Tykes more than meet the I’s and cross the T’s
Leeds Tykes came away from a ferocious match against Hull Ionians with a 5-point win. Although the Tykes made the game more complex than they should have, taking an hour to really get into their stride, they did enough to secure victory. Ultimately it was Leeds’ ability to convert possession and territory into tries, which Ionians could not match, that was the difference between the two sides.
Leeds kicked off the match, earning themselves an early penalty after forcing Ionians to hold on to the ball. However, James Watts sent his penalty kick just wide of the posts. Shortly after, Leeds were first to cross the try line when Eliah Chitiyo broke through the defense to set up Ewan Evans for a try. Watt’s conversion was successful.
Ionians responded with determination, piecing together phases to build momentum. Their efforts culminated with Sam Pocklington dotting down between the posts. Lewis Minikin made the game level after a successful conversion. As the game progressed, both teams struggled to maintain control. However, Leeds committed errors, including offside infringements and high tackles, giving Ionians opportunities to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Minikin missed one penalty but was successful with a second to put his team ahead.
Ionians’ confidence was growing and despite being bullied off the ball on occasions, Leeds managed to force mistakes. A knock-on during a scrum and pressure at key moments demonstrated the team’s defensive resilience. Charlie Venables put in a series of impressive chases and tackles, which prevented Ionians from capitalising on promising situations; several occasions of the ball going out on the full, lost line-outs and knock-ons bringing promising phases of play to an end.
Leeds were awarded two quick penalties; the first one taking them to the home side’s 5m line. They opted to tap-and-go. Adam Brown went over the line with Watts converting.
The second half of the game mirrored the first in its intensity, with both teams pushing hard for dominance. Ionians narrowed the gap as Minikin successfully converted a penalty. Ewan Laughton was given a yellow card for one high tackle too many by his team. James Sanderson scored a try from the resulting kick to touch and lineout.
Sanderson found himself in the bin a few minutes later. Leeds moved through the gears. A maul was hauled down as they were about to score; a penalty try was awarded.
Ionian’s fans had seen glimpses of Eliah Chitiyo’s speed. On several occasions he was sprinting down the line only to be pushed into touch. Gasps were heard when they watched his clear run to the try line after a charging break by Adam Brown. Watts added the extras.
Ionians continued to attack with speed. Leeds were defending hard. Minikin was successful at his next penalty attempt. Leeds won a penalty at a scrum deep in their own half and went for their trademark catch and drive at the line out. The backs broke away out of their own half. Around the Ionian’s 22 Ben Dixon offloaded to Jake Brady who sprinted to the 5m line. He wasn’t able to go all the way. Ollie Williams finished the move, scoring out wide.
The East Yorkshire outfit spent the rest of the game pressing for the bonus point. They were rewarded for their efforts with a Sam Pocklington try that was converted with the final kick of the match.
After the match, Director of Rugby, Pete Seabourne said: “I’m happy with the end result but we looked rusty. That’s to be expected after the Christmas break and then with the enforced weather break last week.
“We still have loads to work on and, hopefully, we can get a good week’s training under our belts – we will be better for it.”
Head Coach, Pete Lucock added: “I thought it took us quite a while to warm up into the game. We were second best to a lot of things in that first half. We did what we had to do in the second half, which we started pretty poorly. We then grew into it. It’s a great result. We’ll take it. It’s [Hull Ionians] a tough place to come and we struggled here in the past.
“For the group, there’s loads more in us and we need to stride forward.”
Adam Brown, Team Captain, explained: “…it’s good to get 5 points. We just need to put a full performance together again. I think that’s been the story of this season. I’s [Ionians] are a good team; they play fast. We expected it but weren’t ready for the first 25 minutes.”
Commenting on his own try; “I did say we’re going for 3s (points) when we get in their 22. Ewan wanted a tap-and-go when we were 5m out. I thought I’d have a crack. If I got whacked then I got whacked but luckily I got over the line.”
