Leeds Tykes turned on the style in the sunshine at West Park, Leeds to brush aside a spirited Leeds Beckett, who fielded a youthful side keeping their best in reserve for the showpiece finale at Emerald Headingley.
Water breaks were essential in this match, which was considered a Beckett home fixture, as temperatures topped 25 degrees at kick-off. Scrum-half Conor Lloyd got the game underway, beginning what was to be a faultless display with the boot.
The game was played at a frantic pace considering the conditions. It took the Tykes several attempts to break down a resilient Beckett rear guard. Xavier Valentine eventually forced his way over to break the deadlock. Lloyd added the conversion to make the score 0-7.
Tom Collins dived over for the second try but much of the build-up cannot be reported due to bright sunlight shining directly in the eyes of the onlooking spectators. Lloyd again slotted the extras 0-14.
Beckett then had a man sent to the sin bin for denying a certain score when the Tykes had crafted an overlap. They soon made their man advantage count, scoring the final try of the half through Rory Wollaston. Lloyd drilled the ball through the uprights to take the halftime score to 0-21.
Immediately after the restart, Harry Jukes jinked his way through the defence showing his marker the inside after failing to get around the outside on two previous occasions. He dotted down unopposed to seal the bonus point. Lloyd kept up his 100% record, 0-28.
A period of end-to-end rugby followed with the Tykes defence holding firm to keep Beckett scoreless. The Tykes ran in for their fifth try through a mysterious number 23, who didn’t match the names on our teamsheet. Lloyd added two more points despite the wind picking up, 0-35.
The best attacking move of the game from the Tykes ended with Callum Atkinson going over after a string of well-placed passes. Conor Lloyd was kicking like clockwork and made the score 0-42.
Beckett went over for a consolation try out wide. This frustrated the Tykes defence who were beginning to sense a whitewash was on the cards. The touchline conversion drifted wide, 5-42.
Man of the match Lloyd converted his own score as the Tykes hit back immediately with what was a fine individual effort, 5-49.
James Magee got himself on the scoresheet with a simple try, substitute Kieran Davies took over kicking duties and his first effort went narrowly wide, 5-54.
Capitan Jake Brady earnt himself a 10-minute rest after seeing yellow for a high tackle.
Beckett nearly scored the try of the match after great invention from their prop forward to chip and chase into space brought about the biggest cheer of the day. Sadly, it came to nothing as a knock-on soon followed.
From that turnover, the Tykes went the length of the field with Charlie Venables sprinting over for the final score. Davies found the target with his second attempt as the referee brought the game to a close, 5-61.
After the game, skipper Jake Brady told the official website: “We are happy with the win and played some nice free-flowing rugby. We know have a lot to work on and are expecting a tougher challenge when they put out a stronger side for the final next week.
“It would be great to see a bumper crowd at Headingley for what promises to be a wonderful occasion for the city. Winning the final would be a great way to finish stage one of our long-term project to get the club back where we all feel it belongs.”
Tickets are available online now and supporters are encouraged to buy in advance with no cash turnstiles operational on the day.
Also, please look out for The Rugby Paper this week, available in newsagents and online. Our very own Jake Brady is the star of their ‘Room 101’ feature.
Here are our extended highlights from our You Tube channel
Photo of Harry Jukes courtesy of John Ashton
