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SOLID PERFORMANCE FOR RHINOS..BACK TO WINNING WAYS

Great performance
By leedsrhinos.biz July 13 2008
Clinton Toopi was back for the Rhinos, for the first time since the Carnegie World Club Challenge victory over the Melbourne Storm at Elland Road. The conditions were awful, with continues down pours for most of the game. Could this mean Leeds couldn’t play their champagne rugby, and instead, try and grind out the win?

Match Report

Leeds Rhinos 46 Huddersfield Giants 8

 Friday 11th July 2008, Headingley Carnegie Stadium.

 

Clinton Toopi was back for the Rhinos, for the first time since the Carnegie World Club Challenge victory over the Melbourne Storm at Elland Road. The conditions were awful, with continues down pours for most of the game. Could this mean Leeds couldn’t play their champagne rugby, and instead, try and grind out the win?

The Giants got the scoreboard ticking: Thorman kicked for a penalty after the Frenchman Alibert called Leeds offside. 

It took eleven minutes for the Rhinos to score there first of the night: a nice offload from JJB found Webb, enabling him to break before Burrow nailed the ball forward, allowing Donald to ground the ball. Sinfield added the extras and the Rhinos were in the lead: 6-2.

Nine minutes later and after a few penalties, JJB was the man to offload again, but this time it was McGuire who caught it and who scored. Sinfield converted again to make the score 12-2.

It was Leeds who got the last points on the board. On twenty six, after getting head and feed at the scrum, JJB went over after receiving a flat pass from pocket rocket Burrow and got rewarded for his great offloading scores earlier in the half. Sinfield converted again, 18-2.

It was a good enough first half, if you take into account the conditions. The Giants never really looked like scoring, and the Rhinos didn’t take quite a few chances.

If it wasn’t good enough in the first half, it certainly was in the second.

The half got off to a blistering start within the first four minutes. A high kick on the last tackle was missed by Thorman, and the ball went bouncing into the in goal area, allowing McGuire just to put his hand on the ball to put another four points on the board. That six points now turned into six: 24-2.

It was only another five minutes until we were on the board again. Ellis weaved passed some Giant defenders before offloading to Ryan Hall who dived over the white wash next to the touchline. Sinny failed to convert but the score was still 28-2.

The score increased to 34-2 just minutes later; a McGuire kick on the last in front of the Carnegie Stand hit the post, and found its way over the line, before being touched down by Webb who really did deserve the try. Sinfield found the boot to make it 34-2. 

On sixty minutes, Leuluai knocked on straight from the kick off, not really what you want when you are trying to build up your points difference. From the scrum, the Giants moved straight to the right, allowing Aspinwall to ground it in the corner. Tohrman added the extras: 40-8.

Leeds then added the last points on the board on five minutes after the penalty, when Ryan Hall, who hasn’t had the best of performances recently, went over after some great keeping the ball alive. 46-8 was the final score after Sinfield converted once more from the touchline.

The performance of Friday was just what we needed to get out of the just after mid season blip. Leeds could and should of scored a few more. They certainly had plenty of chances and it’s something to build on ahead of next weeks pretty important trip to Catalans, and then of course the CCC semi against Saints at the Galpharm.

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