Sat 27 Nov 2021, 14:00
Director of Rugby, Phil Davies, praised his side’s character after they came back from a 15-point deficit to emerge from a blustery Volac Park victorious.
Following a succession of early infringements, the visitors were forced onto the back foot after a period of ill-discipline. This resulted in Tom Collins finding his way to the sin bin.
After 18 minutes the Tykes were left with a mountain to climb, having shipped in three quick tries courtesy of Anthony Maka, Jake Garside and Matt Hema. The Cambridge fly-half Lawrence Rayner left his kicking boots at home, with each conversion attempt falling foul of the wind. Little did he know how costly those misses would prove to be.
The Tykes got a foothold in the game after the hosts were reduced to fourteen when Ben Adams saw yellow. Andrew Lawson took advantage of this on the stroke of half time. The try was converted to reduce the arrears at the interval to 15-7.
The score just before the break gave the Tykes the platform that they needed to turn the game to their advantage.
Twelve minutes of sustained pressure from the Tykes at the start of the second half eventually saw Xavier Valentine crash over the whitewash, Charlie Venables added the extras to apply further pressure to the hosts.
With the score almost tied at 15-14, firm rear-guard action ensured the home side were unable to add to their tally. True to the script, Venables stepped up on 56 minutes to edge the Yorkshiremen in front as he coolly slotted over the crucial three pointer.
Despite a wave of changes from both sides, the Tykes defence stood firm against both the Cambridge attack and the wintry conditions to emerge as worthy weather-beaten winners. As the referee brought proceedings to a close, the scoreboard read 15-17 in Leads’ favour.
Speaking after the game, a shivering Phil Davies said: “We are obviously delighted with the win. The performance in the second half demonstrates the control, courage and spirit within the squad and epitomises the four pillars we are trying to build on. Full credit to the boys, whose determination can never be questioned.”
