Sometimes Less is Moor(town)

Leos travelled the 800metres to Far Moss to face Moortown in an internecine battle for local bragging rights.

The latest installment of the 2011-12 season saw Leos 1sts record a praiseworthy 30-12 victory over local rivals Moortown.

Leos have historically struggled against our near neighbours, and the portents were poor for this week, with Jimmy Henry's 50th Birthday, weddings, injury and general lassitude depriving the squad of no fewer than 10 regulars. Although it was known for some time that this weekend was potentially our worst of the season for availability, coaches Greenwood and Worrall were confident that the new-found depth of the squad would prove adequate to the challenge, and so it proved.

"Cometh the hour, cometh the teenagers" was the cry as Leos blooded 18 year old Jack Haire at scrum half, following a string of impressive performances and training sessions over the summer. Showing tremendous poise for one so young, the Leos backs revelled in the space afforded by the youngster's quicksilver service. Battles with Moortown are never for the fainthearted, and Jack stepped into the cauldron with aplomb. In this maturity, he was joined by winger/fullback and fellow 18 year old Joe Coleman, who calmly took the match from the opposition with a near faultless display of placekicking, landing 3 conversions and 3 penalties from 7 attempts.

The minutiae of the scoring is for another time, but suffice to say that Leos opened their account with a strong burst from centre Matt "Calladonna" Callaghan, and a further effort from Tim Fffforde, clearly enjoying the Fffforde transit from 2nd to back row. This was countered by a Moortown try leading to a half time score of 14-7. 2 early second half penalties eased Leos into a 20-12 lead the lead being ameliorated by a Moortown kick chase try in the corner. A late Dave Bardon effort and Coleman penalty brought matters to a close and quietened the restless locals with Leos ultimately comfortable at 30-12.

The victory was made all the more noteworthy for the fact that Leos had to play all but 25 minutes of the game with 14 men, following the dismissal of Alex "Simmo" Simmonds for a high tackle, the understanble decision being taken by the referee in an attempt to pour oil on the simmering water of a fever-pitch local derby.

While the 2 youngsters were the stand out performers, there were notable performances from Gareth Chesters, Dave Bardon playing in the unaccustomed fly half position, Will Levitt, Chris Lewis and Lenny Lane.

In other news, the 2nds won their Merit game against Moortown by 32-7, but the 3rds, depleted by the dilletante nature of our constituency, went down at the Railway Institute of York. Nick Cranfields erudition is on display with his report into this calamity on other pages.

Next week sees the 1sts face the tough challenge of Bradford Salem at Home, the 2nds are at Roundhegians, and the 3s endeavour to get the show back on the road with a trip to the Big Apple, Bramley.