Leams hurt in Hereford

4th November 2023 – Ledbury v Leamington

Leamington suffered their third loss in a row, 24 – 3, away at Ledbury, however the performance of the squad showed plenty of skill and determination, on the heavy Herefordshire pitch.

The hosts used their local knowledge of the playing conditions to full advantage, but certainly rode their luck with a dubious first try and a let off, when Gareth Shuttleworth appeared to have grounded the ball successfully, under the home posts, only to see his effort ruled out.

Leamington welcomed back the influential, Logan Deely into the team and gave a debut to Jonty Duncan on the wing. They were also boosted by the return from injury of Kofi Miller and Ed Gray. These individuals all played an important part in trying to tame a Ledbury side, full of confidence from their winning start to the season. In fact it was Miller, who, in the opening minute of the game, cooly collected a high, testing, kick, deep in his 22 metre zone, clear the danger and give his team some early confidence of their own.

The visitors were unlucky not to open the scoring when Gareth Shuttleworth outwitted the home defence with a deft kick through, which he appeared to follow up and touch down under the posts, albeit shadowed at the time by some desperate defenders. The match official deemed otherwise and from a resulting scrum, Ledbury were able to clear their lines.

The home side then proceeded to take the lead on seventeen minutes of play when they broke away, up the nearside flank and scored in the corner. Although, it did appear that the scorer had stepped into touch.

Leamington quickly replied with a penalty from the boot of Full back, Josh Jones, following another break from Shuttleworth.

Half Time: 5 – 3

The second period was another tight, tense affair, with Leamington competing well in all areas, despite now having to defend uphill. Skipper, Joe Kinghorn, Craig Smith and Ed Gray were dominant in the lineout, claiming their ball and on several occasions, making important steals from the home sides throw ins. Also, the Backline were using the ball wisely in attack and proving dogged in defence. Fly-Half, Louis Vaughan and Centre, Freddie Spencer were both instrumental in clearing their lines, with some long range kicks to touch.

Where the home side prospered was with their knowledge of the pitch and cleverly used it to full advantage, catching Leamington out on two occasions, with pinpoint kicks to the wing, which led to scores. they also used their solid pack to force their way through for another try, thus, securing a bonus point win.

Full Time: 24 3