Newcastle Red Bulls beat the Lions 14-10 in a Round 2 clash of the EPCR Challenge Cup at Kingston Park Stadium. The Lions will kick themselves for spilling several scoring opportunities during the second half.
Newcastle made a dominant start; however, a poor pass by Newcastle was intercepted by Angelo Davids, who scored the Lions' first try. Sam Francis converted to extend the Lions' lead to 07-00 after just three minutes of play in the first half.
Boeta Chamberlain cut through the defence by Boeta Chamberlain, who attacked from within his half and offloaded to Alex Hearle to score Newcastle’s first try. Boeta Chamberlain converted to level the scores.
Sam Francis converted a penalty to edge the Lions 10-07 in the lead with twenty minutes to play in the first half.
The Lions set up camp in Newcastle’s red zone for the final ten minutes of the first half, but could not convert their dominance into points. The Lions led 10-07 going into the second half.
The first thirty minutes of the second half were a ding-dong battle; however, Newcastle slowly wrestled the momentum away from the Lions during the final ten minutes of the match. Deservedly, Murray McCallum crashed over for Newcastle with a minute to play, securing a 14-10 lead with thirty seconds to play.
Despite a final push by the Lions, Newcastle deservedly won 14-10.
Scorers:
Newcastle Red Bulls: Tries: Alex Hearle, Murray McCallum. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain, Brett Connon.
Lions: Try: Angelo Davids. Conversion: Sam Francis. Penalty: Sam Francis.
Teams:
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Cammy Hutchison, 11 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 10 Ethan Grayson, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Ollie Leatherbarrow, 7 Tom Christie (c), 6 Tom Gordon, 5 Finn Baker, 4 Oscar Usher, 3 Richard Palframan, 2 Ollie Fletcher, 1 Adam Brocklebank. Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Micky Rewcastle, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Amanaki Mafi, 21 James Elliott, 22 Brett Connon, 23 Harrison Obatoyinbo.
Lions: 15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Sam Francis, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 WJ Steenkamp (c), 7 Siba Qoma, 6 Renzo du Plessis, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 RF Schoeman, 2. Morne Brandon, 1 Eddie Davids. Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Jarod Cairns, 21 Haashim Pead, 22 Lubabalo Dobela, 23 Rynhard Jonker.