Jesus and Christian prevail against Vlad the Bad

The Amlin Challenge Cup throws up some wonderful fixtures  with potential trips to Italy, France, Ireland and…Romania. You could be considered unlucky to get drawn in the same group as Bucuresti Oaks but to have to go there two seasons on the trot is blatant rigging of the draw against the doughty hordes that made the trip to the east…

After a series of defeats stretching back to the end of last season here, at last, was an opportunity to break the duck, get a win, and start building some momentum in an effort to salvage something from a season that had promised much but has delivered nothing but pain and disappointment. The big question was would key players be rested? The answer was yes they would be. With one eye on our precarious league position the management left out those players who will be instrumental in our rise up the AP table in the coming months.

 This meant that at least two potential debutees made the trip to Romania. Ollie Denton & Alex Black were included in the squad. The starting XV was a blend of youth and experience with a backrow of Myall, Oakley and Rowan catching the eye in particular. The centre pairing of Burrell and Tincknell has the potential to be a great one so it was good to see the management keeping faith with them.

 Last season the corresponding fixture was played in a blizzard so the travelling fans will have been grateful that it was only clarting it down this time around. The result was never in doubt, to my mind, after the home side failed to capitalise on the advantage that the elements gave them in the first half.

 After 57 minutes Vladimir Badalicescu came on for the homeside. He is known in some of the more mountainous areas to the northwest of Bucharest as “Vlad the Bad”. We then had a contest with Jesus and Christian on the field at the same time as Vlad the Bad. Read into that what you will.

 The downside of this victory, for Leeds, is the injury to Jacob Rowan who limped off after only half an hour. Next up are the big hitters from Paris. Perhaps another win to really get the season going? I am not holding my breath!