It was a pleasure to watch the future of Leek Rugby Club on show on the 1st team pitch at EsterChem Park on Saturday....
....as they took on Warwickshire side Pinley.

Pinley has to travel far and wide to get competitive matches and as Leek obliged earlier in the season, travelling to Coventry to play them, it was Pinley’s turn to travel this weekend.

Leek colts also don’t get to play that many games a season mainly because opposition is hard to come by so it was great to see a competitive match played in a good spirit with a lot of good skills on show and
plenty of talent for coaches Neil Edge and Chris Mudd to work on for the future.

The front row started with Josh Phillips, Billy Kid and Harry Woodcock. At lock were Harry Evans and Lewis Dunleavy. Todd Cutler was No.8 and flankers were Reuben Sinclair and Luke Bradford.
The half backs were Andrew Ridge at 10 and James Fox at 9. Centres were Harry Saunders, who has made a couple of 1st team appearances this season at 12 and Jack Lawlor at 13. James Holland and Kerry Taylor were on the wings with Jack Hodson at full back.
The 5 replacements were Louis Cavelle, a flanker, Charlie Smith at prop, Taylor Wright at prop and Tommy Cheadle on the wing and Alex Ellis at scrum half.

On a cold, bright day with the pitch in great condition, it took Leek only 50 seconds to score the first points of the game when from the kick-off, a couple of strong runs led to a ruck under the Pinley posts. As the ball sped out from scrum half James Fox, fly half Andrew Ridge sprinted over for a try. He converted his own try and Leek led 7-0.
The next score came on 10 minutes when Leek turned over the ball on the Pinley 10 metre line and then quick hands right looked like the defence had it covered but superb vision by full back Jack Hodson saw him sprint into the line as the balled was turned and he took the ball at pace and raced clear to score on the right.
The conversion missed but Leek now led 12-0.

On 19 minutes, Leek nearly scored again after impressive No.8 Todd Cutler picked up a loose ball and made the half way line. He offloaded to flanker Luke Bradford and then as the backs took over the final pass In Pinley’s 22 to left wing, Kerry Taylor, was forward. Unlucky after quick thinking from both forwards and backs.
3 minutes later and Leek did score their 3rd try after a 5 metre scrum. Todd Cutler picked up at the back of the scrum and with the line beckoning, Leek won a penalty for not releasing on the ground.

Hooker Josh Phillips tapped to himself quickly and crashed through defenders to score a brave try. The conversion missed but Leek extended their lead to 17-0.
The 4th try came on 27 minutes after a line out catch and drive on the Pinley 10 metre line. The ball came out to the backs and a well worked crash ball to Jack Lawlor saw the outside centre sprint through a gap and then weave his way past defenders to score a great try under the posts. This time Andrew Ridge converted and Leek were up to 24-0.
As the half ended, Pinley’s first real chance at a score came after a turnover on half way and when the kick ahead went in goal, it was the Leek defence that touched down to end the half at 24-0.

The 2nd half opened in dramatic fashion. At the kick off the ball was heading towards Josh Phillips on Leek’s 10 metre line. As he attempted to catch it, the Pinley lock jumped to catch the ball over Josh. He impacted Josh’s back and fell awkwardly to ground. After a couple of minutes being attended to the lock was OK to continue but the referee showed Josh a red card, which seemed harsh, given he didn’t attempt to jump in the air.
Anyway, it meant Leek was playing the rest of the game a man down and Pinley took almost immediate advantage of Leek’s demise.

2 penalties in quick succession on 46 minutes and missed tackles allowed Pinley to score through one of their forwards as he crashed through a tackle by the posts. The conversion was good and, at last, the visitors were on the score board at 24-7.
Leek then had some fortune on 55 minutes when the referee missed a taken back into the 22 kick for touch by Leek and then from the lineout, a Leek penalty kick for touch missed the line but the referee awarded Leek a 5 metre scrum as he thought the Pinley full back had touched the ball on the way to the goal line. He hadn’t but from the resulting 5 metre scrum, Todd Cutler picked up and ran bling to break tackles and score in the right corner.
Andrew Ridge’s conversion unluckily hit the post but Leek had taken advantage of a lucky break and extended the lead to 29-7.

Right on full time, Leek scored their 6th try, following a late tackle yellow card for a Pinley forward. Good passing by the backs led to Tommy Cheadle getting on the end of the final pass to sprint in unopposed. The conversion just failed but the game ended with a 34-7 score line but more importantly it was about the manner of the collective performance that stood out.
Pinley had played their part too and made it difficult for the Leek boys all afternoon, particularly at the lineout.

Leek’s squad of 20 players all had impressive games and the boys can now look forward to a Staffordshire Cup semi-final against hot favourites Burton.

Attached photos show Leek fly half Andrew Ridge kicking for position with the rest of the backs read to take advantage and then Leek’s scrum in Pinley’s 22 with Luke Bradford peeling of