Old Leodensians 5 - Pontefract 49
After 10 weeks of hard training under new coach Hughie Gumbs Pontefract’s season in Yorkshire Division 2 got off to a fine start against Old Leodensians RFC.

A fine day and good pitch suited Pontefract’s game plan against a classic heavy pack. Determined not to get into an arm wrestle the Pontefract pack began recycling quick ball which soon had debutant scrum half Josh Walker using his long pass to put out half Glenn Boyd into space . The pace in the Pontefract back line of Fawcett , Sant , Bacon , Chester supported by debutant full back Louis Brown soon had Old Leos in trouble and good interpassing put Captain Craig Fawcett through a hole to score the first of his hat trick of tries after 4 minutes. Boyd added a tricky conversion against the breeze to put Ponte 7 points up.
Old Leos then began to make their weight and height advantage tell in the line out and rucks and a series of penalties got them into the Pontefract 22. From a line out their pack drove their number 4 over for an unconverted try to make the score 5 -7 to Pontefract.
Old Leos tried to make more of their pack launching a number of drives into the Pontefract half but found the way blocked by a Pontefract defence solidly lead by Jonny Burrow all afternoon. Even when they got past the pack Old Leos found Chris Sant at centre more than equal to the task of stopping them and any mistakes found them being sent back by Glenn Boyd’s boot with 50 metre touch finders.

On the half hour mark Andy Fradgley drove off a ruck and broke 2 tackles to race for the line. The Old Leos full back , who had a fine defensive game all afternoon, stopped him but support from Boyd and Bacon carried the move on and Andy was back on his feet to collect a pass of Bacon and score close in to the posts. Boyd kicked his second of 7 conversions to make the score 5 -14 to Pontefract.
Six minutes later Pontefract were again on the score board. A missed penalty by Boyd forced a 22 drop out which was immediately run back at the Old Leos pack . Quick ball and great interpassing and support play from backs and forwards stretched the opposition defence and Fawcett added his second try by beating the last man on the outside. The conversion meant that Pontefract went into half time 21 – 5 up.

Using their substitutes wisely Pontefract kept the pace of the game high from the start of the second half. Against a tiring pack the Pontefract back row supported by hooker, Jonny Hill , began punching holes in the opposition defence . On the 48 minute mark one such move carried on by the backs again saw Andy Fradgley in support to add his second try of the afternoon. Four minutes later the Pontefract backs put their captain, Fawcett through a gaping hole for a solo 5o metre run for his hat-trick .
Old Leos tried to slow the game down through the use of the driving maul but stout work by Josh Hough stealing a number of vital balls made sure Pontefract kept the advantage . On the 65 minute mark another move down the Pontefract left wing with good support play from all the Pontefract backs saw ‘Rasher’ Bacon get on the score board. With Boyd adding the extras, the score was now 5 to 42 in Pontefract’s favour. A number of breaks in play for injuries disrupted Pontefract’s concentration and allowed Leos to dictate play for a period but with John Fradgley and Niall Sandwith making their presence felt in the line outs and resolute defence from the whole team kept the opposition from crossing their try line. Louis Brown showed fine awareness from one Old Leos cross kick and nearly caught everyone napping. Collecting the kick he ran out and only a lucky ankle tap stopped him with the whole field in front of him empty. With injury time ticking down Jonny Hill drove into the Leos’ half taking four of their pack with him. Josh Walker spread the recycles ball wide and both Fawcett and Bacon were held just short. Walker and Boyd switched the ball quickly across to the other wing and again Brown and Chester were both held short. Recycled ball saw veteran hooker Andy Smith on hand to drive over from close range to add the final converted try , making the final score 49 – 5 to Pontefract.
Overall it was a fine opening to Pontefract’s season, an excellent team performance. There are still aspects of the game for the coaches to work on but with competition for starting places high and a great squad spirit Moor Lane should be a happier place this season.