“There was no argument about it, I mean, if it was tight to the posts, you could argue it, but it was so perfectly between the sticks, there was no doubt. At all.”

As the referee’s whistle blew to bring the end to an entertaining encounter beneath Cavalry Park’s fog and drizzle, every spectator had seen a moment like no other, a moment so sacrosanct that sermons will be delivered on it in churches across the land this week, so spiritual that great books will be written and religions formed based on it, so monumental that the SRU debated cancelling all other games on this very weekend in respect of it.

As once 10, now 2, Craig Winton, positioned the ball on the kicking tee, which teammates had mentioned was the wrong way round, the assembled masses stood in silence, prepared for whatever came next. Not many expected the ball to dissect both the uprights and the murk the game had been played in to add another 2 points to Leith’s total and ensured that multi-talented prop James Nimmo’s crashing late try was the one to bring up the half century for the men from Academy Park.

Nimmo’s try had been preceded by an end to end match of surprisingly free-flowing Rugby in conditions that even the most ardent of fans would describe as testing. The surface was incredibly slick and by completing his hat-trick after 65 minutes, it is would have appeared that the visitors’ Craig Smith had mastered these tricky conditions with aplomb. His tries, the last dotted down at the 68 minute mark, coming from various locations around the pitch and stemming from both excellent individual skill and team phase play, bookended a slightly disjointed performance albeit with highlights that could grace all social media platforms.

With both teams looking to maintain phase play throughout, it was clear that hard running and combative carrying were the order of the day throughout the second half, displayed by ‘visiting’ front row phenom Diaz Acosta Jnr scrabbling over for the second of Moreport’s scores for the afternoon and a series of gain line bothering performances from Leith’s pack placing the hoops on the front foot. Adam Hepworth, whose efforts throughout would have made a Victorian workhouse blush and Man of The Match, Big Ben Raeside, for whom the adjective tenacious was invented, carried, harried and generally bustled their way through the 80 minutes to great success.

Despite the ebb and flow nature of the second half, the contest was effectively over by half time as the perpetual forward movements of Leith’s 8, namely the fleet-footed trio of Palin, Winton and Barker, enabled the backs to gain timely ball, allowing them to fire shots at an inexperienced backline with glee. Holes were punctured like an old time Western shooting gallery by Guesford, controlling the play with both hands and feet, Crolla, who must have lubricated his own thighs to be as evasive as he was, and Robertson, whose inventive lines and kicking game stunned a Moreport backline who expected a much more dour affair akin to the weather conditions.

Andy Barr rounded off the scoring of the first forty, finishing off a passage of passing belying the ball resembling a bar of soap and the ever-lowering temperatures in the air and Leith were comfortably ahead at the break.

Some things within life sound rare but actually aren’t- A DFS sale, Scotland being beaten by a much lower ranked opponent in Football, Paul Haggon not staying on the field for eighty minutes. But a winger scoring a pick and go driving try is certainly one of the rarer images you will see this season. George Easdon snagged himself a meat pie by doing just that, sniping over the line with half an hour on the clock to extend the men in blue’s lead and arguably settle the outcome.

Previously, Guesford’s boot had already worked wonders as he collected his own grubber through to slip ‘n’ slide his way over the whitewash to build a commanding first half lead and the Leith 10 was in no mood for mercy as his exocet-like place kicking enabled him to bag five conversions over the course of proceedings.

Moreport did put up a fierce rearguard action throughout the eighty and were rewarded for excellent ball retention and fast rucking with a try for newcomer James Nemo, whose twin brother produced a human highlight* reel throughout the second half for Leith.
The first 15 minutes of the game were a veritable smorgasbord of tries with Guesford’s adding to Smith’s first and winger Tommy Seymour diving over in the corner after a series of delicate handling from one side of the pitch to the other and it was clear very quickly that the afternoon could prove to be a long one for the team in black and yellow.

The match began with a cannon of a kick from Shaun Guesford, burrowing the away side deep into the Moreport 22, from which they did not retreat for considerable periods.

Prior to kick off, it was clear that the home team were going to struggle to field a full 15 and therefore surrendered the points and gave Leith an automatic 28-0 five point victory to consolidate their position of fourth in the table. The away team were able to lend 6 players to Moreport to enable a game to happen, which would provide a solid test before the double header of Edinburgh Accies 3XV and a Swedish touring side next week as the 2XVs seasons ends at Academy Park. In reality, being a friendly means that many details of this game will be lost from the annals of time, but at least if this report is backwards some readers will read on rather than just checking the score. The key thing to remember is that the final kick of the game went straight between the uprights. There is no doubt of that. At all.

Leith 2XV 50
Tries: Smith x3, Seymour, Guesford, Easdon, Barr, Nimmo
Conversions: Guesford x5, WINTON

Moreport 12
Tries: J Nemo, Diaz Acosta jnr
Conversions: Triallist
Attendance: More than the Portabello 1XV game on the adjacent pitch

* Human highlight reel as defined by the Nimmo fanclub of C Allen and M Hepburn