Leos 27 - Bridlington 22

Leos and Nick Porter continue to mature like a fine wine, as their journey into the Great Unknown of Yorkshire 1 rugby began with an encouraging 27-22 bonus point win over Bridlington at the Crag.

Having, frankly, no clue of what to expect in terms of opposition quality and league standards, a victory over a side who suffered relegation from North 1 East last season represents a reassuring sign that we can at least be competitive this year. A few retirements, new recruits and Wedding absentees apart, the Leos team on Saturday was broadly the same as last years. It was this cohesion that eventually proved telling against a Bridlington side led by new player coach Mike Myerscough (ex Bath, Cornish Pirates & Leeds Carnegie) and featuring an eclectic global selection of Kiwis, Georgians, Spaniards & Pacific Islanders drawn no doubt to Brid by the bracing North Sea climate. Indeed it was Mr Myerscough who remarked that the crag pitch was the most beautiful he had ever seen; having been expertly given a “HiLo” cut by our eccentric Groundskeeper Gabes. “Basically you use high revs on the blades but drive the tractor at Si Dowling pace.” Groundskeepers of Y1, take note.

Leos had arguably as much talent in the supporters club as they did on the pitch with big names like Barden, McDaid, Leddy & Mong, once seen as an essential ingredient for victory - surplus to requirements. It was the talent on the pitch however, that flew out of the starting blocks and applied immediate pressure on the Brid defence.

Though facing resolute “D”, Leos must have felt that they wasted early opportunities to score. After a tight first 30 minutes, Leos pressure both with & without the ball in hand started to bear fruit. Frequent offences by the visitors incurred the wrath of the match official in the form of a series of yellow cards. These proved somewhat unpopular with a vociferous section of the visiting Bridlington support, who appeared to have outstayed wisdom at the refreshment table, and the referee's parentage, ocular proficiency and impartiality were frequently called into question over the remainder of the game.

The power of the Leos pack eventually made hay, and presented centre George Faulkner with an acre of space in which to touch down. MPH, Faz, Pearson and Scoop carried relentlessly; Benny scrummaged as only he can; debutant Hilton was a constant menace at the breakdown. The first half finished 10-3. Gabz threw poorly and got binned.

After a tense first half, the second proved more open. Tom Pigott, perhaps for the first time, looked completely at home in the Leos shirt and brought a commanding presence. A presence, that once led to Gabz blowing his entire negative budget on signing him from Shef Meds and a delusional former Irish Physio giving him the honour of the nickname ‘Paulie’. Having been fortunate to start the game Wiff looked like he actually might give a toss, and it was his jinking run and offload that set Porter through for the first of the second half tries. Porter got his second soon after following a lopey, mazy yet innately powerful run by Pigott, who timed his pass to Porter perfectly and set the man through. Another, potentially even more impressive gallop from Pigott took Leos to within a few metres. What followed many thought they’d never see from prolific try scorer Langtree, a solid catch… and pass to put MPH over in the corner. Leos lead 27-10.

There followed a spell that will strike a reassuring and familiar chord with any of you who have played in the blue and gold over the years. a)Leos went slightly to sleep, thinking the game won;
b) Our touch judge /groundskeeper issued a poorly-judged exhortation to the Brid players behind their sticks after our 4th try to "Come on Lads, give us a game".

This was not received in sweet accord by the visitors, who proceeded to score 2 quick tries. However time ran out, the players headed to the bar and the referee retired to his changing room to mull over the attractions of Filey and Scarborough as an alternative for his summer holiday next year.

Harry Elliot who once considered Yorkshire 3 rugby, wasn’t as pissed as usual after the game due to having to take so many calls from Eddie Jones. Leos two debutants, not long in the door behind Wiff, even wore their ties at the first time of asking. This was all underpinned by the clubs first openly straight boy band the ‘Energiser Bunnies’ - Max, George, Ryan and Jim.

This was indeed a victory for the democracy that Leos has become. So much so that the squad has been asked to travel to Westminster next week to teach people how to get along. James Farad has been chosen to lead the group due to his statesman like qualities and comparisons with Ireland’s first openly gay Taoiseach of Indian descent. They are hoping to make progress on the Irish backstop. Faz will explain how Leos after 4 years of negotiations and several promises to play better, got rid of their own Irish backstop. Leos Nick Burdon made a good effort on his first day as president but I think everyone still knows that the bald guy with the flag is the commander in the chief along with long time political advisor Big David.

Next week sees us take a trip to Beverley, who have also spent the majority of the last few seasons 2 leagues above us. ‘Til next week.