On Friday night we welcomed Yorkshire rivals Leeds Tykes to Park Lane in a rearranged fixture originally scheduled for January but postponed due to severe weather. Having secured a 20–8 victory earlier in the season at their place, and with Leeds sitting below us in the table, we knew this would still be a tough contest given their strong recent form. We were aiming to build on two positive wins and push further up the league, but unfortunately the War of the Roses firmly went Yorkshire’s way.
It was a wet and bitterly cold evening, with a heavy pitch following recent rain. The visitors made the brighter start and opened the scoring after five minutes with a well-executed catch-and-drive try, finished by flanker Jonathan Teague. Fly-half Eddie Crossland added the conversion to give Leeds a 7–0 lead. Just three minutes later they struck again, this time through full-back Kieran Davies after sharp handling in the backs. Crossland converted once more, extending their advantage to 14–0.
Playing down the slope, we responded well and worked patiently into the Leeds twenty-two. Following a controlled multi-phase attack, flanker Lewis Bradley crossed for the Tigers’ first try, with full-back Oli Glasse converting to reduce the deficit to 14–7. Leeds responded seven minutes later when Charlie Venables finished a well-judged kick pass following a defensive error, stretching the lead to 17–7. Glasse added a penalty to close the gap to 17–10, but Leeds replied with one of their own to make it 20–10. Just before half-time, tighthead prop Danny Rylance powered over from close range, and Glasse converted to leave us trailing 20–17 at the interval.
The second half, however, belonged entirely to the visitors. A yellow card for Tigers flanker Will Bennett eight minutes after the restart proved costly, with Leeds scoring two converted tries during the numerical advantage. Scrum-half Ewan Laughton finished a quick tap move before Venables added his second, both converted by Crossland to extend the lead to 34–17.
Handling errors and unnecessary penalties prevented us from mounting a comeback, while another yellow card reduced us to fourteen players again. Leeds capitalised with further tries from Alex Green and Eddie Brown, sealing a comprehensive 46–17 bonus-point victory.
The result leaves us ninth in the league, but with only six points separating several sides, the pressure is building. Next Saturday we host high-flying Rosslyn Park, who defeated us convincingly earlier in the season. We will prepare thoroughly and look to deliver a strong response. Please come down to Park Lane and get behind the Tigers.