Bell confident Leeds will learn from their New Year’s Day toils

Diccon Edwards’s side are a young team working to establish an attractive brand of attacking rugby.

But as they discovered against London Scottish at rain-soaked Headingley Carnegie on New Year’s Day, an English winter is not condusive to their style.

Bell – who is one of four players on a season-long loan from Sale – scored all 19 points in the win, including the last-gasp penalty that ended the resistance of the workmanlike relegation candidates.

The 19-year-old full-back has been one of the stars of Leeds’s season with his intelligent kicking game, his ability under the high ball and his desire to run from deep, which epitomises the West Yorkshire side’s enterprise.

Even so, it was the collective, rather than individual, plaudits and criticisms he was eager to take on board afterwards as he looked ahead to the remaining six games of the regular season and beyond.

“We’ll learn from this and take more positives into the next game,” said Bell, after a win that moved Leeds up to sixth, four points shy of the top four.

“We’ve got a young squad, one that wants to play rugby.

“We like playing with tempo, to keep building that through a game and then to step it up in the second half.

“That really showed against Bedford earlier this year (their only bonus-point win) and it’s just a case of recreating that because that’s when we’re at our best.

“It was tough (on Sunday) in the conditions but hopefully we’ll see more of the way we want to play in the play-offs.”

The victory over Scottish was the fourth time this season Bell has snatched the points for Leeds.

What made it more notable was the fact that just two minutes earlier he had missed a penalty to win the game from a similar range.

Bell said: “I try to treat each individual kick as a separate thing and not allow previous kicks to influence my approach.

“You also try and shut out whether it is an important kick to win the game or just like any other in the game.

“We have got three great kickers at the club now with Joe and George Ford and that is certainly keeping me on my toes.”

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