Leeds Rhinos 20

Saints 35 HELD up in traffic they may have been, but stupendous Saints quickly clicked into gear in this torrid, incident-packed clash at cauldron Headingley on Friday.

The victory cemented Saints hold on second place, and with it the mouthwatering prospect of a Super League leadership showdown with Wigan on September 15, and enhanced the champions' chances of a Grand Final encore

However, that is in the future, and for now six-try Saints can bask in a display that underlined the virtues of team spirit, scintillating attacking play, limpet-like defence and ability to retrieve what appeared a lost cause.

This was demonstrated in the final quarter, when a Saints' squad who had earlier built up a 10-point lead were trailing 20-12, but then dug deep to deliver the killer punch by scoring three tries in five minutes and 23 points without reply

Two of these tries were scored by Test centre Paul Newlove, whose return after an 11-match absence through injury was a calculated gamble by coach Ian Millward that paid rich dividends.

"Attitude and desire are the ingredients for success at Saints and I never thought the game was slipping away from us," said a delighted Millward, while Rhinos coach Dean Lance believed Leeds lost to a better side whose tactics paid off.

Spurning a late kick-off, Saints were into their stride within two minutes when, after Darren Fleary lost possession, Nickle and Sculthorpe put Long through and his wide pass sent Paul Wellens over, with Longy adding the angled conversion.

Skipper Chris Joynt rescued Saints with a try-saving tackle on the barnstorming Fleary, and it fell to Iestyn Harris to open the Leeds' account with the first of his six goals when Nickle and Cunningham held down David Barnhill.

Long emulated his captain's defensive heroics but this time on flying winger Karl Pratt as did Apollo Perelini on Paul Sterling, and there were other encouraging signs - not least the completing of seven sets of tackles - that Saints were really 'up' for this one.

Ball-stealing saw Harris reduce the visitors' lead to 6-4 with his second penalty, only for Saints to forge further ahead when, after Tuilagi had a try disallowed, Cunningham broke away from dummy half to round Francis Cummins in a breathtaking run to the posts. Wellens was adjudged to have knocked on from the restart, and the Rhinos capitalised on the dubious decision when Lee Jackson plunged over after Ryan Sheridan chipped through to leave Saints clinging to a 12-10 advantage.

Three successive free-kicks helped Leeds maintain pressure on a Saints' side whose sliding defence was unyielding, but they could nothing about the hairline sin-binning of Nickle, with Harris making it all square at half-time.

Tragedy struck for Saints when Leeds man-of-the-match Keith Senior snapped up a dropped ball to send in Chev Walker with Harris goaling, with the otherwise quiet Rhino's leader adding another penalty after Vila Matautia was placed on report following a challenge on Graham Mackay.

Eight points down, Saints defence then underwent its most searching examination as Leeds sought to turn the screw, but the red-and-white line held before Saints assumed complete control with a purple patch of scoring.

The touchpaper was lit by Long and Tuilagi in sending Nickle over, Cunningham and Long were prime movers in Newlove's first try, while Keiron and the hard-working Sean Hoppe fashioned 'Newy's' second.

Add to that a snap one-pointer by Sculthorpe, plus a well-rehearsed touchdown by Cunningham after Long had chipped through to the posts, and it will be understood that Saints' fans were in bouyant mood as they trekked back along the M62.