Leeds Carnegie U19 side ended their season in spectacular style with a 36-3 win over Bedford in an entertaining encounter against tough opposition who will this weekend compete in the National U19 Cup final. A number of the U19's who had been involved in the Yorkshire Cup campaign were rested, which gave coach Diccon Edwards a a good opportunity to see a number of the younger players play as well as giving debuts to Ollie Steadman, England U18 AER number 8 , Josh Bayford Yorkshire U17 loosehead & Josh Allan England A U16 wing.
The U19's dominated the game and played some entertaining and expansive rugby and created numerous chances without being quite clinical enough to finish them off. The back row of Joe Barker, Steadman & captain Cokell were outstanding in maintaining continuity with the ball which enabled the team to play with real ambition. The first score came from a Joe Ford drop goal before James Twomey scorched in from 60 metres in a final solo run. Further scores followed after good approach work from the whole team from Robbie Cuthbertson and Joe Picketts scored a try straight from the kick off after good work by Mark Anderson and Richard Beck who was outstanding after coming on as an injury replacement early in the game.
The second half saw two further scores both for Jack Mackie after sustained pressure. It has been a very successful season for the Academy winning the majority of the games and playing some excellent attacking rugby. The quality of the players coming through is excellent and the future of the club looks very bright if these players continue to develop.