The first fixture of the 2023-2024 season saw Liskeard-Looe travel west to Tregorrick Park to take on St Austell 2nd XV, who finished third in the table last season, in the Counties 2 Tribute Cornwall League. The Lions selected the best fifteen possible for the fixture and they wanted to continue the good work started last week when they travelled to Roborough to play Plymouth Argaum in a pre-season fixture from which they came away with a 14-5 victory.

The first quarter was a tight affair with both sides testing each other but it was St Austell who got on the scoreboard first with an unconverted try, then in the thirty-fifth minute the home side scored a catch and drive unconverted try to put them 10-0 up at half-time.
It was a good half for both sides and included an outstanding break down the middle of the pitch, by Lions number eight Adam Powell, that could, perhaps should have brought about a score for Liskeard.

In the forty-fourth minute, with Liskeard down to fourteen players with Lions loose-head prop Luke Chapman in the bin, the home side scored a third unconverted try. Liskeard hit back and the large somewhat partisan crowd were witness to an excellent rampaging break of around twenty-two metres down the left, clubhouse side of the field, by lock Adam Dack, that if somebody had been on his left shoulder, to pick up a speculative inside pass would have had a clear run into the line. Shortly after Liskeard wing Sean Simmons also had a good break down the left but was bundled into touch, before he could offload. In the sixty-eighth minute St Austell scored a good try off the back of a driving maul to take the final score to 20-0 in favour of the home side.

View from the touchline it was a good game of rugby, that despite to 20 points difference was a close-run thing, against a strong St Austell side. As indicated earlier The Lions were unfortunate not to score at least two tries, another plus for the Lions was the performance of eighteen-year-old tight head prop, Callum Bregasi, in his first ever senior game in the front row, when he came on from the bench The Lions can take heart on their showing as everyone can see the beginnings of an upsurge in their fortunes, there are things, as always, to work on but there are a lot of things that they can build on.

The next fixture is this coming Saturday when they host a league match against Helston with a 3pm kick off.