Leeds Tykes 25 - Bristol Shoguns 13


Try no. 6
By APB (on 07/10/02)
October 7 2002

Six games played, one loss, one draw and win number four was added on Sunday. APB gives his take on the Tykes' match against Bristol Shoguns...

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The Match

The game got away at a blistering pace - phase after phase of quickly recycled ball got Leeds into prime position, and it was something of a let-off for Bristol that the only reward was a BVS three-pointer after four minutes. After the restart, Bristol turned the tables, and themselves gained a penalty within easy kicking range of Felipe Contepomi's magic feet. However the Bristol side showed supreme confidence in their own ability by opting for the kick to touch. This confidence proved to be misplaced, and the Tykes line stood firm.

The game then turned scrappy, with several knock-ons and misread moves from both sides continually bringing the game to a halt. A 20th minute BVS penalty from the centre line (the ref's favourite rule of the day - not rolling away from the ruck) put Leeds six points to the good, with Contepomi failing to convert an attempt given for a kick in the face. A free-kick at the line-out saw an eighty-metre charge by the Leeds back line, with only a desperate tug on a Leeds player bringing the move to a halt. The resulting kick and line-out brought Leeds' first try, touched down by Zac Feaunati, but the whole team deserved credit for the move. BVS failed with a difficult conversion, but the resulting score of 11-0 on 27 minutes was just about deserved.

A rush of pressure from the restart saw Bristol gain a penalty twenty metres out in front of the posts - Mark Regan being penalised for the Referee's favourite offence, not rolling away from the ruck. Even an out-of-form Contepomi couldn't miss this, and the three pointer was duly converted.

The scrappiness continued, although Albanese notably performed some dazzling running with ball in hand, only for the final move to spill forward or be turned-over. It was on one of these turnovers that Bristol too applied pressure, but found the Leeds defence impossible to breach and gave away a penalty for holding on virtually on the Leeds line.

Leeds were never predictable, with Ross and Dickens mixing the play well, notably when a teasing chip kick to the corner from Ross left the Bristol wing man in no man's land and encountering a rather fast moving Cammie Mather from close quarters. The resulting throw to Leeds resulted in an unrelenting rolling maul toward the Bristol line, George Harder punching through to just short of the line, and a quick recycle floated a beauty out to Our Man Dan to score five metres in. BVS's kicking boots weren't all there however, and the try went unconverted to leave the score at 16-3. Bristol never gave up and gained good ground, but were once again let down by the boot of Contepomi, who missed a relatively easy three-pointer from twenty metres out.

The second half began in a similar vein to the first, with an offside decision against Leeds giving Contepomi a penalty score almost immediately after the restart, followed by a complete disaster: Cammie Mather sin-binned for a deliberate charge through the ruck. The fourteen men defended well, gave nothing away, and indeed broke away, but once again the final pass wasn't there with Albanese knocking-on.

Following a 22 metre drop-out from Leeds that was pretty directionless, the Bristol back division finally got into the swing of things, with Brendan Daniel making some great runs, and with the amount of space they had, together with good handling, the inevitable try was scored by Alex Brown behind the posts, with the conversion bringing the score to a heart stopping 16-13.

A 58th minute penalty kick from BVS brought the score back to 19-13, and an opportunity for Contepomi to kick from the twenty-two was cruelly whistled from the South Stand. Whether this contributed to the resulting scuff wide is debatable, but it was once again sad to see a few inconsiderate individuals spoiling the generally good attitude among the crowd.

Some excellent play from Leeds following the restart saw them camped out in the Bristol twenty-two, with wave after wave of quickly recycled ball, without the incisive final move to cross the line. The lads eventually got fed up with it, tossed the ball out of the ruck in front of the posts to Gordon Ross, and the inevitable drop goal attempt was watched all the way by the referee. 22-13.

A period of Bristol pressure ensued, taken primarily through several spilled balls and turnovers. The defence held firm, and once the ball was turned over, interplay between Harder, Albanese and the Man Scarbrough seemed to spell certain doom for the Shoguns, but the boys didn't seem to get their legs going, and Bristol were able to hold back the surge. A further penalty from BVS was the final score of the match, leaving Leeds the winners at 25-13.

The Referee

I note three basic points from today's officials, and move swiftly on.

The Performance

I was worried after last week. I had noticed that we started brilliantly against Leicester, were efficient without being dazzling against Irish, OK against Quins and Sale, and awful against Newcastle. There appeared to be a downward pattern, and following Bristol's energetic victory over Leicester last week, I was worried we would be in for an absolute pasting.

I was wrong. Although I wasn't at the Newcastle game, we were clearly considerably better than last week. We weren't close to the near perfection against Leicester, nor the clinical, efficient performance against Irish. We weren't as good as against Sale, and the fact that we won today is due in no small part to the bad day at the office that Contepomi had. Phil, Jon, Mike and all the boys clearly raised their game from last week. There's a deal more raising to do. During a brief chat with Diego Albanese after the game, I asked him how he thought Leeds played. "Well we won, but we need to score more tries. Its good to have the winning habit - to win and win and win, but we can play better". I wholeheartedly concur.

But hey! Its four more points. Its second in the table. Did anybody seriously dream we'd be anywhere near this point on August 30th?

Thought not.

 

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Editors - Independent Tykes