LEIGH RU first XV faced a giant Vagabonds pack who were brimming with confidence, having won their last three away fixtures.

The big visitors forwards put Leigh under early pressure and took the lead with a penalty goal.

Leigh opted for a five metre scrum instead of a simple penalty option which paid off when scrum-half Bentham scrambled over for a 5-3 lead.

Both sides created scoring opportunities but another good surge by the Leigh pack gained a penalty which was taken quickly for prop forward Losty to drive over in the corner for a 10-3 lead at half-time.

Playing with the advantage of the wind in the second half, the visitors kicking game continually put Leigh on the defensive and they reduced the scoreline with a simple penalty goal.

Having been under pressure, Leigh then began to produce their best rugby of the day, adopting a series of driving mauls to push the visitors upfield. A surging run from Wilcock saw the ruck ball recycled for Lester to force his way over for a 15-6 lead.

Vagabonds missed a simple penalty chance before the Leigh pack again surged upfield, where a sharp pass from Eccles put Wilcock into open space to score, Greenwoods conversion hitting a post.

Vagabonds efforts were finally rewarded in the dying minutes when a fine solo effort from the visitors scrum-half saw him score behind the posts for a converted try.

Leigh Tofts travelled to Holland to play in the Joseph Boyd Memorial Tournament in Amstelveen. They played three matches, winning one and losing two.

In the opener against the eventual winners Amsterdam A.C. the Tofts played well but the refereeing was reminiscent of a Eurovision Song Contest.The Dutch infringed without punishment, but any British error was penalised.

Leigh managed a try from Dickinson in the corner but it was too little too late as they went down 12-5.

The second game saw Leigh dominate from the off and tries from stand off Fallon and scrum half Isherwood secured the win. Porteous tagged on a conversion.

The final encounter against the hosts was now a formality. The Tofts enjoyed some good spells but injuries and tired legs were taking their toll. Amstelveen took the honours by a two try margin.

Leigh U15s 17 Sandbach 20

Sandbach exerted the pressure from the start but sound defence kept them out. Eventually they created the overlap to score out wide, twice, to lead at half-time.

Sandbach scored again but Leigh came back strongly and Andrews scored. Sandbach then took advantage of some sloppy play to score. Leigh's handling and backing up were causing problems and Andrews crossed twice with Pendlebury converting one but they had left it too late.

Leigh U13s 26 Sandbach 19

A good all round team performance saw Leigh U13's through this hard-fought contest between two evenly matched sides. Tries from Jonathan Grimshaw and Gareth Davies, both converted by David Taylor, gave Leigh a 14-0 lead at half time. In starting the second half, Sandbach immediately scored a converted try from the kick-off.

The stalemate was broken, when Adam Bridge crossed the line for Leigh from five metres with David Taylor converting. Sandbach immediately responded with an unconverted try. In the final minutes, Kieran Grundy put the game safe for Leigh, with just enough time remaining before the final whistle for Sandbach to score a converted try.

Other results: Leigh U10s 40, Marple U10s 5; Leigh U9s 50 Marple U9s 15.