Regular season review 2011-12

Following the disappointment of relegation on the final day of last season, the Leeds Carnegie squad faced a complete overhaul. Numerous internationals including Steve Thompson, Marco Wentzel and Hendrie Fourie headed for the exits, whilst Academy graduates aplenty were promoted to the first team squad....

With this untried collection of players, many of whom were lacking in first team experience, we were faced with the daunting task of immediate promotion back into the top flight, in order to not only attract financial backing from local businesses, but more worryingly to break even.

There was to be no bigger test than the first five games of the new season in which we were about to face many of our promotion rivals in the upcoming play offs. First up was a home tie against London Welsh in which the team demonstrated the vulnerability that critics and supporters alike had foreseen. A series of basic errors in possession and gaping holes in the defence led to a narrow victory for the visitors who enjoyed a repeat of their performance five years earlier when they also came away victorious.The one bright spark to come out of the game was the debut try for Ryan Burrows, a summer recruit from Rotherham.

His old team the Titans were the first away trip of the new campaign, which showed very few signs of improvement form week one. Frustratingly we showed some promise in attack but were let down by some sloppy defending, notably by one of our more experienced players, Sean Hohneck. A disappointing 22 - 18 defeat gave Rotherham the bragging rights and condemnded Carnegie to a nightmare start under new Director of Rugby Diccon Edwards.

At this stage in the season many supporters were beginning to fear the worst thinking that the dream of an immediate return to the top flight seemed massively unrealistic. Some positivity was however reinstated into supporters when the team narrowly beat promotion favourites and ultimate league winners Bristol 12-11 at Headingley. A composed drop goal from Joe Ford was to be the difference in a season in which he has endured a decline in confidence following an unsuccessful stint at Franklins Gardens with Northampton Saints.

A demoralising 52-10 loss down in deepest Penzance was to follow. This wasn’t the greatest way to introduce the millions watching on Sky Sports to the might Leeds Carnegie. A solitary try from impressive centre Iain Thornley was the only plus point in what was otherwise an easily forgetable game.

A second Yorkshire derby came and went the following week with another disappointing home defeat at the hands of Doncaster Knights. There were signs of steady improvement for the first hour but in the last 20 minutes we faded abysmally and went down 16-30. Sale Sharks loanee full back Tommy Bell was to underline his determination to be a success at Headingley with a personal haul of 11 points in a season in which promised so much for the England under 20s star.

The first victory on the road came at London Scottish. Impressive young forward Richard Beck was among the scorers alongside Lee Blackett and Tommy Bell. Bell again showing his class that has won him international honours in the second tier Six Nations.

The affectionately named “Dinger” was to make himself a hero with a last gasp penalty to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against relegation threatened Moseley. This sealed our first set of back to back wins in the campaign and were a sign of the more positive run of form to come. Although you should all know as Leeds Carnegie supporters consistency has never been our fortay.

A third successive win was sealed with a 28-23 victory at home to Plymouth Albion. Thornley again crossed the whitewash along with Mr Consistent Michael Stephenson and reserve hooker Phil Nilsen. The elusive bonus point win still escaped our grasp but their were many positives to take moving forward.

The bonus point was secured with another victory on the road at Bedford. Our back line tore up the Blues defence with a brace of tries for Iain Thornley and Stevie Mccoll. Bell maintained his cool head under pressure to remain mercurial with the boot as our promotion push gained pace. This performance can only act as a positive upon our return to Goldington Road in the fourth game of the play off group stage.

A fifth straight win was secured when another Joe Ford drop goal in the last ten minutes gave us a narrow 22 victory over another of our fellow groupies Nottingham. Richard Beck got his second try of the season in an accomplished first season for the back row forward.

Six not out came about following a dramatic victory in a feisty affair at winless Esher. Five points was to be the winning margin with Tommy Bell the solitary scorer for Leeds Carnegie. This game served as reminder that anyone in the Championship was capable of beating anybody else, as we were so humbly reminded in the return fixture at Headingley.

Seven without loss came as sweet revenge for the Yorkhire derby defeat at Clifton Lane, the third away venue we will visit come play off time. Joe Ford maintained his good drop goal scoring record with a hat trick to seal a 25-19 win.

After a fine run of form Carnegie were brought crashing back down to earth by Bristol. The scoreline perhaps didn’t do the game justice, however we must not be intimidated by the ferocious ground at the Memorial Ground if we are to be successful in the later stages of the play offs. The match ended 33-19 in favour of the West Country side, how sweet would revenge be in the final?

