By Skibum on 1/1/2003
January 4 2003

It was cold, windy and very wet, the M1 was full of idiots driving in lanes 2 and 3 at 60 MPH, there was a big queue to get in the ground, the Tetleys was rubbish, and theyd run out of steak pasties, It was 24th Feb 2002 all over again, and Leeds had a 100% record against Saracens to maintain.

It was obviously going to be the side that adapted best to the conditions that would win the day, last season it was BVS v Luke Smith at No.10 this year, crucially as it turned out it was Goggsy v Tim Horan.

Bright Start

The game started very brightly for Leeds, forcing an early scrum on the Sarries 5yd line, it came to nothing and Sarries were able to clear, the first clear chance for points fell to the home side, but Winnan missed a very kickable penalty from 40 yards.

Only 7 minutes in to the game and Saracens went down to 14 men as Califano was binned for stamping on Ronnie, BVS missed the resulting penalty from halfway. Two minutes later, however, BVS made amends with 3 points from a penalty awarded for not releasing the ball.

And then it went Wrong...

The next 10 - 15 minutes where error strewn and scrappy, Leeds were missing touch, kicking out on the full and failing to find the man at the lineout. Sarries were getting decent possession in good field position but continually knocking on. The only exciting moments had been provided by a couple of grubber kicks, a good chase by Winston Stanley took us to their 22 but we didnt make use of the resulting scrum.

After 27 minutes Goggsy was binned for a tackle off the ball, but the game continued in similar fashion, with neither side impressing the 9000+ crowd. Leeds then got the forwards moving with an excellent 30 yard rolling maul, stopped illegally by Saracens, penalty to BVS 35 yards out, surprisingly another miss.

Horan was easily winning the battle of the tactical kicking, whilst not gaining much distance, he was finding touch when needed, and more importantly finding his own men with little chip kicks and grubbers. Goggsy just got back to kick dead from one such chip from Horan, Ronnie was injured in midfield which annoyingly got clapped by some Sarries fans.

The crucial moment of the first half came nearly 6 minutes into added time, Zac somehow managed to lose the ball off the back of our own scrum, only 5 yards from our own line, Sarries moved the ball well across the field in what turned out to be the only fluent passage of play in the whole game. The ball eventually found Richard Hill on the right wing, only 7 yards out and Goggsy to beat, Hill steamrollered Ross and that was the try. Winnan missed the conversion.

Half Time

Saracens 5 Leeds 3

The second half continued as the first, Horan was ruling the show with his astute boot, Leeds putting pressure on themselves by losing lineouts and poor kicks. 3 minutes in to the half and Saracens extended the lead to 8-3 with a penalty to Winnan, following a late shoulder charge.

Then a brilliant kick and chase from Diego led to a penalty to Leeds, and a chance for BVS to cut the deficit; he missed another, accompanied by boos and shouts from a minority of Sarries fans (probably the same guys who drive at 60MPH in the 3rd lane of the M1).

Leeds seemed more than capable of keeping Saracens at bay, the tackling was superb, but were not showing much invention going forward, and no variety in their play. After 13 minutes Saracens made a change, Goode replaced Arasa, and Horan moved to centre. Leeds swap Stu Campbell and Jimmy Ponton for Chris Murphy and Carl Hogg, then a couple of minutes later we swap Hegarty for Dickens.

The change at 10 for Saracens, sees a shift in the balance for a few minutes, Goode kicks straight in to touch, then Sarries fail to find their men at a couple of lineouts, one of which provided Leeds with their best opportunity for a try. Dickens made a good break from the scrum and almost made the line under the sticks, Leeds where penalised for something - the signal from Mr. Goodliffe was not one that I or anyone around me recognised!

34 minutes gone and Sarries increase their lead to 8 points with a penalty by Goode. Leeds start to gather some momentum and increase the pressure on Sarries, a penalty for BVS with 5 minutes to go gives them a glimmer of hope, but the final efforts are not quite enough, although if the officials had seen the tug back on Diego right at the death, a penalty try could have been awarded.

Final Score

Saracens 11 Leeds 6

In my View

Leeds tackled well, the handling was much better than previous weeks but the tactical kicking and lineouts where poor, and Horan and Goode got the better of Ross. All in all it was a fair result, but we could easily have won the game.