Lions Roar

The last time we planned to go to watch the Wellington Lions, the weather was pretty horrible so we decided not to go. They lost. We therefore felt it was our duty to support them in their final home game in the round robin stage of the contest, as they squared up to Taranaki, second-placed in the league and four points ahead. Wellington really need to win their two remaining games convincingly to make the play-offs.

As we walked down The Terrace towards the cake tin, we were passed by a large coach with Taranaki written on the side and back. It seemed to be full of men, so we assumed it was in fact the Taranaki team on their way to the stadium, and gave them a friendly wave. One of them waved back!

The game was a bit of a mishmash for the first half hour, with Wellington pinned in their own half for most of it. Taranaki’s passing and back play looked slick, but Wellington’s defence held, and they made the most of their one opportunity, scoring a try but failing to convert. With the score at 5-3 it didn’t look much of a match.

Lions line-out

In the final 10 minutes of the half, all that changed, as the Lions put two tries down, but conceded one.

Lions score a try

At half time it was 17-8. In the second half, and despite the loss of Weepu 5 minutes into the half with a broken leg, Wellington romped home to finish 49-15, as a moment’s lapse in concentration allowed Taranaki to score a late consolation try in the final ten minutes.

Taranaki try

This puts the Lions up to 3^rd in the table, although with Auckland still to play tomorrow against the bottom-placed team, Otago, they’ll probably drop down to 4^th by the time the round is completed.