Walsall crash to late defeat after dominating final

Walsall were 27-9 up on Leek with 20 minutes to play when they lost captain George Perkins to the sinbin and proceeded to concede five tries in a 42-27 defeat.

Up to that point, Walsall had been attacking for long periods and should have had more than their 27 points on the board.

Unfortunately, they were guilty of kicking away good attacking opportunities and failing to take advantage of several try-scoring positions close to the Leek try line.

Will Hennessey had opened the scoring after just two minutes, but a Leek penalty levelled the scores 10 minutes later.

A superb 40-metre run from Rob Angell resulted in Hennessey putting over another penalty. Once again, however, a Leek penalty brought the scores level.

The first half came to an end with Walsall securing the try their play had deserved. An excellent break by flanker Max Hughes took play close to the opposition try line and scrum-half Dean Ainger showed good strength and speed to go over for the try, which Hennessey converted.

The second half started badly for Walsall as they failed to secure the kick-off and then conceded a penalty that was converted.

But the next 20 minutes saw the Walsall team put together some of their best rugby.

Good ball carries by Hughes, Perkins and Louis Vale then a quick pass by Ainger resulted in centre Angell breaking through tackles for a try which Hennessey converted.

It was not long before another strong Walsall scrum was followed by strong ball carries by George and Harry Perkins, James Tamillio and then Tom Aston for the final 10 metres for the try.

Another successful conversion gave Walsall a 27-9 lead with 20 minutes left to play.

But once Perkins was shown a yellow card, Walsall team lost their confidence and cohesion and allowed the Leek team to break through their tackles, eventually scoring five tries to secure their cup win.