Bonus point could have been so much more for Otley at Leicester Lions

OTLEY returned from Leicester with a single bonus point but it could have been better, with winger Paul Petchey putting a foot on the touchline as he went in at the corner, and they suffered badly while hooker Luke Chadwick was in the sin bin.

The visitors made a moderate start, conceding a penalty at the kick-off which gained Lions a line-out inside the 22, from where a clean catch saw the ball move swiftly acrossfield for left winger Devon Constant to force his way over in the corner.

Full back Tom Hodson was on the mark with a penalty for Otley three minutes later, only for home fly half James Grayson to immediately reply with a drop goal.

Hodson kept Otley in touch with another penalty but a severe lapse allowed Oliver Tapscott to stroll over, with Grayson converting.

The game continued to see-saw, a lovely move ending with Petchey going over wide out and Hodson converting to close the gap to a couple of points.

But it was at this juncture that Chadwick got his yellow card, the Lions taking advantage by driving back-rower Drew Rudkin over, Grayson converting and then, on 38 minutes, an interception opened the Otley defence, with Grayson finishing off and adding the conversion for a 29-13 lead at the break.

Otley came out full of purpose in the second half, a break by scrum half Max Johnson and an assist from fly half James White putting Hodson over under the posts for a simple conversion, and Petchey crossed for his second try but they were unable to improve further and Grayson had the last word with a late penalty.