Simple Yet Effective - Hull KR 10-18 Leeds

By leedsrhinos.biz
May 28 2007

Nobody wanted to be there, the fans or the players. It was raining and it was windy but the Rhinos played simple but effective rugby league. The forwards worked well and we turned pressure and brilliant deffence into points, whilst Hull KR had a lot of the first half possesion but made many handling errors.

It was a simple yet effective win over Hull KR today in the wet and windy conditions.Clinton Toopi, Jordan Tansey and Danny McGuire sealed the victory with their tries and pressure on the rovers defence.

The weather was far away from the week before when we visited the other side of the river at the KC Stadium where the sun was shining.We were once again without Matt Diskin who failed a late fitness test at Headingley, so it was the same 17 that took on Hull FC last week.

We were under pressure quite early when Ryan Hall put his foot on the dead ball line although a defender was not within 20 metres of him. With the wind on their backs, Hull KR made the weather conditions an advantage by kicking a bomb into the corner. Ryan Hall was trapped in goal which resulted in a goal line drop out.

The Leeds defence was holding firm after repeat sets of six on our own line but it didn’t stop Danny McGuire unnecessarily holding back a player chasing a kick through. New controversial signing Paul Cooke converted a simple penalty which gave the Rovers the lead.

Although the Rhinos failed to apply any pressure on the Hull line, our defence was sensational in such poor conditions.Wave after wave of red attack just kept threatening our line, but the home side found no way through the classy Leeds defence.A Burrow grubber kick from left in front of the sticks was collected by Danny McGuire and landed over the white wash right by the posts. Kevin Sinfield added the extras.

It was already clear that this was going to be a low scoring game and that it would be decided by handling errors – and essentially, that is what happened.

Just a few minutes after that touch of ‘McGuire magic’, East Hull reduced defecate with another penalty, but this time it was a high tackle from Kevin Sinfield.In the second half, it was time for the real Leeds to show. It was certainly not appropriate for off loads and fancy play, but a game where we couldn’t make mistakes. Just get up the field and convert it into points.

We started off the second half well with a shock Tansey 40-20 and from the scrum, Clinton Toopi crashed over the line right next to the sticks. Sinfield converted and we were eight points in front of the reds with the wind against our backs.

With only fourteen minutes to go, and a few Rhinos fans leaving the stadium and taking cover in their cars, Brent Webb side-stepped out of two tackles and sprinted down field to passed across to Tansey who scored right under the sticks. Sinfield once more slotted the ball between the sticks to make the score 18-4.

There was no chance for Hull KR to get back although they managed to scrape a try back in the dying seconds of the game. Netherton made his way over the line and Cooke added the extras to make the final score line more respectable for the red side of Hull.

Tony Smith:

"It was not the prettiest of days and that is going to have an effect on your rugby league.

"We did to Hull KR what they did to us when they beat us in March. We gave them no ball and we just had to churn it out.

"I said to the players we could have tried to play more expansively and win by 20 or 30 points but then we could have ended up losing by a couple of points.

"I thought we played sensibly and got a good result. I think our defence was outstanding and I was never really worried. In fact I was surprised when they scored."  This game was nothing special although the Rhinos did deserve to win. The lads defended well and took their chances in such poor condition.

According to sources, Gareth Ellis may have dislocated a knuckle but lets hope he is available for selection on Friday when we take on Warrington Wolves at the Headingley Carnegie. This week though the Wolves take on the Saints, and at half time it was 12-6 to Warrington. Can we remain two points clear at the top of the Super League?

 

We hope to see you at Headingley next week!