Youthful Bramley too much for 3s

It was an auspicious start to the day with a few drop outs and 4 people in the changing room, in typical Leos style the team eventually showed up and a short, sharp warm up was the order of the day.

Bindloss shaving Jamie Scott by far the best excuse for lateness, followed by the Winter Olympics... It is Leos after all...!

Bramley got the game underway and the tone of the game was set quite early on, the young Bramley side showing some trademark physicality and a want for quick ball versus a stubborn defence for Leos and a pack heavy performance.

The boys from the big apple opened the scoring after 10 minutes but Leos were quick to respond, forcing an error at the kick off, Leos were further rewarded with some penalty decisions, a kick to touch saw James Debenhams hoisted up and a rolling maul ensue. Quick play around the base of the ruck gave Si Winterburn the chance to drive over and give the home side something to cheer about.

Both sides traded penalties and it was something of a midfield skirmish for a while until a few favourable bounces and loose tackles visitors enough space to run in a try. For much of the first half these opportunities gave Bramley the edge with Leos unable to make the decisive pass or break.

Strong carries from Adam Ketteringham and Alex Morris gave Leos plenty of go forward, as did the snakes hips of Tom Bindloss but unfortunately, Leos had to wait until well into the second half to get another sniff of the whitewash.

Despite the score line being very much against Leos they kept fighting the good fight and worked tirelessly in defence and on the occasional jaunt forwards. With ascendency in the scrum and lineout it should really have been a better day for the boys in blue.

Alex Morris gave the home side some consolation, crashing over for a try from a quick penalty and baring a pair of muddied boxer shorts for the world to see. Nudged closer to the sticks during celebrations gave Matt Dallingwater an easier kick which he duly converted.

An injury to Josh Matthews saw Jonathan Feeley enter the fray, pushing Billy Adam into the pack which I suppose is a bit like one of those make a wish days, he looked like he was having fun.

The game ended with a coriolis defying pass from Bindloss which saw Feeley dot down in the corner and the final whistle was blown.

A loss is never a good thing but there’s plenty to learn from and work on in the remaining fixtures this season, winning the league does now seem out of the question but that’s the magic of third team rugby, you never quite know!

Brave defence from Tom Davies and York Merrick helped Leos in the wide channel but man of the match today was Alex Morris for strong scrummaging, good carrying and nice trundle for his try.

Leos will dust off and be back in action next week, welcoming Harrogate to the crag. Same bat time, same bat channel.