Ding Dong!
Magic Jonny does it again
By Tony Jenkins
January 19 2009
Saturday saw the Tykes take a break from league action for a cup tie. The opposition were the Dings Crusaders, a side currently in mid-table of National 3 South. Dings turns out to be in one of the more colourful areas of Bristol. An easy trip down the M5 got the travelling Tykes faithful to the ground in plenty of time.
The locals were most welcoming; we were told that they'd
had Otley and London Welsh to their ground before, but Leeds were the biggest club yet. In honour of the occasion, the sports hall attached to the clubhouse had been turned into an overflow bar and it, along with the main bar, were full an hour before kick off.
There was no extra charge to enter the clubhouse, and Dings had even laid on a free buffet for all. Whenever a plate was finished, another one seemed to arrive. The travelling Tykes all tucked in, with no less than Professor Lee to the fore, getting outside a sizable plateful. There's no standing on ceremony at Dings; committee members, players and supporters all share the same facilities.
Outside, the pitch confronting the Tykes was not especially flat, and the going looked a little heavy in places. An icy wind was blowing down the pitch, and there was a hint of rain in the air. The Tykes came out to inspect the facilities, while the Dings players warmed up on the adjoining pitch.
Accommodation for spectators was basic and, on the whole, muddy. A small "stand" allowed some to gain some elevation, but it was standing only all around. Giles the video man found himself atop a rather rickety scaffolding platform, and found no-one keen to join him. Radio Leeds were apparently in a shed at one end of the ground, but their radio was broken.
A highlight just before the kick-off comes when the local television crew finally find some Tykes supporters, and chose to interview DartagnanTyke. DartagnanTyke praises the Dings setup, and then promptly forecasts a 50 point win for the Tykes. This goes down well.
There appear to be about 20 Tykes supporters in the ground at the start of the game. Massed on the "stand" they manage a decent cheer as the team come out. But this is nothing to the cheer for the home side; the Dings supporters have clearly been reinforced by other Bristolians.
Leeds start with Goodridge at full back, Blackett and Welding on the wings, and Vickerman and Brooks in the centres. Di Bernado partners Mathie at half back. The pack consists of McGee, Nilsen, Bucknall, Lund, Myall, Boyde, Rowan and Dunbar. Rowan is making his debut, and Myall is captain for the day. Leeds play the first half into the biting wind, mostly up hill. The bench (and they do actually get six plastic seats) consists of Gomez, Ma'asi, Pendlebury, Fourie, Hepworth, Hinton and White. White, being youngest, is not allowed a seat. Ma'asi looks very cold. Young Greendale is on water carrying duty.
The first few minutes of the game are very even. Dings are clearly up for this, and throw themselves into every tackle. It's end to end stuff, until the 7th minute when a kick over the top from Jaffa sees the tanned flyer retrieve the ball and score. The Doctor adds the conversion, and the Tykes are on the way at 7-0.
It appears that this early score has thrown Dings off balance a little. The kick off goes straight into touch, Leeds get the ball from the line, and spin it wide. Sparky is clobbered, but the forwards arrive to recycle and some good work by JD and Robo (Rowan) puts Brooksy over on 10 minutes. The good Doctor makes it 14-0.
Dings make a better job of the next kick off and, on 15 minutes, have a penalty in front of the Leeds posts, about 30 yards out. They turn down the easy three points to go for the corner, but the line out is lost as the ball sails over the top. Leeds work the ball up to the other end, and get their own penalty on the Dings 22. It's kicked to the corner, and a catch and drive puts Robo over for a debut try. The conversion is missed, so it's 19-0 after 16 minutes.
Dings are still going, and for the better part of the next 10 minutes
they're on the attack. A penalty near the Leeds line is turned down in favour of a scrum, but the resulting cross-field kick is easily fielded by Jaffa. Another Dings penalty is kicked to the corner, but the ball is turned over and Leeds clear. Gradually Leeds work up to the Dings end of the field and, on 29 minutes, the Doctor breaks the Dings line on half way and feeds Vicks for the score under the posts. The conversion makes it 26-0.
A problem now emerges. It seems that Dings have only one ball, and there are constant delays as the ball is retrieved. A Leeds penalty on 33 minutes sees the Doctor (presumably not aware of the ball situation) hoof the ball over the clubhouse into an adjoining garden. There is a delay while a new ball is sought. Eventually, a small child emerges from the opposite side of the pitch and sprints across to deliver another ball. He is cheered all the way there and back.
Armed once more with a ball, Leeds took possession from the line out. Dings turned the ball over, but promptly knocked on. Mathie grabbed the ball from the resulting scrum, and sprinted over. The Doctor slotted the kick to bring the score to 33-0.
There is great excitement a few minutes later when it emerges that the lost ball has been recovered, so the game can now proceed with two (but only one at a time, obviously). The spirit in which Dings played the game is summed up with one the last plays of the half when they again turn down a kickable penalty in front of the posts. Still, there is no further score in the game, and Leeds go in 33-0 ahead.
