With the resumption of competitive sport, the Rams got off to a good start. After four rounds, they share the lead with Shirley.

Reviews of some games, sorry week 2 is missing.

Week 1:LU v HSOB Fletcher Newell was the star for Lincoln University with three tries as they got a little payback on the defending champion Old Boys side with a 31-13 bonus-point win. Lincoln had Brett Cameron on show who was impressive in his 40min display while Tom Sanders succumbed early on to what appears to be an ankle injury. Hamish Munro was Old Boys best at lock working hard all day for little reward.

Week 3: LU v UC Fairy-tales do come true. Just ask Lincoln University’s John Borland who came off the bench with 20mins to play, marking his 50th, and for now, final appearance and scoring what turned out to be the match-winning try inside the final 10mins for his side as they saw off Canterbury University 27-25. Borland heads to Manawatu for work but admitted he will be more than happy to ‘put his hand up’ if Manawatu were to come calling for the Mitre 10 Cup competition. Lincoln led 14-8 at the split despite dominating territory and possession for most of the first half, scoring twice in the space of a couple of minutes to take an advantage before Fergus Burke kicked a penalty right on half-time to get back within a converted try. The kicking of one test All Black Brett Cameron proved the difference nailing five from his six attempts while his opposite, Burke kicked one from four, Canterbury University outscoring Lincoln four tries to three, the final one on full-time handing them two deserved bonus points. The defensive effort from University were outstanding, especially in the first half, with several turnovers earned while defending on their own line, something coach Nigel Smith mentioned post-match. “These boys put their hand up and really get aggressive and try to dominate. It is almost like they enjoy it. They are just stepping up and believing in the guy beside them”, when speaking of his teams’ goal-line defence. Lincoln coach Alex Robertson admitted his team were frustrated at the break although the defensive efforts of his chargers during the dying stages restored the smile. “We wanted to raise the energy a wee bit. We had to draw a line and regroup again and one of the ways we wanted to do that was with our defence.” Robertson heaped praise the game his opposition brought. “Credit to University, they came and challenged us at the set-piece and defended extremely well.” Robertson was also thrilled for Borland. “Obviously a huge day for him, getting his Blazer (50 caps at LU instead of 100) so we wanted to unleash him onto the field and make sure he made an impact and we thought that was the right time to do it and to get the try that probably won us the game was huge.” No.8 Matt Letoga was strong for University while Burke’s performance controlling the game impressed Smith although he admitted the list goes on. Sam Cottam scored a double although twisted an ankle late in the game, something Smith hopes will not keep him out the game for too long.

Week 4: LU v New Brighton A penalty try late on has helped Lincoln University retain the DCL Shield against New Brighton winning 28-25. With only a couple of minutes on the clock, New Brighton pulled down a 20m rolling maul near their own line giving the referee no option but to blow the whistle under the posts. The seasiders had an opportunity to draw level but opted to go for the win to no avail with a well-organised Lincoln defence managing to hold off the boys from the east. New Brighton will rue missed opportunities that saw them completely dominate possession and territory in the first half.