Leek hasn’t played Kidderminster since 22nd December 2001. In that season in Midlands 3 (West)N, Leek was relegated as Kidderminster finished 3rd but the Moorlanders upset their rivals away winning 12-15
after the earlier encounter at Leek saw Kidderminster win by 10-21.

This game opened with both sides looking to run the ball and with early mistakes from both sides it took a 10th minute decision for not rolling away at the tackle for the first chance to occur for points. The Kidderminster full back’s kick was short though from long range.
A couple of minutes later and he had a 2nd chance from virtually the same spot as Leek transgressed again at the tackle. This time he made no mistake to hand the visitors an early 0-3 lead.
From the kick-off, Leek retained possession and as Leek moved the ball beyond the Kidderminster 10 metre line from a ruck the backs were penalised for offside and Gary McDermott drew Leek level with the penalty attempt at 3 all.

On 22 minutes, Leek had a penalty in their own half for offside and the resulting lineout in Kidderminster territory on the right led to a couple of rucks in midfield. Quick ball right then had centre Sam Hunt sprinting through the gap and over the line for a great try.
McDermott converted and Leek was up to 10-3.

9 minutes later and another Leek penalty for not releasing in the tackle on Kidderminster’s 10 metre line allowed McDermott to kick for the lineout on the 22 on the left. A great catch and controlled drive led to Simon Drew crashing over at the back of the maul for Leek’s 2nd try.
McDermott’s conversion was good and Leek extended their lead to 17-3 on 33 minutes.

Leek was now on top and forced another lineout drive deep in the Kidderminster 22. The maul broke up as Lee Williams ran for the line. However he lost control but not before the Kidderminster lock was yellow carded for an attempted trip. Leek opted for 3 points as McDermott slotted the simple penalty from under the posts. 20-3.

As the half entered added time, a Kidderminster clearance found wing Tom Scragg on the 10 metre line. Some great passing and offloading allowed opposite wing Dan Sharratt to show his blistering pace as he rounded the wing and passed inside to Sam Hunt who ran over for his 2nd and Leek’s 3rd try of the half. McDermott’s conversion missed but the half ended with Leek in a strong position at 25-3.

The 2nd half opened with Kidderminster in determined mood and still with only 14 men on the field. Leek knocked on the kick-off and strong carries by the forwards had Leek struggling in defence and then quick ball left had the left wing sprinting through the gap and under the posts for a stunning try. The conversion was good and at 25-10 with 42 minutes gone, the visitors could believe they were on the way back in the game.
On 48 minutes Kidderminster came close to another score as Leek were pressed into defence in the 22 but Reece Milner snaffled the loose ball as it came out of the ruck and improving scrum half Ollie Drew cleared well.
Leek hit back 2 minutes later with a McDermott penalty on the Kidderminster 22 for offside. 28-10.

On 60 minutes, Leek still hadn’t had a put in at the scrum all game but that was about to change after a lineout win saw Joel Booth just come up short of the line after some good rucking. The resultant scrum on the visitors’ 5 metre line had the Moorlanders pack rumble to the line with the ball under Booth’s control. Ollie Drew then finished the move touching down for Leek’s 4th and bonus point try. McDermott’s conversion was good and at 35-10 with a quarter to go, it was a question of pushing on for Leek or mounting a strong comeback from Kidderminster.
Leek were to score 2 more tries though and also miss another as on 67 minutes with a simple pass required from Matt Leadingham to Sam Hunt a certain try was there but with Hunt contemplating a hatrick of tries the ball went forward.

5 minutes later though, Kidderminster received a double 10 metre walk back for back chat following a penalty decision by the referee and the Leek lineout led to a series of rucks before Joel Booth did crash over for his try in a man of the match performance. The conversion missed. 40-10.
Kidderminster pressed again through their excellent fly half and good handling had them in the Leek 22 but the strong defence held and a penalty won for not releasing in the tackle.
On 81 minutes, a clearance kick had Matt Leadingham sprinting to the Kidderminster 10 metre line and then a couple of rucks on the right had Leek controlling the ball. Quick thinking by Ollie Drew saw the pacey scrum half pick the ball up on the narrow blind side and sprint in down the touch line and under the posts to finish off an excellent game for the youngster. McDermott converted and the game ended at 47-10.

This was a better display from Leek as their confidence came back and Kidderminster’s part cannot be underestimated as they produced some good movement but came up against mainly solid defence.

The win lifted Leek to 3rd place with 15 points. They are in a huddle with 3 other clubs on 15 points with Camp Hill 2nd, Walsall 4th and Stafford 5th. Stourbridge Lions make the early running though with 4 wins out of 4 and maximum bonus points giving them 20 points.
Next week is cup week, so no fixture for Leek as they bowed out at Matlock but then 2 away games in the league coming up.

Firstly on 22nd October, a crucial match at Walsall with kick off 3pm and then a week later on 29th October at Newcastle again a 3pm kick off, but the last before BST ends and the next game on 5th November at home against Old Salts will kick off at 2.15pm.

Other results this weekend.

Newcastle 12 62 Camp Hill
Old salts 36 10 Veseyans
Old Yards 21 22 Tamworth
Shrewsbury 13 25 Stourbridge Lions
Stafford 20 19 Walsall

Joel Booth crashing over for a try on 74 minutes.
Ollie Drew out sprinting the full back on his way to to the try line. 81 mins
Ollie Drew behind the Kidderminster try line about to score.

Author John McDermott