It is a very chilly and windy half time break. It seems to go on for a long time. Some of the Tykes supporters notice that Professor Lee was now watching from behind the posts that Leeds would be attacking and go to join him.
Leeds started the second half, now playing down hill and with the wind, with a score pretty much straight from the kick off. The ball was spun to Sparky who made it to the 22, where some good work by Plug put Vicks over after just 2 minutes. The Doctor's kick made it 40-0.
Straight from the kick off, Leeds went back down field and Boydey barged over after just 3 minutes. The Doctor missed the kick, so it was 45-0 with still 35 minutes to go. Dings could once again have caved in at this point, but they kept going. Leeds applied more pressure, including a 5 metre scrum, but Dings held them out.
Stuart Hooper was now spotted watching the game. He seemed to be keen to show off Hooper Jnr to his former colleagues.
On 50 minutes, the Leeds substitutions started. Penders, Maisie and Wine Gum coming on to replace Country, Plug and Buckers. The new forwards are immediately into another scrum 5 metres from the Dings line. The ball is lost, and cleared by the Dings full back, but not very far. Leeds drive over from the resulting line out, but are held up over the line.
More substitutions on 56 minutes, with Heps, Shrek, Hints and Whitey, replacing the Doctor, Sharky, Sparky and JD. Brooks moves to stand off, with Hints at full back and Jaffa now on the wing. This substitution works rather better, with Boydey going over immediately after. Brooks is now kicking, and it's 52-0.
Dings were still not going to give up and, if we are honest, some of the Tykes supporters were now rather hoping that Dings would get the score they deserved. Clearly, though, Mr Back (stalking around the in-goal area Leeds were attacking), Mr Key (standing calmly near Mr Back) and 15 blokes in muddy white shirts thought differently. Dings made a couple of promising breaks, but each time the Leeds cover was there to haul them down.
On 68 minutes, one of Dings more ambitious moves went wrong, and they lost the ball. Heps gathered and set off. Dings clearly expected him to pass, but the Tykes watching knew their man better. A mazy run saw him go over under the posts, and Brooksy added the conversion for 59-0. In the interests of balanced reporting, however, it should be recorded that on 71 minutes, the ball was passed the entire length of the Leeds back-line, including Heps.
This was the end of the scoring, but not the entertainment. On 77 minutes, a hardy man of Dings streaked onto the pitch and tried to join the Leeds pack. He was wearing some sort of thong, but little else. His cheer was second only to that given the small boy who found the match ball. Dings kept going to the last minute, trying for the score, but Leeds held firm in the gathering gloom. The ovation that the Dings players received at the final whistle was well deserved indeed.
So, what do Leeds take from this game? In the arctic conditions, against a side playing as if their very lives depended on it, this was a good result. There were no obvious injuries, and players returning from injury looked good. Boyde and Rowan looked impressive in the back row and, although he had a lot less time, White looked sharp when he came on. One concern, as with the game at Newbury, must be the impact of the substitutions, or rather the lack of it. It was 45-0 before the first substitution, and only two tries were added in the half hour following. Clearly against different opposition the substitutions would have been managed differently, but there
is still a concern. On the whole though, a job well done for Leeds.
Credit must be given to Dings. They never gave up, and gave a better account of themselves than several National 1 sides Leeds have faced this season. Their players, and everyone else involved, should be proud of their match, and also of their hospitality. I am sure I can speak for all the Tykes who made the journey in saying that we wish Dings Crusaders all the best for the remainder of their season, and the future.
Leeds: Goodridge; Blackett, Vickerman, Brooks, Welding; di Bernado, Mathie; McGee, Nilsen, Bucknall; Myall, Lund; Rowan, Boyde, Dunbar.
Subs: Ma'asi, Pendlebury, Gomez for Nilsen, Myall, Bucknall (50).
Hepworth, Fourie, Hinton, White for di Bernado, Dunbar, Welding, Mathie (56).
Tries: Goodridge, Brooks, Rowan, Vickerman (2), Mathie, Boyde (2), Hepworth.
Conversions: di Bernado (5), Brooks (2).
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
COME ON LEEDS.
We've been through it all together.
Glad there was no admission fee to the clubhouse!
Would have been nice to have been there, and humbled by the welcome they put on for us.
CHEERS DINGS!
Quote:Mark_C
Nice one, Tony.
Glad there was no admission fee to the clubhouse!
Would have been nice to have been there, and humbled by the welcome they put on for us.
CHEERS DINGS!
I forgot to mention that programmes were free as well.
PT
Quote:Tufty the Tyke
Very entertaining Tony. Glad you all had a good dayand that Dings did themselves and their supporters proud. Good luck to them for the rest of the season. Did Dragon behave himself??
Those who didn't make the trip might want to check out the pictures on the Dings web-site. Here is a clicky linky thing.
Warning: Contains images of self, DartagnanTyke, AramisTyke and Dragon, as well as several of the streaker.
PT