Leamington back on track

The omnipresent problem of injury and unavailability continued for the Spa side, who gave 1st XV debuts to Ciaran Flynn and Ralph Ireland and welcomed back Brad James in the Centre, Rich Mullis in the Back Row and Lewis Vaughan, at Full Back. From touchline conversations, similar issues were also experienced by the hosts.

Despite the intense rainfall encountered during last week, the pitch was in remarkably good condition and the late autumn sunshine created a very cordial environment for rugby football.

Any notion that Barkers Butts would be weak opponents, in view of their lowly league position, were dispelled from the outset, as they mounted a series of attacks in the Leamington danger zone. Gareth Shuttleworth cleared an early incursion, firing a kick to touch, however, with seven minutes played, the home Pack set up a rolling maul near the Leamington line, which proved unstoppable, earning a try.

It was close on midway through the half, before Leamington could make any positive impact on the game and in one flowing movement, stemming from some solid work from the Pack, Conor Chamberlain and Lewis Vaughan created the perfect link in the centre of the park, before unleashing winger and debutant, Ciaran Flynn, on the far side wing. Despite an initial clear opening, the Barkers Butts defenders were soon on to the danger. However, Flynn's neat side step and pace, enabled him to evade a last ditch tackle and score.

The hosts were quick to respond and following another onslaught on the Leamington defence, they were able to create space along their backline and race in for a second try, which they converted.

The territorial advantage of the home side in this first period had been very impressive and seemed unrepresentative of a side languishing at the bottom of the table. Their Pack had been very positive in the set piece and around the park and had provided plenty of good possession for their back division. Therefore, they would have been disappointed by the way the half finished, as they allowed Leamington to draw level in stunning fashion.

The Leamington Pack set the scene with some intense pressure near the far side of the pitch, in the Barkers Butts 22 metre zone. They were able to recycle play, across the field, create space, before getting the ball out to winger, Conor Chamberlain, who was ready and waiting to take the opportunity to race through and score. Brad James, who had narrowly missed the earlier conversion attempt, made no mistake with his kick and drew his side level.

The restart perhaps gave an indication on how the games fortunes were to ultimately change, as Leamington kicked off and Prop, Charlie Main, was first to put pressure on the home defence. Centre, Nathan Batchelor, then made a forceful break to put Leamington into another enterprising position.

Now on the front foot, Leamington put together a series of attacks and in one, which focused on the near side flank, their initial foray fell flat and they conceded a scrum. Althouth the hosts were able to claim possession from the set piece, they erred in trying to move the ball along their Backs. Crucially, they fumbled possession near the foot of their posts and in an instant, the ever alert Shuttleworth was on it like a flash to grab the ball and dive over. Brad James claimed the extras and whilst unaware at the time, he had sealed the win for his team.

A tense finish saw the game ebb and flow and there were still some nervous moments in the Leamington defence. One Barkers Butts attack in the closing minutes required a try saving tackle from Lewis Vaughan to prevent a certain score, before the visitors were finally able to see the game out for a 19-12 win.