Livi pass hardest test of the season so far and take 1 step closer to League Title

Both teams took to the pitch in good condition with a good still conditions although a bit heavy under foot, The excitement was in the air with a big Livi travelling support who were hoping to see a great contest as they had seen at the corresponding Home Fixture at Almond park which was an absolute cracker with Livi just sneaking victory.

From the Kick off Preston Lodge showed their intent to keep the League alive and had most of the early pressure and possession but the experienced Livi defence were answering the questions asked with some good tackling. The strong PL pack mades some good inroads with some good strike running and eventually they made the break through. A good show and go by PL Stand off Andrew Clark allowed him to dart past the Livi defence to open the scoring. Graeme Patterson added the conversion to give his side a deserved 7-0 lead.

This galvanised PL and the controlled the next 15mins of the game but the Livi defence held firm and it seemed like the rustiness of not playing in 4 weeks was starting to disappear . On the 30min mark Livi were to hit back pushing into the 22 for the first time the ball was worked out to Craig Bolan who showed is strength to burst through a gap and score under the posts. He converted his own Try to bring the score to 7-7

Even better was to come for Livi ,From the restart PL pushed into the Livingston 22, they moved the ball through the backs well and through a long pass to open up an overlap, instead this was beautifully intercepted by Ross Neil picking the timing of his run perfectly and the full back ran 60m unopposed to touch down under the posts. The easy conversion made it 7-14.

This was turning into a cracker of the game and both teams were playing some great rugby with equally great attitude and execution , PL got right back into it and after some great play and some hard running Paul Glynn charged towards the line to score. Patterson converted it and things were all square again at 14-14 after 33 minutes.

With their tails up things almost got better for PL as from the kick off the moved the ball beautifully with some fantastic offloads and pushed 60 metres downfield but just as they were going to score the final pass was judged to have gone forward by the referee and the teams went into the break all square.

The large and loud crowd needed the halftime break as much as the players as they were witnessing some one of the best rugby matches seen at any level this season. Livi knew that they would have to keep pushing hard to come away with the points.The pack were starting to show dominance in the set plays and a strong scrum delivered a large blindside which scrum half John Bruton was able to exploit, sprinting clear the PL winger had no option with Ross Neil supporting him and Bruton crossed the line untouched . Bolan missed the conversion to leave the score at 19-14.

Once again PL regrouped and and some good kicking and loose penalties from Livi pushed them into the 22. PL's strong driving maul pushed them closer to the line and although Livi defended well PL number 8 stretched out close to the line and the referee awarded a try. This brought slight protests from the Livi players as the referee was unsighted and the ball looked short , however in all fairness PL were denied a perfectly good score in the last fixture so maybe Karma was served. The conversion was missed and things were all tied up again at 19-19.

In the final 20 Minutes all the fitness work Livi had been doing looked like it was paying off as the visitors stepped up and were attacking the PL line at pace. They firstly picked up a penalty which Bolan slotted to bring the score to 22-19 to Livi, this could have been extended a couple of minutes later with another but Bolan Missed.

The next score for either team would be crucial and the went it came it was representative of Livi's season so far , all year the Livi pack had looked strong and after they knocked on close to the PL line the Pack powered through the home pack to steal the ball and Jamie Miller showed great composure and power to pick up and drive between the posts this brought the score to 29-19 and a gap was starting to show.

This boosted Livi's confidence confidence and once again the powerhouse front row of Scobie,Barrett and Tamosaitis put pressure on at the scrum and and they forced the penalty in front of the posts which Bolan converted to make it 19-32.

PL once again showed great heart and what a good side they are not to give up and didn't want to leave the match with nothing and pushed into Livi's 22 and from a good driving maul captain Cowan crossed for their Fourth try and bonus point , the kick was missed and they couldn't secure a further point and when the full time whistle went the ecstatic travelling support celebrated a hard fought 32-24 victory.

This was an amazing game of club rugby that could have graced any Rugby pitch in the world , both sides showing massive effort , intensity and fantastic execution in skills. Credit to PL they are a tremendous side and Livi's feat was put even more into perspective when you consider they have not lost at the Pennypit since February 2010. The players and crowd can use this week to draw breath before they do it all over again at Almond Park on Saturday in the Edinburgh Shield semi Final if the standard is that high again I would encourage the BBC to send John Inverdale and the team as it would prove just as much entertainment as the six nations.