Wetherby travelled to West Leeds hoping to make it three wins on the bounce following an impressive performance against Huddersfield LH the week before. Despite a slow start to the season West Leeds had recently recorded two victories and were aiming for their own climb up the table, whilst Wetherby were hoping to put some distance between themselves and their Wortley based opponents.

On a glorious day the sun hung low in the sky and threatened to be a real weapon in the first half for the team that won the toss. Inevitably the toss was won by West Leeds but Wetherby kicked off the game and a great turnover from Henry Acland saw Wetherby take an early lead through the boot of Charlie Yates. 0-3.

Wetherby managed to clear their lines well but became undone by a kick through when fullback Myles Oates decided on an unconventional back heel return. Unfortunately for Myles the ball flew back over the Wetherby dead ball line to give West Leeds a 5m scrum and their first attack of the game. West Leeds had some powerful close carriers but fantastic defence from Wetherby kept the home side at bay, at the cost of a penalty and West Leeds brought the game level through fly-half Breakwell after 5 minutes. 3-3.

With the early parts of the game seeing a lot of kicking from both sides, Wetherby were able to put their line-out maul together with good effect. A lineout on halfway saw Wetherby drive well into West Leeds territory. After forays left and right saw some aggressive and organised defence from the home team, Myles Oates spotted some space in behind the defensive line and poked through for Jack Kaye to get on the end of and finish skillfully for an unconverted score. 3-8.

Another clean exit from the kick-off allowed the visitors to apply pressure again and Sam Little came close to the try-line after a neat move down the right hand side. A penalty to Wetherby gave the visitors a line-out five metres out from the West Leeds try line. With the home pack all set for a line-out maul, Elliott Reid cleverly turned and bolted for the line but was adjudged to have made a double movement and the try was chalked off. He finds new ways not to score every week.

Back to back penalties allowed West Leeds to come back again and use some powerful carrying from their loose forwards to make inroads in the Wetherby defence. With the referee proving to be extremely keen around the breakdown, Wetherby fell foul in kickable range again on the half hour mark and gave West Leeds another chance to close the gap with their second penalty. 6-8.

In a real arm wrestle of a contest, Wetherby tried to make inroads up front through some powerful carrying led by the back row of Elliott Reid, Tom Goodall and Will Blakey, before probing in the centres through Jonny Day and Charlie Yates. A last foray of the half into the West Leeds 22 resulted in a penalty under the posts. Wetherby opted for the scrum and a familiar sight saw the red and white pack surge towards the line, with some fantastic footwork at the back of the scrum allowing Will Blakey to dot down for a try on the stroke of half-time. 6-15.

West Leeds came flying out of the blocks in the second half and looked dangerous with both wingers coming close and their back row forwards continuing to probe holes in the Wetherby defence. Two Breakwell penalties brought the home side back to within three points. 12-15.

Wetherby again put pressure on the kick-off but an uncharacteristic missed tackle just inside the West Leeds half allowed the West Leeds captain Bromley to make a surging run up field. The red and whites didn’t re-organise quickly enough and the dangerous Neave sniped through a gap around the ruck to give the home side the lead for the first time in the game. 19-15.

The momentum at this point was firmly against the red and whites but a West Leeds error from the receipt of the kick off gave the visitors a chance to wrestle the momentum back. A driving maul saw captain Steve Hoather come close down the short side, before Evan Woodworth burrowed his way over the line in front of a raucous travelling crowd. The conversion was again put away by Yates and Wetherby led once again. 19-22.

The resulting kick-off fell into the hands of Hoather inside his own 22, and on one of the leagues smaller pitches he lumped the ball way back into the opposition half and put Wetherby on the front foot again. The home side built well from the lineout though and were finding more and more joy through their centre partnership who carried well for hard metres. Wetherby scrambled manfully in defence but again fell afoul of the referee at the breakdown. An attempt at a quick penalty was thwarted by Reid, who was sent for a ten-minute rest and Breakwell drew the scores level with his fifth penalty of the game. 22-22.

West Leeds again tried to run their way out of trouble and again found some keen defence, with debutant second row Jack Beddard and Will Blakey both impressing with their physicality. A penalty to Wetherby gave them the chance to execute their driving maul from a line-out, only for Hoather to miss his mark. The resulting West Leeds scrum was decimated by the 7-man red and white pack, with Louis Cox-Rawnsley and Bradley Mason doing the damage. Replacement scrum-half Barney Youlden sniped down the blindside and found the ever alert Harry Kaye on his shoulder to score a decisive try. The conversion from the touchline missed but Wetherby had regained a grip on the game. 22-27.

The directive from the Wetherby bench was to play territory but when centre turned full back Charlie Yates spotted a gap from a loose kick he burst through it. Some neat hands in the backline from Myles Oates and Sam Little put Jonny Day through before his final pass fell into the hands of village idiot Jack Kaye who barked his way over the try-line in make-a-wish like fashion. Yates added the extras. 22-34.

With only a couple of minutes left in the game West Leeds threw the kitchen sink at the red and white defence. The forwards found no gaps but some smart hands down the left hand side saw the home side score in the corner through centre Booth and get back to within a score. The kick-off went long and after a couple of phases in the West Leeds half the game ended as it started with Will Blakey making the tackle and the long arms of Henry Acland latching onto the ball and winning another crucial turnover! Another nip and tuck game in this division but importantly a third win on the bounce.

West Leeds 27-34 Wetherby