Treglown edges Leeds Met to victory

by Jonny Kew 

After a first half dominated by Leeds Met the match was seemingly settled at half time with an 11 point deficit. However Loughborough had other ideas, fighting back to a 17 point draw only to see David Treglown kick Leeds to victory in an exciting finale.

The match got off to an exciting start with pressure from Loughborough after regaining their kick off. The slow start for Leeds Met resulted in an early line break and an early 3 points from a penalty (0-3) as a result of scrappy defence. Leeds seemed fired up and proceeded to exploit cracks in the Loughborough defence which were evident throughout the first half. A try within 4 minutes from Dan Ulliott helped establish their intent to stamp authority on home turf. Converted by Dave Treglown (7-3).

Further pressure from Leeds caused Loughborough to give away penalties in their own half and a further 3 points for Treglown were added (10-3). Prolonged attacking play from Leeds found them in numerous try scoring positions which were wasted. Until the 30th minute Leeds had demonstrated their dominance in the scrum and lineout without reward.

Finally Leeds made another breakthrough and Charlie Maddison scored from a lineout catch and drive, subsequently converted by Treglown (17-3). A dominant first half performance was dampened by a last minute penalty kicked by the Loughborough 10 (17-6).

The first half pressure from Leeds was set to continue in the second half but a sudden lapse saw them succumb to the boot of Loughborough's fly half once again. (17-9). As the second half continued Leeds made some basic errors, throwing loose passes and missing tackles, resulting in Jack Moon being sent to the sin bin for too high a penalty count. This penalty gave Loughborough the chance to reduce the deficit to 5 (17-12).

After losing their inside centre Leeds were forced to make numerous try saving tackles as Loughborough camped in their 22. After Alex Fieldhouse prevented Loughborough's second row from adding 5 points, stripping him as he crossed the line, he was then sent to the bin for repeated offside offences from the team. Having two Leeds players in the bin gave Loughborough an opportunity to exert pressure and continue what looked to be a game of two halves.

However, the resilience of the 13 Leeds players was demonstrated by individual performances including a 30 metre break by prop Luke White. This set the benchmark for an exciting finale.

Two drop goal attempts were missed in quick succession after the reintroduction of Jack Moon and Fieldhouse, but it was a sign that Leeds wanted this game. In the 73rd minute Leeds looked strong but a breakaway try for Loughborough brought the match to a draw after a missed conversion (17-17).

As the 80th minute drew closer both teams tackled hard and ran with intent but after regaining the restart Leeds set up a platform. With Treglown poised Loughborough's determination got the better of them with an infringement at the ruck resulting in a penalty on the half way.

This was to be the last kick of the game and Leeds opted for the posts. Treglown stepped up and struck the ball perfectly. As the ball sailed through the uprights the home team went wild and celebrated their hard fought victory. Leeds 20, Loughborough 17.