Leeds Tykes 45 – 38 Rosslyn Park
28/02/26
Rosslyn Park unfortunately fell short against an incredibly physical Leeds Tykes side in a frantic encounter that saw over 80 points scored across the 80 minutes of rugby played.
The game started at a million miles an hour, with Park taking the first try. Some fantastic hands on the edge of the field saw Charlie Walker stroll in to claim a 5–0 lead. But after a fumble at the back from a Leeds clearing kick, that lead was wiped out as Matt Salisbury dived over to score before Eddie Crossland added the extras.
Things got worse for the visitors when another attempt to clear their 22 minutes later put Tykes back on the Park line, with Salisbury claiming his second of the afternoon before Crossland made it a 14–5 lead.
The hosts then built pressure in midfield and, after Park were penalised for offside, Crossland added three more to increase their lead. But Park weren’t done yet. An immediate reaction from the restart put Park on the Tykes line, before eventually Tom Bell crashed over and Johnston added the extras to cut the deficit to five.
More ill-discipline cost Park, as another penalty in midfield allowed Crossland to increase the cushion between the two teams.
However, Park managed to build pressure of their own on the stroke of 20 minutes and eventually Cam King peeled off a maul to score, with the extras making it a one-point game.
That wouldn’t last long, though, as Leeds worked their way back into the Park 22, where Seremaia Bai Turagabeci found a gap to score. Things then got worse when Albert Bradshaw went over in the corner to make it 32–19 as Crossland converted.
Park made sure it wasn’t over before half-time as a neat line from Joe Luca Smith meant it was an eight-point game as the teams went into the sheds.
The second half started in a much more tense fashion compared to the first, but it was the hosts who struck first. On 48 minutes Bradshaw got his second from a loose ball breakaway.
However Park continued to keep moving forward and at 58 minutes that pressure became too much for the hosts which led to Ed Brown receiving the first yellow card of the afternoon.
After sustained pressure in the 22, Park managed to go over through Charlie Walker after a neat pass from Murray Redpath.
However, the nail in the coffin for the visitors came on 66 minutes when Crossland slotted another penalty to further increase the lead.
Park did get another score through a close-range crash from Gareth Blackmore, but on 79 minutes the hope of a win faded when a yellow card was shown to Conrad Cade before Crossland added three more to make the final score 45–38.
Rosslyn Park
Tries: Walker (2’, 60’), Bel (14’) King (20’) Smith (35’) Blackmore (77’)
Conversions: Johnston (15’, 21’, 61, 78’)
Penalties: n/a
Yellow Cards: Cade (79’)
Team: Nwakor, Piper (c), Wade, Bell, Gillanders, Cleet, Blackmore, King, Fenley, Johnston, Marfo, Kennaugh, Stanton, Walker, Smith
Replacements: Fraine, Cade, Spencer, Redpath, Volley
Leeds Tykes
Tries: Salisbury (5’, 7’) Turagabeci (23’), Bradshaw (29’, 47’)
Conversions: Crossland (6’, 8’, 30’, 48’)
Penalties: Crossland (11’, 17’ 65’, 79’)
Yellow Cards: Brown (58’)
Team: Pleasants, Yorke, Dennis, Guthrie, Eley, Walker, Teague, Brown, Laughton, Crossland, Krippner, Dixon, Salisbury, Bradshaw, Turagabeci
Replacements: Thatcher, Cordice, Smith, Yates, Keith.