Author: Steve Wild

BATLEY BULLDOGS 26 SWINTON LIONS 6

IAN RIGG at Fox’s Biscuits Stadium, Mount Pleasant, Sunday 13 August 2024

Batley Bulldogs claimed the points, but it was one of those games where you were made to fight for everything, and Batley did it better. The home side took the lead in the second minute after a good pass from Kieran Buchanan and Joe Burton went over, but Josh Woods was unable to convert. Andy Badrock was then held up for the Lions on six minutes and then he was grounded just short five minutes later after some good build up play. Ant Walker made a nice break up centre field soon afterwards but ran out of support. Bulldogs went further ahead on twenty-one minutes when Adam Gledhill went close, but Brandon Moore darted over from the play the ball and Woods converted from in front. The Lions young full back Joe Purcell had to leave the field on twenty-seven minutes being injured in a heavy tackle and banged his head on the floor as he went down. Badrock had another break just after the half hour and was clear when he was pulled for a forward pass in the build-up. Burton added his second try seven minutes from the break after he finished off a good passing movement, but Woods again was off target with the kick.

Bulldogs made a good start to the second half putting pressure on the Lions line, but it was the Lions that opened the scoring when Jack Stevens took on the Bulldogs defence to sell a couple of dummies before scoring by the posts and he also added the conversion. Just after the restart Bulldogs forced a goal line drop out and Alistair Leak was held up. The home side then got back on top of play having a few chances and stretching the Lions defence before eventually Leak sent Luke Cooper over by the posts on seventy minutes and Woods converted and the game was slipping away from any Lions chances. There were though a couple more Lions chances with Rhys Williams having one chance, but he was held out. Another attack down the left was stopped by Dale Morton when he knocked down a pass meant for Badrock. Jonny Vaughan then had a good chance down the right when Leon Cowen tried to set him up, but good defence stopped it. Bulldogs scored the final try with seconds left when Luke Blake went close and as the ball moved to the left former Lion Ben White crossed under the posts and Woods converted as the hooter sounded.

LIONS
23 Joe Purcell
25 Richard Lepori
4 Jayden Hatton
21 Andy Badrock
5 Rhys Williams
18 Jack Stevens
7 Jordy Gibson
26 Ant Walker
9 George Roby
10 Gavin Bennion
11 Gav Rodden
29 Jonny Vaughan
16 Lewis Hall

Subs (all used)
14 Josh Eaves
33 Leon Cowen
20 Jack Houghton
13 Mikey Wood

Try: Stevens (49)
Goal: Stevens 1/1

BULLDOGS
1 Robbie Butterworth
2 Dale Morton
24 Jonny Mitsias
3 Kieran Buchanan
18 Joe Burton
6 Ben White
7 Josh Woods
8 Adam Gledhill
25 Brandon Moore
10 Luke Cooper
11 Dane Manning
12 Lucas Walshaw
17 Luke Blake

Subs (all used)
9 Alistair Leak
15 Nyle Flynn
13 James Brown
20 Ben Kaye

Tries: Burton (2,33), Moore (21), Cooper (69), White (80)
Goals: Woods 3/6

Penalty count: 4-4
Half-time: 14-0
Referee: James Vella
Attendance: Not Given

Swinton Lionesses 14 Fryston Warriors 26

Alan Dixon at Manchester Regional Arena

On a historic day for the Swinton Lionesses, they took to the field at the fantastic surroundings of the Manchester Regional Arena against opponents Fryston Warriors Women.

Injuries in the warm up caused Steve Thirkell to adjust the Lionesses line up, but they still put up a commendable performance against a strong Fryston team.

