By Ian Birks
October 20 2003

This is the third time in three years that a visiting Leicester Tigers have been unable to field a full strength team to play Leeds Tykes at their home ground at Headingley, either through injury or international duty.

Coupled with a red card early in the first half, Leicester had it all to do against a strong and very able Leeds team who ran out on Sunday only a week after they turned over Londoners, Saracens, 41 points to 31.

A much improved first half performance from Leicester Tigers than of late was marred by the 16th minute sending off of James Hamilton for rucking dangerously.

By that time, penalty kicks had been exchanged, and the resulting penalty from Hamilton's indiscretion was converted by Hodge to take Leeds into a 6 - 3 lead. Even with 14 players on the field, the first half tries belonged to the Tigers! Sam Vesty got in for the first try of the day after 20 minutes following a good passage of play from Ollie Smith and replacement, Stimpson. Tigers could have got in again after Leeds had a clearing kick charged down,but the hack through just beat Will Skinner to the touchline. Skinner got in three minutes later, when the Leeds scrum half was caught in possession in his own 22 by Will Johnson allowing Skinner to run in from 15 metres to take the score to 6 - 15.

The final points of the half came from the boot Duncan Hodge who converted a penalty in the 38th minute to bring Leeds to within six of the visitors.

The second half saw Leeds take advantage of their extra man and a following wind, though it did take them ten minutes to get into full swing.

The Leeds game plan in the second period of play was to overpower the Leicester forwards, and to make them turn and run the length of the field with some excellent kicking from Duncan Hodge from their own possession.

The first of the four second half tries for Leeds came from Hyde. A break by Christophers was halted a metre short of the Leicester line, and the following five metre scrum, against a depleted Tigers pack, resulted in Hyde diving over to score his second try for the Tykes in two weeks

The second try of the half came from one of these searching kicks to the corner which lead to a Tigers throw on their own five metre. Chuter over cooked the throw, it appeared that no one jumped and the ball fell neatly into the hands of Leeds flanker, James Ponton, who only had to take a step and fall over the line to score unopposed. Two more converted penalties from Leeds opened a comfortable points difference for the home team, as the 14 man Tigers began to run out of steam.

Two more tries by Cardey and Hodge in the last five minutes takes Leeds Tykes to their third bonus point of the season and sees Leicester suffer their third consecutive loss, not only in the league, but in their three years of travelling northwards to play Leeds at their home ground.

Leicester can take some solace from the fact that they played some of their best rugby during the first forty minutes, albeit with a man down. Leeds, go on to take their third win from six games and now go five points clear of Tigers in the league.

The final score at Headingley: Leeds Tykes 39, Leicester Tigers 18.

Leeds Tykes v Leicester Tigers

19 Octoberr, 2003

Time		Leeds	Leicester	Score
		First Half
2	Pen		Myring(15)	0-3
14	Pen	Hodge(10)		3-3
14	Sub		Stimpson(22) on for Myring(15)
16	Sent Off	.	Hamilton(4)	.
18	Pen	Hodge(10)		6-3
	Sub		Ryder(18) on for Deacon B(6)
20	Try		Vesty(10)	6-8
22	Sub	Davies(22) on for Botham(12)
23	Try		Skinner(7)	6-13
23	Conv		Stimpson(22)	6-15
38	Pen	Hodge(10)		9-15
		Second Half
		Holt(17) on for Powell(1)
10	Try	Hyde(8)		14-15
11	Conv	Hodge(10)		16-15
18	Pen	Hodge(10)		19-15
20	Pen		Stimpson(22)	19-18
27	Try	Ponton(7)		24-18
	Sub		Tuilgi H(19) on for Johnson W(8)
30	Pen	Hodge(10)		27-18
32	Sub	Cardey(21) on for Scarbrough(14)	Holford(17) on for Chuter(2)
35			Tierney(20) on for Stimpson(22)
36	Try	Cardey(21)		32-18
	Sub		Richards(16) on for Nebbett(3)
39	Sub	Dickens?(20) on for Walker(9)
40	Try	Hodge(10)		37-18
41	Conv	Hodge(10)		39-18

Attendance: 4,073

Referee: D.Pearson

Touch judges: S.Savage and D.Helm

Statistics by Alison Birks