Ice cold in Tarleton.

Leigh travelled to the quaint village of Tarleton, on the mosslands of Lancashire, to take on their good friends and rivals yesterday. The wind was blowing and the temperature was falling by the minute – it was never going to be an easy day to play rugby.

Leigh, however, came out on fire and soon had some points on the board when their Captain, Rob Drake raced away to score a try which he duly converted, in the first five minutes.

This was followed, on fifteen minutes, by another Leigh try, crafted by Sam Peet, who drew the Tarleton defence to put Alex Leadbetter away down the left for an excellent finish. Rob Drake’s conversion, from near the touchline, was sublime and Leigh were fourteen points ahead, with the wind at their backs.

Tarleton, however, grafted away against the wind and worked their way down to the Leigh end, where they were rewarded for their efforts and determination with a try, from their scrum half, who crashed over by the left-hand corner flag. The conversion from the touchline was a good one and they had narrowed the deficit.

Leigh were quick to react and several phases of play created space for Marcus Morris-Williams to barge his way over near the Tarleton posts. Rob Drake added the extras to take the sides off at the break with Leigh leading by twenty-one points to seven.

Tarleton came out strong in the second half with the wind at their backs and soon narrowed the deficit with an unconverted try, to put them within nine points of Leigh.

Dogged defence by Leigh kept numerous Tarleton assaults at bay and they even went down to fourteen men, for ten minutes, when Tarleton upped their game. Thankfully they repelled the attacks and were restored to full strength without conceding any points.

An excellent breakaway try, down the left flank, by Rob Drake following an excellent pass from Alex Leadbetter, extended Leigh’s lead and earned them a bonus point for scoring four tries.

Tarleton narrowed the deficit again, through a penalty, to set up an interesting last five minutes but Leigh braved the wind and the plummeting temperature to emerge as worthy winners.

Final Score Tarleton 15 Leigh 26.

This victory has put Leigh up into fourth position in the League, one point below Winnington Park.

Next week Leigh host De La Salle (Salford) at Round Ash Park. K.O. 2.15 p.m.