PL Pick up the Pace and the Points

Preston Lodge haven't found their best form against local rivals Lasswade in recent seasons and they were on the hunt for revenge again having lost earlier in the season but it wasn't going to be easy in difficult conditions at The Pennypit on Saturday.

Despite sitting towards the bottom of the league it was Lasswade who settled quicker and looked confident early on and they were rewarded with an early try by hooker Calum Sinclair which put them 0-5 up after only 5 minutes. PL were soon able to bounce back though and a remodelled pack was soon in control at the lineout from where they were able to drive to the line allowing Alan Whittingham to touch down and level the score at 5-5.
Injuries and unavailabilty meant that Whittingam and Pete Johnstone had moved from their respective positions of centre and hooker, into the back row where they would cause problems for their opponents all afternoon. The pack was also responsible for PL's 2nd try but this time it was the front row playing their part with Nick Hart touching down to put PL in front at 10-5.
Lasswade were competeing well and sensed that they would be able to take something from the game and this was reinforced when Ciaran Lamont and Graeme Cook grabbed a try each to put their side back in front at 10-17 with half time approaching.
It was PL who had the final word in the half though when stand off Greg Walker was on hand to grab the first of his three tries which was converted by Jonathan Brash to tie things up nicely at 17-17.

With everything to play for by both sides, it looked like the game would remain tight until the end but the half time rollicking given by coach Mark Steedman seemed to do the trick as far as PL were concerned and they got their heads down and upped their game to create a very one-sided second half. Lasswade's cause wasn't helped by two yellow cards for the Hearn brothers but that shouldn't take anything away fro PL's much improved performance as they played quick, running rugby on top of the heavy ground.
After a decent spell of possession and a patient build up, Walker finished off a good move to score his second try which put PL in front for the first time and Brash's conversion made it 24-17 and from that point, they never looked back. With the bonus point in the bag, PL looked more and more confident while the pace of the game seemed to catch up with Lasswade and their pack couldn't withstand the onslaught. As the hour mark appoached, PL charged forward to the line, allowing Nick Hart to touch down for his second and extend the lead to 29-15.
Walker sealed his hat-trick a few minutes later and the scoring was completed in the 75th minute when new centre Antoin Penrose finished of the bast move of the match. Pete Johnstone broke through near half way and good hands and quick passes from Walker, Hart and Whittingham finally got the ball to Penrose and he was clear to the line with plenty of support outside. McMann took over the kicking duties and converted the last two tries to make the final score for a resounding 43-15 victory for PL.

After a slow start, PL fully deserved the win and the bonus point having played well in the sticky conditions, for the second half at least. They will hope to continue their good form when they travel to Glasgow to play Cartha Queens Park at Dumbreck next Saturday. Kick off 2pm.

Preston Lodge Team:
P Cooney, D Lockie, A Penrose, N Ross, P Glynn, G Walker, D Gordon
C Arthur, N Hart, S Rodgers, R Runciman, M Sanderson, A Whittingham, P Johnstone, J Riley
Replacements:
J Brash, P Dixon, T McMann, J Sked