Leeds rack up half-century in return to winning ways
The Tykes found the perfect response to their maiden league defeat amassing a wonderful half-century as they cruised past Tynedale at a blustery West Park Leeds.
The reshuffled back division masterminded the leaders’ comprehensive victory, which saw them break the 1000-point mark for the season in the process.
Tynedale scored first through Seamus Hutton, as they quickly seized upon turnover ball. Not to be outfought, Leeds salvaged the lead before half-time with Will Hardwick and Ben Dixon both scoring.
Hardwick’s score came off the back of a fine physical manoeuvre where Eddie Brown broke the line before releasing the scrum half to snipe over beside the left post. Callum Irvine, deputising for the rested Keiran Davies added the extras.
Six minutes before the break, Ben Dixon put the Tykes into a lead which they would never relinquish. Irvine again added the conversion.
The Tykes came out for the second half revitalised.
Eddie Brown touched down at the back of a dominant maul, which had been driven over 20 metres from the set piece. Irvine duly added the touchline conversion.
Will Hardwick threw an audacious dummy before feeding the onrushing Henry MacNab to seal the bonus point and put the game beyond doubt. Irvine kept up his 100% record to extend the lead.
Utility back Charlie Venables got in on the act after Adam Brown’s rampaging run laid a platform for the backs to strut their stuff again. Irvine converted with ease for what turned out to be his final success of the day.
Tynedale went over for a consolation try on the hour mark, converted nicely against the wind.
Venables completed his brace before Henry MacNab scored two quick-fire tries to grab his hat trick. The pacy Ben Turpin touched down with the final play, having been instrumental in several earlier scores. Despite all the last four tries being unconverted, Leeds still managed to score over 50 points on their last outing at The Sycamores for this campaign.
Speaking after the game, Director of Rugby, Pete Seabourne said: “I’m really pleased with the performance. We scored some good tries, but we had to be patient, playing into the wind in the first half.
“I don’t know if people realised that the first try of the game today took us to over 1000 points for the year, which is a remarkable effort by the players. At least twenty-seven players are scored at least one try, which is fantastic.”
A delighted Charlie Venables added: “We’ve just said in the dressing room how that was a great win for us. It piles the pressure back on Rotherham now that we have the points on the board. We know what we must do in the remaining games to secure promotion but it’s just about focusing on one game at a time to ensure we reap the rewards as a team.
“I encourage as many people as possible to get across to Fylde next week for what will be a tough fixture. Your support really does make a difference.”
Final score 55-14
(HT 14-7)
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Thanks to Ben Cropper for our match report.
