Leeds Rhinos Under-18s 26 Hull KR Under-18s 34

A frustrating afternoon at Headingley saw Hull KR Under-18s kick four penalties in the last ten minutes to defeat Leeds Rhinos Under-18s 34-26 at Headingley Stadium.

The non-stop rain and swirling wind before and throughout the game proved a leveler for both sides, as well as the RFL’s law trials which continued for it’s third consecutive game.

Early on, the away side established a three-score lead thanks to tries from Zach Fishwick and Jack Handley. Within the opening two minutes, Handley crashed through the attempted tackle of Mason Corbett and Freddie Brennan-Jones to open the scoring, before penalties for high tackles from Leeds led to the Robins prop grabbing his second to make the score 12-0 after ten minutes.

Tony Smith’s Rhinos attempted to rally but were caught out by the conditions as the ball kept going to ground. That invited the Robins to retaliate; Fishwick hitting a hole between the posts to open up a three-score gap on the scoreboard.

In need of a response quickly, an interception by Dylan Proud led to the winger scoring Leeds’ opening try. Having been brought down by Hull KR defenders, it was only a matter of time for the Rhinos to strike as they camped themselves on the Robins try line. Jack Sinfield pulled off the perfect pass over the top to Proud, who needed an acrobatic finish in the corner to finish the try.

Fergus McCormack missed a big opportunity as the Rhinos continued to grow into the contest – the half back almost stepping through the opposition’s defence only to be denied by a strong challenge  from Ryan Moses. The home side were shown a glimmer of hope though when prop Declan Ementon spun out of the tackle of three defenders and managed to reach out to ground the ball.

It was soon back-to-back scores for the Rhinos as Harrison Gilmore supported a half break from McCormack to get his third try in as many matches. Sinfield converted the Gilmore try to make the score 18-14 at half time.

The Rhinos carried their momentum into the start of the second half when McCormack touched down shortly after the restart. In a great solo effort, the half back fended off multiple Hull KR defenders to find a gap, before spinning out of the full back’s challenge to score his eighth try of the season. Sinfield notched Leeds into the first lead of the game with his conversion.

The rain kept pouring around Headingley, but the young Rhinos continued to get stronger; Jack Smith extending the lead to eight with 20 minutes to go. A head high tackle helped Leeds into the Hull KR redzone, but it was Sinfield’s pass again that opened up the space for his England Academy team mate Smith to score.

With the score at 26-18 to the home side, the Robins wasted no time in closing the scoreline again; Oliver Forsyth scoring off the back of a scrum play to make it a two-point game heading towards the final ten minutes. The boot of Louix Gorman would level the score as a head high tackle under the new law trials gave the visitors the chance to kick for goal from ten metres out.

Gorman converted, and the centre was called into action another three times to eventually win the game for Hull KR. More penalties for head high tackles put the Robins within penalty goal range, and Gorman stood up to convert all three to win the game 34-26.