London Skolars 16 Swinton Lions 52 (From Haringey Independent)

London Skolars 16 Swinton Lions 52

9:05am Tuesday 16th March 2010 in

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Co-operative Championship 1 . . .

Skolars fell to a strong first-half performance from the Lions.

They had a good chance to take the lead early on but Dave Arnott was held up over the line. Then the Lions had a piece of luck. With most of the players on both sides expecting the referee to call a tackle, he let Andrew Isherwood move on from the play-the-ball and his quick reactions saw him stroll to the line before the defence could react.

Swinton’s Ritchie Hawkyard was on hand to follow up a break from big prop forwards Dana Wilson and Dave Newton, followed by a try from Gavin Dodd.

Skolars then got one try back after winning the ball back at the kick-off. A good run from Curtis Cunningham set up field position and Jaroslaw Obuchowski scored in the left hand corner.

But the respite was shortlived for the home side. Alex McClury’s break from halfway set up Lee Wingfield’s try and Wingfield then made a break of his own for Sam Reay to score on the wing.

Two more tries before half time sent Swinton further ahead. Rob Foxen pounced on a Cunningham error, and his fellow winger added his second five minutes later.

Skolars again had an early chance to score in the second half, but this time it was Curtis Cunningham who was stopped short of the line. Once again, Swinton counter attacked with Dodd racing to the other end of the field, adding a conversion to his second try.

Skolars then enjoyed their best period of the game. Liam Roach used his height to get over the line after Swinton had been penalised for holding down. Skolars won the ball back from a short kick-off and Josh Welsh got to the ball after a Lions fumble. After that, the game became scrappy and Swinton weren’t able to assert the dominance that they’d enjoyed in the first half. Carl Sneyd finished a move started by Hawkyeard, before Sam Reay anticipated a high crossfield kick to record his hat-trick. Just before the end, Arnott again went close, but the Lions defence forced him into the corner flag as he tried to ground the ball.

* Last Wednesday saw Skolars finally complete their Northern Rail Cup campaign with a re-arranged game against York City Knights, with a side depleted by injuries and work commitments. Skolars faced an 18-0 deficit at half-time, but came close to scoring straight after the break when hooker Joshua Welsh’s run was stopped short of the line. They finally got onto the scoresheet when Ron Montgomery barged through the defence, Jamie Boston converting in the absence of Paul Thorman. York added three more tries as they qualified for the quarter-final stages, but there was a consolation try for Stephen Ball as the game finished 34-12 to the Knights.

Skolars make another long journey this weekend when they take on Gateshead Thunder.