By apb on 8/12/2003
December 8 2003

A cold day saw the debut of Leeds Tykes in the Heineken Cup, and their first opponents were the new merged regional outfit from South Wales, the Neath/Swansea Ospreys. The predictions before the match were for an away win, and secretly many fans will have feared that outcome was the most likely....

The game started very briskly, and the first few minutes were Tykes all the way, with the most notable moment that of Phil Murphy blazing down the left wing. From my distant vantage point it looked as though he was in for a certain try, but it appeared as if he got something of a nosebleed that far up the pitch and looked for support and the moment was lost. (Perhaps someone in the North Stand could recount the story as to whether this was really the case or not!)

The next phases were equally promising, with the ball going through lots of hands and good pace from all the backs, with a fantastic run from the little Argentinian only spoiled by a knock-on just yards from the line. The resulting scrummage showed the referee being fussy, and the result was a penalty for the Tykes. The confidence was high, and Goggs kicked to the corner. Scrum followed lineout, and once again the fussy ref. blew up, this time giving a free kick to The Ospreys. Good lineout ball was secured, and phase after phase of possesion was granted to the Tykes. A massive overlap on the left-hand side opened up, but Persico didn't need it and scampered across for the first score of the match. Goggs added the extras and it was 7-0. A great start!

Unfortunately, the Tykes players also thought this was a great start, and seemed to be still telling each other this when The Ospreys restarted, and some sloppy tackling allowed Shane Williams in near the posts for a soft score, with Shaun Connor adding the extras. 7-7, and suddenly it wasn't so rosy.

The Tykes picked themselves up, and a good passage of play re-emerged, with excellent passing and handling between all players, forwards and backs. This didn't seem to result in too many opportunities for try-scoring, so the logical choice was made by Goggs attempted drop-goal. Sadly, it was a pretty poor attempt, and remained the only such one for the Tykes all game. Shortly after, a handling offence in a ruck situation gave the chance of a place-kick, and Goggs duly put the ball over. Following the restart an almost identical passage of play ensued, with the same result - a penalty, allowing Goggs to bring the score up to 13-7.

The game seemed to settle into a pattern now, with The Ospreys in possession looking dangerous in the 1-on-1 situation without seeming to threaten the line, while the Tykes possession was good and flowing, but lacked huge penetration - Diego's chip kicks providing the impetus for forward momentum on more than one occasion. One of these moments allowed new boy Snyman to break the line, only for the scoring pass to go astray. He made up for it just minutes later, going over for a superb team try. Goggs did his duty again, and the score was a much more respectable 20-7, which remained the case as the half time whistle went.

Now at this point I have to own up. The second half was my fault. As the whistle went, and the Heineken men continued on their solumn duty to refresh the fans who were too cold to move from their place in the stand, I turned to Loosehead stood next to me and said (I can hardly bear to admit it): "They looked pretty good. Apart from the occasional loose tackle in defence, they look to be the finished article." Oh Dear!

As the second half started, the Tykes seemed to carry on where they left off, applying good pressure, but without threatening the line too much. Ospresy in possession looked dangerous but were always repelled, and then, after 47 minutes of the match, one Mr. S. Gibbs took to the field. The Ospreys seemed to gain confidence at this, and the first touch of the ball that Gibbs had was to touch the ball down for a deserved try. Connor got the conversion, and the score became a nail-biting 20-14, followed up by a well taken - if predictable - drop-goal from Connor making it 20-17.

At this point, Jimmy Ponton's work was done, and he and Phil Christophers made way for Colm Rigney and Scabs. The fussiness at the scrum continued, with two penalties awarded to Leeds, the first one missed, but the second was sheer showing off from Goggs who bounced the ball off both posts before getting the three points. 23-17.

From the restart, loose ball was retrieved by Ospreys, but Leeds were fast to the ball, and Scarbrough dribbled the ball Goerge Best style down the line, and a fantiastic try ........ was disallowed for a double movement. Once again, I was too far away, but it looked all right to me!

The final few minutes of the match were taken with penalty exchanges, with Leeds kicking two to the Ospreys one, giving a final score of 29-20.

Once again, Leeds played for one half and lost their way in another. The pre-match predictions of a loss were however, unjustified, and Leeds fully deserved the win in the end. No disrespect intended to the Ospreys, who looked a very useful outfit, and will be a tougher prospect in the return fixture in the new year. However if they are to go further in the competition, as we all hope they will, the Tykes will have to learn to play as well as they did in the first half for the whole 80+ minutes.

With Edinburgh's surprise victory over Toulouse, this win leaves Leeds if not top of the pool, they are certainly higher than anyone had a right to expect.

Next stop, Toulouse, and as Andycap says on the messageboard, ALLEZ LES TYKES!!!!

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