The Lions defeated Davenport University 45-12 in Midwest Rugby Conference (MRC) action on Friday at Farmer's Field Insurance Complex in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was the third straight victory in the MRC to start the season for Lindenwood and the second on the road. The midweek travels may have affected the Lions as they had a slower and less intense start than normal, but they found their rhythm as the match progressed and put forth an impressive performance against a determined Panthers squad.
How it Happened:
Lindenwood stretched the Davenport defense from one side of the pitch to the other right from the start, showing off a sharp, attacking mindset. After both teams booted strategic kicks, it was the Panthers who found themselves deep in Lions territory aiming for early points, but the kick missed, and
Byron Forword seized the moment with a high, booming clearance to ease the pressure.
Moments later, a scrum in Davenport territory allowed Eduan Van Heerden to snap up the ball and feed it to Jeremy Swick. Zwick used dazzling footwork to find space, weave past several defenders, and set up Forword for a break. Just meters from the line, Forword was tackled, but
Asher Webb charged forward with power to break through the defensive line and offload to
Mark Barbour, who dove over to score the first try for the Lions in the eighth minute. After Forword nailed the conversion, Lindenwood led 7-0.
Davenport responded with pressure, quickly kicking the ball into the Lions 22-meter zone. An attempted exit did not go as planned, but the Lindenwood defense held. With a powerful scrum effort, the Lions won a penalty and Forword sent a precise kick to flip field position.
David Scanlon soared high to win the aerial contest for the ball and Lindenwood was off to the races. Captain
Duncan Krige broke through the Panthers defensive line and charged forward before offloading to a ready
Jaryd de Jager who dashed over for the second Lions try.
Brendan Mason slotted the conversion and Lindenwood led 14-0 in the 14
th minute.
The Lions made a surprising sub with Will Bentley entering the game for Forword a minute later. Despite the personnel change from Lindenwood, Davenport stayed on strategy, aiming a pressure kick at
David Cathcart, but gave away a penalty. The Lions could not find touch, though, giving the Panthers a chance to make a powerful carry, but they lose possession, giving Lindenwood a chance to kick the ball downfield and reclaim control.
With the game clock nearing 20-minutes, a Davenport lineout in the Lions zone gets overthrown. Barbour snatches it and bulldozes 10-meters through the defense. With momentum swinging their way, the Lions backline hits full speed. Slick passing frees up Cathcart on the wing and he takes off. A scrum just five meters from the try line sets up Lindenwood perfectly.
Declan Ries charges forward, creating a platform for Zwick to spin it out to van Heerden, who powers over the line for another try. Bentley nails the conversion, pushing the Lions lead to 21-0.
Moments later, Davenport is given a yellow card and is down to 14 players, but the Panthers still manage to show sparks of attack, however the Lindenwood defense is relentless, wins the ball back, and shifts into attack mode. After a few well-executed phases,
Neil Milczarek is held up right on the line. Davenport tries to relieve the pressure with a 20-meter drop kick, but the ball lands in the hands of Krige. He dazzles with slick footwork, spinning out of tackles before offloading to Barbour who drives the ball another 10 meters forward. A few phases later, the Lions are firing on all cylinders and van Heerden powers over for his second try of the match. Bentley is on point with the conversion and the Lions lead grows to 28-0 in the 28
th minute.
With the end of the first half looming, it appeared that Lindenwood might be losing a bit of focus and with Davenport refusing to back down, a deep kick and a brief slip-up gives the Panthers a penalty. A well-executed lineout sets them up for a try and successful conversion in the 29
th minute to cut the Lions advantage to 28-7. The remaining time in the first half winds down without any more points, sending the game to the break with the same score.
Renewed energy from halftime and a few fresh subs brought even more intensity to the match at the beginning of the second 40-minutes. After the Lions sent the kickoff airborne, their pressure forced a turnover. After
Zack McCartney pounced on the loose ball, Lindenwood put together a string of successful phases which allowed Ries to thread a clever kick through the defense, increasing the pressure even more. The result was a knock-on by Davenport.
