Leigh made to pay

LEIGH RU's habitual slow start cost them dearly in their visit to the league leaders Wilmslow.

Early pressure by the Leigh forwards was wasted when a handling error gifted Wilmslow an easy penalty.

The strong Wilmslow pack then began to dominate and good handling saw them score a converted try for a 10-0 lead followed shortly afterwards by a similar score for a concerted forward drive.

With a deficit of 17-0, Leigh steadied the ship and exerted a period of pressure of their own but without reward, spurning two penalty chances before half time for the sake of going for a touchdown and wasting hard earned possession with aimless kicking.

After the re-start Wilmslow increased their lead to 20-0 with a penalty goal before Leigh scored their first points when Darbyshire made an incisive break to allow Fletcher to score wide out. The conversion was missed and insult was added to injury when a Leigh player was sin-binned for a petulant reaction to the score from both sides.

Wilmslow then showed their ability with a fine handling try in the corner followed by a forward driving try directly from a lineout.

Leigh's attacking chances were limited but they were unfortunate to be denied a score when the final pass was deemed to be forward, which was compounded when Wilmslow scored a further try for a lead of 35-5.

Leigh were eventually rewarded when a smart move saw Lee feed Miller for an unconverted touchdown, and in the dying minutes of the game, Leigh scored a length of the pitch try when they bravely ran the ball from their own line for Miller to feed Fletcher for the final run-in.