At the mid-point of the season Old Otliensians can look back on probably the most successful start to a season in the history of the Club with the 1st XV being undefeated and lying six points clear at the top of Yorkshire League 4. Under skipper Ieuan Cranswick they have won 10 and drawn 1 of their League matches to put them in a strong position going into the New Year.
The 2nd XV has had mixed fortunes with skipper Alan Garnett regrettably having to retire through injury at the start of the season and some six other regulars from last season being unavailable. Nevertheless, they have won 6 of their 11 games so far and currently lie 6th in their Merit League. For the first time for several years, 'Ensians have managed to field a 3rd/Vets team on a couple of occasions this season and they have won one and lost one.
For the 1st XV the leading scorer is full back Ben Hatton with 75 points from 1 try, 17 conversions, 11penalties and 1 dropped goal. Winger Declan Jackson is leading try scorer with 12. The honours in the 2nd XV also go to Ben Hatton with 46 points from 3 tries, 14 conversions and 1 penalty and his brother Joe is leading try scorer with 8.
Commenting on the season so far, Coach John Walker said "The lads are not taking anything for granted and are approaching every game like it's a cup final. They have a massive amount of faith in their ability to close out every game without panicking and this has shown in a couple of tight games where they came out on top. Their ability to keep the game at a high tempo thereby wearing teams down has been key, and is down to the hard work they have put in on the training park, especially the fitness work that Pat Cowdell of "Club Energy" has put them through. This combined with Club Captain Ieuan Cranswick's attitude of leading by example has stood them in good stead. Now we are moving into 2014 we need to keep the same positive frame of mind and hit the ground running".