Leek firsts benefit from return to home ground
Midland West Two (North) Leek 1st XV Newcastle 1st XV
......................... .................. LEEK returned to Esterchem Park and stopped the rot of two defeats with a hard-fought home win against local rivals Newcastle.
In truth, it was a poor game without much sustained pressure one way or the other and Leek will be disappointed they could only score two tries given their scrum dominance.
Nevertheless a win is a win and four points moves the Moorlanders to 20 points, now level with Newcastle after seven games.
Jack Newton Taylor, Kini Buli and Tom Scragg were the back three with James Floyd and Nick Palmer in the centres. Sam Hunt and Ollie Drew were at half-back.
Joe Newton Taylor, skipper Ed Cheadle and Bobby Cheadle were in the front row with DJ Allen retaining his lock position and his partner, Jake Bainbridge.
Goerge Hunt, Joel Booth and Lee Williams made up the back row.
Ad Smith, Dan Needham and Ben Barlow were on the bench.
Newcastle were under strength due to a wedding and so it was no surprise to see Leek dominating possession and territory as the visitors organised themselves well in defence.
On 14 minutes, Leek won a penalty for offside at the lineout and Sam Hunt’s kick for the next lineout was superb as it gave Leek a five-metre chance.
George Hunt took the clean catch and after a couple of rucks near the line, Joe Newton Taylor picked up and crashed over for the opening score on the left.
The conversion was missed, but Leek led 5-0.
From the kick-off though, Leek managed to lose possession on their own 22 and were then caught offside as Newcastle ran the ball wide.
The penalty attempt was good and on 17 minutes it was 5-3.
The game then settled into the pattern of Leek possession and territory with Newcastle defending Leek’s across field movement of the ball easily, until Leek lost possession again on 27 minutes.
Newcastle countered and won another penalty for not binding at the ruck, but the penalty attempt went wide.
Again the pattern resumed with Leek’s possession and movement looking good but without penetration as Newcastle comfortably defended neutral territory. It needed a change of tactics or a penalty and on 38 minutes, the latter came for a shoulder only tackle. Sam Hunt kicked for the lineout again and as Leek drove for the line with Bobby Cheadle in control of the ball, it looked an inevitable score until near the line, the referee penalised Leek for not binding. Leek soon won possession back and with the first half in overtime a great move on the right finally had Newcastle’s defence outflanked.
Joe Newton Taylor’s pass to Jake Bainbridge had the big lock rumbling towards the line but his inside pass went astray and Newcastle’s clearance kick left Leek with a lineout outside the 22 on the right.
From it, Leek set up a couple of rucks and Newcastle were penalised for offside and with the last act of the first half, Sam Hunt converted the penalty to give Leek an 8-3 half-time lead.
Leek coach Lee Pickles changed things at half-time and it made an immediate difference to the pace of the Leek attack and it caught Newcastle out early.
With three minutes of the second half gone, Leek committed Newcastle defenders on the half way, the Leek forwards took the ball on and created some quick rucks.
The final one, about 10 metres outside the Newcastle 22 on the left, then allowed Ollie Drew to spot Jack Newton Taylor taking a blind side position and the young Leek full-back sprinted in unopposed to score Leek’s second try. Again the conversion failed, but at 13-3, Leek looked forward to pressing home their advantage.
From the kick-off again though, Leek contrived to lose the ball and only a well timed George Hunt tackle prevented a threatening Newcastle position.
Leek upped their pace and on 56 minutes with Dan Needham at 10 and Sam Hunt at 13 now, Leek won a penalty on Newcastle’s 22 which Sam Hunt converted to increase Leek’s lead to 16-3.
It was now time for Leek to think about the try bonus point as Newcastle’s attacking threat was limited and it looked like a neat chip through on the right which led to a couple of Leek penalties would be the key to the next score. Leek had a five metre scrum and it looked inevitable the pack would walk the visiting scrum over their line. Leek’s disciplined drive brought the ball, at the feet of No.8 Joel Booth, to the line before the referee again intervened deciding the scrum had gone round 90 degrees and from the next scrum Leek were penalised. In the last 10 minutes, Leek tried hard to set up another positon from which to dominate the ruck or maul, but were again thwarted by courageous defence and some poor decision making.
No more scoring was to come as the game petered out with Leek moving the ball across field without much threat to the well disciplined Newcastle defence.
Despite the type of game played, Leek can be positive they have got back to winning ways and will have the week’s training sessions to add some thought and deed to their attacking options.
In other games, undefeated leaders Tamworth won impressively at Walsall 23-0. Ludlow lost their second consecutive away game at Wolverhampton as Stafford and Telford both lost heavily proving that promoted teams in this league face a tough challenge.
Improving Crewe & Nantwich beat Leek’s next league opponents Spartans by 20-10 as the league takes a break this weekend for the third round of the Midlands Intermediate RFU Cup.
Leek must travel to Midlands Two West (South) opposition Barkers Butts who are similarly placed in that league as Leek is in the North, so it should be a well contested 3rd round tie.
Kick off is at 2pm.