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Photos: Ruth Gibson
York’s Rugby 1st XV learnt the importance of concentration and the destructive effects of complacency the hard way as they inexcusably let a 17-0 lead slip on Wednesday.
Their shocking loss to Leeds Met 2nd XV, seemingly strengthened thanks to their 1st team being without a fixture, was a prime example of a game of two halves, as the hosts’ near perfect display of the first period became an unrecognisable shambles in the second.
When you consider York’s sheer dominance in the forwards, especially in the line-out, from which Adam Gaskill frequently stole Leeds’ ball, and in the scrum, it becomes even more difficult to understand how the men in black and gold failed to win the match.
After York defended capably early on, Tom Chadwick dinked a cheeky kick over the Leeds back line and found touch inside their 22. York’s forwards then contributed by turning the line out and winning a penalty on the five metre line. Chadwick showed intent and kicked for the corner., and after winning the line out, scrum half William Peters picked the ball from the back of the resulting ruck and went over to open the scoring. Chadwick converted to give York an early 7-0 lead.
The York defence was extremely solid, thwarting all attempts by Leeds Met to level the scoring. Whilst they were putting pressure on the opposition and forcing them to make mistakes, they were making almost none of their own.
A perfect example of this led to York’s next try. The Leeds Met full back fumbled a very catchable kick under the pressure of an onrushing Will Sharp and Sam Lord was able to collect the loose ball. He slung an excellent pass out wide to captain James Faktor, who finished well to make it 12-0.
A great forward’s try then increased York’s lead to 17 points late in the half. With Chadwick having once again found touch deep in the Leeds 22 from a penalty, Faktor commandingly won the line out ball and a rolling maul of black shirts thundered over the line. Campbell Paton provided the finishing touches and York looked in complete control.
The men in purple did manage to breach the wall-like York defence just before half-time though, and Chadwick missed a penalty in the final minute of the half, making it 17-7 at half time, with the late try the only slight stain on an immaculate York performance.
Unfortunately for the hosts, the second half was as catastrophic as the first was impressive. The men from Leeds rallied well, but there was no doubt that York had the larger part to play in their own downfall.
They conceded another try very early on in the half after an excellent break from the Leeds Met inside centre and then a huge mistake allowed their opponents to draw level.
After Chadwick had missed a tricky penalty, Leeds kicked clear. Ben Turner collected and attempted to sling a wide pass well inside his own 22. The game seemed to go in slow motion as the Leeds Met number 13 intercepted the pass and ran in under the posts with ease, with the conversion making it 17-17.
The visitors completed the dramatic turnaround with a penalty, and York suddenly found themselves trailing 20-17. It was almost like they couldn’t believe it was happening, and they were too shocked to provide a response.
They pushed hard, but York were lacking that killer instinct they had in the opening period. They couldn’t penetrate a now stouter Leeds defence and in the end the heart stopping sound of the final whistle carried with it a certain sense of inevitability. ‘I’m devastated’, said a reflective James Faktor after the game. ‘In the first half we played some of the best rugby we’ve played so far and maybe that’s why complacency kicked in. Maybe we thought the job was done. We’ll learn from it though. I know we can play rugby like we did [in the first half] all the time’.
Despite this being the 1st XV’s first loss of the season, both the 2nd and 3rd teams are yet to win a game. It is clear then, that UYRUFC as a whole need to work hard to turn this season around. If, as Faktor says, the 1sts do learn from this defeat then they look like a team who could really challenge for promotion again this season, whilst the club’s lower tiers are simply desperate for a victory.