Leeds V Worcester Warriors, A Supporters View

by RT

The Headingley Test

In Leeds they will tell you that Headingley is the only place in the world where you can stand in the bar and look out over an international cricket ground through one window and an international rugby ground through the other.  The last time we were there, Iestyn Harris was playing for Leeds Rhinos and Worcester blew their chance of Premiership promotion that year by losing to Leeds Tykes.

To-day, the cricket ground looked very impressive as we rushed past the elegant Len Hutton gates.  The recent improvements have made it an intimate, enclosed arena, but the Warriors’ supporters didn’t stop to look.  The excited voice of the radio commentator was still ringing in our ears as we followed the roar of the crowd and tumbled into the rugby ground – to find Worcester 5 – 0 down.

The journey north had taken us over 5 hours because of a serious accident on the M1 and another in Leeds City Centre.  The Tykes had kindly delayed the kick-off for 30 minutes but, even so, we shared the opening minutes of the game with our coach-driver and the listeners to Radio Leeds. In the pre-match interview, Phil Davies had been generous in his praise of Worcester.  Leeds, more than anyone else, understands what we have had to do to get into the Premiership.  Phil Davies paid tribute to our coaches past and present, to Cecil Duckworth, to the players and to the supporters who well outnumber the usual gate at Headingley. After this, we heard the match kick-off…

The rugby stadium, unlike the cricket ground, has not had a make-over and, where we were sitting, many of the wooden seats were reduced to their concrete bases.  The atmosphere, however, was powerful, with sustained chants of “Warriors, Warriors” drowning out the home support.

Arriving after the kick-off is a strange experience, like opening the door to find yourself suddenly in the middle of someone else’s party. No food; no beer; no programmes; no banter with the opposing supporters; no cheers for the pre-match warm-up; no knowledge of the opposing players.  We arrived with our pulses racing and they didn’t really settle for the next 80 minutes…

…At the end of the game we once more had to be content with “un point” and a strong sense of what might have been. As they left the pitch, our players’ body language said it all, though it was nice to see Thinus Delport acknowledge the support they had received from the fans. Leeds supporters were sympathetic: “You’ve got a real team”; “You play attractive rugby with a positive attitude”; “You deserve to be in the Premiership”. The friendly tone that was set initially in Phil Davies’ interview, was sustained in the well-stocked shop where a kind woman took the trouble to hunt down a match-day programme which we had been too late to acquire on entry.  The programme, too, was welcoming in its coverage of Worcester.  We were pleased to add another tie and pin-badge to our collection from a team that still remembers its origins.

As we started the journey home, the sky in the West glowed scarlet – the colour the Warriors had worn.  Not, we thought hopefully, is this a case of walking quietly off into the sunset, but more a reminder of the old rhyme about red skies and shepherds: a fine day to-morrow…and a win against Gloucester next week!

RT