The Lionesses were the first to threaten the try line. Back to back penalties allowed the Lionesses to threaten the Fryston line but, they could not get through the defence and had to hand the ball over. Fryston tried to move the ball away from their own line but could only knock on. From the scrum, the ball was moved out to Lottie Meacham to race 20 metres to score near the posts. Libby Clarke added the extras to give the Lionesses a 6-0 lead after 7 minutes. It was now Fryston’s turn to put pressure on the Lionesses line. They forced the Lionesses to drop out in the 17th minute. Two minutes later they were in when the ball was moved out to Alice Pye who scored in the corner. Lillie-Grace Sutton was unable to convert.
Fryston went into the lead in the 23rd minute. The Lionesses gave away a penalty. This allowed Fryston to drive the ball to line. Ellena Powell sliced through the Lionesses defence to score. Again Lillie-Grace Sutton was unable to convert and Fryston now led 8-6. The Lionesses went back downfield and put pressure on Fryston’s line. A good handling move by Emma Dwyer, Ellie Thirkell and Mollee-Anne Pickering ended in the latter being tackled just short of the line. The pressure paid off in the 36th minute. Fryston were penalised for a high tackle. From the tap, Emma Dwyer passed the ball out to Lucy Baggaley who crashed over in the corner. Emily Haley was unable to convert and the Lionesses now led 10-8.

The second half started brightly for the Lionesses. They won a penalty for a high tackle in the 42nd minute. The ball was moved downfield. Emily Haley went for the corner but the covering defence tackled her into touch in goal as she tried to score. Six minutes later Fryston recovered a Lionesses kick and moved the ball out wide for the winger to go on a run. A great cover tackle by Olivia Harborow took the winger into touch. The Lionesses lead was extended in the 57th minute. Fryston knocked on near their own line. From the scrum, Emma Dwyer fed the ball to Ellie Thirkell who raced through the Fryston defence to score under the posts. She could not convert her own try. The Lionesses conceded back to back penalties which allowed Kirsty Higo to crash over by the posts in the 67th minute. Lillie-Grace Sutton converted to level up the scores. Fryston went back in front in the 74th minute. The Lionesses knocked the ball on near their own line. From the scrum, Skye Robinson broke through two tackles to score. Lillie-Grace Sutton converted. The Lionesses were back on the attack in the final minute but their kick through went straight in Fryston hands and Ellena Powell went on a 70 metre run before being tackled. From the play the ball, the ball was moved out to Evie Gray to score. Lillie-Grace Sutton converted to increase the Fryston lead.

Swinton Lionesses:
Lottie Meacham, Tiffany Ho, Olivia Harborow, Libby Clarke, Alexsis Smith, Mollee-Anne Pickering, Ellie Thirkell, Aimie Toher, Emma Dwyer, Lucy Baggaley, Lydia Elstone, Emily Haley, Maddie Price. Subs: Isabel Birds, Laura Bent, Catherine Sweeney, Chloe Lyons, Leah Christian.

Tries: Meacham (7), Baggaley (36), Thirkell (57)
Goal: Clarke 1

Fryston Warriors Women : Sophia Liu, Alice Pye, Kaitlyn Pycroft, Isabella Naylor, Ebony Sutton, Ellena Powell, Lillie-Grace Sutton, Kirsty Higo, Skye Robinson, Millen Downs, Lacey Sefton-Appleyard, Mataya Dale, Evie Gray. Subs: Marnie Wrigley, Ruby Lockwood, Kacey Davies, Chloe Nash, Bethany Simpson.

Tries: Pye (19), Powell (23), Higo (67), Robinson (74), Gray (79).
Goals: Sutton 3

Penalties: 11-7
Half Time: 10-8

SWINTON LIONS 4 TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE 48

IAN RIGG Heywood Road, Saturday 3 August 2024

Swinton Lions maybe the only side to have beaten Toulouse in France this season but visitors put in a very strong performance to run in nine tries to take the points home with them. The Lions should have taken the lead in the third minute when Jake Spedding made a sixty-metre break but with Richard Lepori he decided to go for glory and Olly Ashall-Bott managed to stop the danger. From the play the ball the Lions tried to force a goal line drop out and Josh Eaves delayed the restart, and he was sent to the sinbin. Anthony Marion had to leave the field for a head assessment but was soon to return and cause lots of problems for the Lions defence. Paul Ulberg put the visitors ahead on ten minutes after he took a high ball to score in the corner and Ryan Rivett converted. Five minutes later they were in again when Ruebenn Rennie finished off a good passing movement on the left and this time no conversion. The Lions right side defence was struggling with the Toulouse attack, and they scored again on that side when Rennie collected his second and Rivett converted. Rivett thought he was going to score on twenty-five minutes but a brilliant tackle by Andy Badrock held him up, but from the play the ball moved swiftly left and Ulberg grabbed his second of the afternoon. The Lions had very few chances in the first half and when they did some great defence frustrated them.

