3s back to winning ways

As the rain started to come down en route to Mods it very quickly became apparent that today’s game would be an up the jumper affair. The order of the day for the forwards was keep hold, make yards and then let the backs do what they do best.

With a welcome injection of youth from a gaggle of new students, the travelling 3s dominated much of the contests throughout the game, uncontested scrums made life a little easier but ultimately Leos just had the right attitude, there were hard runs, robust defence and a little bit of nous around the ruck.

Brad Balmer got things underway with the opening try following some well worked phases. Dotting down in the corner after a good 5 minute spell spent within the opposition 22, Patrick Evans dutifully converted to give the visitors a 7-0 lead. Ollie Hill managed to carve up the opposition and distributed well in the build up for the next try which I believe Jasper managed to claim.

From then on the game started following a distinct pattern, the pack chewed up yards, running a few short phases through Carl Stephenson and Dan Petch. Support was always round the corner and for once there were no one out runners, when new 9 Henry Lister decided the big lads had enough fun trundling, the ball was pinged out to Herbie Laidlaw who provided excellent service to the back line all day plus a number of decent runs himself. He was rewarded on the last play of the day with a try of his own.

Mods had a decent amount of possession, but a greasy ball and rising injury count proved costly. Big runs from their bearded second row caused Leos some problems but ultimately the defence held firm. Neil Shaw led the way in holding up a handful of attacking threats channeling his inner Scotty, it didn’t take too long for the rest of the team to start following suit with some students even dabbling in the dark arts. Great stuff to see!

The first half was studded with a few tries from Harvey who showed some phenomenal pace and refused to be tackled, his personal tally ended at 3 for the day in what was a good all round performance.

Mods came out a bit more fired up for the second half but a fantastic response from the kick off saw Leos force Mods back to their 5m line, Carl was stopped within milimeters of the try line which presented Billy Marsh with an ideal opportunity to poach 5 points . A few phases later, still a bit high from the euphoria of scoring, a brain fart ensued with Billy opting to take a box kick and then slip over chasing it... A good job Mods 9 has left his kicking boots at home as the return kick was just as woeful.

Frustrations boiled over at times with a bit of rutting between the younger contingents of both teams but all in all it was a classically well mannered game between the two sides. Daniel Mann’s expletive deleted moment was a cherished highlight in his ever growing reel, it certainly struck fear into the hearts of those around him.

More injuries befell Mods and mass cramp lead to a break in play where Leos played a bit of hands. The message was clear however, our goal was to not concede. Mods came closest with a succession of scrums but ultimately the effort was in vain. Patrick Evans defended well in midfield and the two Ed(d)’s managed to pilfer a few loose lying balls leading to more counter attacking play.

A massive thank you to Will Crawford, Dr. Goff and Dr. Gummerson for offering their services to Mods, relishing the opportunity to run at and tackle their mates they caused problems at times for Leos. Dan the Mann also offered his services for the men in red and black, a long queue lined up to make the tackle on his sole run, Carl took the honours.

An all round good day for Leos, we stuck to the game plan and it paid dividends. Man of the Match goes to Herbie but again a few players put their hands up as everyone pitched in, the post game bath was a welcome treat for those longer in the tooth and as ever the beer always tastes better with a W.

Congratulations to Billy Adam on finding someone to marry him under what didn’t seem like duress, a tolerable excuse for not showing up and playing. A few stuck around until the early hours drinking away in his honour.

York RI are up next week and the 3s will be looking to go back to back, onwards and upwards for the men from the crag... We’ll be back, same bat-time, same bat-channel.