Winning run comes to an end

Leeds Carnegie's winning run came to an end at soggy London Welsh in a game that was as disappointing, as the Headingley game had been exciting. 

The first half was a procession from scrum to scrum as the referee failed to control the niggle which was evident from the kick off. In the first minute Phil Nilsen and an opponent were having a 'love-in', and when London Welsh knocked on they somehow received a penalty which former Leeds star Gordon Ross converted to give the Exiles an early lead.

Both kickers missed shots at goal in the swirling wind, and Glyn Hughes missed the target with a couple of touch finders, but despite having a lot of territory Leeds had nothing to show for their eforts. The niggling nature continued without interference from the man in the middle, and when James Doherty had had enough of being the victim of high tackles, and having an arm rubbed in his face he threw a punch and saw yellow. It's worth pointing out that this was not the only altercation taking place at the time.,

The hosts thought they had increased their lead, but Mr Fox decided the player had been held up over the line, even though he arrived on the scene some considerable time after the event. As it was Leeds got to the break without conceding again, and at 0 - 3 there was everything to play for.

The start of the second half typified much of what has happened in the past. Leeds had the ball, lost it, got it back, dropped it, gave away a penalty at the scrum, and Ross doubled the home lead. It didn't last long. James Doherty sent an inch perfect kick into the corner, and when Leeds won a penalty, he quickly tapped it and shot across the whitewash. Hughes tagged on the extras, and Leeds had the lead.

After Ross had restored the lead came the biggest cheer of the afternoon from both sets of fans, (and probably the players). Mr. Fox was knocked over, and was unable to continue. He was replaced, as were a number of players on both sides. Another penalty extended the lead, before Leeds paid the ultimate price for letting a rugby ball bounce. A harmless cross field kick seemed to be heading for touch, but Josh Griffin saw it bounce cruelly for him, and Seb Stegman was on hand to collect and score close enough for Ross to convert and stretch the lead to 12 points. Glyn Hughes did pull 3 points back, and at the end Leeds were attacking and could have had a drop kick at goal in an effort to pick up a bonus point. They didn't, they ran the ball and dropped it, and that was that.

Not a great game at all, the pitch was heavy, no worse, but Leeds got bullied about a bit today by a very street wise London Welsh. Nothing wrong with that, it is the way Leeds need to play against the better sides. The hosts No6 played on, (and at times beyond), the edge, but he got away with it, and Leeds couldn't respond.

James Doherty was clearly the best of the backs, while up front big shifts from Phil Nilsen and Richard Beck, but the bottle of pop this week goes to Ben Harris who I thought was superb. He was continually dragged down by the opposing tighthead, who thought grabbing an elbow constituted binding. Sadly, so did the officials, but despite this Ben ran hard, and tackled hard. Well done Ben.

Finally thanks to the Welsh fans we met before and during the game for your hopitality. We didn't enjoy the result, but we had a good day out.