A bad start for Toulouse in the second half when they knocked on in the very first tackle. The Lions finally got on the board on forty-three minutes when Badrock put out a nice pass for Rhys Williams to score his 200th career try in the corner, but Dan Abram could not convert. Abram thought he had scored the Lions second try on fifty-one minutes when Ashall-Bott was trapped in goal from a kick and appeared to lose the ball as he was tackled and Abram dived on it, but it was judged the ball had been grounded before it ran free. Maxime Stefani added the next Toulouse try three minutes later when he latched onto a Rivett short kick to score by the posts but amazingly Rivett shanked his conversion to the left of the posts. Pierre-Jean Lima then added a brace of tries in a three-minute period but set up by Marion who was playing his two hundredth career game and this time Robin Brochon who had taken over the kicking made no mistakes with the conversions. Williams for a few seconds thought he was going to race away to score on sixty-six minutes when he went for an intercept but couldn’t control the ball. Guy Armitage who had come on as a late substitute then made a long break and from the play the ball his wing partner Paul Marcon crossed on the right and Brochon converted. The final try came with six minutes left when another good passing movement and powerful running saw Lima cross for his third by the posts and Brochon again made no mistake with the kick.

LIONS
1 Dan Abram
25 Richard Lepori
3 Jake Spedding
21 Andy Badrock
5 Rhys Williams
18 Jack Stevens
7 Jordy Gibson
10 Gavin Bennion
14 Josh Eaves
13 Mikey Wood
11 Gav Rodden
12 Mitch Cox
16 Lewis Hall

Subs (all used)
9 George Roby
24 Jordan Case
20 Jack Houghton
36 Jordan Brown

Tries: Williams (43)
Goals: Abram 0/1
Sin-bin: Eaves (3) Dissent

TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE
1 Olly Ashall-Bott
5 Paul Marcon
4 Mathieu Jussaume
3 Reubenn Rennie
2 Paul Ulberg
6 Ryan Rivett
23 Robin Bochon
17 James Roumanos
9 Calum Gahan
10 Harrison Hansen
11 Maxine Stefani
12 Dom Peyroux
13 Anthony Marion

Subs (all used)
20 Greg Richards
22 Dimitri Biscarro
24 Pierre-Jean Lima
18 Guy Armitage

Tries: Ulberg (10,26), Rennie (15,20), Stefani (54), Lima (58,61,74). Marcon (70)
Goals: Rivett 2/5, Brochon 4/4

Penalty count: 9-3
Half-time: 0-20
Referee: Ryan Cox
Attendance: 629

Former Warrington Wolves “middle” Jamie Reddecliff joins Lions

We are delighted to announce the permanent signing of the 20 years old former Warrington Wolves forward, Jamie Reddecliff.

Jamie was introduced to Heywood Road ahead of our last home game, after which he said, “After watching the match and being in the crowd for the Whitehaven match, this got me really excited as the facilities at the stadium are great.

“I know we didn’t get the result we wanted, but I saw a lot of quality in the team and I am looking forward to adding to it.

“I’m aiming to bring some impact and strong defence into the pack. I want to cement myself in the team with some good performances to repay Alan and the club for the opportunity to represent the Lions.”

Lions’ Head Coach Alan Kilshaw said of our latest signing, “Jamie caught our attention with his performances in the Wolves reserve team this season.

“He’s a hard working middle and adds some punch around the ruck.

“We are grateful for Warrington for allowing the deal to go ahead and we are looking forward to having Jamie as a Lion to the end of the season and hopefully beyond.”

