In what is fast becoming one of the Buck’s favourite fixtures of the season, they invited Longlevens to Haslam’s Lane for the first time. Having lost in the last play of the game last season, the team were keen to make amends and claim their first win against their opponents.
Given a sluggish first 15 minutes has become a bit of an unwanted habit the focus all week was on starting strong. The lads did not disappoint, with three tries in the first 20 minutes from Hawkes (2) and Hartshorn. Not to be disheartened, Longlevens tackled strongly throughout and retained possession well in attack. This deservedly saw them score a try of their own to bring the game back within 2 scores.
Half-time saw a change in fortunes as Longlevens brought on the influential Fisher at 12. Following some intelligent use of the boot and some strong chasing from Rankinwoodhouse, the Griffins scored 2 quick-fire tries to bring it back to 21-19. The game moved into the final quarter on a knife edge, however, tries from Gayton, Crawford and M Murney finally broke Longlevens’ resistance. A brilliant solo effort from Galliers was to be the last score of the day, capping off a fantastic fixture.
Man of the Match – Ricky Crawford
Final Score – 35 -26