Match Report

Wolves RLFC turned the tables on Jounieh as Lebanon’s first two standalone clubs completed their series with one win apiece. Al-Galacticos had defeated an under-strength Wolves side last week, but now it was the Wolves’ turn to put a weak and out of sorts Jounieh to the sword.

The writing was on the wall from the first possession when Jounieh fullback Pierre Nasr failed to scoop up a last tackle bomb, allowing young wing Joseph Adameh to apply downward pressure on 2 minutes. The red and blacks kept their foot on the accelerator, scoring another two tries in the 6th and 8th minutes through some smart dummy half work by former Cedar and occasional Wolves hooker Hanni Rifai, and impressive young wing George Kasah.

Down 16-0 the champions started to fight back, but they had no fluidity in midfield and made countless errors. Three more Wolves tries before the break blew the score out to 28-0. In the second half the heavens opened making handling treacherous, but both teams’ profligacy cancelled each other out, with Mounir Finan and Akram Al Chamaa exchanging tries.

Wolves, who have reached the halfway point of their campaign, now move level on points with USJ, who have two games in hand, in what may shape up to be a five-team race for the semi finals. USJ return to the stage against Jounieh on St Valentine’s Day after a month off, while Wolves take on sanction-riddled AUST the day before, surely confident of taking the two points.