SWINTON LIONS 20 WHITEHAVEN 22

IAN RIGG at Heywood Road, Sunday 21 July 2024

Whitehaven put in a super second half performance to take the points home and end the Lions decent run. The game in fact was like the first game of the season when again Haven bounced back to win the game. Both sides had early chances, but it was the Lions who took the lead when Jake Maizen failed to pick up a Jordy Gibson kick and Jayden Hatton scored by the posts and Dan Abram converted. Abram then added a penalty goal three minutes later for a ripped ball in the tackle. Gav Rodden thought he had scored a few minutes later but knocked on near the line. Will Evans went close but lost the ball near the line before the Lions went further ahead when Mitch Cox put out a nice pass for Lewis Hall to score under the posts and Abram again converted. The Lions then forced two goal line dropouts but could do nothing with either of them before Hatton had a second try cancelled out for being offside at the kick. Haven hit back eight minutes from the break when Lachlan Hanneghan danced his way through the Lions defence to score under the posts and Jake Carter converted.

It was a good start to the visitors in the second half when Dan Abram fielded the kick off but the chaser was obstructed near the line and from the resulting penalty the ball was moved swiftly to the right and Neil Tchamambe dived in at the corner, but Carter could not convert from the touchline. The Lions tried to hit back and a good move involving Andy Badrock, Hall and Jake Spedding broke down when the ball fell behind Richard Lepori and the chance went. Spedding and former Lion Joey Romeo had a bit of a spat midway through the second half, and it was the Lions who went further ahead when another super measured kick from Gibson found the chasing Hatton and he again scored on the left with Abram converting. Six minutes later Maizen made a good break up the middle and found the supporting Carter who raced away to score under the posts. Carter added the conversion, and they were back within four points. The telling moment came with nine minutes left when Haven kicked to the corner and the ball seemed to have been collected cleanly by Hatton and as he tried to come away from the line, he lost the ball and Will Evans was on hand to collect it and scored on the right with Carter adding the conversion. The try looked controversial both in terms of a knock-on, and also a Swinton player touching down the ball dead first. The Lions tried all they could to come back in the dying minutes when firstly Rodden went for the line and lost the ball and then they were awarded a penalty for a high tackle on George Roby and Ryan King was sent to the sin bin for the tackle. With three minutes left it was the Lions last attack and Gibson almost pulled it off for the Lions going for the posts, but he too knocked on diving for the line and Haven went home happy.

LIONS
1 Dan Abram
25 Richard Lepori
3 Jake Spedding
4 Jayden Hatton
5 Rhys Williams
16 Lewis Hall
7 Jordy Gibson
36 Jordan Brown
9 George Roby
20 Jack Houghton
11 Gav Rodden
21 Andy Badrock
12 Mitch Cox

Subs (all used)
31 Ciaran Nolan
24 Jordan Case
8 Liam Cooper
26 Ant Walker

Tries: Hatton (7,60), Hall (22)
Goals: Abram 4/4

WHITEHAVEN
2 Jake Maizen
3 Joey Romeo
4 Will Evans
5 Curtis Tears
25 Neil Tchamambe
14 Jake Carter
7 Lachlan Hanneghan
8 Lucas Castle
15 James Newton
17 Ross Ainley
20 Owen McCarron
27 Lewis Baxter
11 Ryan King

Subs (all used)
21 Rio Corkill
24 Lennie Ellis
16 Noah High
26 Huw Worthington

Tries: Hanneghan (32), Tchamambe (42), Carter (66), Evans (71)
Goals: Carter 3/4
Sin-bin: King (75) High Tackle

Penalty count: 6-7
Half-time: 14-6
Referee: Cameron Worsley
Attendance: 859

Scoring: 6-0,8-0,14-0,14-6,14-10,20-10,20-16,20-22

Last Thursday (17 July) the Swinton Lions Community Sports Foundation hosted an inaugural 7-a-Side Rugby League Festival for Swinton based primary schools, which was organised specifically for children in years three and four.