Leeds were soon back to winning ways with a nail-biting 14-13 victory over Cornish Pirates. The game was bittersweet for Carnegie winger Michael Stephenson who was sin-binned just before half time for pulling back ex Leeds flyer David Docherty. He later atoned for his error by coming up with a try which changed the momentum of the game and swung it in our favour. Ceiron Thomas later bemoaned the defeat on twitter claiming that the Leeds fans were at fault for anything that didn’t go the way of his new team. All these shenanigans were in vain as Leeds were the ones celebrating a vital morale boosting win.

As a festinve treat on Boxing Day many of us travelled to Castle Park in Doncaster. The game showed everything that I dislike about boring matches. In the wintery conditions Leeds made a series of unforced errors but were largely let off the hook by Doncaster’s lack of potent attacking threats. Tommy Bell and David McIlwaine traded penalties and a drop goal was added by Joe Ford in a dire game that ended with the scores level at nine apiece. Far from a thrilling advert for Championship rugby.

As the new year came around Tommy Bell put aside any excess Christmas dinners to maintain his focus and mastermind a victory for his adopted club. The youngster scored all the points in a 19-17 home victory for the green and whites. Another reason why you shouldn’t attend Leeds Carnegie matches if you have heart problems or a pacemaker.

New loan signing George Ford grabbed an opportunity to start at 10 as we travelled to Moseley. The young fly half showed why he is rated so highly and won the IRB Young Player of the Year last season. He ran the show as we managed to cross the whitewash and unprecedented six times, with fellow loanees Jordan Davies and Kane Palmer-Newport joining Ford junior on the scoresheet. Supporters were joined by former Carnegie favourite Leigh Hinton and his mother in the crowd, who had nothing but praise for the new look half back combination.

Sadly Leicester Tigers were hit by an injury crisis and were forced to recall George Ford back from his loan. This along with the temporary return of Will Cliff and Jordan Davies to Sale for a European fixture, left the Leeds side looking somewhat depleted. Despite scoring three tries we were on the wrong end of a 25-20 scoreline down at Plymouth.

Seven penalties from points machine Bell sealed a 21-17 win over Bedford Blues at Headingley. In this game we were refereed by Dave Pearson who has come in for criticism in his recent visits to Headingley. After the game Diccon praised Mr Pearson for refereeing us to a “premiership standard” and demonstrating the consistency we have missed throughout this season. Many fans were pessimistic when he was named as the official for the repeat play off fixture in three weeks time. Only time will tell however, we cannot always look to the referee as an excuse for a poor performance.

Leeds started their next league fixture in superb style with Jacob Rowan picking the ball up from the back of a scrum and sprinting from his own half to score in the corner. Tommy Bell was not named in the match day squad after being called up by the England under 20s, deservedly so. In his absence the kicking duties were left to Joe Ford who failed to avoid the humiliating defeat to the part time minnows of Esher, as he pulled a drop goal attempt wide with the last kick of the game.

Due to the severe winter weather the following fixture was twice postponed before a mid-week clash at Ladybay was deemed the only viable solution. Many argued that the Midlander’s training base was not fit to host the fixture and I’m sure many at Leeds will now be in that camp after what turned out to be our final defeat of the  regular season. Leeds had put out a largely untested line up due to the complications of playing three fixtures within six days. Ed Williamson was given a debut but it wasn’t enough to stop a 24-11 loss.

The final fixture of the season was one of the highlights of the campaign with numerous first team regulars returning. Furthermore we were able to celebrate the long awaited return from injury of Tykesrugby sponsored Stevie McColl. McColl made a difference with a  try in a 49-39 away win. This served as another reminder that on our day we can beat anyone in the play offs and we often perform without fear on the road

Looking ahead to the play offs I have mixed emotions. Whilst I understand the financial benefits of being in the Premiership I maintain that a further year to build our squad in the Championship may be a blessing in disguise. However, who can guarantee that we will keep the current squad together if we are not promoted? Furthermore with our increasing reliance upon the loan signings, which of these if any will stay next season? In the unlikely event we are promoted it is obvious that this squad does not have the experience to compete at the highest level.

On a more positive note we have beaten every team in the play offs at least once barring Doncaster. This should give us room for optimism. Can we pull off mission impossible? The answer is ... who knows? Given our inconsistency throughout the season and the lack of a confident general to dictate the play, you would think not, but you don’t need me to say, never write off the Tykes.