solid forward platform once again gained the upper hand in the scrum and as the game went on in the loose as well, but to many dropped balls conceded too much possession, handing the Lions the initiative, helped by the far better tactical kicking of their fullback Jon Boden. Hull Ionians faced the wind and rain for the first half and played far too much of it in their own half but a well drilled defence was giving nothing away in what was a very tight first half.
Hull Ionians won the kick off and took play to the 22 then lost the ball for Boden to declare his tactics, kicking 80 metres down the field where it was knocked on. The subsequent scrums saw the Lions early power play keep the ball alive for Junior Fagalilo to be driven in for a try in just 4 minutes. After 15 minutes a 5 minute break was required for James Greene to recover from a knock as he tackled bringing Joe Wright on as replacement. Lions had plenty more pressure but no points then when Hull Ionians reached the goal line they failed to release in the tackle and were kicked back to square one, closing with a marginal late tackle giving a penalty to Jon Boden.
After the break it was blue sky and sunshine but Hull Ionians missed 3 long range penalties in 8 minutes as the Lions persistently infringed at the breakdown. The Lions took their chance racing up after a kick ahead and stealing the ball for Scott Alfeld to race in, Boden converting.
On 64 minutes Lions were finally carded and Iain Gordon at last struck the penalty in reply but Lions quick ball from the break down and good flowing rugby saw the leagues top try machine Alfeld in again, followed by Gareth Collins supporting off his opposite wing to race in too for the four try bonus point. In the final minutes Hull Ionians finally cut out their mistakes and created two good tries, both from counter attacks.
The first saw Luke Thundercliffe make ground then kick over the top for Oli Marns to gather the ball and score. Two minutes later when Hull Ionians stole the ball in the tackle Joe Bartlett made the break then good passing created the overlap for Danny Smith to race under the posts, Gordon converting on the final whistle.