Exactly what was needed to perk up the spirits and show that however bleak it looks one day, all it takes is one match to make things look a lot more positive again. The Calvisano game wasn't one of the best games of rugby you'll ever see. There were still the fair share of spilled passes, penalties given away, lost ball in contact. But the result - far above the performance - was the key thing. The second half performance was actually pretty good as well, so there's plenty to build on.

So, we have the beginnings of a rebellion against the forces of despair and ignominy. And like a real-life Luke Skywalker, we have this week the arrival of a young, charismatic prop who has been making the headlines for all the right reasons in the Southern Hemisphere, Kees Lensing.

As everyone will by now know, Kees is a monster loosehead prop who lives for scrummaging and mauling, and its exactly this kind of gritty hard nosed approach that should beef things up quite nicely thank-you. The Force is strong in this one...

This week sees the beginning of the Autumn Internationals period, meaning our opposition for Saturday, Sale Sharks, are without a whole star-cruiser full of international stars, with the boys from the Dark Side of the pennines having to field virtually a second team. That's fine by me - I'll take those five points any way I can get them!

Of course, like all evil empires, they won't be making it easy for us to battle against them, and Darth Saint Andre has still managed to name a very strong side - another example of strength in depth that Leeds can currently only dream about. Then again, I believe we're in as agood a position as we can be as far as playing staff is concerned; many of them are considered good enough to make "stand-by" England selection, without actually having to go and do all that tedious training with them that distracts from the serious job of winning for Leeds. So, small squad it may be, but it is still packed with quality from top to toe.

With the young apprentices of Biggs, Vickerman and Doherty now all getting consistent chances in the first XV to use their lightning pace, and the big powerful forwards all coming in to attack the opposition, there is a new hope in the Premiership Galaxy; The Leeds Jedi will be victorious, and bring balance and harmony to the force of rugby...

Teams

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