LRFC 1st XV Counties 1 Midlands West (South) League Match v Old Leamingtonians RFC home, October 3, 2026
Ledbury 50 Old Leamingtonians 22
With a delayed start to this year’s league, Ledbury were well chuffed and pleasantly surprised to open their account with an away win the previous week against the often-impregnable Manor Park fortress.
Plenty of confidence therefore going into the first home match against Old Leamingtonians, particularly with a strengthened side to the somewhat makeshift side fielded the week before. Old Leamingtonians also came with confidence after a convincing away win over Bromyard…. so the stage was set for a great contest.
Conditions were nigh on perfect for running rugby on a well-manicured pitch in glorious autumn sunshine watched by a crowd of over 200 spectators. There was also the welcome return of Tom Assal, John Parker, Olly Delamore and Ed Bennion, all of which augured well for Ledbury.
Ledbury were fast out of the blocks, their forwards creating a great platform to allow John Parker to crash over after 4 minutes, Iolo Bubb added the extras (7-0). Old Leamingtonians swiftly responded with a converted try for Sam Dollings after they had stretched the Ledbury defence (7-7) after 10 minutes.
Iolo Bubb then began to control the attack. Tom Assal was held up and Charlie Pallett made a great individual break to see Bubb dummy his way over after 13 minutes for another self-converted try (14-7).
Ledbury’s scrummage was creaking allowing Old Leamingtonians winger James Gorvette to touch down after a great kick and chase on 18 minutes (14-12).
Tit for tat, Ledbury responded immediately after a set scrum 10 metres out, Iolo Bubb’s delayed pass to Olly Delamore allowing him to touch down between the posts (21-12), with Bubb’s conversion. Ledbury continued to launch probing attacks through the reliable boot of Bubb. Josh Bishop was prominent chasing kicks but Old Leamingtonians held out until Bubb was able to convert a penalty right at the end of the first half (24-12), from 40 metres out.
Having weathered the first half playing up the slope and into the sun, the Ledbury pack were now dominating and scrum half Charlie Bowness beetled his way over for a sniping converted try (31-12). Ledbury were beginning to run riot, running the ball at every opportunity. Tom Assal was able to crash through the porous Old Leamingtonians defence and provide Dave Sutherland the easiest of tries from two meters out, again converted by Bubb (38-12).
To their credit, Old Leamingtonians refused to capitulate and from a series of forward drives, George Wild burrowed over for a try from close range (38-17).
Ledbury responded immediately with some huge forward attacks. From turnover ball, Assal found an inviting gap to see John Parker over the line for a resounding try once more converted by Bubb (43-17).
With 20 minutes to go, Ledbury lost some momentum. Olly Delamore was shown a soft yellow card for trying to intercept a pass and Rayfield came on for Assal. Down to 14, the match became an arm wrestle with neither side able to dominate territory. Once restored to a full fifteen however, Ledbury were able to build a concerted attack and a huge overlap, which gifted Jamie Rayfield a fine try in the corner, converted by Bubb (50-17).
Desperate to come away with some reward for their efforts, Old Leamingtonians refused to capitulate and ultimately had the last word, and during a maul gained themselves the losing bonus point try in the dying minutes (50-22).
In conclusion, this was a hugely satisfying victory for Ledbury after a poor start in last season’s league but with a significant number of experienced players now available, mixing a blend of impressive newcomers and home-grown talent gives the senior side a huge lift in confidence as the league unfolds.
Next Saturday sees the Firsts away to Leamington, always a welcoming fixture, while the Lions have another home match against Matson Twos.
Meanwhile check out a great feature on the RFU website about the England Deaf Rugby tournament proudly staged recently at Ledbury RFC. Follow the link: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd9DfuLDscC/?img_index=2&stkn=NG1iemZvdXM5cG1k
Truly LRFC Community in Action!
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