St. Louis Bombers Rugby Football Club

The visiting Chicago Lions started fast and held on for a well deserved victory over the St. Louis Bombers in the final preseason tune-up match for both sides. The Lions looked to be the sharper team on the day, using the ball effectively to put real pressure on the Bomber defense. Both sides were intent on scoring tries with the Lions crossing the line nine times to the Bombers five.

The Lions put in six first-half tries, highlighted by a pair from Eagle center Philip Eloff from long-range breaks. Flyhalf Scott Peterson dotted down for the first points of the match. #8 Joe Chesak bulled over from short range to build a 20 point lead for the visitors. St. louis answered with a penalty kick from flyhalf Andrew Pita and a try by wing TJ Ebner from a nifty Conail Boyd assist. The half ended with a controversial Lions penalty try, bringing the halftime score to Lions 35 Bombers 8.

The Bombers were able to establish some positive flow to their game in the second half. Wing TJ Ebner scampered in for his second try on the day, quickly followed by an Andrew Pita try from another Conail Boyd break. Bomber hooker Pat Hess scored from a lineout drive, and Pita added his second on the day, but the Lions answered with three more tries in the half to close out the match:, Lions 54 Bombers 28.

St. Louis coach Ron Laszewski applauded the Lion's effort: "Chicago played a sensational first 40 minutes- great pace and accuracy combined with some powerful running to set the table for their points. But we can take some positives from the the match. We were able to make some adjustments at halftime and outscore them in the second half, but we were simply outplayed in the first half by a very good side."

Lions halfback Vinnie Starpoli's hat-trick of tries led his side to an exciting 29-15 victory in the second men's match of the day. The match was evenly contested throughout, with the first points of the match coming in the 30th minute of play. Lion's flanker John Bryant played an outstanding match and was rewarded with a first-half try, giving the Lions a 15-0 halftime lead.

The Bombers came out strong and clawed their way back into the match. Rookie wing Tim Stolarski broke free and scorched the grass for a 60 meter try to put his team on the board. Bomber flyhalf Rene Monette slipped through a gap and raced in from 40 meters to draw the score to Lions 15 Bombers 12. Bomber fullback Jim Morrison calmly slotted a 30 meter penalty to tie the match at 15-15 with 10 minutes remaining. But the Lions were able to regain the lead late, capped off by Starpoli's third try of the day. Final score: Lions B 29 Bomber Whites 15.

The Whites got strong performances from props Brendan McClarney and Canaan Craig, flanker JP Shen and backs Adam Gottemoeler, Joe Mertz, Tim Stolarski, Brad Beardon and Jim Morrison. Forwards Lucas Murillo, Ben Schwab, Ben Virtue and Jim Hoffmann put in solid performances, and veterans Scott Giljum and Rene Monette did a good job directing traffic from the nerve center.

Among those spotted behind the ropes were Bomber legends Harley Meyer, John Kyle, Mark Sasser, Alvin Blest, Jonathan Grace, Vic Miller, Ron Skiljan, Sterling Hayden, Jim Boggeman, Bob Jones and many more loyal Bomber supporters. Thanks to sponsors Colombos Tavern, Fastsigns, Deja Blue water and Mark and Becci realtors for their support on the day.