Leeds Mods Report

York RI’s latest Yorkshire 4 Premier clash was due to take place away at Leeds Modernians, however following the recent wet weather and the pitches in Leeds deemed to be unplayable, the fixture was reversed and played at New Lane.

With storm Dennis hitting large parts of the country, the game kicked off in wet and windy conditions, with RI playing into the weather in the first half. Surely enough it was the visitors that had the early territory, using the weather to their advantage and pinning RI deep in their own half. The majority of the half was played in this fashion, with an outstanding defensive effort keeping Mods at bay. Opportunities to open the scoring came for the visitors, but a couple of penalty kicks were missed in tough conditions.

Attacking forays into the opposition half were rare for RI in the first period, with weather and pitch conditions making progress extremely difficult, coupled with good defence from the visitors. The first 40 minutes was played in largely the same manner, so with a half time score of 0-0, the home side could be happy with their work in the first half in keeping the visitors scoreless.

The second half followed the same script initially, however it was RI able to dominate field position through good tactical kicking and chasing. With weather conditions worsening and the Mods defence doing a good job, particularly at the breakdown, there was frustration for the home side at being unable to get on the score board for a large period of the second half. Thankfully a score did come though, following an extended period of pressure inside the Mods 22 metre area, it was replacement Rich Tafa who spotted space to pick and go though a ruck and dive over for the try to give the hosts a 5-0 lead.

Following the restart, RI immediately got themselves back down field and began to apply further pressure. It didn’t take long for a second score to follow, with scrum half Chris Jones spotting space in behind the defensive line, he chipped the ball over and managed to win the race to touch down and double the lead to 10-0. With the game entering the closing stages and the weather now dreadful, the game became a physical battle between the forward packs in an effort to wrestle any further opportunity. However no further scores followed and the full time whistle went.

A hard fought 10-0 win was reward for the home side, who once again showed excellent defence and a dominant scrum as a platform for the win. Credit must go to both sides for the quality of play, given the tough conditions throughout the afternoon. RI remain 3rd in the league, keeping the pressure on the top 2 of Bramley Phoenix and Burley, who also picked up wins. RI’s next game will be a home fixture against league leaders Burley on the 29th February, with the chance to go above the visitors with a win.