After a couple of good wins to start the season, Leos 3s were brought down to earth somewhat with a chastening defeat against a very decent, organised Ilkley 3s team. As cliche as it may sound the scoreline did not reflect the difference between the two teams, although credit must be given where due; Ilkley were the better team and deserved to win.

The start of the university term meant the return of several student players to action, including Gregor Belfield who has apparently gained 10kg but is still the width of a stick, as well as multiple debutantes. All this was under the eye of tracksuited gaffa Billy Marsh, still unavailable after doing his ankle in acres of open space during pre season training.

Despite Biblical rains in the days before the match, by kick off time the weather had turned unseasonably warm on the slopey back field. Ilkley brought a solid pack and physical approach to the game and the opening stages were feisty indeed, with Leos responding in kind to Ilkley’s confrontational approach. There was a level of edge to the game which made it just enough to be enjoyably spicy, but without ever threatening to tip over into outright violence - big shots and plenty of “banter” (mostly between Jamie Scott and an Ilkley player who warned him that “you’ve got a target on your back”, but then ended up going off while Jamie played 80mins), rather than fists flying. The first quarter was extremely even with Ilkley possibly shading it up front but Leos posing a threat out wide, in particular through centre Jake Radcliff and fullback Stu Norton. The visitors’ big runners kept breaking the Leos’ first up tackles though and putting Ilkley into a strong position. Eventually one tackle too many was missed and Ilkley opened the scoring with a converted try.

Leos responded well to this setback with the forwards, notably Alex Passingham and Sammy Parmenter making hard yards in the face of some solid and enthusiastic Ilkley tackling. Ancient fly half Rich Edgar was also in the thick of the action and took plenty of hits as Leos sought to move the ball wide where possible. Indeed Leos should have scored next when Jake Radcliff sliced through to the right of the posts but was brought down with the line begging. From the resulting ruck, scrum half and MOTM Sam Watkiss had options either side. The pass went right to the touchline where Leos had an overlap, but sadly could not be taken and the men in blue remained scoreless, for the time being. The agony was doubled when Ilkley doubled their advantage shortly afterwards, then scored a third try when Stu Norton’s pass was intercepted and the Ilkley player went half the field to the line. All these tries were converted. The last one in particular was a knife into Leos’ collective ribs and it was with some disbelief that the boys went in at half time 21-0 down.

The talk at half time was not about the scoreline however but how well Leos had competed. The feeling was that Leos were still in the game and so it proved for a while as they scored the next try. A series of Ilkley penalties gave Leos good field position. Being directed superbly by scrum half Watkiss, the Leos forwards hammered on the door time and again with pick and drives, a strategy which Ilkley met with relish. A brutal period ensued where every Leos forward carried at some point into some smashing tackles from Ilkley, as the two teams stood and traded toe-to-toe like heavyweight boxers with nothing left in their legs. This went on for an estimated 8,000 phases until at last a small chink in the Ilkley armour appeared and Carl Stephenson bulldozed his way over to the joy of his team mates. Jake Radcliff added the conversion and the game suddenly felt very much on.

In hindsight however this was a false dawn. Up to the hour mark Leos battled away gamely in search of more points. In particular there was some really good work at the breakdown, with Leos frequently turning ball over despite being at a size disadvantage in the pack. Eventually though, Leos began to tire and the superior organisation of the Ilkley team won out in the end. The visitors made excellent, if perhaps a little cynical use of the uncontested scrum, taking one pretty much every time they won a penalty. The scrum had become uncontested at some point in the first half when one of the Ilkley front row went off with an injury. To be fair the scrums had been quite equal so it wasn’t as if Leos had been robbed of a big advantage! Possessing a pair of really good centres, Ilkley used the space created by the scrums and guaranteed ball to attack the Leos’ back line, which struggled a bit in response. Worth mentioning is an outstanding cover tackle by young winger Fergus Johnstone, which denied his much larger opposite number a certain score. In general however the tide began to turn to the visitors. When fatigue sets in communication and organisation often break down and that was the case here. Ilkley have obviously played together a fair bit and ultimately bagged a few more tries to give the scoreline a gloss which it arguably didn’t deserve, although I must again emphasise that their win was deserved, if perhaps not by so many!
From a Leos’ perspective this was an encouraging performance considering the fairly scratch nature of the squad, number of debutantes and so forth. It should also be viewed in the context of the opposition - Ilkley were a fine side and probably better than most the 3s will play this season. Man of the Match for Leos went to Sam Watkiss, the scrum half showing his class and moving his forwards around the field with intelligence and energy. Other strong showing came from Jake Radcliff, Sammy Parmenter and Rich Edgar at 10, with Carl Stephenson also putting in his usual strong shift and bagging a deserved try for his effort.

Next week sees Leos at home again, facing Cleckheaton 3s in what is sure to be another hard fought game. Overall then a defeat, but one with plenty of positives and a good foundation to build on, with the 3s looking likely to be extremely competitive this season.