West Park Leeds21 v Leodiensian34

After a fine victory over West Leeds,Leos travelled the short distance to The Sycamores,to face yet another local derby,this time against West Park Leeds.

With skipper Robinson electing to cycle from London to Paris and as a result of the unfortunate broken leg sustained by Haslam - it was good to see him supporting the side from the touchline - Leos were forced into a number of changes.Bebb returned to the frontrow,Loughbury to the second row,with Fforde moving to six.WPL were also missing some key players after their physical encounter at Hullensians and were seeking their second league success of the new campaign.

Although Leos opted to play with the breeze,WPL opened the better and it required Bardon to 'introduce' himself to his opposing fly half,to give Leos relief.West Park then handled to their left,in the Leos 22,but Baker cleverly positioned himself to take the interception and storm 80m,for the opening try on 4 mins - stories of him being closed down by a large,rumbling prop,were strongly denied!!!Wainwright added the conversion.

There followed an intense period of quality rugby,with the home side favouring the pick and drive approach,whilst Leos preferred the expansive style,with Henry linking at every oppourtunity from the back.Nevertheless,Leos were required to defend strongly and required bit hits from Chesters and Dowling to stop dangerous positions,whilst,as ever Winter and Liu,were explosive with ball in hand.

On 22mins,Lane,Loughbury and Bebb secured quick Leos ruck ball,which Wood released to his backs,where Winter magically produced a 'round the back' pass of the stature of Ray Batten - you have to be at least 50years old to appreciate the significance!! - for the on rushing Fforde to accidentally select a delightful angle and slice through the home sides defence.It was far too good to have been deliberate!!.With Wainwright adding his second conversion,Leos were 14 points up.

However,not for the first time this season,they failed to control the kick off and when the loose ball was hacked forward,WPL were the first to react and the lead was reduced to seven points.

West Park upped their game and it took an important strike against the head by McIntosh,to relieve the pressure,together with long clearance kicks from Wainwright.On 33mins,the secure James Henry,'marked' a high ball,then reacted immediately by moving the ball to his right,where accurate passing from Knibbs and Winter,put Baker into space,where the winger showed electrifying speed to out pace the covering defence,for another scintillating threequarters try.

Leos forwards,again well led by Lane,tore back at the home side from the kick off,allowing an accurate throw from McIntosh,to be taken off the top by Fforde.More quick ball from Wood,allowed Wainwright to attack his opposite fly half,side step him,hand off the defending flanker and then out sprint the covering defence for a brilliant individual try and a half time score of 7 - 26 and the important bonus point.

Another greatly impressive first half from Leos,but WPL had shown sufficient,that if they secured a little more ball,they would be dangerous,playing down hill and with the breeze in the second half,particularly via their impressive front five.

Leos needed to retain concentration,not try and score at every oppourtunity and most importantly maintain their improved discipline.All seemed well,as Leos opened the second half,with more expansive play,putting the electric Liu away down the wing.Leos brought the ball back into centre field via the aggressive Knibbs and the home side were forced to kill the ball,allowing Henry to extend the lead to 22points.

The game appeared sealed shortly afterwards,when Henry beat two defenders to again release Knibbs and Liu,the chip ahead evaded Winter,but the ever supporting Bardon was on hand to touch down for another great try.

The home side however,are well known for their tenacity and when injuries forced both sides into changes, Lenny Lane sufferd a rib injury and was repalced by Will Levitt,Neil Liu suffered an ankle injury and James Lund came on and Matin McIntosh was rested allowing the indestructable Jimmy Forton to the hooking position.

The momentum began to change slightly.West Park were awarded a string of penalties,allowing them to camp in the leos 22,before a catch and drive put flanker Kilvington over for a try.Fforde was unlucky to be sin binned for what appeared an innocuous offence,before another penalty which West Leeds capitalised upon.

With Leos reduced to 14 men the effective home scrum half Bickerdike,was allowed to take a quick tap penalty in front of the mark and then seemed to throw the ball over the line from 2 metres out.A rather dubious try was awarded and the impressive Kear,son of the Wakefield coach John Kear and on debut,added the touchline conversion,to produce a scoreline of 21 - 34,after 65mins.Game on maybe? No not for long.

Leos regained their composure and threatened via strong ball carries from Chesters and Loughbury,but Park defended with new found confidence.Then,tragically,their winger suffered a badly broken leg,resulting in a long stoppage and ultimately the game being moved to an adjacent pitch - we wish him a full and speedy recovery.

Understandably,the final 10 mins were played out relatively quietly,prior to jubilant scenes at the final whistle - Leos away victories at West Park are rare, but this one was as comprehensive as it has been for many years.

Coaches Greenwood and Worrall showed again how they have galvanised the team and Leos fine early season form gained further momentum.

Elsewhere,there was a return to form by Yarnbury,who comfortably beat Ripon,whilst leaders Pocklington and Huddersfield YM were again successful,leaving Leos still in third place.

Next week,Leos are at home to Barnsley,who have lost only once this season,together with two draws.They have significantly improved their forward strength this season,with the signing of a former Donaster second rower and a Castleford flanker,so another competitive game seems certain.It was particularly pleasing to see Leos fielding four sides this weekend,with three victories and the second team heading their Merit League,whilst next weekend sees the Ladies open their campaign.

Scorers:
Leos Tries:Bakerx2,Fforde,Wainwright,Barden.Conversions:WainwrightX2,Woods Penalty:Henry
West Park Tries:Bickerdike,Kilvington,Booth Conversions KerrX3

Leos:Henry,Baker,Winter,Knibbs,Liu,Wainwright,Wood,Bebb,McIntosh,Dowling,Loughenbury,Chesters,Fforde,Barden,Lane,Forton,Levitt,Lund.
WestPark:Nightingale,Booth,Fawcett,Booth,Kear,Cromack,Bickerdike,Hardy,Howard,Chappell,Hartley,Warden,McAloram,Kilvington,howarth,Walker,Stevens,Storey
Report by Peter Cooke