Match report 21 March

Tykes triumph in thrilling try-fest

Leeds Tykes outlasted Tonbridge Juddians in a breathless, 14-try shoot-out at The Sycamores, prevailing 53-48 to secure a much-needed bonus-point victory.

The hosts struck first, Sebi Krippner finishing out wide after a powerful opening drive, with Eddie Crossland converting. TJs responded swiftly through Vince Everitt but missed the extras, and the tone was set for a helter-skelter afternoon.

Leeds regained the initiative when Kieran Davies crossed, again improved by Crossland, only for Curtis Barnes to reply in kind for the visitors, with Connor Lloyd adding the conversion. Charlie Venables then restored the Tykes’ advantage with a sharp tap-and-go score, before Crossland’s clever dummy sent him under the posts to seal the bonus point inside 20 minutes.

Yet TJs refused to relent. Barnes grabbed his second and Thomas Kendrick added another to bring the visitors level on tries, trailing narrowly 28-24 at the break.

Crossland nudged Leeds further ahead with a penalty early in the second half, but Lloyd pounced on a quick tap to score and convert, swinging momentum back towards the Kent side.

Krippner then took centre stage, striking twice in four minutes, both converted, to give Leeds breathing space. Still, TJs would not go away. Kendrick crossed again and Barnes completed his hat-trick in a relentless attacking display to level matters at 45-45.

The decisive moment came on sixty-eight minutes when Krippner surged down the wing for his fourth try of the afternoon, edging the Tykes back in front. Crossland’s late penalty stretched the margin, though Lloyd had the final say with a kick that ensured a losing bonus point for the visitors.

In a breathless, end-to-end encounter, Leeds held firm when it mattered to take maximum points.

Speaking after the match, Director of Rugby Pete Seabourne said: “Wow, what a game! One hundred points – it’s good that we’ve come out on the right side of that one. We needed it. The boys adjusted well, we scored some nice tries and we played some good stuff as well. So did Tonbridge, to be fair – they came here to play and they are a nice, tidy side and they showed that today. I think we just wanted that little bit more. I’m really pleased with everybody. It was good to get Adam Brown back on the field. Good to get Kieran back after his short break. Now we can have a couple of weeks off, we can plan, chill out a little bit and then we go to Birmingham in three weeks’ time.

“I would like to pay tribute again to the people that we’ve lost at the club recently. It’s been a tough few weeks for everybody, but we’ve got through it.”

Adam Brown explained what it was like to be back on the pitch: “Being on for twenty minutes was awesome! It’s been six months and a day since I got injured, so it felt weird coming off the bench. I was pretty nervous for the first half, then when I got told, ‘You’re going on’, it was just pure excitement and getting ready to get back into it with twenty minutes left. When all the boys were putting in the hard work, I just had a bit of an easier job, so it was good.

“I thought I needed to get back in the midst of it, so I tried to make an impact wherever I could. There was an opportunity to rip the ball in their half. I got the ball back and then Sebi went and scored his third, or was it his fourth? It’s good to be back.”