5th April 2025 – Evesham v Leamington

Leamington’s league season, which had begun in such a promising way, ended disappointingly, away at Evesham, where despite battling to the final whistle, they lost by 40 points to 14.

Long term injuries to key players and unavailability, have plagued the squad for several months and today was no exception, which saw the First XV debut of Jamie Loffman. Leamington began the season by winning six of their first seven league games, before embarking on a run of eight straight defeats, which, unsurprisingly, condemned them to a finish in the bottom half of the table.

Played on a firm surface, the home side had a strong wind in their favour in the first period and took the lead when Leamington failed to clear their lines and allowed a strong run in the centre to cut through their defence for a score under the posts.

To their credit, Leamington made a quick and positive reply through the running of Conor Chamberlain and Lewis Vaughan, however the home side were soon back in the driving seat, following an incisive attack. Leamington fly-half, Brad James, put in a try saving tackle to stop the initial advance but such was the level of support from the home side’s attack, they were able to keep pressure on the visitors line and earn another converted score. The home side were able to add to this later in the half with a further 7 point score.

Leamington did have opportunities to get on the score sheet, especially following excellent work in their lineout and drives, which almost brought reward.

Half Time: 21 – 0

Leamington had a brilliant start to the second half, when full back, Conor Chamberlain, sent up a long range kick out of defence, which, aided by the wind, caused the home side to fumble possession. Quickly latching on to this slip, centre, Stu Campbell, claimed the ball and raced down the nearside wing for an electrifying try. To cap this brilliance, Brad James stepped up and sent over the perfect conversion, from wide out, to bring his side back into contention.

This was certainly the start of a purple patch for Leamington, who mounted some promising attacks on the home defence, however, today, they lacked the final cutting edge to turn pressure into points.

The home side were ultimately able to capitalise on this position with three further scores, before, at the final whistle, Leamington clinched their second try. Evesham were making hard work of clearing their line and a laboured pass was snapped up by workhorse, Gareth Shuttleworth, who was over in a flash, allowing James to add the conversion.

Full Time: 40 - 14