After Delay, Lindenwood Punches Ticket
After Delay, Lindenwood Punches Ticket
Weather delayed Lindenwood vs Life Saturday, the fourth of four quarterfinals scheduled for the day, and so it wasn’t until Sunday that the game was played.
Fortunately Life was able to hang on and play the game on Sunday.
Seeing as the teams had split their season series the game was certainly in doubt, although wince Lindenwood was hosting they had to be favored somewhat. And in fact it turned out to be Lindenwood’s day 29-8.
Lindenwood started the game shoving Life back into their own 22, and three minutes in a clearance kick didn’t find touch and the Lions attacked quickly. It was a simple matter of sending it through the hands to Nic Hardrict II on the left sideline and the wing did the rest, sidestepping around one defender and fedning off another to score in the corner.
It took a while for Life to finally get some good field position and they took a penalty to make it 5-3 about ten minutes after Hardrict’s try. But Lindenwood exploited a mistake—a misfire on the lift in a Life lineout just inside the Lindenwood half saw Lions hooker Runako Brynard snatch the loose ball. Brynard, who is pretty speedy, cut back toward the sideline, and suddenly most of the Life pack was behind him and most of the Life backs were off to his right.
Everyone chased him and center Donovan Law just for there with a meter or so to go and shoved Brynard into touch. It was a try-saving tackle to be sure, but Life had trouble with their lineout again, leading to a scrum, and eventually a lineout-and-maul for Lindenwood. It seemed poetic then that Brynard was the man to take the ball at the back of the maul and score.
Midway through the first half Life responded when No. 8 Orrin Bizer picked up a loose ball and charged 60 meters to go in untouched.
Now it was 12-8, and really both teams were looking to create a bit more of a methodical attack, as all three tries had come from broken play.
Lindenwood did it, running some phases and putting flanker Duncan Krige through a small gap in a slightly uneven Life defensive line. He was finally dragged down by Life center Darius Law, but Lindewnwood consolidate well, which allowed flyhalf William Broves to pop a wide kick for wing Tyren Al-Jiboori to run under to score.
Moments later it was 26-8 when Lindenwood opted for a short lineout throw. Lock Eddie van Heerden nabbed the ball, popped inside to scrumhalf Matteo Peignon, who passed to Brynard for the hooker’s second.
With all of that scoring, you’d expect more to come in the second half, but it wasn’t to be. Lindenwood was conservative, playing to preserve their lead, and Life’s defense was good and they limited mistakes, but they couldn’t break through.
Peignon slotted a penalty with about 11 minutes to go, but that was it.
So in the end this was another tight, physically intense for both teams. Life will rue an iffy kick-chase, and a lineout mistake that led to 12 Lindenwood points, but regardless it’s Lindenwood in to the semifinals.
