Match Report – Belsize Park 4th XV vs London Scottish C Lions
Middlesex Merit Div 2 – Round 7
Venue: The Hub, Regent’s Park
Kick-off: 14:00, Saturday 1 November
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Clinical C Lions Dominate at Regent’s Park
On 2nd November 2025, under the crisp skies of The Hub – Regents Park, Belsize Park 4th XV hosted London Scottish C Lions in a fixture that began with promise and ended in a flurry of tries and rain.
The opening exchanges were evenly matched, but it was Sebastian Kennett, making his league debut, who broke the deadlock in the 17th minute taking advantage of a hard fought counter rucked turnover, darting down the wing from 50m out, giving Scottish an early 5-point lead. The visitors continued to apply pressure, and by the 31st minute, David Heavey had crossed the line and converted his own score to stretch the lead to 0–12. Just three minutes later, Fraser Wassell added another, sending the Lions into the break with a commanding 0–17 advantage.
The second half began with flair as hooker Thomas Innes threw a pinpoint double miss-pass that found Graham Thomson in space, and in at the corner. Heavey’s boot was again accurate, making it 0–24. Belsize Park responded with heart, scoring a try in the 52nd minute to bring it to 5–24 and giving the home crowd something to cheer.
But the Lions weren’t done. Marauding forwards combined with Man of the Match Andrew MacInnes breaking the line before offloading to Freddie Gray who powered over to add his name to the scoresheet in the 62nd minute, followed swiftly by another converted try from David Heavey just three minutes later, taking the score to 5–38. As the match neared its conclusion, winger Alec Mileman broke from his own half, breaking 2 tackles before being brought down just shy of the line. A smart offload from the exhausted winger found Fraser Waddell who dotted down under the posts in the 79th minute. Heavey added his fifth conversion of the day to seal a comprehensive 5–45 victory.
The weather played its part too—after 50 minutes of glorious winter sunshine, a sudden 10-minute downpour turned the ball into a bar of soap, leading to a scrappy final phase.
Despite the scoreline, Belsize Park had moments to savour. Sebastian Kennett’s debut was a bright spot, and Graham Thomson, continues his undefeated captaincy run with the Lions.
London Scottish C Lions were clinical, composed, and commanding. Belsize Park will look to regroup, but the Lions leave Regents Park with their roar echoing loud and clear.
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Match Summary
Tries: Sebastian Kennett (17’), David Heavey x2 (31’, 65’), Fraser Waddell x2 (34’, 79’), Graham Thomson (43’), Freddie Gray (62’).
Conversions: David Heavey x5 (32’, 44’, 63’, 66’, 80’)
Man of the Match: Andrew MacInnes – outstanding in the flank, tireless in attack and defence, and instrumental in multiple scores.
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Looking Ahead
The win sees the C Lions climb further up the Middlesex Merit Div 2, now firmly in the top half of the standings. With growing squad depth and consistent performances, coaches Sophie Messum and Felipe Dellinger will be pleased to see the team’s blend of new talent and experienced heads clicking into gear. Next up, the Lions turn their focus to maintaining this momentum as they push toward promotion contention.
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Saturday 8 November
Next up for the Club, all 3x teams are out next weekend, the Lions away and a Home double header for the B’s and C Lions:
C Lions vs Hammersmith & Fulham 3rd XV (H)
– Venue: King’s House Sports Ground (W4 2SH)
– KO: 12:30
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Lions B’s vs Finchley 2nd XV (H)
– Venue: King’s House Sports Ground (W4 2SH)
– KO: 14:30
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Lions vs Old Alleynians (A)
– Venue: Old Alleynians RFC, Dulwich Common (SE21 7HA)
– KO: 14:30
