Leeds Carnegie 14 Cornish Pirates 13: Edwards impressed by Leeds’s closing composure

The on-loan Bath prop, looking like a grizzly bear as he simply threw his ripped shirt away to return to much-needed defensive duties, illustrated the steeliness and fortitude which underpinned the Yorkshire club’s efforts yesterday.

However, it was not until much later when winger Michael Stephenson dramatically slid through for a crucial 78th-minute try that Leeds demonstrated they also had the nerve and composure to earn the points their endeavours so richly deserved.

It was fitting the former England wideman scored those decisive points as he had been yellow-carded in the first half, conceding a penalty try for tackling ex-Leeds winger David Doherty without the ball as they both chased a threatening kick to the Carnegie line.

But the hosts, who overcame last week’s loss at Championship leaders Bristol to record an impressive eighth win in nine games, reacted positively in his absence and created enough chances to triumph far more convincingly.

As opportunities came and went though, outside centre Iain Thornley being a constant thorn in the Pirates’ side, it seemed Diccon Edwards’s men might struggle to find the killer punch.

Trailing 13-9 at the break, there had somehow been no score throughout the second period until Cornish full-back Rob Cook dropped Joe Ford’s hanging kick and gifted Leeds possession, Stephenson fastening on to Ford’s long pass and slipping a tackle to scramble over.

Full-back Tommy Bell – who had seen both touch judges raise their flags for his 56th-minute penalty only for referee Dean Richards to rule it out controversially – could not convert from wide and, so, Leeds found themselves desperately defending the narrow advantage deep into stoppage time.

They maintained their discipline though and, through countless phases, doggedly held on.

“It was an important win,” said Edwards, whose side moved above Doncaster into seventh place, just five points adrift of Cornish and Nottingham in joint-fourth.

“We needed to prove to ourselves we’re going to be competitive and challenging come the end of the season.

“While I thought we deserved to win we weren’t as clinical as we could have been and had to squeeze out a tight victory.

“But that’s a mark of the league, how competitive it is and also how composed we are when it comes to the last 10 minutes of games; that we’ve got the confidence to see them out.”

Edwards thought Stephenson’s decision to tackle Doherty was “rash” as the bouncing ball could have ended up anywhere but, while accepting he deserved a yellow card, the Leeds coach was not as convinced a penalty try should have been awarded as well.

However, trailing 10-3 after that 24th-minute incident, Leeds had actually clawed back to 10-9 courtesy of two penalties from Bell by the time Stephenson returned. Cook added his second penalty for the Pirates in first half stoppage time and they will have felt they should have imposed themselves more.

Ford had put Leeds ahead with a seventh-minute drop-goal but it was one of the fly-half’s few well-addressed kicks in a first half where he simply could not get that side of his game going.

Much of Ford’s tactical kicking was ineffective or poorly timed and it meant his side struggled to find decent territory.

However, they stayed in the contest due to their ferocity in the tackle and terrier-like attitude at the breakdown.

American prop Mike MacDonald delivered one massive hit to ruin Pirates’ pressure and hooker Andy Titterrell produced a driving tackle which also resulted in a turnover.

With such willing workers – Palma-Newport another on his home debut – the Leeds defensive line was generally well marshalled and the Cornish threat limited.

Cook levelled in the 14th minute after they strayed offside and then came Doherty’s penalty try as he chased down Tom Kessell’s box kick but the hosts rallied and emerged to prove far more incisive in the second period.

Bell missed two penalty attempts but, with Scott Barrow adding more presence in midfield alongside the obvious guile of threatening centre Thornley, Leeds engineered plenty of other scoring opportunities.

Their best came in the 52nd minute when Bell latched onto one of Thornley’s breaks and was only narrowly denied by Cook as he headed for the corner

Cook then saw his own penalty attempt drop short before Leeds heroically – in front of a crowd of 2,568 – made the most of what amounted to their final attack.

They had lost 52-10 in Cornwall in September but, with a mouth-watering trip to Doncaster looming on Boxing Day, this performance shows their renaissance is continuing apace.

Leeds Carnegie: Bell; Stephenson, Thornley, Barker (Barrow HT), Lucock; Ford, Hampson (White 71); MacDonald, Titterrell (Freer 72), Palma-Newport, Hemingway (Beck 72), Hohneck, Burrows, Rowan, Paul (Walker 72). Unused replacements: Zeiss, Mustafa.

Cornish Pirates: Cook; McAtee (Pointer 52), Locke, Hill, Doherty; Dorrian, Kessell (Doherty 80); Storer (Andrew 58), Elloway (Ward 52), Paver (Brits 80), McGlone (Smith 80), Nimmo, Marriott, Morgan, Maidment (Burgess 66).

Leeds Carnegie – Tries: Stephenson. Pens: Bell 2. Drop Goals: Ford.

Cornish Pirates – Tries: Penalty. Cons: Cook. Pens: Cook 2.

Attendance: 2,568