This fantastic event took place at Folly Lane ARLFC in Pendlebury, and featured twelve teams. The tournament was the cumulation of a six week’s free coaching programme, which was embraced by six Swinton & Pendlebury Primary Schools. The programme enabled over 300 young people between the ages of seven and nine, half of whom were girls, to take part in Rugby League activity for the first time.

All in all it was a fantastic afternoon, with the children also getting to know Dana the Lion as well as being made familiar with Folly Lane’s superb community facilities and therefore note the opportunity to play the sport into the future. And who knows, it was the making of a few new Swinton Lions fans as well!

SHEFFIELD EAGLES 22 SWINTON LIONS 34

IAN RIGG at Olympic Legacy Park, Sunday 14 July 2024

Swinton Lions made it back-to-back wins with a great performance against the high-flying Eagles. Gav Rodden put the Lions ahead in the second minute when he collected a loose ball near his own line to race away and score under the posts at the other end with Dan Abram converting. Eagles hit back seven minutes later when the impressive Joel Farrell scored on the left and Cory Aston locked the scores with the conversion. Eddie Battye and Titus Gwaze had chances, but the defence frustrated them. Eagles were getting in good positions but time and again opportunities were not taken. The Lions next chance came on twenty-three minutes when Jordy Gibson went close but was caught offside. Rodden added his second try fourteen minutes from the break when Gibson set him up and he scored under the posts with Abram converting again. Eagles forced a goal line drop-out just after the restart but again the Lions defence was on top and with seconds to go to the half time hooter Ant Walker crashed in by the posts for his first Lions try and Abram converted.

Eagles made a bright start to the second half and had a couple of chances but again the Swinton defence was on top. The Lions scored their next try on fifty minutes when again Walker crashed over by the posts and again Abram converted. Jayden Hatton then had a chance, but he was just ankle tapped near the line, but it was Eagles who scored next when Joel Farrell fed Matty Dawson-Jones who raced in at the corner and Aston converted to bring them within two scores. George Roby was then held up twice before Isaac Farrell crossed for Eagles on sixty-four minutes, but the conversion drifted wide. There was a referee change on sixty-seven minutes when Scott Mikalauskas picked up a leg injury and he was replaced by Nick Bennett. Battye had a chance then for Eagles but lost the ball near the line and the Jordan Case was held up for the Lions, but it was the visitors who went further ahead three minutes from time when Roby put in a nice short kick for Gibson to race on to and score but Abram hit the post with this one. Eagles added a further try with just over a minute left when Aston kicked towards the posts and Gwaze took it to score under the posts and Aston converted again. With twelve seconds left on the clock the Lions added their final try when Eagles lost the ball from the kick-off and Jake Spedding collected the rolling ball to score under the posts with Abram converting.

LIONS
1 Dan Abram
25 Richard Lepori
3 Jake Spedding
4 Jayden Hatton
5 Rhys Williams
16 Lewis Hall
7 Jordy Gibson
36 Jordan Brown
9 George Roby
20 Jack Houghton
11 Gav Rodden
21 Andy Badrock
12 Mitch Cox

Subs (all used)
28 Brad Hammond
24 Jordan Case
8 Liam Cooper
26 Ant Walker

Tries: Rodden (2,26), Walker (40,50), Gibson (77), Spedding (80)
Goals: Abram 5/6

EAGLES
1 Matty Marsh
2 Ben Jones-Bishop
3 Kris Welham
23 Bayley Liu
5 Matty Dawson-Jones
6 Cory Aston
19 Izaac Farrell
8 Eddie Battye
9 Vila Halafihi
10 Tyler Dickinson
11 Connor Bower
12 Joel Farrell
13 Titus Gwaze

Subs (all used)
15 Evan Hodgson
18 Aaron Murphy
22 Kyle Wood
27 Jesse Sene-Lefeo

Tries: Joel Farrell (9), Dawson-Jones (56), Izaac Farrell (64), Gwaze (79)
Goals: Aston 3/4

