Identity Crisis for Leo’s as the wheels come off the bus trip

To begin with the majority of the squad arrived in the bus more than an hour before kick-off which is both unheard of at this level and most disruptive to usual pre-match preparations. Added to the fact that Childcatcher Cadge had groomed a further four new faces from student land and Leo’s had to play in red there was a disjointed and troubling feel to the whole event. Old stagers Scotty and Blakey were most perplexed at appearing to end up in a parallel universe to their regular Leo’s existence.
One thing that hadn’t changed was the opposition who were as usual strong, aggressive, well organised and featuring a lot of experience from higher levels. Despite this Leo’s more than matched Ripon for the first half and spent many phases battering at the home defence without much joy. The pack were building a solid platform in both scrum and lineout where young Mike was winning all balls. The driving maul was not making much headway against the sturdy Ripon unit but with Ben scampering from nine there was plenty of action and opportunity. Ripon scored a breakaway try out wide before Leo’s worked their way back into the home 22 once again. The referee took against Ripon for a while and Blakey’s boot pushed Leo’s forward. A catch and drive from 10 metres was making good headway until Scotty was burgeld by a fringing defender and the chance was lost. Working to The Plan the pack ran in hard with Cadgy, Dave and Conan the Librarian to the fore with Rob B and Scotty adding momentum to the pods. In the backs pace and bravery from the students was repelled by big hits and superior turnover technique.
Turning round 17-0 down there was confidence in the visiting squad that this would be a close game. Sadly it turned into the complete opposite and while the score line doesn’t accurately reflect the level of endeavour and application Leo’s were not given much opportunity for any sort of parity. Heads didn’t drop and the young pace-men ran tirelessly into harm’s way in vain attempts to score. It was a frantic and furious encounter and Leo’s started racking up the injuries with Conan, Jim, Billy , Joe and the Malawi Magician (this time with a dirty shirt) all having to leave the fray. Despite conceding at regular intervals Leo’s continued to attack and James H was unlucky with a stretch for the line for the gallant visitor’s final flurry in a futile attempt not to be nilled.