SS3 Division 3 - LondonWRC Write Up
The Super Series season has concluded for Division 3 and London Lions are Champions! After another clean sweep of victories we topped the table and took the gold. For our last day of matches we headed to Leicester, after a team dinner and a nights stay we made way to Braunstone Leisure Centre.
The first game was against Bournemouth Lions and due to absent players they were not at their strongest. It was clear from early on that our most functional line would prove too much and breeze through the opposition. So we started with a slightly less functional line. Still coming out strong and playing well we pulled ahead gaining around four turnovers before Bournemouth scored one try. As the win was secure my main priority was now ensuring I spread the court time amongst the bench. Making sure we play well, getting the basics right. And the players did exactly that, increasing the lead to win by over twenty points.
Our second game was much like the first. Tougher to start with as Brighton Buccaneers have a faster more agile high pointer. But we had our match ups right meaning we could cover their no.1 player while covering the outlets. Again a good chance to practice our basics, switching well on defence and playing chair on offence were two aspects I was keen for our Lions to improve on. They certainly did, staying in control of the play and slowly stretching the lead to another dominant victory.
Our second game was much like the first. Tougher to start with as Brighton Buccaneers have a faster more agile high pointer. But we had our match ups right meaning we could cover their no.1 player while covering the outlets. Again a good chance to practice our basics, switching well on defence and playing chair on offence were two aspects I was keen for our Lions to improve on. They certainly did, staying in control of the play and slowly stretching the lead to another dominant victory.
Before the tournament began I had a chat with Nathalie McGloin, the Captain of our opposition for the third match Leicester Tigers. Their team was also missing a couple players so Nat mentioned the possibility of us sending a player over to them. I was undecided for a while, spoke to our Lions with mixed results. After Ahmed our 2.5 player nominated himself it was decided and looking back a good decision. It made the match a lot closer, each team had to work harder and play good rugby. Our Lions had the lead for the whole match but during the fourth quarter our most experienced player had a chair malfunction and had to sub off. Although the Tigers started to claw back our Lions managed to hold the lead and take another hat-trick of victories.
This all means that the London Lions are debut Champions of Division 3 and completed the 2019/20 Super Series season undefeated. Something I'm very proud off is seeing most of the players start this sport knowing very little and helping coach them through their first tournament. I'm proud of the way they performed as individuals and as a team. As always I'm honoured to be part of this club and our sporting family. Thank you to GBWR for holding a successful season, to all volunteers and staff who made it possible and to all the teams in the third division for being so welcoming. We really do appreciate it. Congrats to those who won the individual awards including London players Phillip Douglas best 0.5, Josh Gurvitz best 2.0 and Marcus Daley winning a hat trick of best 3.5.
Next up for LondonWRC is the last Super Series weekend for Division 1. Our Storm and Crusaders will head to the White Horse Leisure Centre in Abingdon to battle for the remaining points and claim the title of Club Champions. It's happening on the 21/22 March, admission is free and spectators are welcome. If you can't make it be sure to follow us on social and stay up to date with the latest results.