Penalty count: 8-6
Half-time: 6-18
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas & Nick Bennett
Attendance: 1063

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 6-6, 6-12,6-18, 6-24,12-24,16-24,16-28,22-28,22-34

SWINTON LIONS 24 WIDNES VIKINGS 12

IAN RIGG Heywood Road, Sunday 7 July 2024

Swinton Lions bounced back up off the canvas to stun the Vikings with a fantastic performance especially in the second half. Despite again not scoring in one half of rugby the Lions played some vintage stuff in the second half to nil their opponents and claim the valuable points. It was a bright start for both sides and they both had early use of the ball, but it was the Vikings who opened the scoring on sixteen minutes when Danny Langtree went over on the right after pressure on the line and Tom Gilmore converted. Their second try came four minutes later when they forced a goal line drop out and Lewis Hall kicked short from under the posts and Vikings got the ball back with former Lion Nick Gregson crashed over on the right and again Gilmore converted. They forced another drop out a few minutes later but Rhodri Lloyd was unable to control the ball and the Lions got it back and from this Dan Okoro made a seventy metre break up centre field but ran out of support. George Roby was sent to the sin-bin just after the half hour but the Vikings could not capitalise, and poor handling handed the ball back to the Lions. In the dying seconds of the half Jack Owens tried a field goal, but it sailed wide.

Just after the restart and following a Widnes scrum deep in the Lions’ half, the ball was thrown out wide to the right and the impressive Rhys Williams intercepted it to race ninety metres to score and Dan Abram converted. This seemed to kickstart the Lions into action and a few minutes later Owens fumbled a high kick in his own ten and the pressure on the line saw Rodden cross on the left and Abram converted to lock the scores. The next try followed quickly when the Vikings were penalised for offside in their own twenty and from resulting pressure some good passing saw former Viking Jayden Hatton score on the left, but Abram was unable to convert. Ben Hartill then went close after a one-on-one ball steal but lost the ball near the line. After another penalty to the Lions on seventy-one minutes for a dump in the tackle and Abram added the penalty points and Sam Brooks was sent to the sin-bin. Vikings then tried the short kick off which didn’t come off as the Lions went back downfield. Another penalty to the Lions with four minutes left for holding down and Abram was on target again, and with two minutes left a great bit of play down the left saw Rodden break and draw Lloyd Roby before sending Williams over in the corner for his second try. Abram could not convert this one but the game was won, and the final hooter sounded a few seconds later.

LIONS
1 Dan Abram
25 Richard Lepori
3 Jake Spedding
4 Jayden Hatton
5 Rhys Williams
16 Lewis Hall
29 Kai Morgan
31 Dan Okoro
9 George Roby
20 Jack Houghton
11 Gav Rodden
21 Andy Badrock
13 Mikey Wood

Subs (all used)
35 Ben Hartill
12 Mitch Cox
33 Leon Cowen
24 Jordan Case

Tries: Williams (46,78), Rodden (53), Hatton (61)
Goals: Abram 4/6
Sin-bin: Roby (31) use of elbow

VIKINGS
1 Jack Owens
20 Mike Butt
25 Keanan Brand
11 Rhodri Lloyd
21 Ollie Brookes
6 Joe Lyons
7 Tom Gilmore
15 Liam Kirk
9 Matty Fozard
31 Dan Murray
19 Sam Wilde
12 Danny Langtree
13 Nick Gregson

Subs (all used)
14 Jordan Johnstone
10 Sam Brooks
17 Liam Bent
27 Louis Brogan
24 Lloyd Roby

Tries: Langtree (16), Gregson (20)
Goals: Gilmore 2/2
Sin-bin: Brooks (71) tip tackle

Penalty count: 5-6
Half-time: 0-12
Referee: Liam Rush
Attendance: 1,069

Swinton Lionesses 26 Leigh Miners Rangers 4

Alan Dixon at Westhoughton Lions ARLFC

The Lionesses winning ways continued with a hard fought victory over Leigh Miners ladies at The Den.

