Leo’s conquer Mods and the Elements as Si goes for a Burton

The returning Thommo added steel to the pack while a visiting Neath first teamer added strength to a back line which also featured pace out wide from the returning Raj and the architect of speed Tom Stubley. Sadly the long journey took its toll and Si Burton vanished in the mist and was never seen again. Mods were short so some evening up was done to start, and throughout the game as they were also a bit brittle. Thanks to Raj, Dave, George, and Mat for accommodating the Corinthian spirit.
Stand-in skipper Scotty elected to kick down the hill and win the game before dark. The pack drove in well and the backs looked very lively, too lively in fact as mesmeric running lines and wayward passes with the greased piglet of a ball led to too many turnovers or scrums. Defensively Leo’s looked solid and as the pack took the upper hand in the close quarter’s combat positional superiority started to pay dividends. Firstly returning student Si Winterburn crashed over from a 5 yard scrum before Tom Burrell did likewise from scrum half. Neither was converted due to the ball of Beelzebub’s erratic trajectories. More possession was secured and the strong runs from centre were augmented by slick wing play from Mike Ford and Stubley. Eventually Neath’s Matt rounded off a flowing move to put Leo’s in command. Mods were still offering a spirited response, even though Thommo was handing out some defensive lessons. One impressive tackle may have been a little high as a Mod was flat out holding his throat. However he recovered sufficiently on the approach of Leo’s own Dr Kevorkian (George).Leo’s should have scored once more before the break as the pack embarked on a fabulous 30 yard driving and rolling maul with Scotty in control until he flopped onto the Mod’s fat prop instead of grounding the ball.
Uphill in the second half the skills were reduced somewhat by continued changes due to injury with even Scotty bravely steping up to prop to avoid "unopposeds", but the game was played in excellent spirit and sensibly refereed by the excellent young ref. It got colder, foggier and darker. Leo’s player’s eyesight degenerated to that of Thommo proportions so goodness knows what the front row behemoth was seeing, if anything. It got so gloomy that Stubley took off “out wide” and ended up in the woods! Mods attacked well with the slope behind them but Leo’s stood firm and broke out well with Tim Martin leading the charges and support coming from all directions. Two more tries were scored, one in front of the posts to allow a conversion from Scotty, before Mods upped their game again and laid siege to the visitor’s line. In the gloom big hits were dished out by Thommo and Gary in addition to good scrambling defence. A final break from Tim and Phil ended with a loopy pass to Si for his hat trick. After Scotty had shanked the ball into the darkness the game finished with mutual appreciation for an exhibition of social coarse rugger at its finest.
Cold beers (CJ+ take note) were followed by cold showers, but warmth of spirit and endeavour.