By Bifta on 7/4/2003
April 8 2003

What would the theme tune to "The Great Escape" sound like whistled by 4,500 people in Headingley stadium? Perhaps we should give it a try, as it appears to be a worthy motif for this Tykes team. Last year we escaped relegation, this year we have escaped certain defeats with last minute goals.

For the ice-cool Steve McQueen read BVS, although of course McQueen never actually got away, something BVS has achieved!

But whatever that magic ingredient is, Tykes have it in spades. As waves of pressure crashed down on the beleaguered Quins try line, Dan Luger crept up too far on the offside line and was sin-binned. Leeds, for once, produced some slick handling to send Diego Albanese in near the posts. Van Straaten, cool as ever, stroked the ball through the uprights to finish the job.

Leeds started the match in feisty form, Headingley buzzing with the news that Dan Scarbrough was to wear the 13 shirt and that Diego would be demonstrating his belief that kicking for safety is some form of blasphemy from full back. Less thrilling was the absence of George Harder, mysterious and as yet unexplained. Quins arrived with their internationals in tow, but the seasoned observer would note that, for all Greenwood's skills, Leonard's enduring solidity and Luger's speed, Paul Burke is the metronome at the heart of this Quins side. Van Straaten may have kicked more points, but Burke's accuracy record is a world-class 83%, and his kicking from hand was equally assured, unlike many of Leeds' efforts.

But it was Van Straaten who had the better of the early exchanges, with Leeds taking advantage of some excellent driving around the fringes to release the ball early and wide. Scarbrough had already made a half break that encouraged the belief that centre could be his best position, when some slick handling from Dan Hyde and Alan Dickens put Chris Hall in open space. Hall is deceptively quick, and this season has demonstrated that he is well-equipped to thrive in the Premiership. Leeds went in at half time 13-6 to the good, and looking to pull clear in the second half.

Things started well, with Diego totally befuddling Dan Luger and making yards up the touchline, but Leeds' notorious failing of kicking possession away started to surface. Aimless punts became the order of the day, allowing the Quins forwards some respite from the bullying they had been given in the first half. And then calamity struck as Luger picked an elusive line through a crowd of players, straightened and accelerated in under the posts. Form is temporary, class is forever. Leeds became more and more rattled, and lost part of their most incisive edge when Scarbrough was forced from the field through injury. Burke heaped the pressure on with a penalty and a drop goal, and until the dramatic finale it seemed as if the fly half had guided Quins home.

Talking Points

Until he limped off Dan looked competent and incisive at outside centre, and helped in getting the ball wide and at speed. Diego lived up to his attacking beliefs, kicked the ball once, then ran the rest of the possession that came his way. The forwards dominated the first half then mysteriously went off the boil, probably through lack of match practice. One interesting decision was Popham starting, presumably he has been performing well in training, as Isaac has been dominant from No.8 in competetive games this season.

We are starting to see what life without BVS will be like, Davies is clearly looking for handlers of the ball and quick thinkers, such as Dickens and Albanese, to influence the game more. But until we start putting away our chances, and retaining the ball with more composure, we will still need a sound kicker to help us make those great escapes.