Old Crocs at Home Match Report

Eleven tries were scored in an entertaining game as the mighty 3s went 2 from 2 with an ultimately comfortable, if at times quite fraught victory over Old Crossleyans 2s. Although the margin of victory was wide, Leos’ tendency to slump dramatically in the middle of games remains a serious concern which will need to be addressed before facing stronger opposition.

It fortunately turned out that the “Gators Development Squad” is not a scientific project involving the production of rugby playing alligators, with “Crocs” instead arriving with a classic 2nd XV mix of youthful energy in the backs, a nuggety back row and some physical veterans up front. The presence of two cricket matches nearby and the unseasonably warm weather gave this match a late season feel rather than September. Crocs struck first in a most un-2nd XV fashion when Leos infringed at the breakdown in their own 22, kicking a simple penalty to go 0-3 ahead.

This was however as good as it got for a while, as from the resulting kickoff Leos recovered possession and quickly took control of the game. Some solid hit ups from the Leos pack, in particular tight-head Josh White, put Leos into a strong position deep in Crocs’ territory. Although their middle was solid, the Crocs’ flanks were somewhat vulnerable and a well worked move down the left put flanker Joe Bender over near the corner for a 5-3 lead. Leos quickly turned this into a 1-2 punch combo as fly half Tom Tweddle ghosted through, also down the left and scored in a similar area. Neither try was converted.

Despite the size and physicality of the Crocs’ pack, Leos were able to control the set piece quite comfortably. Sam Thirwell was dominant at the lineout, repeatedly winning Crocs’ ball which, as they favoured 4-man lines, allowed for thrusting counter attacks from a pod of forwards consisting of Josh White, Carl Stephenson and Kenny Parsons, which repeatedly barrelled into the Crocs’ 10 channel. In terms of the scrum Leos were completely on top, a factor which brought about the next try.

Following a Leos’ knock on deep in the Crocs’ 22, the Leos’ pack bulldozed the opposition scrum and stole the ball against the head. The momentum was unstoppable and as the Crocs’ scrum splintered, Carl Stephenson took the ball at 8 and piled over from point blank range. This try was converted by Tom Tweddle. Following this the scrums became uncontested on safety grounds at the request of the Crocs’ hooker, who was at least honest enough to admit that Leos’ dominance was the cause rather than resorting to the more traditional method of feigning a convenient injury.

There was still time for Leos to add two more tries before half time. The first followed immediately after the introduction of Andrew “Tower” Kennedy as a sub. The impact was instant as Tower found himself in an unusual wide position, but slick hands from the big man put winger Robbie Simpson away for a scorching try. Another sub then got in on the act when centre Tom “Quick Tap” Bindloss broke through and fed Rowan Cole down the opposite wing. Showing impressive pace, Cole cruised into the corner to round off a very satisfactory half for Leos. Half time score 24-3 to Leos (I think).

The second half followed a similar pattern to the game against Roundhegians, in that Leos scored another try to effectively put the game to bed before having a serious wobble. The scorer was lock Sam Thirwell, who had an excellent game all round which was capped by finding himself out wide, brushing past some lax tackling and crossing near the posts. Tweddle converted to put Leos 31-3 up.

Then came the wobble and five minutes of general insanity for both sides. After Matt Dallingwater was yellow carded for a high tackle, Crocs made good use of their numerical advantage. Sensing that their strength lay in going direct, Crocs battered away up the middle until their 10 suddenly found a yawning hole ahead of him, sprinting through for what must be said to be a rather soft try. This would have been bad enough, but from the kickoff the Crocs’ centre gathered and went the length of the field with barely a hand laid on him. Incredibly, Crocs began to believe they could come back and Leos suddenly looked shellshocked.

The crisis was resolved in the usual way, with some unprintable but not unwarranted words from Tom Tweddle. Incredibly Leos then repaid Crocs in their own coin. From the kick off, a double barrel posh boy combo did for Crocs as flying centre Archie Pine-Coffin (no, I’m not making that up) beat Crocs to the kick, skipped past a few tackles and offloaded to flanker Tom Bainbridge-Glover who plunged over beneath the posts to cancel out the Crocs’ score.

This rather deflated the Crocs’ revival somewhat and allowed Leos to close out the game. Each team was able to add another score before the end - I’ll be honest, I don’t remember Crocs try! - with Archie Pine-Coffin opening his account for the season wide on the left. Leos almost added a second right on the last play - I must now admit that I, Kenny Parsons, spurned a two man overlap and unsuccessfully sought a try for myself (sorry Tower, Archie), but when the ball was recycled Big Dave Robinson powered over, only to apparently lose the ball in the grounding according to RefCadge.

In the end this was another solid, comfortable win for the 3s. Scoring eight tries is not to be sniffed at (and also makes writing a detailed match report quite difficult, so apologies if this one is a bit lacking!) but the margin of victory should not paper over issues with Leos’ performance, particularly in terms of intensity and standards dropping off. On a more positive note there were several very impressive performances today, with Josh White enjoying a really good debut and forwards Sam Thirwell and Joe Bender putting in strong shifts up front. Out wide Leos are blessed with plenty of talent and pace - it was great to have Archie Pine-Coffin back, with Rowan Cole also looking sharp out wide and Paddy “Rig” Behan a constant threat from full back. The Tweddle/Binloss axis continues to churn out tryscoring chances as standard. Overall a positive and satisfying afternoon’s work, issues notwithstanding. The 3s are next scheduled to be in action against Cleckheaton 3s on 5 October.