By Tim Fitzpatrick
December 5 2006

Last night's A-team played Sale Jets in what can politely be described as atrocious conditions. Timofe reports on his experiences at his first A-team match at Chandos. On my first trip to Chandos for a competitive match I was unsure what to expect. Would it be like the pre-season games, with less than full contact and bizarre application of the rules? Would it 'ell!

A scrappy first half in driving rain saw a lot of spilled ball and kicking was more than a lottery (even with the wind).

How Sales 11 managed to keep a Daz-white shirt when all around him were covered in mud was beyond those of us in the Perpignan-reminiscent weather-beaten stand.

Sale bossed the first half but couldn't get many points on the board - their efforts coming from two penalty kicks close to the posts.

Half-time must have involved a few words of encouragement, because the Tykes side that returned to the field looked much more disciplined.

The addition of Adam Greendale at 10 brought stability to the back row who had been impressive in patches, but a little ragged in their line until that point. This was the first time I had seen Greendale and I must say that his reputation was well deserved.

It was the better shape of the Leeds rolling maul that impressed me the most however. The first half had been a large, flat-fronted beast easy to get in the way of by the mainly older, more experienced Sale players. The second half's maul was more pointed, less panicky and so much more effective, driving tens of metres down-field on more than one occasion. The try by Chris Steel showing the Leeds forwards' dominance in the conditions.

Leeds spent what seemed like forever holding their defensive line in the last few minutes of the game against a Sale team determined to score one back and force at least a draw, but the Jets ultimately failed and the Tykes gained a worthy win.

It was my first trip to see the A-team, but it won't be my last!