'No reason why not' - Leeds Tykes rise up National One built on wholehearted commitment

For Leeds Tykes it is an opportunity to reflect on how far they have come and recalibrate what they might be capable of.

The former Powergen Cup winners whose slide towards near oblivion has been well documented, have been on an upward curve these past few years, promotion from the regionalised fourth tier back into the national game 18 months ago the highlight.

Last year in National One, Leeds slowly found their feet, reacting to losing their first five games to win 11 of the next 21 to ease any fears of going straight back down.

The 2026-27 season began with two straight defeats and a lot of soul-searching after losing to Yorkshire rivals Sheffield. But again they have bounced back, winning four of their next five to climb to the heady heights of fourth.

“Sheffield deserved to win that game,” says Tykes head coach Pete Lucock of a 19-12 reverse.

“We had a good chat after it. Because of the way pre-season was we probably went into the season a little bit undercooked.

“But we had a pretty good honest conversation off the back of that defeat.

“And then we got a really good performance on where we expected to be this year against London Scottish.

“And we've built on it from there, really. So from a disappointing start we're now starting to show what we're about this year.”

There has been no waving of a magic wand at their Sycamores home in Bramhope, nor a drastic change in playing style - just commitment across the board.

“We’re still playing the same way. It probably took us a while to adapt as a group,” explains Lucock, a long-time player with Tykes before moving into coaching. “We really started to find something pre-Christmas last year that was working really well for us, a nice balance.

“We've got the second-best defence in the league (187 points against) and we're up there with points scored as well.

“We just want to be really hard to beat when we haven't got the ball. And then obviously when we've got the ball, we just want to be a threat and we want to score points. And I think we're doing that pretty nicely. We could have been in a stronger position, but some of the results have been brilliant and some of the rugby we've played has been everything we want it to be.”

So how high should Leeds be looking this season? Is promotion achievable?

Plymouth Albion and Tonbridge Juddians are setting a relentless pace at the top, winning seven out of seven, and Camborne are only one defeat behind.

There is already a gap to fourth-placed Leeds, a club that has been burned before thinking too far ahead.

“We normally put the season into little blocks,” explains Lucock, whose side are back in action next Saturday at Rams.

“We’ve got a four-game block coming up, then a three. They’re bite-sized chunks that we can go after.

“If we can just take care of those blocks, game by game, there's no reason why we couldn't be up there at the end of the year or fulfilling our potential.

“For me, the target at the start of the season was improving on last year. After seven games we're in a really good position. There's a lot of rugby still to be played. Teams will obviously strengthen throughout the year, as I hope we will.

“But I want to improve on last year and improving on last year means a top-half finish.”