On Wednesday Leeds Men’s 1st team fencing took on Durham 2nd. Even though they were facing a second team this was guaranteed to be a close match. Captain James Foreshaw admitted that was going to be “one of the toughest matches of the season” and Durham certainly didn’t disappoint. The final score was 119-135 to Durham but the individual matches were tight and the lead was never certain.

The first match was the foil, in this contest opponents try to strike each other on the chest and torso, only these strikes count as points. Club President Jonny Wells was first up and also drew first blood in a heated contest. However his Durham opposite warmed and took his own shots and eventually the lead along with it.

The situation didn’t improve straight away and by the third match Leeds were 11 points behind, but Sam Greenhalgh was on hand to save the day, not only did Sam make up the deficit in one bout but he also took the lead and put the home team back in the game.

Durham refused to be pressured by such an exceptional performance and really upped their game to match Leeds. It was a struggle for Leeds to keep their lead and even when Sam came back to the piste here was outdone by his opponent and Leeds lost the foil 38-45.

Next up was the sabre, in this style of fight all areas of the body above the torso count as scoring, even the head. Fresher Jordan Au was the first to take up the blade. Initially he appeared unprepared for the fight but as he relaxed into the match he pulled out some exceptional moves.

None of the sabre fighters seemed at all scared of the conflict, James Foreshaw in particular, charging into his opponents, his enthusiasm putting them under pressure securing his team the lead.

The final fight of the sabre featured Jordan again, now having properly warmed up and having a one point advantage over his opponents Jordan knew he was going to need to perform. He did not disappoint putting in some sterling counter moves to his competitor and forcing his attacks towards their face. Under such a powerful attack Durham crumbled and lost the sabre 45-42.

The final contest was the epee, known as the closest to traditional duelling in the sport. Fighters are allowed to hit over the waist but below the neck and the normal rules of right of way do not apply.

Leeds needed to win by five points to take home the victory. This was a tall order but the men felt they could perform. Durham knew that if they wanted to take home a victory they needed to put the Gryphons in their place straight away. They used some fierce movements and exceptional play to outplay Leeds and took the lead early on.

It seemed the home side had little response to the Durham offensive and they recovered slightly near the end but the damage was done. They lost the epee and with it the match. However the enthusiasm this team showed was remarkable and putting up a performance like this against one of the toughest teams in their division tells us of great thing to come.

Nick Gandy

Image courtesy of Leeds University