Winless Tykes sticking to principles despite tough National One baptism

GROWING PAINS: Scrum-half Ewan Laughton, centre, and his Leeds Tykes team-mates are taking time to adjust to the standard of National One following promotion from National Two North.

- by Nick Westby

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 longtime 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, 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 at the level below.