By apb on 4/1/2003
January 4 2003

It was a cold night. A cold, cold night. No dammit, an absolutely perishing night out in Headingley, and Mrs. Balshaw must have sent a note to the boss that little Iain wasn't allowed out to play tonight. That announcement itself will have set the Leeds dressing room buzzing.

And so it was that Leeds started briskly. A fourth minute chance was given away due to handling in the ruck, but Barkley was unable to make it tell, and the ensuing play - including a great run from Diego - gave a penalty to Leeds at around the 30m mark. BVS duly did the honours for a 3-0 lead. Another penalty was given - some dispute over what Mr. Pearson's signal actually meant - after 11 minutes, but this was scurfed badly in front of the posts and the score remained 3-0.

Following the restart from the Bath 22 a few friendly fists went flying, and a couple of props - one from each side - deservedly went for a ten minute rest. The following penalty allowed Bath to gain some ground, and a good kick ahead forced a mistake from Diego. However just as the ref. signalled for the Bath scrummage, the scrum-half inexplicably had a go at one of the Leeds players and the ref had no alternative but to reverse and give a Leeds penalty to enable their lines to be cleared.

After some good ground was made, another BVS penalty opportunity went begging, and we began to wonder if it would be one of those days. However all confidence was restored when a minute later, BVS slotted a simple one from the 20m line and the score became 6-0. This went up to 13-0 shortly afterwards when Gordon Ross's excellent grubber kick through created a Leeds line-out on the 22m line, and the forwards drove through to score in the corner - Tom Palner the man to get up with the ball. BVS converted and the half ended with the Leeds fans on a high.

Early in the second half, a long range attempt by BVS clattered the upright, but again the Bath clearance wasn't good, and some good positional play forced a Leeds line-out from 10m out. A great series of rolling mauls set up a try for Dan Hyde, and again BVS slotted the extra two for a lead of 20-0.

Leeds then appeared to take their foot off the pedal a bit. Against a top team at the top of their game, this would have been a lethal mistake. However on this evidence, Bath are no longer a top team, since they too appeared to take their foot off the pedal, and the next twenty minutes was pretty aimless. Bath attempted to pressure the Leeds line, but this is not really possible when you are going from side to side rather than forward. The Leeds defence never looked under threat. So it was a bit of a surprise when Gareth Cooper got through a gap and scored close to the posts. This was to be the only bit of enterprise we saw from a miserable Bath team. Barkley made the conversion for what was to be the final score of the match, 20-7. The game ended with a bit of a damp squib, since bath in possession were unable to think their way out a cardboard box, let alone across the try line!

Performance

Leeds played O.K. The forwards were workmanlike, got around the pitch and put in the effort when and where it was required. The kicking game was solid without being inspiring, and the interplay among the backs seems to have become a bit slicker of late. This might seem to be a bit harsh, but then the play looked the way it did because of one overriding fact that can be stated in three words:

1. Bath
2. were
3. awful!

I'm always very irritated by fans of a just beaten opposition who never really give credit to the winning side, but rather slate their own performances. It seems that every Leeds win is down to the ineptness of the backs, or the poor performance from the tight five, or "what kind of kicking game were we playing?!". Its never so much that we win, as the other team loses it. But if ever it was true, it was true today.

There was never once a time when I feared Bath would cross the line - the fact that they did in the second half (by which time the contest was all but over anyway) was as much a surprise to the Bath fans just behind me as it was to everyone else. This was the one piece of play they managed to put together without going sideways or backwards. They really had no ideas going forwards and were easily pinioned by the well-drilled Leeds defence. Bath fans have accused Leeds of being "one dimensional" - but hey, at least we've got one! In this game, Bath had no dimensions at all, and if they are to avoid the drop from the Premiership (RFU notwithstanding), then they had better hope that their only dimension - a certain Mr. Balshaw, who I understand might be a good player when he's fit - is ready to walk on water in the next few months.

And Now, the Prizegiving...

Players of note? Well, Gordon Ross is back on song, and the two tries by forwards Tom Palmer and Dan Hyde proved that the pack are getting back as well. Scarbrough was solid (his clearance kick early in the first half was truly a sight to behold!), and it was a real treat to see Scotty Benton back on the pitch at last! But my man of the match was Diego Albanese. Whenever Albanese got the ball, something looked like happening, and indeed it was his unpredictable running that eventually set up both Tom Palmer's try and caused many of the Bath infringements - leading to most of Van Straaten's penalty goals. Well played Diego!

Now on to Bristol in three weeks time, and with Scotty and George Harder fit for that game, it looks like that will be a game worth watching!