Saturday 12th March 2022
Midlands 2 West (North) and semi-final Staffordshire Intermediate Cup Semi Final
Newcastle 12
Leek 45
Leek came through a tough 2nd half challenge at Lilleshall Road to continue their push for the league title with 4 games to play now as well as booking their place in the Staffs Intermediate Cup Final in this league and cup double header.
Joe Byrne, Jack Newton Taylor and Sam Brereton made up the young back 3. A new centre partnership was forged with Tom Scragg and Adam Varley as Rob Mcdermott moved to fly half with brother Liam at scrum half.
Bobby Cheadle, Ed Cheadle and Lee Williams started in the front row with Joel Booth and Joel Hine at lock. Ollie Powell was No.8 with Luke Staton and a returning Billy Kidd on the flanks.
Ben Barlow, Joe Newton Taylor and Ollie Drew were on the bench.
The game kicked off on a windy afternoon with the elements favouring Leek and the team put in a workmanlike performance to effectively kill the game with a 5 try 1st half haul as Newcastle battled to stay with the Moorlanders.
Billy Kidd was scoring the first try on 4 minutes under the posts after great continuity between backs and forwards before Rob McDermott and Bobby Cheadle combined to give Kidd the ball.
Liam McDermott converted, and Leek led 0-7. 4 minutes later and skipper Ed Cheadle was at the back of the driving maul from a lineout to score the 2nd try on the right. The conversion was good, and Leek were up to 0-14.
On 18 minutes, the forwards were in unstoppable mode as they drove up field deep into the Newcastle 22 and as space opened up Adam Varley sprinted through for the 3rd try under the posts. McDermott converted and the score moved to 0-21.
Try as they might Newcastle couldn’t break the strong Leek defence and on 32 minutes, a scrum outside Newcastle’s 22 on the left saw good hands right and with Sam Brereton coming into the line from the blind wing, he created the overlap for Jack Newton Taylor to sprint in for the 4th try. McDermott converted again and Leek led 0-28.
The half ended with a 5th try, this time from left wing Sam Brereton after a superb pick up from Joe Byrne, following a lineout on Newcastle’s 22. The conversion just slipped under the bar as the half ended with Leek in control at 0-33.
In contrast, the 2nd half mainly belonged to Newcastle, as the home side rallied and led by their excellent loose forwards, started to win ground and penalties. On 47 minutes, choosing to scrum on Leek’s 5 metre line, the defence held but was penalised again and a quick penalty and passing left was enough for the overlap and try. The conversion was good, and Newcastle were on the board at 7-33.
9 minutes later and after good play and ball retention, Newcastle scored their 2nd try, again after Leek were penalised twice in quick succession. The Newcastle forwards were quick to get on the front foot and the passing left gave another overlap and the try. This time the conversion missed but at 12-33, there was hope for more tries from the hosts.
Leek needed to steady the ship, but Ed Cheadle was shown a yellow card on 61 minutes as Leek continued to infringe. However, this incident worked in Leek’s favour as the side pulled together and Adam Varley burst through tackles to make a solid break up the middle on 67 minutes. His offload to wing Sam Brereton saw the left wing score his 2nd try. Rob McDermott converted, and Leek led 12-40.
See photo below as Adam makes the break with Rob McDermott, Jack Newton Taylor and Joe Byrne in support.
On 77 minutes, Leek won 2 penalties as they pressed on Newcastle’s 22 and opted for the lineout. This time, Joel Booth was on hand at the back of the strong driving maul to crash over for the 7th try. The conversion missed, Leek led 12-45 and the game ended two minutes later in midfield.
It had been a game of 2 halves with Newcastle showing strong commitment and smart play in the 2nd half but Leek’s first half performance was clinical and confident despite the changes and there is now a week’s break before the next game
Leek sits top with 82 points from 18 games, Walsall is 2nd with 75 points from 18 and Moseley Oak 3rd with 65 points from 17 games. Their game in hand is this weekend away at Crewe and that should be a great game.
On March 26th the Moorlanders host Old Salts and Walsall host Moseley Oak on the same day. The results of both will give another hint as to the destiny of the title.
At the same time, this win also gave Leek a place in the Staffs Intermediate Cup Final on Sunday May 1st at Burton where they will play Walsall. That is a mouth-watering game to savour and both sets of supporters will be out in force to watch their sides battle for the cup.
Author: John McDermott