Leeds rely on teamwork to defy Bristol's physical approach

Leeds 25 Bristol 13

Leeds had to call on all their reserves of collective resolve to record Premiership win number four, after referee Ashley Rowden did his best to ensure a tight finish when missing a blatant knock-on by Bristol scrum-half, Agustin Pichot. While the Leeds players were registering their indignation at Rowden's oversight, the action moved up the left flank, where Cameron Mather came round the ruck, to be shown the third yellow card of a game which, though never brutal, was rarely less than tungsten hard and contained more blocking and illegal contact work than you would see in a stockcar race.

It was a desperately close call, but Mather's absence gifted Bristol a lifeline that they were fortunate to receive, never mind deserve. With Leeds ahead 16-6 at that juncture, and only the final quarter to play, Bristol drove Leeds backwards, Brendon Daniel took it on, for Phil Christophers to feed Alex Brown for the try. Felipe Contepomi converted to add to his two earlier penalties and suddenly the Shoguns were firing on all cylinders.

Almost inevitably, it was Braam van Straaten who steadied the ship. His third and fourth penalties came either side of a drop goal by Gordon Ross to restore Leeds to second place in the table on points difference. Even then there was enough time on the clock for Rowden to miss some shirt pulling by Matt Salter on Dan Scarbrough. The Bristol No 8 was the first to cool his heels and had Rowden not missed his second indiscretion, Salter would have been shown a red card.

With their impressive physicality and no-nonsense approach work, Bristol had by far the better of the first quarter, though had nothing to show for it. Leeds had managed only one visit to Bristol's 22 in that period, when Van Straaten opened his account with a simple penalty. Though, whenever Leeds did manage to help themselves to some workable possession, their wide runners nearly always looked as if they would make something of it.

Making the most of a lengthy run in the Tykes team, Isaac Feaunati latched on to Tom Palmer's take at a short line-out to cross for a try, moments after the Samoan had been taken out by Salter as George Harder was about to pass to him. Salter was soon joined in the sin-bin by Mark Regan who infringed at a ruck.

Building on the unstinting support work that has been a feature of their Headingley performances, Leeds were at their most insistent during the second quarter, when they stretched Bristol to breaking point. As the Tykes had Bristol back-pedalling furiously, Ross found Scarbrough with a lovely cut-out pass for the winger's sixth try of the season.

Leeds: Tries Feaunati, Scarbrough; Penalties Van Straaten 4; Drop goal Ross. Bristol: Try Brown; Conversion Contepomi; Penalties Contepomi 2.

Leeds: D Scarbough; G Harder, T Davies, B van Straaten, D Albanese; G Ross, A Dickens; M Shelley (capt), M Regan, G Kerr (M Holt, 80), C Murphy (S Campbell, 80), T Palmer, C Mather, D Hyde, I Feaunati.

Bristol: S Drahm; B Daniel, M Shaw (A Higgins, 68), D Gibson, P Christophers; F Contepomi, A Pichot; D Crompton, S Nelson, E Bergamaschi, G Archer (capt), A Brown (A Sheridan, 77), B Sturnham, M Lipman, M Salter (C Short, 77).

Referee: A Rowden (Thatcham).