With the chill in the air, the changing of the leaves and the shortening of the days, Autumn is truly upon us. And 'twas a truly autumnal afternoon upon which Leith''s 2s charged into battle at Academy Park against Watsonians 2nd XV. The visitors clad in the traditional maroon and white looked well-drilled and started brightly, opening the scoring in the 7th minute with a break down the outside channel. Leith raised their game and took control, firstly holding out a Watsonian driving maul before forcing a penalty. The set piece worked well for the home side but the visitors took advantage of an errant pass to score under the posts. 0-12

This sparked life in the Easter Road Massiv and Leith upped the intensity of their physicality. The forwards carried hard into contact and Leith drew the next three penalties, using them to gain territory and apply pressure to the visiting side. This pressure told when Reece Barclay's rapid-thinking and quick tap penalty caught Watsonians napping. Barclay used his power to force his way over for the try. Mackenzie narrowly missed the extras. 5-12

Unfortunately this was Barclay's last action as injury forced him from the field and, with Lewis Pugh having already left the field with an injury, the match would continue with uncontested scrums.

Watsonians were next to score as they spread the ball wide on the counterattack to touch down in the corner. A tidy nudge moved the scores to 5-19. The visitors again built the phases but were interrupted by a sublime interception from Andrew Homer who was hauled down following a surprising burst of speed for a man of his advanced years. Leith were unable to take advantage but they kept the pressure on Watsons, forcing several more penalties. The maroon and whites defended hard and managed to weather the storm of Leith pressure before going over for their fourth try of the game with a blindside play off the back of a scrum. Conversion successful and the halftime score stood at Leith 5 Watsons 26

This game was indeed a tale of two halves and there was a notable change of pace from the home side with direct carries in the midfield from Will Tuft and Jon Derrin to start the half. Leith set up camp on the 'sonians line and enjoyed a period in their 22 before an interception saw a length-of-the-field try to take the scores to 5 - 33.

Leith's pack turned up the heat and started to show their physicality with Findlay and Munro carrying hard whilst Homer and McAteer kept the tacklers guessing with their dancing feet. Watsons conceded several penalties in a row and, as Leith enjoyed copious amounts of possession, the pressure told when a desperate defender in maroon and white slapped a pass down - resulting in a penalty try. 12 - 33

Leith recovered the kick-off and looked to build on their hard work. However, Watsonians had other ideas as a crossfield kick was gathered by their winger and he crossed the whitewash to make the scores 12-40.

Once again, Leith built the phases and drew penalty after penalty, however, the referee seemed unmoved by the quantity and frequency of these infringements. The home team were rewarded though when, under a period of advantage, some quick thinking from Lees followed by some sublime handling along the line saw Andy Barr force his way over in the corner. The sizeable cannon of Nick Andrews' right foot fell agonisingly short. 17-40

The boys from Myreside were rattled and a nervous quiet fell on their chatty bench as Leith again carried hard and deep into enemy territory - drawing yet more penalties. A quick tap and carry from McAteer saw Aled Herbert pick and go for Leith's fourth of the match. This time Andrews had found his range like he finds a spot by the piano in Fingers. 24-40

This prompted a reaction from the visitors and they enjoyed possession in the Leith half. Following a quick tap, they shipped the ball wide and crashed over for the final score of the match. 24-47

The rest of the game was cagey as neither side could crack the other's defensive line and, as the weather worsened, time ran out at Academy Park. A resolute performance from Leith against a well organised Watsonians team. A solid lineout and ferocious physicality ensured that the visitors far from had it all their own way. The 2s move forward to a visit to Peebles for their next fixture.