Match Report taken from 'The Rugby Paper':

Pre-season title favourites Leeds Tykes lived up to their billing with a comprehensive victory over Tynedale.
The Tykes, who narrowly missed out on promotion, laid down a marker ahead of the new campaign with a seven try demolition on opening day.

The visitors opened the scoring through Will Roberts, only to be kept scoreless for the remainder of the game by a stern West Yorkshire defence.

Leeds, who have recruited depth in the close season, didn't take long to respond to their wake-up call with tries through James Magee, Adam Brown and Henry MacNab before the break. Debutant James Watts added two from three conversions to give a half time score of 19-5.

The home side, who've retained the nucleus of their squad who notably ran out of steam last year, laid down the gauntlet in the final quarter with tries from their mobile captain Brown, completing a match day brace. He led from the front as Toby Williams, Charlie Venables and Henry NacNab all scored to add an element of gloss to the full-time result.
Refusing to lose focus and knowing how close they were to promotion last season, the Tykes will take some stopping.

Report from our roving reporter Chris Leslie:-
Soz for a somewhat dry (personal) report, but it didn’t feel right to poke fun when such a match was hard-fought and full of effort from both sides.
Leeds Tykes secured a commanding 47-5 victory over Tynedale in a contest that, despite the scoreline, saw resilience and effort from both sides. The game, started under slippery conditions, was marred by handling mistakes early on, with both teams struggling to maintain possession.

Tynedale opened the scoring after just five minutes through outside centre Wil Roberts, who dotted down a well-worked try to give the visitors a 0-5 lead. However, they failed to gather the resulting kickoff, which allowed Leeds Tykes to quickly capitalise and respond with a try of their own, converting to make it 7-5 within minutes.

Leeds continued to build momentum and extended their lead to 14-5 by the 19th minute, showing impressive control. As the first half drew to a close, the home side added another try right on the halftime whistle, making it 19-5 going into the break. That halftime scoreline slightly flattered Leeds, as Tynedale were very much in the contest.

In the backs, Tynedale’s Roberts and Grant were standouts, showing resilience throughout the match, while Leslie's deft distribution was faultless for the visitors. The difference was that Leeds began to make less mistakes.

The second half saw Leeds extend their lead further, scoring 'shortly' (20 mins) after the break to make it 26-5. Debutaunt Turnbull, who had been substituted with 20 mins to go, returned to the field for the final seven minutes and impressed with improved accurate distribution during his second stint.

As the match wore on, it became inevitable that the professional (paid part-timers) fitness of Leeds Tykes would tell. Their conditioning led to two quick tries in the 29th and 30th minutes, extending the lead to 42-5. That extra edge clearly played a part in breaking down Tynedale’s defence, resulting in late tries as the visitors began to tire.

Leeds added a final try just before the full-time whistle, sealing a 47-5 victory. Despite the lopsided score, the match was far from one-sided, with Tynedale putting up a significant fight. However, Leeds Tykes' fitness ultimately earned them a well-deserved win.

However, it wasn’t just Leeds' performance that impressed – the second best haircut of the day went to the debonair Mr. Wearmouth, whose fresh look appeared to shave off a few years, adding a touch of flair to the occasion.