Sils Roar Past Lions In Epic Midlands Cup Final

After a 45-18 drubbing at the hands of Lions 2 weeks earlier, you would have been forgiven for writing Sils off as they prepared to face their nemesis for the third time this season. Captain and figurehead Olly Beech had lost his battle against a torn hamstring, and lineout maestro Ben Trenchard was in Ireland for some reason. Surely the Copt Heath boys didn’t stand a chance?

Motivation, though, is a great leveller and this time it was Sils who had the edge. Lee ‘Window’ Jones was present in the changing rooms pre-match, dishing out insults but reminding us why we play the sport. A spine-tingling Tom Manise speech stoked the fire, and after a fitting minute’s applause for Webby, the players knew they had to deliver.

No surprise then that Sils established their intent early, with some huge hits straight from the kick off scattering the Lions attack and leading to an accidental offside. Phases from the resulting scrum led to a high tackle on Fred Howard, and Tom Lee decided the advantage was a good time for the first piece of Sils magic. A cross field kick, seemingly to nobody, landed perfectly between a pack of Lions players and bounced straight into the hands of Matt Lee. Inspired play, home advantage and that strange psychic Lee connection had combined to put Sils 5-0 up in the early stages. Tom Lee slotted a difficult conversion and the marker was firmly laid down at 7-0.

Lions bounced to lay down a challenge of their own. Establishing a foothold through their tried and tested forward-heavy game, Lions kicked to the corner for their first chance at a close-range driving maul. The highly effective Lions lineout won possession but their maul attempts were thwarted by a Sils pack with a point to prove, who smashed into the mass of Lions forwards in the newly developed ‘roundabout’ technique (trademark Tom Manise).

Despite an excellent defensive effort, the talismanic Lions second row force his way through several tacklers and over the line. The try was converted to bring scores level. At this point both sides new a serious game of rugby was on the cards, but as a physically demanding game progressed it was clear Sils had the edge in several areas. The wide and pristine Copt Heath pitch was proving tiresome for the away side, who were also suffering from ill-discipline characterised by several penalties for backchat to the ref. Sils also benefitted from a full team of mic’d up officials, spotting the niggles Lions may have got away with in other games, and an increasingly vocal crowd led by the Sils old guard and the infamous class of 99.

The result was territorial dominance and 2 kickable penalty chances. In the heat of the occasion, Sils’ first instinct was to attack the corners and try some mauling of their own, but captain Tom Manise showed surprising calmness to opt for kicks at goal each time. Tom Lee justified the decision by converting both kicks, and SIls found themselves 13-7 up with momentum firmly in their favour.

This game though had more twists than a curly wurly, and so Sils 8 Peter ‘Shelf’ Nichols was forced off the field with a knee injury from a lineout deep in Lions territory. Nichols had so far been a key part of a Sils lineout which had improved dramatically from two weeks ago to gain parity with Lions. Sils lost his lineout prowess and work rate, but Nichols’ departure allowed James Hibbard to enter the fray, and Tom Manise to drop to 8 and lead the forward charge. Both sides continued to threaten without converting chances to points. The influential Lions flanker was sin binned, but Sils could not capitalise as the half ended 13-7 in Sils favour.

Time to regroup, while coach Taylor delivered his plan for the second half. Unfortunately, this went immediately down the drain as a loose offload left Lions a 3 on 1 with the line at their mercy. Lions duly obliged and an excellent conversion put the away side ahead. When asked why he threw the offload, the culprit could only come up with “it was Sefa’s fault, he called for it”. 14-13 down, Sils could have retreated but instead rallied to regain the lead. Panic spread for a brief moment as the Lions backs conspired to drop the ball in midfield. The crowd gasped, and then cheered as Jack Hobbs charged onto the loose ball, sidestepped a tackler, and scorched in to put Sils back ahead, 18-17.

Not do be outdone, the away side enjoyed an extended period of possession. The Sils defence was proving difficult to overcome, but Lions were fluid and composed in their attack. The Lions forwards were finding themselves in the wide channels and causing havoc, and with the ball continually recycled from one side of the field to the other, gaps began appearing. Lions finally capitalised and their winger went over in the corner after some slick handling from the backs. The kicker again stepped up and nailed a tough conversion to put the away side 3 ahead at 21-18.

With the game in the balance both sides prepared for the inevitable drama. A tip tackle saw another yellow for Lions, his team mate saw yellow minutes later, and Sils had the numbers to go with their possession. Lions were putting in a huge defensive shift, but eventually momentum told as Copt Heath witnessed yet another frantic, brilliant score. Several phases saw the ball recycled on the right wing, and Jack Hobbs crucially free on the left. In the rush to fling it wide a pass was misplaced and the ball bobbled in space. Appearing at just the right time, Tom Manise gathered the bounce pass and drew the last man to put Hobbs racing over in the corner. Lee’s conversion attempt teased the crowd before eventually falling agonisingly wide. Still, SIls were back in the lead with the finish line finally in sight.

As Tom Lee, Ben Crowe and Harry Pick kicked the corners, Sils upped the defensive intensity and forced Lions deeper into their own territory. Joined by the cavalry from the bench, Sils swarmed over their outnumbered opposition. Leading from the front, Sefa Aukuso turned the smashometer to 11 and Rory Grogan was a constant nuisance despite seeming to injure every part of his body. Matt Lee then pulled off an extraordinary tap tackle to halt a desperate Lions break. The pressure told and Sils managed to force a kickable penalty. Lee slotted the kick, extending the lead to 26-21 and leaving Lions a minute to snatch victory. Sils, however, had too much left in the tank and one final Lions infringement gave that man Tom Lee the chance to kick the ball off the park and spark wild celebrations amid some questionable chants of “we are top of the league” by the away support.

Sils had finally triumphed over their local rivals, but both sides played their part in what was a fantastic day on and off the pitch. All that remains is to wish Lions well in their push to win Midlands 2, and prepare to do it all again on April 15th when West Leeds will be the final obstacle in the road to a Twickenham final.