Leigh fumbled the kick-off, but the Lionesses couldn’t capitalise on the mistake. This set the tone for the opening quarter as both teams squandered possession with mistakes. A good run by Emma Dwyer in the 12th minute earned the Lionesses a penalty. They were unable to capitalise as the move ended with a knock on. Leigh’s best chance came in the 15th minute. Hollie Gregory weaved her way downfield but her pass out wide ended in a knock on. After a penalty, the Lionesses put pressure on Leigh’s line. A bad pass handed possession over. Leigh quickly moved the ball downfield with another good run from Hollie Gregory. The ball was moved across the field for Kirsty Millington to score near the posts on 20 minutes . Hollie Gregory missed the conversion.

Five minutes later, the Lionesses were back on the attack. A good run by Mollee-Anne Pickering set up good field position. From the play the ball, the ball was moved out wide to Alexsis Smith who cut back inside to score. Jodie Morris was unable to add the extras. The Lionesses were back on the attack 7 minutes later. After a good run by Emily Haley, the ball was kicked through but Leigh managed to get possession of the ball. From the play the ball, good tackling by Jodie Morris and Alexsis Smith forced Leigh to be tackled behind the line for a drop out. The Lionesses took the lead in the 36th minute. From a scrum near their own line, they moved the ball up towards the half way line. A quick play the ball enabled Libby Clarke to burst through Leigh’s defensive line and round the full back on a 55 metre run to score under the posts. Jodie Morris converted to give the Lionesses a 10-4 half time lead.

Leigh almost scored in the 44th minute. The ball was moved out to the wing but Francesca Boyham knocked on. From the resulting scrum, the Lionesses were awarded a penalty for a late hit. This allowed the Lionesses to move the ball downfield with good runs by Lucy Baggaley and Mollee-Anne Pickering. The ball was then moved out to Aimie Toher who ran 20 metres to score. The conversion was missed and the Lionesses now led 14-4 after 46 minutes. Leigh’s restart went on the full. The resulting penalty gave the Lionesses good field position to attack the line. Jodie Morris was held up over the line. The ball was then moved across the field to Tyler Moses, but she knocked on whilst being tackled as she tried to score in the corner. The Lionesses scored again in the 54th minute. They went back on the attack and a good pass by Emma Dwyer put Aimie Toher through a gap to run 15 metres to score. Jodie Morris converted to extend the lead to 20-4.

Leigh went back on the attack but knocked on close to the Lionesses line in the 61st minute. From the scrum, the ball was given to Ellie Walsh who broke through 4 tackles on a 90 metre run to the line to score. Jodie Morris converted for a 26-4 lead. Five minutes later, Leigh lost possession of the ball on half way. Ellie Walsh collected the loose ball, but she knocked on as she was being tackled just short of the line. Leigh’s Niamh O’Connor was sin binned nine minutes from time for a late hit.

Swinton Lionesses:
Erin Tong, Tyler Moses, Ellie Walsh, Libby Clarke, Alexsis Smith, Mollee-Anne Pickering, Ellie Costello, Aimie Toher, Lottie Meacham, Lucy Baggaley, Jodie Morris, Emily Haley, Emma Dwyer.
Subs: Kyla Toher, Tiffany Ho, Lydia Elstone, Sophie Baird, Catherine Sweeney, Laura Bent, Chloe Lyons

Tries: Smith (25), Clarke (36), A. Toher (46, 54), Walsh (61)
Goals: Morris 3

Leigh Miners Rangers:
Hollie Gregory, Louise Boardman, Francesca Boyham, Maddie Higson, Abigail Hunt, Lily Jones, Kirsty Millington, Cara Williamson, Kaitlin Clarke, Jessica Farnell, Anna Croft, Niamh O’Connor, Victoria Rosevere.
Subs: Jodie Moncur, Jade Mapp-McKenzie, Abbie Gregory, Penny Rothwell Mason, Courtney Browne, Rebekah Calland, Charlotte Hall

Try: Millington (20)

