WITH a 59-18 bonus point away win at Burley RUFC on Saturday, Otliensians cemented their top of the table position.

They now sit one point above Halifax and also have a game in hand on their title challenging rivals.

After wining the toss Ensians sensibly opted for the westerly upside side of the pitch for the first half. With a solid catch from the kick off second Row Jay Walsh set off on the charge. Smashing his way through several players before being taken to ground. Alongside number eight Luke Cowdell, they were a force to be reckoned with.

With in minutes centres Will Cooper and Jake Bentley started to shine. Be it from a dummy, a side step or simply a line break they split Burley’s back line countless times. Just five minutes into the match inside centre Cooper spotted a small gap, got over the gain line, before passing to Bentley. Bentley continued before passing back to Cooper in support. Cooper drew two men before passing back out to Bentley and then out wide to 'Billy Whiz’ Will Howarth to cruise into the corner. Bentley finished off the score with a perfect conversion, to give the tourists a seven point lead.

Play ebbed and flowed for the next ten minutes on the halfway line, before the deadlock was broken with a break from flanker Corey Cowan. With winger Isaac Gillson in support possession was held in the breakdown. Tactician Ollie Eaves noted Burley’s flat back line and sent a deft grubber kick through into space for scrum half Sydney Wood and Will Howarth to chase. In the confusion second row Ali Campbell dribbled the ball past their fullback and over the line for winger Howarth to ground. Sadly the conversion glanced the left post denying Bentley the extras.

From the restart Ensians started playing with excitement; keeping the ball alive at every break down, passing every few strides. It looked like the whole team touched the ball on some of their incursions upfield. The drinkers in the nearby Vesper Gate pub would be forgiven if they thought the window overlooking the pitch was a new fangled telly tuned into the Hong Kong sevens!

Another unconverted try soon followed. This time from 20m out Luke Cowdell single handedly brushed off four players on his way to score in the corner. Increasing the lead to 17-0.

Otliensians continued the intensity and were soon back in the home side’s twenty two after another multiple phase attack. Following a scrabble for the ball in front of the posts, Ollie Eaves changed the pace with a slight show of the ball, sending the defence out wide, he went through the gap to saunter over the line. The simple conversion followed from Bentley increasing the lead to 24 points to nil.

Captain Luke Exley was on great form managing the scrums well and tackling like a man possessed.

Otliensians scored one more converted try in the first half, courtesy of winger Isaac Gillson 36 minutes in. For the remainder of the half the uphill slope started to take it’s toll on the visitors and Burley took the upper hand. Pressuring Ensians for the first time in the match, Burley were rewarded in the dying minutes of the half, when their winger gathered an elusive grubber kick in the corner to score.

Poor handling plagued both teams early on in the second half and the first twenty minutes gave supporters little excitement. The impasse was broken when Captain Luke Exley took play from the 10m line to the twenty two before being tackled. The ball quickly recycled courtesy of Harry Wales quickly came back to Exley. With the delicacy of a bird, albeit a rather large one, he dummied to the right splitting Burley's defences, and galloped the remaining 10m towards the posts, before gracefully ‘swan diving’ over the line to score. The simple conversion increased Otliensians lead to 31 points.

Burley appeared stunned from the restart when fresh legged Harry Wales gathered the kick and set off at pace back up field. When the ‘Cooper-Bentley’ duo continued the attack, Burley’s backs couldn’t react quick enough. Bentley almost made it before passing out left for Will Haworth to finish. Bentley converted taking the score to 45-7.

Despite their efforts Burley could not break through Ensians defences by simply running with the ball, the tackling was just too resolute. This led to Burley flinging the ball wide in the hope their winger might gather in space. Sadly for them, Will Cooper spotted their mistake and intercepted the pass to score unopposed. This time winger Gillson took the conversion and increased the lead to 45 points.

Eighty five minutes into the match the home side found themselves in a favourable position just 15m out with a penalty. Ensians held back the pressure and regained possession. Sadly an attempted box kick was charged down, and Burley gathered and scored a well deserved consolation try. Otliensians scored one more converted try in the last minutes of the match, when Luke Cowdell miraculously evaded 6 players on his 40m charge.

Regardless of the predominantly ‘one way traffic’, Burley defended well, were always keen to attack whenever in possession, and took the loss in good spirits.

Last weekend also witnessed third place Leeds Corinthians lose to Wheatley hills, moving Hills into third place and creating a real challenge for any other team with visions of catching first and second place Otliensians and Halifax.