A red hot second half performance from the Warriors consigned Leicester Phoenix to the flames of defeat at a warm and sultry Aylestone St James.
The Warriors scored 36 unanswered points in the second period as the Phoenix wilted in the heat after a strong first half showing had caused the Warriors problems.
Once again, errors and a lack of composure cost the Warriors at crucial times but they had too much pace and power throughout the game for their opponents. Loose forward Ben Constantine turned in a superb show, scoring two tries as the Warriors cut loose in the second period.
The game began with both sides making errors, Warriors coach Tom James pointed out that there are aspects his side still need to work on. “It was a tough first half because of our mistakes and because we were trying to do too much with the ball.”
After play fluctuated from end to end with both sides creating and wasting chances, the Warriors opened the scoring after 19 minutes.
Ben Hough slid a neat kick behind the defence and Dean Barnard was on hand to touch down. Hough converted via the crossbar.
Six minutes later, Andy Cross strode through the Warriors defence to score an unconverted try in the corner to put the Phoenix right back in the game.
They went close again in the same corner, Cross and Dave Nolan almost embarrassing some soft defence but the Warriors held out and worked their way up the field, Constantine crossing for a strong try, converted by Stephan Fourie.
Right on half time, Chris Furze sneaked over from dummy half to score the Warriors third try and set up a 16-4 interval lead.
The second half began in spectacular fashion, Constantine returning the kick off to the Phoenix ten-metre zone before Jack Petelo put Areta Tanoai over under the posts. Hough converted and with the Warriors making breaks seemingly at will, the Phoenix began to collapse.
Fourie’s crossfield kick bounced badly for both sides but Hough grabbed the loose ball and scored in the corner to extend the lead further after 54 minutes.
Two tries in as many minutes from Comber then sealed the points. For his first he backed up another long break from Constantine to score and his second came from Fourie’s interception and elusive running. Furze converted the first and with the Phoenix running out of players through injury, the writing was on the wall.
The Warriors totally dominated the last ten minutes with the Phoenix holding the ball for just one set of tackles during which, Steve Lee bravely saved the Warriors grabbing a loose ball among the flying boots on the visitors’ line.
With the referee seemingly ignoring advantage, Kirk Bace was recalled with open field in front of him for a Warriors scrum and then Furze had a try disallowed for a Leicester infringement. From the penalty, Fourie’s lovely wide pass gave Josh Pettifer a try in the corner.
Constantine then dropped off a fine pass to Fourie who powered in for a try converted by Hough before the loose forward finished the scoring with the last play of the game racing away from the defence to score on a 60-metre run to the line.
Teams:
LEICESTER PHOENIX: Jamie Howe, Luke Yates, Ben Howe, Andy Turner, Ian Marsh, Kam Harris, Matt Charlton, Ryan Taylor, Duncan Merrill, Ricky Davey, Lawrence Phillips, Mahood Saad, Dave Nolan. Replacements: Tom Ball, Jack Reader, Simon Anniss, Guy Hollidge, Wade Wilson, Jim Cornish, Andy Cross.
Scorers: Tries; Andy Cross (25). Conversions; Simon Anniss 0 from 1
GLOUCESTERSHIRE WARRIORS: Andy Claydon, Rich Carter, Simon Comber, Stephan Fourie, Kirk Bace, Ben Hough, Chris Furze, Jack Petelo, Steve Lee, Areta Tanoai, Dean Barnard (Capt.), Steve Davies, Ben Constantine. Replacements: Dennis Kenna, Dave Potter, Tom James, Dean Hobbs, Josh Pettifer.
Scorers: Tries; Dean Barnard (19), Ben Constantine (35, 80), Chris Furze (39), Areta Tanoai (41), Ben Hough (54), James Comber (61, 63), Josh Pettifer (70), Stephan Fourie (74). Conversions; Ben Hough 3 from 5, Stephan Fourie 1 from 2, Chris Furze 1 from 1, Josh Pettifer 0 from 1, Jack Petelo 1 from 1
Referee: Andy Howe (York RLRS)
Star Man: Stephan Fourie
Penalties: Phoenix 13 Warriors 10.
Scoring sequence: 0-6, 4-6, 4-12, 4-16, (HT), 4-22, 4-26, 4-32, 4-36, 4-40, 4-46, 4-52, (FT).
Match Reaction
Warriors coach Tom James was pleased with the result. “I was delighted with our defensive effort”, he said. “We missed two tackles in the whole game and they scored once and should have scored a second”.
“We need to develop our attacking game more if we are to succeed against the best teams. We need to start completing our sets and develop our game into a wide expansive and exciting style of play. However, we must get the basics right before we can do that”.
“We started to show signs of being able to play proper rugby league today instead of looking like a rugby union side trying to play rugby league.”
