Ably assisted by The Portly Magician Carl had assembled a 19 man squad to take on the superior manned YMCA team at the Crag on a sunny afternoon, with the Cadgeree in charge.
Leo’s began with the free running forwards making good ground with support runs and clinical recycling to allow the backs some time and space. Cadgey’s nephew Dave debuted at scrum half with the ever lively Blakey in the fulcrum role. Roving Rido opened the scoring with some rangy back up play before Ffordy added a second to settle Leo’s down. Simmo arrived and made some boshing yards before being asked to have a 10 minute rest by the Cadgeree. Then YMCA found some space and possession for their speedy backs to exploit and it was certainly game on. Further tries were exchanged but Leo’s kickers were not troubling the scoreboard. With the rugby bordering on free-flowing the pack settled down to some grind (as opposed to Simmo’s grime) and forced YMCA over for a push over. They added a number of “against the heads” throughout the game as Thommo hooked superbly. His four forwards of the apocalypse were Rido, Onslow, Ffordy and Scotty who racked up a significant driving yardage throughout.
The returning Stubley designed some breakaways while DLT spun some good running lines in the backs as Leo’s mixed their platters of rugby skills to the entertainment of all concerned. The Portly Magician joined the fray, in a non contact style, as Leo’s set about securing a well deserved victory. Two more push over tries illustrated the ffront ffive’s superiority while Ffordy won a good share of line out for more driving yards. Scotty retired exhausted after an hour allowing Kinga to make his seasonal debut, doubling the pugilistic tendencies of the team. Tim Leslie popped over the only successful conversion of the afternoon, from 7 attempts, by four different kickers as Leo’s turned the screw and ran out deserved victors. YMCA certainly played their part and had a couple of very fast backs who made life difficult for Billy and the Leo’s defence but in the end superior fforward power secured the win.