Match report 8 February

Leeds leave it late to steal a dramatic comeback win

Head coach Pete Lucock could not hide his delight after seeing his troops twice come from 10 points behind to claim an invaluable five points with the last play.

The hosts started strongly scoring from their first meaningful attack. A neat set piece gave them attacking position and Harry Bullough was on hand to finish after good work from Bradley Viner. Robert Davidson added the extras.

After Leeds were forced into an early substitution when Will Dennis replaced Harry Whitfield, the ‘Dale further extended their lead with a Davidson penalty.

Leeds struggled to get any real attacking flair until the last play of the first half when a series of penalties led to multiple phases of attack. Eventually, Ollie Williams forced his way over just inside the touchline to leave Kit Keith with a difficult conversion, which landed sweetly between the uprights. The try came just after Wharfedale were reduced to 14 men for accumulative infringements in the 10-metre zone.

The Tykes coaching staff must have ruffled a few feathers at the interval as the side came out firing. Just two minutes in to the second half, Wharfedale had a further man sent to the sin bin as George Hedgley was given a 10-minute rest after a high tackle.

Leeds cranked up the pressure and were ultimately rewarded when Matt Burke scored from a quick lineout. Keith was again successful to give the visitors a four-point advantage.

As Wharfedale were restored to a full complement, they began to find a way back into the game. Despite Davidson missing a penalty, they were not deterred. Tom Beresford was the first to score, with Harry Bullough crossing for his second seven minutes later. Davidson converted both to give the North Yorkshire side what seemed to be a comfortable margin for error.

Not content to surrender their position at the top of National 2 North, Leeds somehow found the resolve to force a blockbuster finish. As has been the case for them so many times already this campaign, they resorted to keeping the ball tight in dangerous positions. Captain Adam Brown forced his way over at the back of a rolling maul to give the travelling supporters hope. Keith slotted a delightful conversion to narrow the gap to just three points.

It was at this point that you saw Pete Seabourne’s men begin to believe that they could salvage victory from the jaws of defeat. However, the final moments were not without some notable points of ill-discipline from both sides. Firstly, Will Dennis saw yellow for a high tackle, only for the opposition’s Jack Pinder to follow him to the sidelines for an almost identical offence.

With the game drawing to a close, the away supporters were up in arms when Rian Hamilton was also given his marching orders for what appeared to be a deliberate knock-on. The assistant referee adjudged that there was sufficient cover, so a penalty would suffice. On another day, the official could have awarded a penalty try as there were men waiting outside to score in the corner.

Laser-focused on the task at hand, Leeds opted to push for the corner. The decision proved inspired as The Green Machine eventually succumbed to the constant Tykes probing. Tom Williams scored the try when the ball came out at the back of a pile of forwards’ bodies. Kit Keith converted to cap off a fine individual display, giving a final score of 24 – 28.

Speaking after the game, Director of Rugby Pete Seabourne said: “This could be a huge turning point in our season. We showed some great resilience and character to come back from 10 points down with 10 minutes to go. We never stopped believing that we could win and got over the line with the last play, so the boys deserve a lot of credit.”

Echoing these words, Pete Lucock added: “These are the type of wins on which successful seasons are built. We can take a lot of positives from the way that we trusted our processes and each other to find a way to win.”

Man of the match, Kit Keith explained: “The boys played really well. It’s always tough coming to Wharfedale, we kind of stuck to their level (in the) first half, and then we got a wake-up call. We stuck to our processes, took our time, were patient, and then pulled to together to do what we did on the training field.”

Talking about his 4 conversions, Kit added: “Funnily enough, in the warm-up. I wasn’t striking the ball too great. But luckily, the balls were quite soft and I could stick to my process and strike them nicely when it mattered.”

Making his first appearance this season following injury, Will Dennis shared: “It’s fantastic to be around the squad again. When you have been out for so long, it’s a mental battle trying to come in and integrate with the squad. The lads have been brilliant and really supportive in my coming back on the pitch, although I got a little bit longer today than was planned. But there’s nothing like being thrown the deep end and it was great to come out here and get the win.”