To the Victors the Spoils

Leeds Carnegie met Worcester Warriors in what was effectively a winner takes all encounter at Headingley Carnegie stadium on Sunday afternoon. Leeds edged the win and consigned Wuss to the abyss. The spoils of victory amount to £1m.

The rugby paying public had heeded Andy Key’s call to arms and, boosted by 1500 Warriors fans, turned out en masse to see the climax to the GP’s relegation dogfight.  It was noticeable, even amongst the crowd that there was a tense atmosphere with so much resting on the result. Both teams lost their talismanic openside flankers before the kick-off  when Fourie and Sanderson were both declared unfit. Cometh the hour and Rhys Oakley stepped up to the plate for the ‘Neegs, looking for 80 minutes perfectly at home in the no.7 shirt.

Good discipline was essential for |Leeds as Willie Walker had been kicking goals for fun. However Wuss’s first attempt from long range was taken by Pennel but failed to hit the target. Ceiron “Ice” Thomas got points on the board after 7 minutes and added regularly throughout the opening half hour. When it looked like the lads were building an unassailable lead Walker struck with a well taken penalty to get the visitors back into the match. Both teams were playing conservative rugby and neither had looked like crossing the tryline. The Leeds lineout was functioning well with another virtuoso performance from the skipper. The scrums looked even but Leeds had enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession and when the rain came down just before the break it was the home fans who began to relax ever so slightly.

Worcester, faced with only 40 more GP minutes, roared into the second half and camped in the Leeds 22 for what seemed like an eternity. Walker bottled a couple of chances but the Warriors continued to turn the screw after he was subbed. When Leeds charged up the field and went for the try the Wuss defence held firm. Back came the Warriors and with the entire Leeds bench pointing at the lack of cover in the corner the visitors’ stand-off put in a nice kick over Lee Blackett. Scottish centre Groves gathered and darted over for the game’s only try. With the extras added it was squeaky bum time in LS6. The home-side looked jittery and Worcester sniffed a “get out of jail free card” was within sight. A long range penalty miss for Worcester had 8000 hearts missing a beat and as the game approached its climax the cries of Leeds, Leeds, Leeds  galvanised the ‘Neegs. The Worcester stand-off went for the drop goal. Kearnan Myall charged it down and Tom Denton hoofed the ball deep into the Southstand. Game over.

To appreciate what the result meant you only had to look at the two sets of players. The Worcester boys were crestfallen. The Leeds team, fans and coaching staff were relieved/ delighted/ ecstatic. Celebrations went on for half an hour on the pitch and considerably longer all over Yorkshire as the fans contemplated another season in the top flight which, at Christmas, had looked totally improbable.