Leeds Chewed up By Sharks
By apb on 16/03/2003
March 16 2003
A bright, sunny, warm day (don't get many of those, eh Braam?), and Leeds went to visit Sale at Heywood Road. Beautiful conditions to restart the ZP campaign, after both teams had over a month's lay-off period. Who would adjust the better? Well, it was Sale, obviously...
The Game
After a couple of minutes a penalty was given away, and Sale went straight into a lead that they never relinquished. Shortly after, Mark Cueto went over as a result of a three-man overlap on the right hand side, and touched down for an 8-0 lead. Leeds seemed to awaken somewhat from their torpor and applied pressure to attack the Sale twenty-two, and the move resulted in a penalty which BVS coolly slotted over. Leeds regained quick possession after the restart and contiinued to apply pressure, while never really looking like they would get through - a Gordon Ross attempted drop-goal that swung harmlessly wide on the right showed that the team could feel it too.
Throughout this passage of play, Leeds wasted good opportunities by always seeming to look for contact rather than space, and a number of two-on-one overlaps seemed to go begging. Ten minutes before half time, however, the ball finally came out to Zac lurking at outside centre, and the boy was unstoppable. A missed conversion left the scores level at 8-8.
Sale were not to be held back, and came straight at Leeds with some useful pressure. A basic kicking error from Ross - failing to find touch - led to some dynamic bacl play from the Sharks, and hanley went over in the corner to put the score at 13-8 - exactly what the Tykes didn't need just before half-time. The team-talk during the missed conversion attempt must have got this across, since the restart saw Leeds retain possession and press forward, rucking and mauling their way to the line and for Cammie Mather to go over, to tie the half-time score at thirteen apiece.
Was this the turning point? Were Leeds going to work the magic and take this one without playing at their best?
No.
The Sale team-talk at half-time would have been interesting, and whatever was said it did the trick, since almost as soon as the whistle went, Jason Robinson showed why he's so dangerous and went over for an early score to bring it to 18-13. A BVS penalty miss seemed to add to Leeds' problems, and just to rub salt into the wounds, Sale scored playing Leeds at their own game, mauling the ball over the line with Titterell the scorer. 23-13. The lesser spotted successful conversion was witnessed at this point, and Sale were already out of sight at 25-13.
Call it panic, call it blind optimism, call it rueful hope - whatever it was, Leeds now started to throw the ball around with abandon, and the number of passes to hit the deck would have disgraced even an under eight side. During this time, a Sale player managed a balletic clothes-line on Ross. The man in question was given a severe dressing-down from Mr. Pearson, and yet was allowed to stay on the pitch.
Another missed touch - this time directly from the penalty kick - saw Sale regain possession, and some fantastic back play, plus another stunning display of individual brilliance from Mr. Robinson sent him over for his second and Sale's fifth try of the day. Another rarely seen successful conversion moved the score on to 32-13, and it was all over bar the shouting.
Doing some of that shouting was Winston Stanley, on as a replacement, and he went over for a consolation try, and the first for the Leeds back line for as long as I can remember. The conversion made it 32-20, and it was almost with relief that I came away from the ground with Leeds having conceded no further score.
A Critique
I think in the past I must have been guity of some real one-eyedness, in that I've always sprung to Leeds' defence when they've been accused of being one dimensional. Today showed me that at the moment they most certainly are. Time after time when the backs got the ball they went for contact over space, the passing itself was terrible, and nobody was in real support when a break actually came off (BVS was isolated several times like this). Overlaps were ignored to bring the ball nearer the comfort zone of the forwards, and Phil Davies really ought to introduce the centres to the wingers some time.
Ross had a shocker (why does Ian McGeechan do this to him? It does seem to happen after a period away with the Scottish team!), and BVS must have wondered why he said what he did to the press on Friday; I've never seen such good conditions for kicking all season, and such wayward attempts from the man himself (his Sale opposite number was just as bad).
As you might be able to tell from the above, I find it difficult to take any positives away from the game - we do not at the moment look like a side that is anywhere near the Heineken Cup next year. Sale in fact should be worried themselves; in attack they were awesome, but to let such a weak team as Leeds were today score 3 tries against them must give Jim Mallinder some cause for concern....