Your author also had a little adventure.  Starting at the start – this afternoon straight after my 2-hour history seminar I got a bus to Manchester Piccadilly station for the 16.30 train to Leeds, arriving on time at 17.36.  Then I just missed the 17.45 bus to Roundhay, and after taking the next one I got lost and went the wrong way (the bus having approached Roundhay Park from the south, not the north as I’d expected).  After asking for directions though, a quick walk to Chandos Park was interrupted by the discovery of a bus stop just beside the ground, served by a different bus to the one I’d got.  Live and learn.

Chandos Park is, I would’ve thought, a typical amateur rugby ground, with a covered stand (without seats) beside the clubhouse, a small concrete terrace opposite, and grass at each end.  During the day it must seem very vast and open, but at night it wasn’t so much.  The bar was adorned with plaques of previous opponents and photos commemorating the history of Roundhay and Leeds RUFC, including a Gosforth pennant in a glass cabinet.  The barman, Michael, apparently used to play for Gosforth though I didn’t catch his surname.

Finally at 7.30pm, half an hour later than I expected, the game got underway and we scored two tries almost immediately through Adam Dehaty and Ollie Phillips, one in each corner, though both were unconverted.  An alert interception on our line from Danny Brown prevented a Leeds try on their first attack, before Toby Flood kicked his first points of the night with a penalty, as well as converting a Jason Smithson try.  The bonus point was secured after less than 20 minutes when Phillips’ scything run allowed Ed Burrill an opening, and with Flood’s conversion, this meant we led 0-27 after only a quarter of the match!  The Leeds coach’s prediction that they would win by 50 was looking decidedly shaky.

The rest of the first half didn’t go to plan though, as first Mark Wilkinson was sin-binned, Smithson injured and substituted and then Leeds were awarded a penalty try after a lineout.  The conversion by Pease was the last act of a fantastic first half, and we took a 7-27 lead into the break.  Peter Walton had earned his half-time cigarette in the car park!

The second period followed the same pattern as we almost totally dominated the hosts.  Andy Buist had a good chance to score a few metres out but dropped a pass.  But our fifth try was not long delayed – when Burrill received the ball on the right of the 22, kicked down the line and forced Leeds to kick into touch behind their try line, we moved infield from the scrum for Steve Jones to touch down.  With Flood’s conversion we led 7-34 with twenty minutes to go, but Leeds pulled a second try back through right winger Hughes, who received the ball in his own half and ran almost unchallenged into the corner for a converted score.  Newcastle hit back almost straight away though, Geoff Parling this time the scorer driving through from ten metres.  Jones this time kicked the conversion.

Phillips went on another great run down the right and looked odds-on to score until tackled over the flag, but we stole the ball from the lineout for substitute Mark Laycock to grab the seventh try.  Another conversion from Jones completed the scoring, and though we spent the last few minutes defending a Tykes onslaught, an excellent 14-48 victory was secured.

After the game I made immediately for the bus to try to make a 21.44 train back to Manchester (otherwise I’d have had to wait until almost 11pm).  Arriving at the station just after at 21.46, I found a 21.53 which got me back at 11, not after midnight fortunately.

So, a cracking, seven-try away win for our second XV in Yorkshire.  I think there are so many positives to be taken from this game – SEVEN tries scored, Toby Flood’s kicking, the pace of Burrill and Phillips on the wings and our forwards totally destroying the Leeds pack.  Not to mention probably 90% (I kid you not) territorial domination.  The only negative thing would be that we let Leeds score two tries despite camping practically the entire match in their half.

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon