Old Leamingtonians produce stunning record victory against local rivals Leamington
Old Leamingtonians produced a superb display of attacking rugby to secure a record 71-19 Counties 1 Midlands West (South) victory over local rivals Leamington RFC in front of a packed touchline on Sponsors’ Day on Saturday.
Try scorers were Charlie Thwaites (4), Ben Miller (2), Will Monks (2), Toby White, Jose Vale, plus a penalty try.
Local derbies always carry something extra, but OL wasted no time in taking control.
From the opening scrum, the forwards established their dominance, giving scrum-half Mark Foley quick, clean ball and allowing the backs to play with pace and ambition.
The breakthrough came after just three minutes and set the tone for what followed.
Old Leamingtonians attacked relentlessly, combining powerful forward carries with fast, clinical rugby out wide.
Leamington battled to stay in the contest, but the home side’s intensity with and without the ball kept them under sustained pressure.
One of the highlights of the first half came just before the interval.
A perfectly judged cross-field kick found the Old Leamingtonians right wing in space, who gathered cleanly and raced in beneath the posts and they led 333-7 at half-time..
Leamington came out fighting after the break and scored early, but Old Leamingtonians’s response was immediate.
Another home try restored the momentum before the forwards demonstrated their power by driving their local rivals backwards over their own line for another converted score.
Leamington added a third try from an interception, taking them to 19 points, but that would be their final score.
From there, OL took complete control.
The defence remained aggressive, the forwards continued to dominate and the backs exploited the space created as OL pushed relentlessly towards the 70-point mark.
By the final whistle, 11 tries and eight conversions had delivered a remarkable 71-19 victory and a result to remember against their nearest rivals.
Mark Foley was outstanding at scrum-half, but this was ultimately a complete team performance — power up front, pace and precision behind, determined defence and an exceptional work rate across the XV.
Next up, Old Leamingtonians travel to Berkswell & Balsall on Saturday, 14th November.