Sunday, October 10, 2004

UNDOUBTEDLY the best team lost here at Headingley.

That's unlikely to offer much consolation for Worcester's coaches as they stare at their fifth Premiership defeat from six outings.

The Warriors dominated the game, showed bags of ambition but errors at vital moments once again killed off any chance of victory.

True enough, they outscored the Tykes by three tries to two but they should have had more. They enjoyed the lion's share of territory and possession, got into wonderful positions before, time after time, basic errors kicked in and the chances evaporated.

Ultimately, in the context of a relegation scrap, this was a missed opportunity but Worcester can point to that fact that Ben Daly's 24th minute 'try' was ruled out by officials when, to most in the ground, it looked good. Add to that, Leeds' slightly fortuitous second try of the afternoon, when shenanigans at the ruck weren't spotted by referee Ashley Rowden, and the Warriors could be forgiven for feeling a little hard done by.

Indeed, after Leeds' seventh minute opener from winger Tom Biggs, Worcester illustrated what quality they have going forward when Ben Hinshelwood simply ripped the Tykes to pieces.

Tim Stimpson's turnover was leapt upon by skipper Pat Sanderson and his sumptuous pass was taken at pace by Hinshelwood who sprinted 60 metres for a picture-book try. James Brown's 16th minute conversion put the visitors ahead but, farcically, that lead only lasted 60 seconds.

Ben Gollings and Matt Powell's fatal lack of communication and the subsequent missed tackle let flanker Jon Dunbar stroll in for a comical score and, after Gordon Ross' conversion, Leeds were in charge.

Thomas Lombard's wonderfully worked try soon after put Worcester back in touch but two more Ross penalties gave the Tykes a platform for the second half.

Another two cheap penalties were dispatched by Ross, early in that second period, and that really should have wrapped things up.

However, with the power and pace of Lombard, Thinus Delport, Hinshelwood and the improving Dale Rasmussen through the backs, the visitors were never truly out of the game.

Indeed, they were camped inside the Tykes' 22 for the majority of the second half until knock-ons, crossing and set-piece errors curtailed their ambition. The emergence of Sione Kepu, however, lifted everybody from their seats.

The 18-stone winger, who signed a three-month deal last week at Sixways, began his 20-minute run-out with a couple of fumbles until he ran into open space, slicing through the Tykes midfield with absolutely no fear.

It was some spectacle and, considering the youngster had only a couple of training sessions under his belt, the bulky Kiwi looked a real handful on an entertaining debut.

Certainly his converted try, with a minute left, lifted the whole Worcester team and underlined Kepu's potential but, ultimately, time ran out for the Warriors.

Of course, the scoreboard doesn't lie but Leeds will know well enough that they got out of jail against Worcester. The worry from the Sixways camp has to be that they tossed them the keys.

Worcester: Delport 8; Gollings 4, Rasmussen 8, Lombard 8, LHINSHELWOOD 9; Brown 6, Powell 6; Windo 7, Daly 6, Lyman 7, Collier 6, Gillies 6, Sanderson 8, Hickey 7.

Replacements: Sparks 6 (Windo 52), Fortey (Lyman 79), Van Niekerk 6 (Daly 62), Vaili (Collier 52), Stuart-Smith 5 (Powell 62), Kepu 7 (Gollings 62), O'Leary.

Man of the match: BEN HINSHELWOOD -- a constant threat to Leeds.

Attendance: 5,207.