Finally, a cup game! A league-cup double-header to be precise. Wetherby travelled North of Leeds to the home of Leeds Modernians with an unfamiliar look to their line-up due to injuries and Jack Kaye's unreliability. Fortunately he had a good view of the game as he flew by the pitch in search of snow. Little did he know that he could've had snow in Leeds. Or wind, or rain, or sunshine, or sleet, or hail. Take your pick really.

Wetherby went for their tried and tested technique of doing the hard work up front by opting to play up-hill, into the blizzard first half and started surprisingly brightly. The early pace from the reigning champions gave them good yards but every time the ball got out to the wing Barney Roberts and Will Jefferson ran straight to the touchline and into the shelters to get warm!

In conditions that suited neither side, or even human beings for that matter, the first half was a scrappy affair. Plenty of dropped balls made for plenty of scrums. Despite the 15% decline, the Wetherby pack held up well. Although to be honest, with a 94 stone front five they weren't going to go anywhere.

For large chunks of the first half Wetherby defended well and when Mods did break the line Steve Hoather used his rotund frame to glue himself over the ball and turn it back over.

In energy sapping conditions Wetherby worked hard up the slope and into the wind but working up-hill they could only do so much. Danny Warden decided to take a 22 drop-out from the try line and allowed Mods easy yards and the momentum to gain a penalty. It's nice that Danny learnt from the video analysis from last week where he did the same! Anyway, one of the white dots peppering the sky went between the posts and Mods took the lead. 3-0.

From the restart Wetherby stepped up the aggression and worked some good phases to produce an overlap on the left hand side. Rowan Griffiths-Jones went for the cross-field kick but it spooned back over Wetherby heads to give a net 10 metre loss. Hopefully next time he'll bring his kicking boots and not his pitching wedge with him!

Half time: Leeds Mods 3-0 Wetherby. Despite being behind and not playing brilliantly, coach Mike McHugh-Hicks praised the first half's efforts but urged for a higher tempo and better accuracy. Ask and you shall receive.

Bradley Mason minced onto the pitch for the second half in kit four sizes too small for his substantial frame and looked like Daffyd Thomas from Little Britain. That'll do nothing to squash the rumours...
For those of you who check in each week for your weekly episode of Mason's make-believe, his excuse for not training this week was cos his dog had defecated in the kitchen!

With Wetherby's 900kg pack now facing downhill, the game turned on its head. The Mods pack started retreating at a good rate of knots. The tempo increased and with the lashing hail whipping their backs like Frankie Dettori whipping Fujiyama Crest, Mods conceded a penalty in front of the sticks. Danny Warden used his subbuteo style kicking technique to level the game. 3-3.

Wetherby continued to dictate the pace of the game and in dreary conditions the game was brought to light by a piece of individual brilliance. George Gilbert marked his return to the side with pace, power and skill and he beat half a dozen Mods defenders to touch down after a 20 metre charge. 3-10.

From the kick off he was nearly through a gap again with only a hand on his shirt setting him free again. Wetherby didn't have too long to wait for their second try however as Steve Hoather spotted a gap and was brought down just short of the mods line. A cynical infringement at the breakdown gave Wetherby a penalty five metres out.

Recently Wetherby had squandered a couple of these opportunities but not this time. With Wetherby smelling blood and the shark Will Dutton in the second row, they powered over to give Will Cayton another gift at the back of the scrum. Danny converted again and this time it was Conor Sheridan asking "how does he doooo that!?" 3-17.

With conditions worsening and Mods looking out of steam the game drew slowly to a close. This couldn't come quickly enough for young buck Harry Kaye who shivered like a little rescue greyhound, reminiscent of Santa's Little Helper from The Simpsons.

Final score: Leeds Mods 3-17 Wetherby

MoM: George Gilbert - Top class display both offensively and defensively capped off with a great try.

DoD: Danny Warden - Wetherby's quarterback thought he was Tom Brady by throwing the biggest forward pass I've ever seen!

Quote: "Who scored all the goals today?" - Bradley Mason, rugby aficionado.