On the back of back to back league wins, Leith welcomed the opportunity to test themselves against a North Berwick team second in East 1, having lost only 1 of their 10 games so far this season and only 2 points off the top spot.

As the game got underway Leith started well and where able to exert some pressure on the North Berwick defense with carries from the returning Luke McKinney as well as Michele Crolla and Bruce Connolly. This allowed the backs some space and allowed them to send Steven Eadie on a number of runs down his wing testing the North Berwick resolve. North Berwick’s discipline shone through however and provided a stout defensive line with Leith unable to put any points on the board.

Soon after that North Berwick started to meticulously pick off any Leith mistakes with a fine display of heads up rugby and soon pulled 3 scores ahead after 30 mins, leading 17-0. But Leith weren't finished for the half and again started to control spells of the opening half, spending most of their time in the North Berwick territory. A sweeping number 8 pick up nearly put debutant winger Owen Jenkins in the corner for a debut try but for the final pass not quite hitting the mark. The pressure finally told when North Berwick gave a way a penalty 10 yards out and Leith opted for a scrum given the dominance they had showed in that area throughout the first 35 minutes. McKinney had one of his trademark pickups from the back of the advancing Leith scrum taking the before being pulled down 3 yards out. After a succession of pick and go’s around the corner, Crolla was able to get over the line to touch down with Dannfald adding the extras. Leith could have crawled even closer to North Berwick with the last play off the half when North Berwick gave away a penalty allowing Dannfald the chance to add to his earlier conversion but the fullback was unsuccessful.

As the second half got under way the East 1 promotion chasers started to pull away from the spirited Leithers. With a showing of clinical linkage between the forwards and backs and a flurry of supporting lines the Leith defense became over run as the game wore on. Not helped by 2 yellow cards in quick concession for both Andrew Paterson, for an intentional knock down and serial offender Paul Haggon for what the referee deemed a ‘late’ tackle on the young North Berwick standoff. This meant that Leith played 7 minutes with 13 players and 6 minutes with 14 on a day where, even with 15, the challenge in front of them would have been tough enough.

However the effort of the boys in Blue & white didn’t falter regardless of the score line with the Leith forwards running hard in the midfield, particularly Thomas Lawrie (Choo), Marcos Teixeira and Fraser Forsyth. And this soon led to the next big break for the home side. Teixeira took the ball up around the half way line and wasn’t held so quickly released the ball and went again, taking Leith deep in to the North Berwick 22. After some quick pod work the Leith scrum half, Fergal MacNamara, played Teixeira in to score a well worked and deserved try.

The final score line of 14-81 reflected the differences in leagues of the two teams but it was a game from which Leith can take a lot of heart from knowing that in spells of that game we were able to really take it to a well drilled North Berwick side. With the progress the team continues to make, we are definitely standing in good stead for the rest of the season and seasons to come.

Man of the Match – Marcos Teixeira

Match report: Craig Winton

Leith Rugby

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