Leo’s Ripped (Off)Apart By Ripon

Despite knowing at the beginning of the week that Leo’s could only send a 3rd XV Ripon chose not to secure an alternative fixture for their 2nds, opting to batter a brave but inferior Leos’ third string.
CJ+ had assembled 19 fearless Leo’s but only one prop so Richie was lent by the home side to ensure very competitive scrummaging. The pack had a useful look to it with a blend of ages and sizes whilst the backs had a sprinkling of youth and pace in the form of Jack and Johnny. Ripon looked ominously fit, organised and running fancy warm-up drills prior to kick off. For the first 25 minute however the visitors were more than a match for the home side who seemed surprised by the application and commitment of the less skilled Leo’s. Passion aplenty was demonstrated as the pack made good distance with the ball in hand with well supported drives and secure lineouts. The scrums were solid too and a couple of half chances fell to Leo’s with first Guest Richie knocking on short of the line then a Scotty driven maul peeled off by Gav just falling short as well. The backs had their work cut out against their muscular opponents but tackled bravely and tried hard to make a telling break. Exhausted Scotty and injured Niall left the field, replaced by Rob B and George, closely followed by injured Goff, replaced by Gary The Quartermaster as Leo’s slowly started to creak and crumble. Despite a valiant, and some said successful, last ditch tackle Ripon breached Leo’s defence for their first score. A couple tries more followed before the break as the superior speed of thought and running, added to muscularity that only many hours in a gym could achieve, gave the home side the edge. Heads never went down on the Leo’s side although the struggle was clearly uneven and beyond repair.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the second quarter as Ripon strengthened their side with more quality players and also their grip on the game. Without the tackling skills of Jack and Phil The Power the scoreboard operator could have been a lot busier and annoyingly it looked like Leo’s would be nilled for the first time since this season’s opener. Good lineout work from Jack W and CJ+ gave Leo’s some hope. A scrum deep in Ripon territory, with Leo’s in set piece ascendancy was squandered by careless footwork and Ripon ran in another length of the field try, rubbing Leo’s noses into the dirt as they demonstrated their clear superiority.
Battered, bruised but unbowed Leo’s limped to the changing room to enjoy a spread of cheese, crackers and Hendricks G+Ts. Ability may be limited, form temporary, but Leo’s class remains permanent!