Bury 0-41 Leeds Corinthians RUFC
Leeds Corinthians RUFC travelled to Bury on Saturday (14 March 2020) in the quarter finals of the National Junior Vase competition.
This was the second time the teams had met in this competition with Corinthians having been victorious back in 1999. They were looking for a repeat of this and to put below par performances in their last two league games behind them.
Coach Peter Seabourne was able to select almost a full strength squad and knowing Bury’s league form had high expectations, and he wasn’t to be disappointed.
After absorbing some early Bury pressure Corinthians were able to gain a decent amount of possession themselves, and after only 6 minutes they moved the ball wide, then back inside to find centre Danny Boyes who crossed for the first try. They continued this pattern of play and with only 11 minutes played repeated the attack on the opposite side of the field where fly half Tom Burnell crossed for the second try.
Bury were already struggling to defend Corinthians’ free flowing play and it was no surprise when after 16 minutes wing Ellis Robinson crossed for the third try, Burnell added the conversion. Robinson then scored a superb individual try, gaining the ball on his wing 30 yards out before side stepping two defenders to touch down. Corinthians didn’t take their foot off the gas and again excellent handling by the backs resulted in a try for full back Gareth Moore. Burnell added the conversion to give Corinthians a 29-0 lead after only 32 minutes of play.
The second half saw Corinthians’ efforts hampered slightly by the weather, but to their credit Bury came back really strongly. This time it was the Corinthians’ defensive effort which came to the fore, snuffing out attack after attack by the Bury pack.
With 5 minutes remaining Corinthians were rewarded with two further tries, both by full back Moore, who completed a hat trick, one of which was converted by replacement Darrell Forster. This gave Corinthians a well deserved 41-0 victory and a place in the semi final where they will face Leicestershire side Birstall RFC. This match will be played on 11 April.
Next week Corinthians return to league action when they will be looking to consolidate their place at the top of Yorkshire 3 when they entertain Harrogate Pythons at Middleton. Kick off 3pm.
Leeds Corinthians RUFC: A Wilkinson, J Cassar, R Harrinson, M Patten, A Gibney, G Thompson, W Craven, N Orr, A Avison, T Burnell, E Robinson, D Boyes, C Brown, J Addis, G Moore, J Fletcher, B Walker, M Rymer, R Croft, D Forster.
