The home fans, still in a state of shock after two wins on the bounce, got a serious reality check as their side slipped 6-0 behind without a sniff of the ball.

When they did get hold of the egg some of the old failings re-emerged and apart from one searing break from Henry Fa’afili the homeside posed no threat to the visitors. One felt that the next score would be crucial, and when Hougaard popped over his second drop goal the writing was on the wall for the “come-back kids” This feeling was re-inforced when Ceiron Thomas went off injured midway through the half. Cometh the hour cometh Joe Ford and the young stand-off started to change the game. His main impact was his kicking from hand out of defence. Higher and shorter was the order of the day and this enabled the forwards (+ Lee Blackett) to get amongst the defenders and recycle some ball and relieve the pressure on the defenders. After a few missed chances Ford popped a penalty over to leave the lads in contention, albeit 9-3 down, at the break.

Last week our team put in a faultless first forty minutes. This week they saved their best for the second half. With the sun low in the sky behind them and the pack in the ascendancy the team poured forward with real purpose. Forwards and backs linked fluently and , led by the irresistible Seru Rabeni, started to punch holes in the Sarries’ defence. One cannot accurately measure the “Gomez effect” but the scrums developed a marked onesidedness as the pack turned the screws on its wilting opponents. Behind them Mathie got quite perky with darting breaks and slick passes from the quickening possession. When Titterall slotted his opposite number Lee Blackett was racing in for a try in the corner. The ref called him back, binned both hookers and gave Leeds a penalty. This gave Leeds an added advantage as the eponymous Justin Marshall, on for de Kock, thrice threw in straight to players in blue shirts. For me the turning point came just after Clark replaced Myall. With Sarries attacking up the middle in our 22 Calum tackled his opponent and turned the ball over to break up the attack. The referee did his bizarre best to keep the visitors in the game with another penalty to make it 12-6 but another Joe Ford penalty and a searing try from Lee Blackett, converted by Ford set the crowd on edge as Leeds took a lead that they never looked like losing. At 16-9 Mathie made a break, slipped the ball out wide to Faafili who , with the line beckoning, passed inside to Hepworth who for once failed to dance over for a try.

Ford dropped a goal with a few minutes left and the home side camped in the visitors 22 for the last few minutes until he win, which lifted the team into tenth spot, was secured. It is impossible to single out the ‘Neegs best player. The pack bested the opposition over the 80 minutes. Mathie pick up from a poor start. Ford was influential when he came on. The threequarters all defended well and linked up when they got the opportunity. Lee Hinton looked to be getting back to his best form. So why was this performance so different to most we have seen at HC this season? Confidence and self-belief, instilled by the coach have to be the answer. The club now has no need to fear any team in the Guinness Premiership. Long may it continue.

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