Effort and skill come to nothing

4th December 2021 – Leamington v Evesham

Leamington’s season to date has been hampered by a lack of continuity in the squad, due to all manner of reasons and once again this situation impacted on the league fixture with Evesham. Although a 22 points to nil scoreline certainly flattered the visitors, who had their hands full, at times, trying to contend with a very lively Leamington attack.

Prop, Scott Peters, made a welcome return to the team and debutant hooker, Ollie Boyes, had a perfect start to his First XV career, with a very solid performance throughout.

The home side’s first meaningful attack came courtesy of break from Centre, Harry Johnson, who’s sharp instincts to spot an opportunity have been an important part of Leamington’s play. Then, when Evesham looked as though they were clear down the nearside wing, Second Row forward, Craig Smith, rushed in with a try-saving tackle.

The deadlock was finally broken with 11 minutes of play left in the first half with a converted score from the visitors. This was added to quickly with another try, leaving Leamington trailing 12 nil at the break.

Evesham had the perfect start to the second half, when a simple loop move in the centre created space for a score in the corner.

However, Leamington then began to take a grip of the game, starting with an incisive run from Kofi Miller, who then set fellow winger Ian Cameron away, to test the Evesham defence. The home side then had what was probably their best chance to get on the score sheet, when they won a penalty in the visitors half. They kicked for possession and after taking clean lineout ball, quickly recycled the ball across the pitch, finding the fleet-footed Miller, who was just edged into touch, as he tried to get the touch down. Another chance came Leamington’s way following good link play between George Jacobs and Greg Atherton, down the far side wing, which the Evesham defence just managed to cope with.

The balance of possession throughout the match was pretty was even and whilst Leamington had created numerous openings, on the day, they seemed to be missing the final cutting edge, required to get points. This left the door open for Evesham to get one more try, in the final seconds of the game to seal the win.

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