Fly half Jay Wilkinson was the match winner with two tries and four conversions, but three try-saving tackles from wing Harry Byrne were just as important for the Moorlanders.

Leek were quickly into their stride and dominated the early stages. A misplaced pass and a knock on saw two early chances go begging before Ben Wood picked up the ball from a ruck, saw nobody home in defence and sprinted over the for opening score.

The visitors grew into the game and the well-matched teams largely cancelled each other out. But as the pressure grew, Leek conceded a stream of penalties and when the referee finally lost patience and yellow-carded Matt Broad, Eccleshall took full advantage with a score under the posts, tieing the game 7-7 at the break.

The second half remained a close contest. A last ditch tackle denied skipper Andy Thompson what looked like a certain try, but Matt Leadingham gathered the loose ball to score in the right hand corner. Wilkinson added the extras from the touchline.

From the kick off, Leek were back on the offensive. An outside break saw an overlap on the right. Conlon Newton-Taylor, back in blue and white after completing his degree, shipped the ball on to Wilkinson who scampered around the cover defence to score under the posts.

Eccleshall responded positively and, aided by a series of missed tackles, pulled a score back.
But Wilko wasn't finished. Several phases of play saw Leek advance up the left flank and a typical sidestep saw the star man in for another try under the posts.

Again, the visitors rallied and claimed their third score, and a losing bonus point, with only a minute to play.

Meanwhile, Leek 1st XV fell to an opening-day defeat at Manchester. Once again, the Moorlanders conceded early and were 8-0 down after four minutes. Rob McDermott's try pulled it back to 8-7.

The hosts scored a second but were unable to convert and Leek responded quickly through Kin Critchlow, the conversion nudging them into a 13-14 lead at half time.

A Joe Byrne penalty stretched the lead early in the second period, but that was it for the Moorlanders. Two converted tries and a penalty saw the hosts pull away to a bonus point win and Leek returned home empty handed.