Tykes slip up at ferocious Fylde
Despite dominating possession and staging a late fightback, National 2 North leaders Leeds suffered just their second defeat of the season.
The hosts, who were saying farewell to retiring centre Scott Rawlings, flew out of the traps. They seized a 10-point advantage within the first 15 minutes. Winger Adam Lanigan opened the scoring with a try after five minutes: Gregory Smith converted before adding a penalty eight minutes later.
Fylde’s fast start sparked Leeds into life as they started to find gaps in the hosts’ defensive line. Successive phases bought the Tykes close before Eddie Brown’s fast recycling of the ball allowed Lucas Walsh to force his way over. Seremaia Bai Turagabeci converted in difficult conditions.
The Lancashire side appeared to play the conditions better and maintained possession through a series of 50-22’s. That gave them a lot of ball in the red zone and a training ground move allowed captain Ben Gregory to barge over at the side of the posts after peeling off a rolling maul. Smith missed the conversion as his side went into the sheds with an eight-point advantage.
The Tykes came out for the second half looking determined to gain a foothold in the match. They proceeded to dominate territory with the wind at their backs, but could not take advantage of their dominance until the final quarter. Having been repelled on numerous occasions by stern tackling, the visitors opted to take the points when Turagabeci cut the deficit to 15-10.
The match became disjointed with several stoppages for injuries and substitutions but that was no excuse for Leeds’ lack of composure at key moments. Handling errors and ill-discipline were commonplace as the game plan started to unravel.
The Tykes failure to deal with a restart gave Fylde position as the leaders were penalised for hands in the ruck: Smith dispatched the subsequent penalty, stretching Fylde’s lead to an insurmountable eight points.
Ben Dixon scored with seven minutes remaining to set up a frantic finale. Turagabeci missed the touchline conversion. Leeds went for touch with several late penalties but were ultimately the architects of their own downfall as the game drew to a frustrating conclusion.
Leeds remain top of the division with one game to play. However, title rivals Rotherham travel to Sheffield Tigers for their postponed fixture on Saturday, looking to claim top spot. The championship will ultimately be decided on 27 April when Leeds Tykes take on Sheffield RUFC at AMT Headingley Stadium. We hope for a bumper crowd on the day as we celebrate the sides’ successes this campaign. It’s a chance for you to thank the players at the end of what is sure to be a memorable season irrespective of the outcome.
After the match, Director of Rugby, Pete Seabourne said: “We’re disappointed with the result. We were hoping to do something special but we’ve just fallen short.
“The players need a lot of credit for today; they faced a lot of adversity before the game. We had to chop and change the team a couple of times due to injuries and Pete Lucock had to pull out injured 5 minutes before kick-off.
“I thought we played well in the first half but didn’t keep our discipline. We got going in the second half and I felt we created a lot of chances to win the game. Fylde fully deserved the win.
“We’ve a week off. Then it’s the last game of the season at Headingley Stadium. Five points from that and we’ll see where it takes us.”
Final score 18-15
(HT 15-7)
Match centre
Our scorers
Thanks to Ben Cropper for our match report.
Supporters’ Player of the Season and awards night
Don’t miss voting for your player of the season. The winner will be announced at our end-of-season awards dinner sponsored by Schofield. This is taking place at West Park Leeds on Saturday 20 April. Here are all the details you need.
Information Leeds Tykes v Sheffield RUFC
Leeds Tykes are playing Sheffield RUFC at AMT Headingley Stadium for this season’s final match on Saturday 27 April. Check out all the essential information for your visit.