A spirited Leeds Tykes side weren’t able to overcome a clinical Rams team who scored six tries, picking up their ninth straight bonus point victory.
The away side took five minutes to open the scoring after two strong scrums and a rolling maul saw Humberstone score from close range.
Leeds counterattacked but they were let down by handling errors. Sustained possession from Rams resulted in a Hayman try. Seers slotted the conversion.
The Tykes responded shortly after when, following a reset scrum, which was a feature of the game, the ball was shipped to the backs for Turagabeci to touch down. Maxwell-Whiteley wasn’t able to convert.
Leeds continued to apply pressure but were thwarted by their set piece, which was to happen throughout the match.
The away side widened the score just before the break. Hayman grabbed his second from close range after several scrum penalties. 5-17 at half time.
Leeds had a numerical advantage when Dykes was yellow-carded for a late tackle on Davies. His team mates poured into support him after the illegal tackle brought the full-back crashing on to the pitch. This spurred the Tykes into life, but they were let down by handling errors.
Rams’ set piece was strong, leading to Jones to blasting over and Humberstone converting. It was soon followed by McRae scoring from the back of scrum. Dykes converted.
Leeds scored from the restart after Davies spotted a gap in the away side’s line and made a break. He passed to Turagabeci who found the try line. The conversion was missed.
The latter stages saw end-to-end stuff resulting in Robson scoring his side’s final try. The conversion attempt bounced off the posts.
Leeds refused to yield. The Yorkshire side’s pack camped close to the visitors’ line for the final five minutes. Moffitt received a yellow card after a series of penalties. Another mistake stopped the attack and the ball was turned over for Rams to kick the ball into touch to end the match. Final score 10-36.
After the match, Jon Callard, Director of Rugby, said: “The set piece was the difference between the two sides. We tacked heroically. There weren’t many line breaks against us and if there was, we turned them over. It was a shame we gave away penalties at the set piece.”
Final score 10 – 36
(HT 5-17)
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