Leeds Tykes 81-17 Pertemps Bees

I arrived at Headingley at one o'clock and as soon as I opened the door I realised it would be a little cold and corners of the pitch a little frozen. Having previously thought it was a 2pm kick off, I was slightly confused by the incredible lack of fans. I was still confused however at 2.30pm when the game did kick off. It was a very disappointing turn-out personally. I apreciate that it was a low priority game and Christmas shopping was probably in order but I was expecting a few more fans. The final attendance of around 1200 was slightly more than I thought but still not very many.

So, we come to the game. Considering I wasn't expecting much, I wasn't really all that bothered what the final score was but I was very disappointed with the first half. Bees played their hearts out, but we're severely let down by Mr Lander.

Just moments before kick off, I was approached by someone with an Australian accent asking for help. It turned out that he was a friend of Tim Walsh from his days being Queensland Red's first choice number ten. Very nice to meet you and I hope you found Walshie at the end.

It was bitterly cold when kick off finally arrived, fans decked out in Christmas hats galore, and the Bees fans were left slightly disappointed within the first minute of the game.

1) Bees kick off

2) Leeds forwards catch the ball and set up a few phases

3) Ross kicks the ball and Dave Knight knocks it on very close to our line giving them a scrum.

4) Scrum goes down and the referee walks towards the posts raising his arm.

It was a farcical decision and I really couldn't believe what Mr Lander was doing. There was no warning, penalties or anything, just straight to the penalty try- In the first minute of the game.

From then on, the first half was all Leeds as they racked up try after try creating overlap after overlap against a tiring Bees defence. Helped once again by some poor refereeing, I'm sure Tom Richardson really apreciated having Mr Lander run directly in front of him when trying to recover a clever chip over the top.

The last try of the first half was by far the worst. Leeds created another overlap and the winger Cristophers ran in at the corner. He was tackled on the five metre line by Dave Knight, who put him miles into touch, his knee being on the ground, a whole 6 inches over the touch line. Cristphers got up and scampered over the line sheepishly, not expecting the try to be given. He got up and gave the ball back to us. The Leeds fans didn't think it was a try and nor did the players who were warming up on the side line in that corner, yet the touchjudge decided that the try was good. A shocking decision from officials who were very poor in the first half.

Bees went in 40-0 down at halftime, although Bees had actually played quite well. They had a large chunk of possesion and probably could have scored a few tries. They appeared to give Leeds far too much respect up front. Centres Mike Davies and Scott Williams- Greenaway defended resolutely and attacked quite well. Matt Miles did very well up front and made Ronnie Regan look very ordinary.

Unfortunately Paul Knight had to be withdrawen due to an injured leg. Updates on his condition during the week.

Due to the temperature struggling to get into the positive digits, I decided to ditch my place behind the Bees line for the collective warmth of the South Stand.

All credit must go to both sets of fans who enjoyed some great banter, the Bees boys making some noise, out singing their Northern Colleagues for huge periods of the second half, some improptue chants towards Terry the Tyke (or Hamster) entertaining both sets of fans.

Bees stepped up the pace in the second half and were very much equal to their opponents for huge periods of the game. Bees scored two tries in this period, the first through some great forward attacks leading to Rob Hurrell rolling over from two yards, the second from a barnstorming break from Hese leading to Mark Woodrow getting the ball, chipping through and Aaron Takarangi collecting and touching down. This improved play gave the Bees fans plenty to cheer about.

At the other end Leeds were continually touching down as a weary Bees defence struggled to combat the overlaps and the ball was continually flung to the left side winger who touched down a number of times.

Leeds were by far the better side but Bees fought resolutely and worked hard throughout. The score seriously flattered the Tykes especially in the second half.

After the game I was slightly disappointed by the Bees players. Only a few players came out after the game to thank the fans who did their team proud, and I feel that it would have been nice if more of the team could've appeared.

I then went into the Long Room Bar where John Bentley was doing a presentation. He is one of my alltime heroes due to his performances for the Lions in South Africa and how he overcome the odds to succeed. A top man.

On the way out, going home I bumped into Tim Stimpson at the door. We stopped and had a chat and he was a really nice bloke. When we were outside, he stopped us to make sure that we knew exactly where we were going to get to the motorway and he was really friendly. Thank you Tim

In conclusion, I didn't really expect much but scoring two tries was a real plus. Bees played really well, tried really hard and the scoreline didn't really reflect that properly.

WELL DONE BEES, YOU DID US PROUD.

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