Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
History boys Beckett claim first ever BUCS Super Rugby victory
Beckett won the match in the most dramatic fashion with experienced centre Harry Collier holding his nerve to kick a penalty in the 92nd minute to give Beckett an incredible victory in the most extraordinary of circumstances.
It looked like a likely narrow defeat for Beckett as they edged towards the final minutes two points down to the hosts, but found a way to win their first ever BUCS Super Rugby match.
Captain Trystan Lloyd hailed his side’s tenacious never say die attitude that saw them snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
“The boys did fantastically well, it looked like the game had gone away from us at the end but before the game we talked about discipline, aggression and accuracy and we had all three to show there at the end,” he said
“It has been well documented about our troubles last year so to get a win is absolutely massive, we’ve got Varsity next week so hopefully we can get another win and build on the confidence back up again,
“Winning’s a habit at the end of the day so if we can keep winning and keep chugging along then we’ll be happy.”
FULL TIME | 🎇 The 2017-18 #BUCSSuperRugby season kicks off with a bang! @LeedsBeckettRFC take four points back to Yorkshire.
— BUCS Super Rugby (@BUCSsuperrugby) September 27, 2017
🏉🏉 pic.twitter.com/BC4KOyNDAz
An elated Rugby Development Manager, Kerry Wood said it was a special win for a special group of players.
“We worked really hard over pre-season so this win is a special one for us, especially after last year,” he said
“I'd say our hard-work on the training field and the sports science involved with Jonathan Weakley has played a big part (in this victory),
“To go 92 minutes, I knew we had it in the tank. Big thanks to the support staff at Leeds Beckett.”
Great start to the season. Onto varsity next week #UTB
— LBURUFC (@LeedsBeckettRFC) September 27, 2017
The match started disastrously for Beckett as they conceded an early try to the home side before losing star prop Valentine Xavier with an injury in the opening 10 minutes.
Despite being starved of possession and territory in the opening quarter, however, Beckett started to hit their straps and punished Bath with their first opportunity at the try line, Scrum-Half Connor Lloyd darting over from close range to give Beckett a 7-5 lead.
Beckett Centre Harry Collier then extended their lead with an unbelievable solo effort, dummying through the Bath line to sprint 40 metres to extend Beckett’s advantage to 14-5.
Leeds looked to be heading into the half time interval full of confidence but were rocked by a late try from Bath to make the half time score 14-12 to Beckett.
The second half started in similar fashion to the first, Bath getting the early advantage and driving over the line once more to put the hosts ahead 19-14.
The helter-skelter half continued as Beckett forced a penalty from Bath, Connor Lloyd once again proving his worth with the boot to reduce the deficit to 19-17.
After a frantic opening quarter to the second half Beckett regained control over the contest to put pressure on the Bath line in a carbon copy of the first half.
Beckett reaped the rewards from a dominant showing in the scrum, as replacement Scrum Half James Elliot spotted a gap down the blind side to gift Full Back Sam Allan a try in the corner, Harry Collier converted from the touch line to give Beckett a 24-19 lead.
The game continued its to-and-fro contest with Bath finding success for a third time with a rolling maul close to the try line, giving them a 26-24 advantage with five minutes remaining.
All looked lost for Beckett but an unbelievable string of penalties for Beckett over a ten minute extra time period gifted centre Harry Collier a penalty conversion to give Beckett their first ever BUCS Super Rugby victory, 27-26.