By Oopnorth on 12/05/2003
May 12 2003

Everything about this game should have made it a classic. The Tykes after rediscovering some form were coming off a good win over Gloucester, and the Saints in good order after comprehensively beating Sale.

The weather and pitch were both perfect, with a capacity crowd of mosty Saints fans at their noisy best, and a couple of hundred Tykes dotted around the stands. Two prizes were on offer, a guaranteed Heineken Cup spot, and the tantalising possibility that Sale's dip in form and Saracens desperation could catapult the winners into the Champonship play-offs.

So, was it a classic?

Ermm, no. The Tykes dominated territory and possession throughout the first half and the pressure they exerted in the Saints half resulted in a string of penalties for Van Straaten. Leeds opted to kick on each of five occasions, mostly from mid to long distance, and to get points on the board. Nothing about either sides' approach suggested there would be much in the way of tries or ambitious open play so arguably this was the right thing to do with a world class kicker in the side. However BVS' kicking boots in the last couple of games have clearly been treated with the wrong polish and he managed to convert only 2 of 5 chances. This would not have mattered so much if the side had been able to convert the pressure on the Saints line on a number of occasions into a try or two. But it was not to be with errors and stout Saints defence frustrating the Tykes efforts.

Saints on the other hand were trying nothing fancy and biding their time. On the two occasions they ventured into Tykes territory in the first half they came away with points. Firstly after some neat forward driving Grayson popped over an easy drop goal. Secondly and near half time further pack pressure and some nifty handling by Cohen and Beal put Jorgensen in at the corner. So a missed conversion but an 8-6 lead to Saints seemed a poor reward for a good if uninspiring 40 minutes of toil by the Tykes. Still the game was there to be won as both Dawson and Grayson were clearly carrying injuries, and the Tykes are a good second half team - aren't they?

So, the super fit Tykes powered through then.

Errm, no again. The battle between the packs was generally even over the whole game but the Saints began to have the edge in the second half especially in the scrum. This resulted in two penalties for their emergency kicker Reihana either side of a sin binning for Regan - after some disagreements between him and the England hooker Thompson. Although the Tykes didn't leak points in the period while down to 14 men they seemed to tire in the forwards, and as the game wore on the backs tried to force the game when possession came their way. However despite some breaks by Harder and Ross the support play was lacking and too often the ball was turned over, or a penalty given for holding on. It is also fair to point out that the Saints international back line generally had the edge on attack and defence by working as the better unit.

With 10 minutes to go the Tykes were trailing 14-6 and we were hoping for some spark to take the Tykes into a rare second-half incursion to the Saints half. However it was not to be and the Saints pack finishing the stronger provided positions so that first Thompson and second Ripol could cross the line from close quarters.

So, are we disappointed?

Errrm, yes! And no! We matched a good Saints side but were not good enough on the day and that will disappoint the coaches, the team and the supporters. The team still have the wild card competition to end their season in the best style, and no-one, and certainly not one result, can gainsay that the 2002/3 Tykes have been one of the premiership teams of the season.

---