Leith 2XV 55 - 0 Ross High 2XV

Match report by George Easdon

With the incredible honour and pressure of opening the annual President’s Day festivities, this week saw the Super 2s taking on familiar foes Ross High, bolstered by the palpable passion of a capacity Academy Park crowd.
Leith were perhaps fortunate to be facing a Ross High team ravaged by injury, but the East Lothian outfit still managed to field their typically brawny side, with Leith whippets Pete Duncan and David Keogh standing in to provide the perfect foil for the Tranent-based muscle. With the teams managing one win apiece in their meetings last season, the stage was well and truly set for the afternoon’s contest.
Captain George Lees got the game underway and the Leithers did well to soak up some early Ross High pressure, eventually gathering possession and setting up shop within the Ross High 22, thanks largely to some ferocious carries from minibuses-turned-centres Jon Derrin and Felix Palin.

With the crowd audibly crying out to see the passage of play rounded off with an intricate backs move/score in the corner, number 8 Michele Crolla shattered the hearts of thousands by taking matters into his own hands. Picking from the base and swatting aside a handful of defenders, the Italian Stallian galloped under the sticks to break the deadlock and get the scoring underway. Scrum half Shaun Guesford added the extras, setting the tone for what would be an excellent display off the tee in some very challenging conditions.

Not to be outdone in the footwork front, Lees wasted no time in probing the Ross High defence via some well-weighted kicks behind the line, with winger Lex Dunko showing similar flair with a well-executed chip & chase which he was unlucky not to score from. It wouldn’t take the outside back long, however, to open his account for the day, with scores one and two swiftly following as a reward for some elusive work down the left touchline.

When a team builds an early lead, the biggest challenge can often be keeping the momentum going, and this proved to be entirely accurate as Leith infringements (and some very direct Ross High running) started to pose a serious threat to the Leith try line. The penny, however, quickly dropped that something had to be done, with second row enforcers Ben Place & Scott Moore and the mercurial Michael Hepburn in particular putting in some crunching hits to disrupt the attack. Not to be outdone, flankers Pete Mitchell and Christian Jetuah made an absolute nuisance of themselves around the breakdown, and it wasn’t long before the ball ended up in the hands of fullback Andy Barr, who quickly saw to setting up a counter-attack.

Sadly, such a breakaway was incredibly short lived, with Barr doing well to keep his head attached to his shoulders after an interesting tackle which would’ve made even Owen Farrell wince. Penalty Leith, yellow card, and back up the field went the men in blue and white. It wouldn’t take long for the man advantage to show, and with the Ross High defence sucked in, Derrin scythed across the depleted back line to flop over for a score of his own to round out the half.

The stroke of half time brought with it a flurry of activity on the subs bench, with the destructive duo of Hervas and Pardo in particular dishing out some tasty hits. Pardo would prove to be an unstoppable force with ball in hand as well, skittling defenders seemingly at will and seizing a brace of tries.

Despite being subbed, Ben Place still had plenty left in the tank and joined the Ross High ranks to politely dish out some pain to his teammates. Leith saw sense and stayed well away from the gentle giant, which was absolutely for the best. To replace the experience of Place, coach-turned-player-coach Conor Kerr entered the fray and really shored up the defensive front, putting his body on the line and stopping a number of potentially dangerous carries.

As the half wore on, the game naturally became more fragmented, creating the space for the likes of Reece Barclay to display his characteristically flamboyant footwork to great effect. The match was not, however, all to go Leith’s way and Ross High were perhaps unlucky not to score when they unleashed ‘Pistol’ Pete Duncan, who turned on the afterburners with a nifty outside break, being caught only thanks to the oversized jersey he sported. Fashionable it may be, but aerodynamic it ain’t. Winger George Easdon was next to leave his mark with a series of powerful carries, only to eventually be outpaced by the (admittedly dynamic) flying mass of Robert Stitt. For the best, Easdon was promptly hooked.

The final wave of subs gave a chance to Johnny Coyle and Jack Fraser on the wings, who both put in a solid shift, as well as fan favourite Jose Fleky, who impressed with some effective snipes.

With the game well and truly in the bag, the time had come for Barr to round things off – firstly by dotting down after some fantastic interplay between backs and forwards, and shortly after by doing the hard work himself and outpacing the entire Ross High team. “Thank God for creatine”, muttered the breathless Barr as he notched his fourth try (and second man of the match award) in two weeks.

The whistle eventually blew with the score at 55-0, and whilst the Leith men should rightly be proud of the performance, the scoreline (and this match report) glosses over a need to improve on both structures and ball retention in order to keep these sorts of results going. Big thanks have to go to the depleted Ross High team, who stuck in well for the full 80 and didn’t let the heads drop. If last season is anything to go by, the reverse leg will likely be a much tighter affair.