Cardiff dominate against Leeds to earn their first win of the season
by Jack Thomas
Cardiff’s dominant display against Leeds earned them their first win of this BUCS Super Rugby season, turning over the side from Yorkshire 31-10 at Llanrumney.
Tries from Oliver Stirling, George McDonald, Jack Thomas, Sammy Sinclair and Mason Archer move Cardiff off the bottom of the table and should give Chris Davies’ team momentum for the rest of the season.
After the previous week’s disappointment from Antoine Lere’s serious injury and subsequent game abandonment at Nottingham, Cardiff were looking to bounce back and pick up their first win against an also winless Leeds Beckett.
Captain Tom Caple explained how last week’s disappointment “put more pressure on this game… it was more important we won tonight.”
It was a cold night under the lights in Llanrumney but Cardiff started on fire – applying early pressure to the Leeds defence which allowed Oliver Stirling to score the first try of the match. A well organised forward effort off a lineout saw the hooker cross the white line off a maul, and Cardiff 5 points ahead after 3 minutes of play.
Leeds went onto dominate the next 10 minutes of play, playing much of the period in Cardiff’s 22. However, Cardiff’s valiant defence kept the visitors at bay, and a great defensive team effort meant they kept hold of their lead.
Cardiff’s patience and defensive determination was rewarded a little after the 20-minute mark when scrum half George MacDonald’s crafty grubber kick saw him past the gain line. A further nudge with his foot and MacDonald found himself past the try line, where he grounded the ball for Cardiff’s second try of the game. Tomi Booth converted and saw Cardiff into a 12-0 lead.
Cardiff continued to defend well and kept Leeds at bay, before applying pressure of their own on Leeds as they win an attacking scrum in Leeds’s 22. A well-worked backs move sees Jack Thomas score in the corner and Cardiff lead 17-0 with minutes left of the opening half.
15 minutes into the second half Leeds’ fly half plays a nice ball over the top and good support allows the visitors to score in the corner and bring the score to 17-5.
Cardiff reply instantly with a try from the kick off. Tomi Booth’s kick is high and bounces off a Leeds player’s head, Cardiff’s chasers react well and winger Sammy Sinclair grounds the ball for Cardiff’s third try. Booth’s conversion completes Cardiff’s instant reply and makes it 24-5.
Try-scorer Sammy Sinclair explained “We get told week-in, week-out to chase hard, and we came lucky this week. It fell nicely on the try line.”
The supporting Cardiff students were pleased to see substitute Mason Archer carry well off a scrum in the 73rd minute and crossed the white line for Cardiff before Booth converted once more to take Cardiff into a comfortable 31-5 lead.
Leeds still had more in them as they score a consolation try with 2 minutes left of play. A good response from the visitors before Cardiff saw out the rest of the match that ended 31-10 to the hosts.
Man of the match George MacDonald was pleased with the performance: “We’ve [Cardiff] had a tough start to the season. We’ve put in the work and finally come away with 5 points.”
A professional display from Cardiff as they capitalised on Leeds’ errors and defended well as a team to ensure a comfortable score line at the full-time whistle. Having shown great determination and hard work so far this season, Cardiff earned their deserved first win.
Head coach Chris Davies said “our players were exceptional today… they’re very, very happy, and they deserve the result”.
Cardiff will look to continue this form as they go on the road to Swansea next week, where Chris Davies says, “hopefully those results can keep coming.”
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