Leicester Tigers sealed back-to-back league titles after winning Super Series 3. The champions overcame Crash, Storm and Crusaders to see the Midlands based side win the league.
Myles Pearson reports:
The champions started their title defence within a group consisting of Canterbury Hellfire and rivals West Coast Crash. After a comfortable win against Hellfire, only a depleted Crash stood in their way of another championship. The Southport side were struggling to field a line-up with GB stars Ayaz Bhuta, Stuart Robinson and Ryan Cowling falling ill or unable to attend. A dominant Tigers went straight into a 5 try lead and looked comfortable, until a resilient Crash fought back. As Tigers’ star-studded bench watched on Crash edged the second quarter. However, Danish star Leon Jorgensen and GB’s Jamie Stead and Gavin Walker’s experience helped steer Tigers to clinch a successive league title.
Speaking after their league triumph, Tigers’ charismatic coach Darren Matthews said “It was a real team performance across the weekend. We’re able to blend youth and experience which is always important when creating an environment where everyone can develop. The next challenge is to win the Nationals!”.
With the title decided, attention turned to the bottom half of the table. Alongside Team Solent Sharks; Canterbury Hellfire and Yorkshire Lions were all fighting to beat the drop. With Solent Sharks missing Jens Sauerbier, it was down to Aaron Phipps and Ciaran Pryce to help guide the team, which also included GB Talent players on loan, to safety. The Hampshire team did, emphatically, and Gary Banks’ team cruised into 5th place.
The result left Lions and Hellfire needing one win to secure safety – it wasn’t going to be easy. The match was topsy-turvey with neither team dominating the early stages. However, former GB Captain, Steve Brown, led the team to victory as Hellfire edged a tight match.
As the season draws to a close, clubs are now looking ahead to the 2019 Roma Sport National Championships. The event is smashing its way into Leicester at the Morningside Arena on 6th and 7th April so get yourself down to watch some world class talent.
