Wasps are swatted!

Mike Hulme reports from Huntington Stadium

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F ever a match was decided within the first three minutes, then this was it.

The echo of referee Bob Connolly's whistle had barely died away when the Centurions had two more NFP points safely locked away in the Hilton Park vaults.

Two converted tries before York had ball in hand underlined the huge gulf in class. Leigh ruthlessly powered on and a massive victory looked on the cards as they swept into a 24-0 lead inside 15 minutes and were 30-0 up at the break.

But when the division's bottom side provided more tenacious second half opposition, it was just what the doctor ordered for coach Paul Terzis who already had one eye on this weekend's Challenge Cup blockbuster at Rochdale.

"An 80-0 win might have looked fine on the scoreboard, but what benefit would we have got out of it?" the Centurions boss asked afterwards.

"If you look at the big picture, it's not hard to see that in the last month we've only been tested for one-and-a-half games - the abandoned game at Hull and against Rochdale. We need regular and strong competition to keep our standards up.

"I was delighted to see York come out for the second half and have a real go at us. That gave us the chance to see what we can do defensively. They put us under some real pressure at times and I was pleased with the way we responded."

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ork may have only managed to scramble one try but it needed some tenacious defensive work to restrict them to a solitary score. "The game was over as a contest, but it was good to see the boys protecting their tryline as if their lives depended on it," added Terzis.

The Wasps may be in familiar territory at the foot of the table, now with 26 successive NFP defeats on the debit side of their ledger, but they look far stronger than last year when Leigh went close of 100 points in the same fixture.

But Leigh were still streets ahead. Bigger, stronger, faster and classier - the difference couldn't have been more stark.

Leigh also made fewer errors - and area of the game that was to cost York so dearly.

With a gale at their backs, Leigh made full use of the elements. York tried to do the same in the second period, but with little or no success.

The Force Six blowing straight down the ground helped Leigh no end. When Neil Turley's opening kick off forced York to drop out from their own line, the pattern was set. Less than 50 seconds had gone when Willie Swann's inside ball found Adam Bristow in full stride, the skipper stretching over close to the posts for the first of Leigh's nine tries. Turley's weighted conversion found it's target for a 6-0 lead.

When Leigh broke again straight from the kick off, the power and pace of their attacking machine brought try number two. Simon Svabic's long ball put Paul Anderson in open pasture, the second rower linking nicely with Jon Roper for Eric Andrews to go over wide out. The faultless Turley again guided the conversion right through the middle.

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or nine minutes the Wasps plugged the defensive gaps but when Leigh forced another goal-line drop out, a third try followed. Svabic's pass brought Andy Isherwood through back on the angle, the impressive back rower scattering all before him to plunge in for another Turley converted try.

Less than 15 minutes had gone and Leigh were celebrating a fourth touchdown; this one coming straight off the training ground. From a scrum 20 metres out, Bristow stepped out of the pack to first receiver and shot through to the posts without a finger laid on him. Turley's fourth conversion made it 24-0.

The midfield combination of Svabic, Swann and Bristow threatened to completely overwhelm the shell-shocked Wasps but it was the power of the likes of Dave Bradbury, Isherwood and later Vila Matautia that did the softening up.

The Centurions took their score to 30 after only 24 minutes when Bradbury somehow smuggled a pass away in a three-man tackle to release John Hamilton and Bristow. They worked some daylight for winger Liam Bretherton who picked his way round the three remaining defenders for a try in the corner. Turley's flighted conversion ended a near-perfect first quarter.

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eigh were never quite able to repeat that early dominance although Bradbury was ruled to have lost possession over the line after York's defences had been broken again.

The Wasps gave a signal of their intent just before the break when ex-Hull prop Mick Docherty was wrestled onto his back by Turley and Bretherton after managing to get over Leigh's line.

Running into the teeth of the gale, Leigh found it tougher going in the second half but still managed to come up with the first points. When Matautia smashed his way up the middle, the speed an accuracy of Leigh's handling stretch York one way and the other until Svabic picked out the right ball that invited Isherwood to burst over for his second.

With prop Steve Hill running with great gusto, scrum-half Scott Yeaman and loose-forward Mark Cain began to chip away at the Leigh defence and after their most concerted spell of pressure, Yeaman slipped low under a couple of tackles to stretch over by the posts, Jamie Benn converting.

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ut Leigh quickly showed what they could do with the ball when sub Mark McCully pulled in a high, hanging pass on his fingertips before launching Andrews in at the corner for 38-6.

Yeaman must have thought he had another when he was put clear by Cain, but Bristow somehow got back and saved six points with a diving ankle tap. And Turley saved another just before the final hooter when he turned Mick Ramsden over the line.

But before then Leigh had notched tries eight and nine - and both involved the impressive Swann. Referee Connolly and his touchjudge awarded Swann a four pointer after the scrum-half had the ball ripped out over the line and then it was the flying Swann again, racing clear, drawing full-back Benn and giving Bradbury a try on a plate. Turley's only success of the half took Leigh to 48 points.

Match Facts

SCORERS - Leigh: Tries - Bristow 2 (1, 15), Andrews 2 (3, 60), Isherwood 2 (12, 49), Bretherton (24), Swann (67), Bradbury (71). Gls - Turley 6 from 9.

York: Try - Yeaman (52). Gl: Benn 1 from 2.

LEIGH: Turley; Bretherton, Kendrick, Roper, Andrews; Svabic, Swann; Norman, Hamilton, Bradbury, Anderson, Isherwood, Bristow. Subs: Morley (for Bradbury 2 BB, BBR 19), Rowley (for Hamilton 26), McCully (for Roper HT), Matautia (for Norman 21), Morley (for Anderson 63), Hamilton (for Rowley 65), Norman (for Matautia 67).

YORK: Benn; Forbes, Austerfield, Lee R, Molloy; Liddell, Yeaman; Docherty, Edwards, Hill, Barrow, Ramsden, Cain. Subs: Precious (for Hill 27), Hutchinson (for Ramsden 28), Crayke (for Barrow 66), Lee A (for Forbes 61), Hill (for Precious 38), Ramsden (for Hutchinson 50).

Penalties awarded: Leigh 5, York 11.

Scrums won: Leigh 10, York 6.

Referee: Bob Connolly (Wigan).

Attendance: 680.