Leighton Buzzards' speed is too much for Aylestone

Whilst the home side defended with bravery and commitment, the speed of Buzzards game and the interchange between backs and forwards proved decisive.

Buzzards kicked off in dry conditions but with a cool, moderate cross wind. Leighton opened the scoring after three minutes, with slick handling putting fly-half Jack Cullen clear to score under the posts. Captain James Brett converted to give Buzzards a 0-7 lead.

Leighton’s attacking ambitions were hampered by a huge penalty count against them resulting in them pegged back into their twenty-two. Pressure was relieved by a fine individual try by winger Jack Kempster after fourteen minutes. Fielding a kick on halfway, he out-paced the covering defence to score in the corner – with the difficult conversion missed, Buzzards led 0-12.

Buzzards frustration with the referee’s idiosyncratic handling of the game, finally exploded in the twenty-second minute. A group of the home side’s forwards drove towards the line– but, as no maul was formed, the players in front of the ball carrier at the back of the group, were all offside. The referee decided otherwise, allowed the try and with the conversion Buzzards lead was cut to 7-12.

Leighton coach Phil Llewellyn demanded the team (and the Buzzard supporters in the crowd) showed no dissent, appealing or back-chat and concentrate on what they could control. Showing admirable restraint, the team followed orders, no doubt helped by two fine tries later in the first half. Firstly, a delayed pass from Jack Cullen opened the defence for Jacob Dove to score and then Kian Kelly showed pace and power to touch down in the corner. With James Brett converting one of these tries the half-time score was 7-24.

The second half started in dramatic style-collecting the ball from the home-side’s kick-off, the ball was transferred through many hands for Jacob Dove to score his second try. Less than thirty seconds of the half had elapsed. With James Brett’s conversion, the score was 7-31. Five minutes later, Tom Maynard, who showed remarkable athleticism for a second-row, ran almost the length of the pitch to add a further try – 7-36.

Despite these setbacks for the home team, they remained determined opposition and, after fifty-five minutes, added a fine try of their own. The referee appeared to be unsure whether the winger had been tackled immediately prior to the touchdown but after a short period of uncertainty, he made the correct decision and awarded the try, making the score 12-36.

For periods of the second half, Leighton’s handling was letting them down as concentration appeared to waver. However, with ten minutes left, Buzzards speed and power game clicked back into action as Aylestone’s doughty effort tired. Tom Maynard added his second long-range try and, straight from the re-start a rampaging run from Matt Bloxham made the break for Maynard to complete a twenty-five-minute hat-trick. With James Brett converting one of these tries, the final score was 12-48.

This was an encouraging performance with the team refusing to let difficult moments derail their gameplan. There was also an encouraging league debut from Isaac Richmond showing that he also has the pace to add to this young Buzzard back line.

Next week Buzzards host Sharnbrook in the Beds Cup.