Leith took to the road to face a unfamiliar opponent in Linlithgow. The West Lothian team have been a few divisions above us in recent years, so aside from a few 7s fixtures it was largely new faces. Due to injury and unavailability it was a threadbare Leith Squad with Matt Balmer stepping in at scrum half for the first time in years and a new centre and wing partnership on display. However despite this Leith were confident that an upset could be on the cards if they threw everything at the East 1 men.

However after the start to the game Leith had it looked like a cricket score could be on the cards. 4 easy and soft tries were conceded in the first 15 minutes and things were looking bleak for the away team. However to their credit they tightened the defence and for the remainder of the half kept the home team at bay and started to exert some pressure of their own. There was one lapse before half time which let Linlithgow in again for a converted score.

In the 2nd half Leith were looking to play for pride and try and get they better of our opponents in the 2nd half. They looked like they could have a chance, when off the base of a solid scrum Mark picked and went, slipped it to Balmer, to Dannfald who in turn passed to Mpofu. Julian then scampered down the wing, and chipped a delightful ball over the top which he was able to regather and touchdown under the posts. Wilkinson converted.

However Linlithgow were able to respond pretty quickly and get a score back of there own. The half then seem to get away from Leith with more good play from the hosts who were able to unlock the Leith defence. Leith did get some more joy in the 2nd half when a quick tap penalty was taken in the home side’s 22m. This lead to some quick recycling and a 5 on 2 being created as Linlithgow ran out of defence and Jon Derrin was able to score his first Leith try.

That brought and end to Leiths scoring exploits but Linlithgow added a few more to add gloss to the scoreline.

Over all disappointing loss however the home side were too powerful and well organised for this Leith side. Leith will take positives away from the game and have a couple of weeks work before their next league fixture.

Tries – Mpofu, Derrin

Conv – Wilikinson

MOTM – Marshall