Match report 1 March

Leeds swarm over Hoppers with second-half storm

The Tykes strung together five second-half tries capping a comprehensive away day victory at Preston Grasshoppers. 
 
Pete Seabourne praised his side’s second half stating that they did well to show a good account of themselves after a “patchy” first forty minutes following the break in fixtures last week. 
 
The hosts opened the scoring on seven minutes; just reward for their dominance of the opening exchanges. Josh Ree opted for the posts and converted from the 22-metre line. 
 
That setback motivated the travelling Leeds players. A penalty gave them position in Preston’s territory; they produced a smart training ground exercise, where Jack Smith broke free of the maul before feeding Adam Brown to score. Kit Keith’s conversion attempt was successful. 
 
The following half an hour was largely played out in the middle third of the pitch, with defences coming out on top as some big hits were thrown on the artificial surface. The half looked to be ending with both sides still in single digits, but Kit Keith produced a line break all of his own making to give Leeds an air of control at the interval. 
 
Hoppers had defended manfully until that point and you could tell it was going to take a moment of individual brilliance to shift the game decisively into the Tykes’ favour. 
 
As the second half got underway, the Leeds players seemed to emerge from the sheds with a spring in their step. Evidently, they were looking to take advantage of the fair weather and firm track to showcase some of the free-flowing rugby they have become renowned for in recent years. 
 
It didn’t take long for Leeds to go back to the set piece that had proved so decisive for them on the previous outing against fellow title contenders Sheffield. Just as ill-discipline let them into the Preston red zone, Adam Brown skilfully sat in the pocket at the back of a maul as the pack crashed over. 
 
Not content to leave Lancashire without maximum points, the Tykes were now beginning to demonstrate the ruthlessness that has seen them lead the way at the top of National 2 North for much of the season. The outstanding Ewan Evans got over for a well-deserved try on 56 minutes as both sides began to freshen things up from the bench. Replacement James Watts missed with the conversion. 
 
With the home support needing something to galvanise them, Preston produced a moment to savour. It came off the back of several powerful surges into the Leeds half before Josh Longson burst through a gaping hole to score. Ree added the extras with the clock entering the final quarter. 
 
Frustrated by their failure to keep the opposition at bay, the Tykes kicked on once more. This time it was Tom Williams who broke the line easily to score under the posts from the first phase after a dominant scrum. Watts converted to increase Leeds’ buffer on the scoreboard. 
 
The league leaders were not content to let the game finish with a whimper and wanted to maintain their attacking flow to the end. They were quick to react to turnover ball; the ball was flung wide for the returning Henry MacNab to round the last defender and touch down in the corner. Watts fell just short with his touchline conversion in front of a vocal group of travelling supporters. 
 
The last try of the game came five minutes from time and showed the blistering pace of the Leeds attack. Breaking down the wing, there was a delicate chip and chase to fox the last defender before the ball was fed wide to the supporting Jack Smith to race into the corner. The conversion was successful giving Leeds a final score of 10 – 45. 
 
Speaking after the game, Director of Rugby, Seabourne credited his players saying: “We are pleased with the performance. Full credit to Preston for the way they came out, particularly in the first half when they had a good go at us. 
 
“We were able to tweak a few things at half-time, which made us look more organised and allowed us to take more control. We are disappointed to concede a try but overall, it’s another step in the right direction.” 
 
Head Coach Pete Lucock summarised by saying: “In the first half we were forced to weather a storm, but full credit to the boys for the reaction we got after half-time. We played a bit loose at times in the first half and were fortunate to go in 14 – 3 ahead. 
 
“We showed in the second half what we can do when we earn the right to play. Going forwards, we need to be adaptable to the opposition and I think that’s what we did. 
 
“We’ve developed well as a team over the course of the season and need to remain focused if we are to achieve our ultimate ambitions this year. If the pain of last year stands for anything, it will be motivation for this last block of games. The whole squad will be fired up for next week’s game against Lymm as they are the only team to beat us. It’s important that we pick from a competitive squad and lots of boys stuck their hand up today with good performances.”