Phil Davies expressed his delight after watching his side claim a narrow 20-19 victory over Leeds Beckett RFC.
The match was his side’s first game together following the Coronavirus pandemic which saw their time in the Championship ended prematurely. After relegation came a complete reset, a return to the community-based approach that had served them so well in the past, at their new home West Park Leeds RUFC.
The game started in driving rain. Early possession was in favour of the visitors as Leeds struggled to adjust to the pace of the game, partly because of the new rule variations which promote ball in hand and minimise stoppages. Nevertheless, Tykes full back Kieran Davies broke the deadlock on eight minutes with a simple penalty. 3-0
The home side failed to consolidate their lead as Beckett responded immediately with the opening try. The Tykes failed to secure clean ball at the base of the ruck leading to a charge down by Beckett’s Max Coyle, who collected the loose ball and dotted down unopposed. Toomey added the extras to make the score. 3-7
The referee let the game flow in treacherous conditions and after their first period of sustained pressure, Davies slotted another penalty which cut the deficit to a single point. 6-7
Several changes followed as both teams lost players to injury, preventing either side from gaining any real ascendency. Ill discipline gave the visitors a chance to extend their lead and Toomey once again obliged. - 6-10
The sides traded penalties before the first half was brought to a close with a score of 9-13. Under the rules of the competition all matches will be 30 minutes each way. The home side came out fired up for the second stanza and Beckett eventually succumbed to the pressure when the ball went through several pairs of hands before Harry Jukes danced past the last line of defence to score our first try of the new era. Despite the conversation being missed we regained the lead. 14-13
Not to be outdone, the resilient visitors hit straight back with a penalty, in keeping with the seesaw nature of the match. 14-16
As a wrath of substitutes entered the fray, the game became disjointed and the handling errors started to creep in for both sides. Kieron Davies was again on target with the boot to edge the Tykes in front as we approached the final stages. 17-16
With neither side giving an inch the result was hanging in the balance. The visitors thought they had secured a valuable win when they nudged in front from the 22, again courtesy of Toomey’s boot. 17-19
The Tykes refused to fold and after waves of pressure, they were rewarded with a penalty. Kieran Davies scored the decisive points with the last kick, giving a final score of 20-19.
After the win, Phil Davies praised his side: “We showed a lot of promise in difficult conditions. It was great to see the boys playing together in a competitive game. Having started the match without a recognised hooker or scrum half, I’m happy with the result.”
Looking forward to next week’s trip to Hull Ionians, the Welshman added, “We have a starting point now which we can build on. It’s great to get the first win under our belts.”
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