Lions find form in spectacular manner

After three poor results Horsham Lions got back on the right path with an emphatic 60 – 12 win over Crawley 1st XV with a powerful display of running rugby. Horsham scored nine tries over the course of the match with a much improved defensive display that made a big difference to the result.

They got off to a fast pace with the Lions big pack showing off their carrying with the ball in hand especially number 8 Andy Carvell who made a big burst up the middle of the Crawley defence, and with support on the outside he passed to Matt Blake who then shipped it off to James Layzell. Layzell then showed a clean pair of heels with an outside break from 30 metres out to go over for the opening try of the game. The next points came from a penalty goal from O’Gorman after good work at the break down by Layzell winning the turnover and the penalty. The second try came from a big break up field from Ollie Harcus who then offloaded to Ben Birch who scored in the corner.

At this point Horsham were clearly on top and did not relax with a try from Blake after a good up and under and chase which took the lead to 20-0. Horsham also managed to bring up their bonus point with a fourth try from Layzell after brilliant running and a well-timed pass from tighthead prop Kyle Fairs. In response Crawley scored a well-made try from powerful running from their forwards to bring the score to 27-5. The last try of the half came after a number of powerful drives and good interplay saw Nick Bell go over for the Lions fifth try and with the conversion going over this brought the score at half time to 36-5.

After the break Horsham continued as before with another try being scored by Birch intercepting a pass in Horsham 22 from a Crawley player to race under for the sixth try of the day from Horsham. The Lions kept their foot on the gas with another try from Blake that brought the score 48-5 with a long range effort. Josh Steggles then got involved with the scoring efforts with a cheeky score from a pick and go from the base of a ruck after a great scrum and good drives by the forwards. Horsham final try came again from Steggles after a fantastic show of pace and footwork to score a long range try to close of the scoring and to bring up the 60 point mark for Horsham. Crawley had the last say with a consolation try.

A happy Horsham Lions manager Andy Layzell was pleased with the display from his team, ‘This was an outstanding result, due to the hard work by the Lions pack that laid down the foundations for our backs to execute what they are good at. This was a complete team effort with each player fully committing to the job in hand. Crawley were not a walk over and put up a stiff opposition, however this was Horsham’s day. There was outstanding work across the team, but the front five must be singled out for their work in winning ball for the backs as do the back row for their defence and work at the breakdown, but players to note were Dan Crook for his strong running and defence, James Layzell for the amount of work he got through and his two tries he scored in his 35 minutes, Matt Blake for his control of our patterns, Nick Bell for his support play, tackling and work in the disrupting Crawley’s play, but the man of the match was Josh Steggles for his passing, tactical kicking and the control he displayed’.

Horsham Lions next match is away to Chichester 3’s.