Phil Davies praised his side’s character after a strong second half display saw them run out 8-33 victors at Hull Ionians’ Brantingham Park.
Leeds started on the front foot, a period of sustained attack led to the first penalty of the game, which was duly dispatched by Kieran Davies. 0-3.
The home side responded immediately to level the match at 3-3. Davies added two further penalties to extend the Tykes lead to 3-9.
The first try of the game soon followed, star man Davies made a brilliant line break which allowed Tobi Ademakin to run onto the ball at pace and rumble over. The conversion was missed leaving the score at 3-14.
The referee bought the first half to a close on thirty minutes as per the rules of the tournament.
Ionians started the second half in style and got over for their first try shortly after some good Tykes defence had held them up over the line. Their conversion drifted wide in the wind, but the gap was narrowed to 8-14.
Davies nudged a penalty just wide of the uprights before some quick hands moved the Tykes into the danger zone. A succession of holes were exploited in the opposition defence, eventually allowing Ademakin to barge over for his second try from close range. Kieran added the extras to make the score 8-21.
Soon afterwards, front rower Harry Whitfield got himself on the scoresheet following a quick tap restart. Davies found the post with his conversion attempt, taking the score to 8-26.
The final score of the game came from Dan Burke, who started and finished the same move which saw a nice combination of forwards and backs get their hands on the ball. Davies’ boot was on target once again, 8-33.
In the dying moments of the game Will Hill saw yellow for a high tackle. Luckily, the disadvantage didn’t affect the Tykes as the referee blew for full time to signal a resounding victory.
The win sees the Tykes top the pool, with a place in the final at Emerald Headingley now firmly in their sights.
After the game, a delighted Phil Davies said: “It’s great to see how we are developing week by week. The boys are paying with smiles on their faces and that’s all we can ask for at this stage.
“The forwards were getting around the pitch and causing them some problems as we started to get to grips with the new rule variations.”
Next week sees the return fixture at West Park Leeds RUFC, our first home match that is open to the public. We look forward to welcoming you to our new home.
