Report by: Nick Doyle

THERE was something in the air on a hot balmy Saturday afternoon when Otley took on their closest rivals, Leeds Tykes.

The two clubs having not met for some 15 years in competitive rugby, got the game underway, after a helicopter dropped the ball onto the pitch from a Tykes’ sponsor.

Having kicked-off, Otley gave away a late tackle giving the impetus to Leeds who were soon into Otley’s 22. The action moved to the other side of the pitch where, from the back of a scrum, Tykes No 8 Ed Brown pirouetted his way to the line. Seremaia Turagabeci converted on 6 minutes.

Leeds conceded two quick penalties, Joe Rowntree opting to take the kick just inside the opposition half reducing the deficit to four points. Three minutes later he had another attempt from the halfway line but he didn’t bother the scoreboard.

A series of scrum penalties in Otley’s 22 ended when Tykes pushed Otley beyond the whitewash. Scrum-half Will Hardwick touched the ball down to the left of the posts bringing the home side’s second try which was converted by Turagabeci on 20 minutes.

A period of Otley pressure took them twice into Leeds’s 22, eventually catching the hosts offside. From a line-out in the left-hand corner, Otley tried to break through the opposition defence and did it when Tom Parnell came through at speed to score under the posts, Rowntree adding the extras.

Leeds responded with a 50:22, Otley then conceding a penalty at the maul. Opting for another scrum, the Tykes moved the ball left when a head-on-head contact saw Gavin Stead receive a red card. Otley saw off a series of Leeds attacks but went down to 13 players when Ben Waddington took a collective yellow for his team-mates just before half-time. A foot in touch by Leeds on the last play of the half kept the half-time score at 14-10.

After a period of pressure in their 22, Otley regained possession taking play outside of their half before conceding a penalty. A missed line-out gave the ball back to Otley who were soon back in Leeds’s half, a high tackle then taking play into the opposition 22. From the line-out of the left-hand side, Otley moved the ball across the pitch with Sam Taylor dotting down in the opposite corner to give the visitors the lead.

Leeds kept Otley pinned in their half before replacement Adebowale Ademakin broke through the ball going out to centre Ben Dixon who scored in the corner. After the conversion, Leeds took the restart out of their 22 before conceding for not releasing, Rowntree getting his second penalty.

Otley continued to battle and having got the ball in their 22 lost it just before the Leeds’s 22. Leeds’s bonus point try came on 64 minutes when after they started an attack just inside their half, moving the ball diagonally across the pitch with Charlie Venables touching down. Otley continued to look for openings to reduce the deficit, a position made worse when Turagabeci slotted a penalty with six minutes left to seal a 31-18 victory for Leeds.