Match Report: London Scottish Lions 19–12 Wimbledon
Regional 1 South Central – Round 13
King’s House Sports Ground
Saturday 14 December, 14:00 KO
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London Scottish Lions signed off for the Christmas break with a hard-earned 19–12 home victory over a much-improved Wimbledon side at King’s House. In a tightly contested encounter that swung on momentum and discipline, the Lions showed resilience and composure to overturn a half-time deficit and claim another valuable league win. The result keeps the Lions firmly among the leading pack in Regional 1 South Central, continuing what has been an excellent season to date. Man of the Match honours went to Jem Edwards, making his first Lions start since returning from injury just two weeks ago.
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After all the excitement of the trip to Jersey, there was a much more mundane feel to King’s House this Saturday – the Lions’ match was the only activity taking place, which leant a slightly eerie feel to the pre-Christmas return clash with Wimbledon.
Injury and holiday meant a much-changed Lions team took the field, with strong form for the Bs meaning Liam Kerr, Calum Murdoch, Ross Currie, Angus Clogg and Ollie Boyes all got a starting jersey, while Jack Parkhurst, Lachie Lowick and Fabian Thwaites were all making their 50th appearances for the Lions. Based on recent results, an improving Wimbledon didn’t look like they would be giving the Lions any early Christmas presents.
Early on, Wimbledon dominated possession and territory, and while the Lions’ defence looked solid, each time the Lions got near halfway, there seemed to be a knock-on or penalty that sent the Lions back into their quarter. Wimbledon continued to press, and eventually after 24 minutes it was a question of which Wimbledon back would score as they created a 4 on 2 close to the try line. 0-7 Wimbledon.
The Lions looked to hit back quickly, and Cameron Wray, playing full back instead of his usual position of centre, produced a lovely bit of skill as he chipped into the Wimbledon 22, regathered and powered to the line for another try to show Granny Wray over Christmas dinner. The conversion from Angus Clogg levelled things up. Just as it looked like the half would end level, the Wimbledon backs produced a lovely first phase move from scrum ball that resulted in them outpacing the Lions backs to create the best score of the day in the far corner. A missed conversion made it 7-12 at the half.
Your correspondent wasn’t privy to the half time team talk, although from 60 metres away it didn’t feel or sound like the feedback on the first half was entirely positive! However, it seemed to do the trick as the Lions began to play with more pace and purpose after the restart. A couple of substitutions into the pack created a dominant scrum and with Wimbledon picking up a couple of yellow cards in close proximity it felt like things were turning in favour of the Lions.
Calum Murdoch, who carried hard all day, did his best impression of Chris Rolfe by dotting down from close range after a series of rucks close to the line, with Clogg’s conversion taking the Lions into the lead 14-12.
The game was still in the balance as Wimbledon still threatened, but a classic Lions catch and drive saw captain-for-the-day Byron Leach go over for the decisive try with his mum, fresh from Sydney, watching on. As if that wasn’t good enough, she later walked away with a bottle of whisky from the raffle too! (Editor: the suggestion that it is the same bottle raffled each week is not true, and Mrs Leach will confirm this!) Wimbledon had stood off the maul and felt there was obstruction, but your correspondent saw a slightly unlucky Wimbledon player join the maul to keep the ball in play.
From there, the Lions held on for the remainder of the match, even though it felt at times that a tying score for Wimbledon was quite likely.
Final score 19-12 and a merry Christmas for the Lions!
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This was another gritty performance from the Lions against a good Wimbledon side who asked plenty of questions throughout. To turn around a half-time deficit and see out the match under pressure speaks volumes about the squad’s depth and character. The result ensures the Lions head into the Christmas break with momentum intact and well placed in the league (3rd in Regional 1 South Central), before attention turns to the challenges that await in the second half of the season.
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Tries: Cameron Wray (33’), Calum Murdoch (55’), Byron Leach (75’)
Conversions: Angus Clogg x2 (34’, 56’)
MotM: Jem Edwards
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Next Round: Saturday 10 January
Lions vs Tunbridge Wells (H)
– 3rd host 2nd
– Venue: King’s House Sports Ground (W4 2SH)
– KO: TBC
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Lions B’s vs Chiswick 2nd XV (A)
– Top of the table Lions B’s go all the way to 5th placed Chiswick 2nd XV in their opening game of 2026
– Venue: Chiswick RFC (W4 2SH)
– KO: TBC
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C Lions vs Whitton Lions
– Venue: King’s House Sports Ground (W4 2SH)
– KO: TBC