The scrum did not go as planned, though, and a penalty was called against the Lions, pushing them back to defend against a fired-up Panthers side for the next four minutes, but the Lindenwood defense once again held strong and earned a penalty.
Brendan Mason then sends a brilliant kick into Davenport territory. After a few more phases, the Lions draw another penalty right in front of the posts and they opt for the points off the foot of Bentley to extend their lead to 31-7 in the 53
rd minute.
More subs bring fresh legs to the Lions front row as the game keeps the crowd on the edge of their seats with thrilling momentum swings. The Lions win yet another penalty in their half, and Mason's powerful boot launches them into Davenport territory. The Panthers regain possession, using width to find space and drive down the pitch, but Lindenwood takes pride in its defense and quickly turn the tables, stringing together phase after phase with powerful forward carries through the midfield. The backline is in sync, executing polished plays and finding gaps in the Davenport defense. After several more phases, the Panthers are pushed back to their own try line. Zwick sends a quick pass to Scanlon, who drives low and hard, dragging defenders with him. With sharp instincts, van Heerden spots a gap, snatches the ball from the ruck, and dives over to complete his hat trick. Bentley's conversion is good, stretching the score to 38-7.
As the game continues into the final 20 minutes, head coach
Josh Macy makes his last few substitutions. With a lineout in hand,
Jack McAllister blasts through the Panthers rush defense and explodes forward for a 30-meter surge before threading a pinpoint kick to pin Davenport deep.
A scrum near the middle, just five meters from Davenport's line, is perfectly executed by the Lions, pushing the weakened Panthers pack back three meters. Van Heerden scoops up the ball from the back and powers over the line, adding another try to his impressive tally. Bentley nails the conversion for a 45-7 Lindenwood lead in the 68
th minute.
Despite what had turned into a lopsided score, Davenport continued to work. After throwing everything they had left at the Lions, the Panthers were on the attack. With the game clock winding down, Davenport pushed hard and Lindenwood received a yellow card. Despite the disadvantage, the Lions defense forced a turnover and
Jack McAllister launched a brilliant 50/22 kick to ease the pressure, but it was short-lived. After a few calls went against Lindenwood, the Panthers won a penalty just five meters from the try line. They kicked for touch, secured their lineout, and delivered a final push to score, resulting in the final margin for the Lions.
Coach Quote:
Kicking Coach
Stephen Duff: "Conversions from three different players,
Jack McAllister with the 50/22. We had a wide range of kickers (that contributed) throughout the match."
Player Quote:
Man-of-the-Match
Mark Barbour: "I honestly never expected getting Man-of-the-Match. For the longest time I struggled to find my place on the team, but I really feel like I'm starting to settle in now, and I'm super grateful to the boys for that connection. In the game, I really liked how the boys came together to bring energy back when we started lagging. It's like we collectively realized that the standards were dropping and worked to bring them back up again."
What's Next:
With the victory, the Lions improved to 3-0 in the MRC and to 12-1 overall. Men's rugby wraps up its fall campaign with another MRC match on the road against Adrian College November 16. The opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. EST at Docking Stadium in Adrian, Michigan.
Scoring Summary:
8' Lindenwood Try
Mark Barbour 0-5
9'Lindenwood Conversion Byron forword 0-7
13'Lindenwood try
Jaryd de Jager 0-12
14'Lindenwood conversion
Brendan Mason 0-14
21'Lindenwood try Eduan Van Heereden 0-19
22'Lindenwood conversion Will Bentley 0-21
26'Lindenwood try Eduan Van Heerden 0-26
27'Lindenwood conversion Will Bentley 0-28
28'Davenport try 5-28
29'Davenport Conversion 7-28
53'Lindenwood Penalty kick Will Benley 7-31
58'Lindenwood Try
Eduan van Heerden 7-36
59'Lindenwood conversion Will Bentley 7-38
67'Lindenwood try
Eduan van Heerden 7-43
68'Lindenwood conversion Will Bentley 7-45
80'Davenport try 12-45
