Catch Drive Score Repeat
Leeds Tykes secured a well-earned 33-24 victory over Hull, making the most of their opponents’ early errors and indiscipline to race into an early lead before withstanding a fightback. Leeds dominated the opening exchanges, capitalising on Hull’s penalty count to establish control. The visitors were 21-0 up within the first 20 minutes, punishing the homeside’s mistakes with clinical set-piece play.
Throughout the match, Ollie Williams gained the Tykes huge amounts of territory with his kicks to touch. It was one of those that set up a catch-and-drive from 5 metres out for Josh Hough to power over. Kit Keith’s conversion was successful.
Adam Brown crossed the whitewash for the second try, followed by Tom Williams, demonstrating that the backs could also contribute in the tight phases. Keith added both conversions.
Despite the early setback, Hull refused to crumble. Harvey Harding’s quick-tap penalty caught Leeds off guard, and he darted over for their opening score. Fynlay Hobson added the extras. Gaining momentum, Hull struck again through turnover ball, as Adam Brankley broke free and offloaded to Harry Dawkins, who finished well under pressure. Hobson’s conversion narrowed the gap to 21-14 at halftime.
Leeds started the second half in identical fashion to the first, making the most of Hull’s errors and penalties. Another dominant catch-and-drive led to Toby Williams scoring the bonus point try. Adam Brown crashed over for his second of the game followed by Keith adding the extras to extend Leeds’ lead.
Hull showed resilience and fought back. Tom Bairstow went over from close range with Hobson converting. As time ticked away, Hull forced Leeds into making mistakes. One penalty taken as a tap and go, resulted in Hobson finding space to add a late try, securing his side’s try bonus point.
Speaking after the match, Director of Rugby, Pete Seabourne said: “I’m really happy. There were some really good performances out there. I thought our set-piece went well. Hull is a difficult place to come; Mike Umaga coaches very well. They have some big, heavy boys who tested us at times but I thought our application for most of the game was good. We scored some nice tries and defensively we looked solid for a lot of the match.
“It’s a tough place to come. We got 5 points. It was good to get Henry Macnab back on the field, even if it was for a brief stint. We go to Wharfedale next week. Some other players are not far off coming back. Hopefully we’ll be stronger.”
