Snow trouble for Rhinos

Leeds began the defence of their Super League crown with a hard-fought 34-6 victory over new-look Crusaders at a snowy Racecourse Ground.

Backed by the majority of a 10,334 crowd, Brian Noble's side made an encouraging start to life in Wrexham before running out of gas late on.

For over an hour Crusaders stood toe-to-toe with their illustrious opponents, a Gareth Raynor try after a Michael Witt penalty making it 6-6.

However the Rhinos ran riot in the final 15 minutes, Ali Lauitiiti scoring two tries, to give the final scoreline a rather flattering look in champions' favour.

Blizzards

The last time Leeds travelled to Wales they had won 68-0, though a repeat result always seemed unlikely once afternoon blizzards in the north west left the playing surface covered in snow.

This was also a much-changed Crusaders outfit from the one that had been roundly thumped at the Brewery Field in Bridgend last year.

As well as a new home in the north and a change in kit, with red and white replacing the old colours of black and gold, there were eight debutants.

Witt - one of those new faces in action - kicked the hosts in front as early as the fourth minute after referee Ben Thaler blew for the first of what would be a plethora of penalties against Leeds.

Boosted by their positive start, Crusaders came within inches of the opening try when Frank Winterstein was just stopped short of the line on the last.

Instead it was Leeds, having rarely threatened in attack during the opening quarter, who crossed first thanks to a major blunder from Nick Youngquest.

The Crusaders' full-back was in perfect position to deal with Brett Delaney's grubber kick - only to allow the ball to bounce through his legs. Before it could run dead Scott Donald dived in to gratefully accept the gift.

However, having defended stoutly on their own line, Crusaders moved down the field before a towering Witt kick out wide was reeled in by Vince Mellars, who then offloaded for winger Raynor to get over against the club where he started his career.

Although the conversion was missed, the fact the two teams were level at half time raised hopes of a stunning upset not seen at the Racecourse venue since Mickey Thomas' free-kick knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup in 1992.

The score remained the same right through until the 65th minute when the Rhinos finally found a way through the home defence.

Having pushed hard in their opponents' half on plenty of occasions they eventually struck from deep, the ball being moved out wide early in the tackle count before Delaney released the galloping McGuire down the right wing.

The try - successfully converted by Sinfield - opened the floodgates as a tiring Crusaders conceded 28 points in the closing quarter-of-an-hour.

Lauitiiti brace

Lauitiiti helped himself to a brace, both coming with a good degree of luck. A McGuire offload hit Youngquest's back and broke kindly for the giant forward, while his second in the final minute was even more fortuitous.

A powerful drive took the 30-year-old to the line but it seemed some last-ditch defending had stopped him from getting the ball down. But, having studied the replays, the television official still awarded the score - much to Lauitiiti's surprise.

By then Sinfield had benefited from a clever Danny Buderus kick to score a fourth try for Leeds, while a fifth soon followed from new recruit Delaney.

The Australian centre crowned an impressive debut when he finished off McGuire's inside pass, though he suffered for his efforts as Adam Peek's late hit left him with blood pouring from the back of his head and nose.

In the end the final score was harsh on Noble's Crusaders, who must hope they did enough to impress many of those in attendance to return again.