Saturday 4th October 2025

Regional 1 North West

Leek 12

Burton 28

Leek’s Staffordshire derby with Burton ended in disappointment for the Moorlanders, without a point to show for their effort against a side that was disciplined and executed a game plan that Leek couldn’t penetrate enough, in order to challenge in the final 30 minutes.

Jack Newton Taylor was back at full back as Kin Critchlow returned to the wing and Josh Nadin made up the back 3. Will Midwinter and Scott Rawlings were in the centre and Joe Byrne and Noah Reaney were at half back. Ed Cheadle returned at hooker with Joe Newton Taylor and Lewis Dunleavy propping. Joel Booth and Joel Hine were at lock. Joe Gorman was No.8 with Billy Kidd and Tom Hayes on the flanks. George Hunt, Will Hill and debutant Teo Kappakas were on the bench.

After the morning rain, it abated for the game and the swirling wind didn’t cause many problems for the kickers as the sides led a minute’s silence beforehand remembering Leek’s legendary coach, Ian Gittens who had passed away the previous Saturday.

The opening 10 minutes saw both sides in cautious mode before Leek conceded a lineout penalty for interference and another, a minute later for the same offence giving Burton a lineout on Leek’s 5 metre line. The catch and maul drive saw the hooker go over for a try. The conversion was good, and Burton led 0-7.
On 18 minutes, Leek was warned for another lineout interference before Burton won another penalty on 20 minutes for not rolling at the tackle. This lineout looked in an ominous position, but the competition was good, and Lewis Dunleavy retrieved the ball on the ground for Leek to clear.
A clearance from Burton into Leek’s 22 nearly produced a stunning try for the Moorlanders on 23 minutes after Scott Rawlings cross kick found Jack Newton Taylor on the right. His run and support from Will Midwinter and Kin Critchlow saw the move to the Burton 22 and as the ball sped left Josh Nadin was stopped into touch on the 5-metre line. Burton cleared from the lineout, but Leek was finding its feet in the game and won a penalty on 28 minutes for not rolling. The kick for the lineout led to a driving maul and patiently, Leek’s forwards edged to the line for Joel Booth to crash over on the right. Will Midwinter’s conversion hit the post and stayed out, still Leek was on the board at 5-7.

On 35 minutes, a Burton quick tap penalty on Leek’s 10 metre line was stopped too soon by Joel Hine and he received a yellow card. The resulting penalty led to a lineout on the left for Burton and although Leek’s defence held the maul well, the momentum was still with the visitors, and the hooker went over for his 2nd try. The conversion was good, and Burton led 5-14.
As the half wound down, a clearance kick from Burton into midfield caught out the Leek defence and as the centre kicked ahead twice, it looked like another score but as the ball reached the Leek line, there was Kin Critchlow working his way back to collect the ball and start a great counterattack down the right. It led to another penalty for Leek at the scrum but the lineout on the right thereafter led to a lost ball and the half ended with a knock on with the score, Leek 5-14 Burton.

Leek started the 2nd half with a blistering break from Jack Newton Taylor down the right and deep into the Burton 22 before a knock on prevented further attack but on 45 minutes a Joe Byrne break and pass to Will Midwinter led to a dangerous set of rucks on the right in the Burton 22. Scott Rawlings then crossed kicked back to the left to find Jack Newton Taylor. His run to near the line left the Burton defence stretched, and a pass found Scott Rawlings to score in the left corner. Will Midwinter’s excellent conversion was good, and Leek had closed the gap to 12-14.
From the kick off another Joe Byrne break threatened to lead to another score but holding on led to a Burton penalty and that was the closest Leek came to winning the game as on 51 minutes a tremendous break from the Burton right wing led to Leek’s defence being pierced on the left and the centre went over unopposed for his side’s 3rd try. The conversion was good, and it was 12-21.
Try as they might for the next 25 minutes, Leek couldn’t break down the strong Burton defence despite testing it all over the pitch and the game was put to bed on 76 minutes when the Burton centre scored the 4th try from a scrum as he ran through strongly to score on the left. Again, the conversion was successful, and Burton led 12-28.
The game petered out with Leek again testing the Burton defence deep in the 22 and Kin Critchlow came close to scoring but was penalised for holding on and frustration boiled over with George Hunt shown a yellow as the game came to an end.

It had been a tough game with some big hits going in from both sides with no quarter given nor asked but it was the visitors prevailing and deservedly so. Leek will have to lick their wounds and recover quickly as they travel on to their next opponents, Rochdale, this Saturday.

Leek moved down a couple of positions in the league from 2nd to 4th as Anselmians consolidated top spot with a comfortable win at Bowdon. Stockport won again and moved to 2nd with Burton leapfrogging Leek into 3rd.

Still early days and plenty of opportunity for Leek’s squad to improve as the season progresses.

Leek 2s early season winning ways came to an end at home too as Trentham 1st XV won a great game by 28-37. The 2s picked up a try bonus point and are in 4th place on 10 points. Willenhall 1sts make the running in Midlands 2 West (West) with 3 straight wins. This week sees the 2s travelling down the road to Ashbourne 1sts, which will be a tough test for the squad.

Leek 3s game against Sale FC 3rds was postponed due to unavailability of a referee. The problem of sufficient referees to fulfil games is becoming an acute issue for the RFU and could lead to players leaving the game unless recruitment of more referees and their availability can be addressed. If you are interested in helping out, there is plenty of support from Staffordshire Referees Society.

Author J. McDermott