RI's first home friendly of 2008 was against very familiar opponents in Leeds Leodiensian 2nds, who RI have played many times over the years. Both teams looked somewhat different, Leos seemed to have some new players who we didn't recognise. RI were without several players for either personal or Yorkshire Representative reasons, however, the side was still strong with good levels of experience and skill on show. The conditions were perfect for the game, lovely and sunny with little wind and a good firm pitch.
The pattern for the match soon became evident, similar to usual, the larger stronger opponents dominating possession and RI makes good quick breaks and counter-attacks. The first half was a close and tense affair, the RI side made some good breaks but scrambling defence from Leos prevented any scoring. In the same vein, good tackling from the RI players held out the Leos attacks.
The second half started brightly for RI as Jenny Harvey made a dash from short range and managed to stretch over the line for the first score. RI had no recognised kicker on the team but Liz Gaskell's effort wasn't far off the mark. A good back and forth half ensued with both sides showing good skills and pace - Alice Cook making a habit of stopping Leos breaks by intercepting passes to the supporting players. Kate Harrison increased RI's lead with a weaving run showing great pace by covering 50 meters to score near the posts. Leo's were not out of it though and a great break near the end was halted by the RI defence only for the supporting player to take the offload and score in the corner. The game finished in somewhat controversial nature with the sin-binning of Sarah Webster seeming a tad harsh for a minor infringement, but the referee seemed to call the match fairly for the rest of the game. Final score 10 - 5.