'No need to panic': Winless Leeds Tykes sticking to principles despite tough baptism in National One
Leeds Tykes followers have been told not to panic at the start the club has made to life back in National One, with their director of rugby stressing they would not be abandoning their principles in search of a remedy.
The former Powergen Cup winners and long-time Premiership club spent the past two years in National Two North, the fourth tier, losing just three games as their plunge through the divisions bottomed out.
But after securing that first promotion on the way back to something like respectability, they sit bottom of the table having lost their first five games without picking up a bonus point.
Peter Seabourne, their director of rugby, however, is not overly concerned.
He went into the season vowing to give the young players who had struggled in National One three years ago the chance to prove themselves at this level having matured greatly on the rung below.
And he is sticking to those principles.
“Ninety per cent of the squad has been here for four or five years and we still believe they can do it,” asserted Seabourne.
“If you look at the spine of our team, that’s changed. I’ve got Ewan Laughton at No 9 who has experience of this level. Eddie Crossland has come in from Otley, he’s probably one of the best 10s in Yorkshire but he’s still adjusting after playing below this league, so it’s a step up for him.
“Eddie Brown at No 8, it’s a step up for him. That spine needs time to adjust. They are adjusting, but not quick enough to get wins over the line at the minute…but it will come.
“This league is more attritional, there’s a lot more slow time, a lot more box-kicking, it’s a lot more territory based. National Two was a lot more open and teams wanted to throw it about.
“You could make errors and get away with it, whereas in this league you get punished, and it shows.
“In this league it’s possession and field-based game scenarios, and that’s what we’re adjusting to. But there’s no need to panic at all.”
Seabourne points to the calibre of opposition as another reason why Leeds have struggled to adjust.
They have shipped in excess of 38 points three times, but have played Rotherham Titans, Plymouth Albion and Sale FC, who have lost just three games between them so far.
Sedgley and Rams also have winning records, but Leeds ran them much closer at their Sycamores home.
Seabourne said: “It’s been a really tough baptism of fire, no doubt about it.
“Although the results haven’t been going our way, the performances have been getting better, so I’m not overly concerned at the minute.
“If we weren’t improving, it’d be a case of right we need to do something about it, but it’s taken time for the players to adjust to the physicality and the mental toughness of the league.
“We’re learning on the job and we’re having to do it quickly, but we were unlucky at the weekend (beaten 19-7 by Rams), because I felt we were on the bad end of a refereeing performance.
“We did have five sin-binnings so I have to look within first at our disciplinary issues.
“I think we’re going okay, but at the end of the day you’re marked on results, so we know where we are and where we need to be.”
The fixture list is about to turn, but that also brings greater pressure.
On Saturday they welcome Clifton, who only have one win to their name this season, then they visit Bishop’s Stortford who boast a similar record, before rounding out the month at home to Leicester Lions, who sit just a place and a point above them.
“We’ll try to keep the pressure off during this period, the players are adjusting and they’re playing some good stuff,” said Seabourne.
“When we get one win, I think we’ll get two or three quite quickly. It’s just getting that first one over the line.”