Tykes out to get it right this time
National 2 North
LEEDS Tykes are embracing their big club mentality and heavy favourites tag ahead of the new season getting underway on Saturday.
Pete Seabourne’s side led the way unbeaten for 23 rounds before coming unstuck to title rivals Rotherham Titans and were leapfrogged by the now National One side. It was a disappointing end to a season where they had excelled and taken the league by storm but Seabourne says lessons will be learned from last season’s shortcomings.
He told The Rugby Paper: “Missing out on the title aside, it was a very successful season for us because it was like a reset year. This year will be a different challenge, newly promoted Harrogate provide another local derby for us. We’re looking forward to getting going.
“Promotion is the end goal and it’s going to be tough. Other teams have recruited well but we’ll be favourites and rightly so. We’ll be focusing on ourselves, so hopefully we can take that one step further. We need to get our ducks in a line for that to happen as last year we fell short. We have to be good for the whole 26-game season.
“There’s a lot of talent around Yorkshire, so I’ve recruited mainly from higher level academies and have found some very good players that have fitted in surprisingly well during preseason.”
Not only did Leeds miss out on the National Two North title, they also lost out in their mini-league ‘Yorkshire Regiment Trophy’ which includes teams in the league from the county with Sheffield Tigers, Sheffield, Wharfedale, Hull, Hull Ionians, Harrogate and Otley fighting it out with Leeds next season.
Director of rugby Seabourne added: “Missing out on not just promotion but the Yorkshire Regiment Trophy means there’s a bit of an extra incentive there for us. Everyone else will be looking to knock us off our perch. We’re one of the biggest clubs in Yorkshire but now we need to back it up with consistent performances.”
In The Rugby Paper’s 2023/24 Dream Team, Leeds had three selections in full-back Kieran Davies, prop William Dennis and second row Jake Brady. Last year’s runners-up begin their campaign at home to Tynedale, who finished sixth last season and have appointed former Newcastle Falcons boss Dean Richards as director of rugby. Richards has assembled an impressive coaching staff that includes recently retired ex-Premiership and Top 14 flanker Carl Fearns.
“We were fantastic last season until week 23, so to replicate that again would be remarkable considering the quality of the league,” said Seabourne.
“We’re looking at one game at a time. We’re focused on Tynedale as we know they’re tough from our problems encountered last season. Dean Richards has gone on board as DoR, so they must have aspirations to compete. It’s a tough start but one that we’re ready for.”
Fylde, who finished fifth last season and beat Leeds at home 18-15 in the penultimate round of the season which ultimately cost the Tykes the title, won eight of their 13 home games but only picked up five on the road and will be looking to break into the top four next term after finishing last year strongly.
Openside flanker Valu Tane Bentley was rewarded for an outstanding season of his own with an entry into the Dream Team and his side begin their campaign away at Sheffield in a mouthwatering match up of last season’s third against fifth.
Anthony Posa’s Sheffield were the best of the rest outside of Rotherham and Leeds’ battle for the title, and enjoyed a 10-match win streak halfway through the campaign. Their third-place finish was the highest the club has ever finished in the National Leagues. Winger Christian Hooper, scrum-half Elliot Fisher and experienced veteran No.8 Ryan Burrows were picked in our Dream Team.
Billingham survived their first season back in the National Leagues, picking up seven wins, and begin their campaign at home to newly promoted Harrogate, who will be hoping for survival this time around after their relegation in 2022/23.
Last season’s ninth-place side Otley travel to the side that finished one place above them last term, Hull. Otley had two players entered into the Dream Team – winger Sam Taylor and flanker Ben Waddington.
The only reason Hull Ionians are still playing National Two North rugby is Jersey Reds’ liquidation at the beginning of last season as it meant just Huddersfield were relegated from the league. Ionians will desperately want to avoid a repeat of last season that saw them pick up just six victories. They begin their 2024/25 at home to Lymm, who finished a respectable 10th in their first season back in the National Leagues.
Preston Grasshoppers finished an underwhelming 12th and will want to get off to a good start when hosting Chester, who have returned to the North after a season of long trips in the West. Wharfedale finished fourth and will be looking to build on their progress when they take on last term’s mid-table Sheffield Tigers.
