Dogged defence dents Bristol's dreams

By Gelbel
January 26 2013

It was a dark and stormy night when Leeds Carnegie made the trip to Bristol for a vital 'top four' clash. The rain was coming down sideways with the assistance of a strong wind from the south west and, with the piles of snow at the side of the pitch, made for cold, unpleasant conditions not suited to free-flowing rugby.

This match was going to be won or lost by the forwards and that is very much what happened. But while Bristol's forwards may have been winning the battles, a very strong defence and a bit of good luck (probably due to the awful weather) stopped this being a cricket score against Leeds.

For the first few minutes it all looked good as Leeds attacked and Clegg did a lovely kick to pop the ball deep into Bristol territory. It came to nothing and that was probably the only time Leeds managed a decent attack all game. After some Bristol pressure, Leeds were awarded a penalty just inside their own half. Rowan did ask Clegg if he fancied it but he opted for the kick to touch rather than take the points. I know the wind was in their faces and it was a long range kick, but when the points are on offer they should be taken – Bristol snaffled the resulting line-out.
Then the penalty count started and with frustrating regularity it was 12-0 at half time – all from the boot of ex-Leeds' man Adrian Jarvis and with Leeds down to 14 due to the binning of Dominic Barrow (dare I say who else?). Given the amount of ball Bristol had and they had the wind in their favour, it's a wonder the score was not higher with at least one try in the bag for the home team.

The weather favoured Leeds in the second half and, almost immediately, Clegg started to claw back the deficit with a long range effort. Only the cross bar stopped a sneaky drop goal from a similar position a few minutes later. The far upright prevented another penalty a few minutes later. But it became 12-9 when his next two attempts sailed through the posts.
Wholesale replacements took place – Doherty for Hampson, Graham for Plug and the welcome return of Myscough at the expense of Burrow. Quickly followed by Smith and Harris for Lockwood and Green. With his second touch of the ball, Graham was binned meaning - Leeds played a quarter of the game with only 14 players.

For the reminder of the game, Bristol were camped out in and around the Leeds' 5 yard lineand were totally dominant in the scrum. The home crowd were baying for a penalty try. I had to remind them of the rules – there was no sign that a try would've happened as Leeds were defending like their lives depended on it. Time and again they managed to win the ball off Bristol and, more often than not, kicked the ball up field to reset their defence rather than run it out and risk the chance of an error for Bristol to get the try that eluded them.

When the final whistle came, although Bristol had won and the Leeds players were not happy, I was delighted with a losing bonus point. With the amount of possession Bristol had, it's a wonder we were not taught a lesson. But if there is a lesson to learn, it is to stop the mindless penalties and having to play with reduced numbers.
And I learnt a couple of lessons, Bass is a terribly cruel beer and the Bristol bus service is worse than awful. But then, I'm allowed to forget my lessons as I don't have to recall them until next season (and the memory is not what it was). Leeds, on the other hand, can't seem to remember theirs from one week to the next. If Plymouth reckon they can out-muscle Leeds in contested scrums Leeds had better do their homework. A lot of revision wouldn't go amiss either as there is a tough exam at Otley in a few weeks.

Dogged defence dents Bristol's dreams

Posted by: TykesRugby.co.uk (IP Logged)

Date: 26/01/2013 12:30

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:02:03:19:10:55 by Gelbel.