Penalties: 9-4

DONCASTER 18 SWINTON LIONS 8

IAN RIGG at Millenium Stadium, Saturday 29 June 2024

Doncaster got back to winning ways with three second half tries to condemn the Lions to another defeat and yet another game where they only scored points in one half or Rugby which has happened for the last four games. It looked like the Lions were going to score with virtually their first attack when Jake Spedding broke down the right to draw the defence and send an inside pass to Mitch Cox, but he was unable to control the pass and the chance went. Brett Ferres was sent to the sinbin for a dangerous tackle on fifteen minutes and the Lions were awarded a penalty in their own half and from this they launched and attack in the Doncaster half and a minute later Pauli Pauli was also sent to the sinbin for another dangerous tackle this time on Lewis Hall. The Lions with the two-man advantage were desperate to make the home side pay and a good passing movement saw full back Joe Purcell cross on the left and narrow the angle for Dan Abram to convert. From the restart more pressure on the line saw Jack Stevens break towards the posts but an ankle tap from Connor Robinson was enough to stop the momentum. Williams then had a try cancelled out for a knock on in the twenty-fifth minute when he dived for the corner after a Josh Guzdek mistake in his own twenty. The first real Doncaster attack up the slope came on twenty-seven minutes when Suaia Matagi found himself ten metres from the line but lost the ball with no pressure on him. A Doncaster player was placed on report by referee Cameron Worsley on the half hour for what looked a dangerous challenge on Cox and then they had another good attack but again lost the ball. Abram put his side further ahead three minutes from the break for an off the ball challenge during a promising build up.

Another good start for the Lions in the second half but nothing came of it before Watson Boas had a try cancelled out for a forward pass, they did however open their scoring on fifty minutes when Reece Lyne crossed after good build up on the right and Robinson converted. Doncaster were now getting the upper hand and the Lions defence was being stretched before Bureta Faraimo scored on the right after a nice, angled run and again Robinson made no mistake with the kick to put his side in command. The Lions tried to hit back and good play up the right involving Jonny Vaughan, Spedding and Matty Chrimes almost ended with points on the board, but Craig Hall got there just in time to stop the danger. A second Doncaster player was placed on report on sixty-seven minutes for another dangerous tackle this time on Lewis Hall who had to leave the field a few minutes later. The final Doncaster try came from a Lions attack when they went close, but a wild pass went to Lyne, and he cleared the line and a few minutes later a nice kick to the corner found Tom Halliday and he crossed in the right corner and Robinson converted off the touchline. Robinson missed a forty-five-metre penalty in the last five minutes of the game but by then the points were in the bag.

LIONS
23 Joe Purcell
2 Matty Chrimes
3 Jake Spedding
4 Jayden Hatton
5 Rhys Williams
18 Jack Stevens
1 Dan Abram
13 Mikey Wood
31 Jake Burns
37 Ant Walker
29 Jonny Vaughan
12 Mitch Cox
16 Lewis Hall

Subs (all used)
9 George Roby
24 Jordan Case
36 Jordan Brown
21 Andy Badrock

Try: Purcell (17)
Goals: Abram 2/2

DONCASTER
1 Josh Guzdek
30 Bureta Faraimo
4 Reece Lyne
23 Jason Tali
2 Tom Halliday
19 Craig Hall
7 Connor Robinson
20 Brad Knowles
15 Joe Lovodua
10 Suaia Matagi
27 Brett Ferres
16 Pauli Pauli
31 Nathan Wilde

Subs (all used)
3 Brad Hey
8 Keelan Foster
24 Watson Boas
25 Ilikaya Mafi

Tries: Lyne (50), Faraimo (59), Halliday (72)
Goals: Robinson 3/4
Sin-bin: Ferres (15) Dangerous tackle
Pauli Pauli (16) Dangerous Tackle
On Report: Dangerous tackle (29) on Jordan Case
Dangerous tackle (67) on Mitch Cox

Penalty count: 9-9
Half-time: 0-8
Referee: Cameron Worsley
Attendance: 1056