And All Good Things Come To An End.....

Spotted in the Stand
By Bifta on 2/12/2002
December 2 2002

The disappointment, apart from the blow of losing, was in the shambolic way the Tykes went about business yesterday. The consolation was a bonus point that we hardly deserved. But for the Headingley crowd, this was a pre-Christmas turkey we'll all want to forget.

The first bad news came before kick-off, with the news that Mather and Hyde were once again on the injury list. No disrespect to Ponton and Popham, two good young players going forward, but Cammie and Dan add a bit of much needed 'dog' to the Tykes pack. Without them Leeds' defence round the fringes was woeful. Time and again through the match Wasps were able to punch the ball yards from the base of rucks and mauls, creating disorganisation in the Leeds defence for their pacy backline.

Bad Execution

There was no disorganisation however, when Alex King waltzed past Braam Van Straaten to go clear in the 18th minute. With support for the offload if required, Dan Scarbrough fell into the worst of all full-back traps - if you can take only one, take nobody. King sold him the dummy and scored under the posts. A well-taken try, but owing much to defensive deficiencies. Leeds started to haul themselves back into the game through the trusty boot of BVS, but it was clear from the stands that much was wrong with the Leeds backline. Only Chris Hall (who was unlucky to be subbed) and the sparkling Diego seemed to be at the races. Gordon Ross had a bad day at the office, both in decision making and execution. The Leeds kicking from hand in general was atrocious, with the ball pegged regularly down the throat of Josh Lewsey.

Leeds conceded another try just before half time, when a disjointed and scrambling defence failed to keep out a wave of Wasps attacks down the right, culminating in Lewsey going over after strong work by the Wasps pack. This was an excellent try, keeping the ball alive through several phases, something which eluded Leeds all day long. Halftime came at 15-6 and the feeling in the ground that Leeds could not possibly play any worse.

Second Half Rally?

Bentos' exhortations at half time seemed to be doing the trick, as Leeds started much more brightly. The pack started to gain some control and lauched the rolling maul on several occasions, which Wasps were unable to counter. From one such maul in the Wasps 22 Leeds were unlucky not to gain further reward when Simon Shaw, clearly on the wrong side of the maul, proceeded to drag it down in plain view of the South Stand. The referee was unsighted, but it's time high touchjudges started to assume some responsibility and help the referee in these positions, rather than standing about waiting to report a punch up. After 60 minutes, and some more reliable kicking from BVS, the score was 15-18, and the crowd was anticipating a typical Leeds late surge. But it never materialised. Winston Stanley and Alan Dickens were brought on, but neither made a critical impact, although Stanley looked useful enough on debut. Dan Scarbrough must have been relieved to see the number 14 come up on the substitute board, as for most people in the South Stand he was the No.1 contender for elimination. A miserable day for the tyro was capped when, with only one man to beat and Diego in support, he knocked a chip forward in the act of collecting it.

And that summed up the last 20 minutes. Endeavour, but poor execution. Largely matched by Wasps, who won without playing terribly well, but got the basics right far more often than Leeds managed. At times it was like watching last season's vintage.

What Now?

The two games against Pontypridd, by no means a straightforward assignment, should allow Davies and Callard to make a few changes. Dan should see himself back on the wing, with either Diego or Winston Stanley at full-back. Hopefully Gordon Ross will recapture the sparkling form he displayed for the Tykes pre-international rugby. Hopefully Cammie Mather and Dan Hyde can be rested up and return refreshed for the cup tie with Quins.

Two defeats in a row is by no means a crisis, especially when one is away at Gloucester. Now is the time for consolidation, hard work, and stepping it up another gear.