Match report 26 October

Tykes pressed by ‘Hoppers

Leeds Tykes were made to work hard to remain unbeaten by a determined Preston Grasshoppers outfit. The sense of relief, among players and supporters alike, was palpable as the official brought the pulsating encounter to a close.

Our visitors from Central Lancashire had the better of the opening exchanges, making inroads through a dominant maul. Prolific Hooker Harry Holden sat in the pocket to open the scoring, with his first of what turned out to be a matchday brace. Gregory Smith enjoyed a fine day with the boot, adding the extras.

The Tykes’ response took its time in coming as handling errors were strewn across the field and plentiful. However, Ollie Williams did eventually find his way over on 14 minutes to get the Tykes’ scoreboard ticking. James Watts continued his impressive run of form from the tee to level the match at 7 apiece.

Not to be outdone, Preston came back firing: reverting to type, using the maul to their advantage. This time, Tom Guest was the beneficiary, with Smith converting.

As the game continued swinging one way and then the other, Leeds asserted their expansive authority through two quickfire tries. The first came from Matt Burke, who backed up ably after a Lucas Walsh line break. The emerging Flanker continued to enhance his reputation with a blistering run. He showed glimpses of his improving awareness by opting to offload to his back row colleague.

Soon after, league debutant Eliah Chitiyo found space on the edge to show what he’s all about with silky footwork on his way to the line. James Watts converted both tries, giving Leeds the advantage back.

Three minutes before the interval, Preston set up what was ultimately, a tense second half, as Holden crossed for his second. Luckily for the Tykes, the conversion attempt was missed, giving them the psychological advantage of a narrow half-time lead.

Leeds didn’t emerge from the dressing room in the best of shape, with the visitors taking full advantage. Jacob Browne cut an incisive line to weave his way over, arcing his run towards the posts to score. The opposition bench was jubilant, as if they knew the importance of leaving Bramhope with as many league points as possible. Smith found his radar again, giving ‘Hoppers a lead that very few could argue with up to that point.

Eleven minutes later, Eliah crossed for his second try on a memorable first National 2 North outing. He outpaced the defence with aplomb, spotting his chance to seize upon a handling error in the Preston backline. Watts added the simplest of conversions to edge the unbeaten Tykes in front at 28 – 26.

Harry Whitfield laid down a marker by building on his steady progression over recent weeks. The Tighthead Prop produced a lung-busting run to single-handedly turn defence into attack. Leaving defenders in his wake across the opposition’s half, the former Huddersfield RUFC man somehow amassed enough energy to keep his legs driving and dot down over the line. Fans of both sides were forced to give the big man a standing ovation for his ruthless headfirst approach.

Wisely, Preston opted to trust their fly-half’s kicking prowess, nudging themselves within seven points. The successful penalty kick five minutes from time meant they escaped across the Pennines with a respectable two points added to their league tally, and justifiably so.

Speaking after the match, Director of Rugby, Pete Seabourne said: “I’m pleased with the win but a little bit frustrated with how we played, Although that’s to be expected with all the changes we made. We didn’t click, still we came together at times then made errors that let Preston back in. Preston gave us a good test. They are a very good side.

“Overall, 8 wins, 7 bonus points. We’re really happy with that and if you look at all the players we’ve played this season it’s been a full squad thing. I’m glad to see Eliah get on the pitch and score twice on his debut.”

Summarising his thoughts on the game, Head Coach Pete Lucock added: “Frustratingly, when we earned field position and played off the back of it, the game was there for the taking. However, fair play to Preston, who when they got into our 22, were ruthless and took every opportunity we gave them.”

Player of the match, Harry Whitfield said of his match-winning solo effort: “It was nice to get my first start of the season and show what I could do today. The try caps off my personal game nicely but the most important thing is for us to keep winning.

“I felt I needed to build on a half-decent individual performance last week at Sheffield, and hopefully I showed that I am striving to improve whilst helping the team reach our collective goals for the season.”