Leamington’s excellent win, against high flying Banbury, was overshadowed by injury to talisman, Player/Coach, Tom Greevy, midway through the second half. His trademark, on-field “lead by example” prowess has played an important part in the squad’s development and all hope for a speedy recovery.

With just two defeats and lying in third place in the league, Banbury were always going to be a tough nut to crack and their opening play was a warning to the hosts of what to expect. Although, playing against a strong wind, they put Leamington under immediate pressure that required the quick intervention of a Mark Baldwin tackle to stop the flow. Then James Robertson was on hand to launch a huge kick out of defence to curb Banbury’s early enthusiasm.

Banbury kept up a constant barrage on the home side and Leamington’s defence was tested to the full in the first quarter. At this juncture they were finding it difficult to get out of their own half and were relying on some stout tackling and the boot of James Robertson to keep out of trouble.

With almost half an hour played and Leamington still finding it difficult to get into an attacking rhythm, the home side capitalised on a rare slip-up in the Banbury play to take the lead. Banbury had possession, however they let out a stray pass, which Robertson immediately latched on to and raced some 30 metres to score under the posts. He quickly added the extras to give his side the ideal reply to all the pressure they had soaked up.

The score certainly gave the home side a lift and they quickly increased the lead with some exquisite play. Mark Baldwin, having a fine, all round performance, took the ball, immediately switched direction and broke out at pace and unleashed a pass to full back, Nathan Earland. The ball was quickly moved up the far wing and as defenders reacted to the situation, Earland had Jamie Harrison in support, who took possession, hit the “gas” and raced in to score.

The visitors were looking less a threat now than they had earlier posed and found themselves chasing the game. Momentum had certainly swung in favour of Leamington, who now had fresh impetus.

Half Time: 12 – 0

Leamington “manage” the use of the Replacement bench very well and today was no exception. They allow player’s a refreshing moment or two and thus make optimum use of all of their assets. One such move allowed Craig Smith to leave the Second Row berth and revert to No8, which had a very positive effect on Leamington’s play. He and “Patch” Northover struck up an immediate understanding to create plenty of movement forward, despite now playing in the face of a keen wind.

Banbury, who had benefitted all afternoon from numerous penalty decisions, managed to get on the points board with an early kick at goal. However, this ultimately proved to be the only time they were to worry the scoresheet, as Leamington mounted an all-out defensive performance that completely snuffed out the Banbury attack.

The home side had an excellent time in the set scrum, courtesy of the dynamics of Scott Peters, Nick Maxwell and skipper Danny Phillips in the front row. Tom Greevy and Craig Smith rarely have problems against any opposition in the line-out and as they won their own ball and disrupted that of the visitors, Gareth Shuttleworth swooped on any loose ball to get Leamington valuable possession. Matthew “Shakey” Shakespeare was anything but “shaky” as he put in superb display, fronting up to the big opposing pack and giving no quarter. This performance from the Leamington forwards was the defining factor in the afternoon’s result, one that moves the team towards the middle of the league table.

The one, but major disappointment for the Club was the injury to the omnipresent Tom Greevy, who, regretfully, added to the stats of the country’s A&E Departments. His injury and despatch from the field did not, however, diminish the tempo of the Leamington display and as the game entered the final quarter, the home side tightened up and ensured their defence remained impervious to any foray Banbury managed to attempt, a showing that would have heartened the unfortunate Greevy.

Full Time: 12 – 3

Next week, Leamington continue league duty with a trip to Droitwich, kick-off, 2:15pm.