In a tale of two halves, the Englishmen eventually hung on for a narrow 26-24 win.

The match was played over four 20-minute quarters and it was the Rhinos who enjoyed both a territorial and possessional advantage through the first two quarters to build a solid 26-0 halftime lead behind five unanswered tries.

The pick of the Leeds scores was a scintillating length of the field interception by Brent Webb. Other try-scorers were Matt Diskin, Rob Burrow and Scott Donald. Skipper Kevin Sinfield went 3/5 on conversions.

South Sydney were their own worst enemy in the first half as they bombed several scoring opportunities through ball handling errors, and they weren’t able to complete many sets of six tackles, allowing Leeds to gain the attacking momentum.

However, after the resumption it was all the Rabbitohs who banged in two tries to get back in the game. Ben Rogers was the first to get over the line when he followed up a grubber kick and was quickly followed by a brilliant individual effort by Issac Luke.

At the end of three quarters the Rhinos’ lead had been cut to 26-12 after some razzle dazzle football from South Sydney. The Australian side further closed the gap early in the fourth quarter when Eddie Paea burst through the Leeds defense. Paea converted two of the scores, while Luke added another to make it a 26-18 ball game.

Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield

The Rabbitohs continued to pour on the pressure and eventually George Ndaira was rewarded with a try in the closing stages. Ndaira converted his own touchdown to round out the scoring. Despite being shut out through the second half, Leeds had done enough earlier to outlast South Sydney’s challenge and post the narrow victory.

Leeds are the reigning English Super League champions and had played several preseason games prior to the Australia Day Challenge, whereas it was South Sydney’s first hit out of the new season.

The game at the University of North Florida attracted some interested VIP spectators including Russell Crowe, Greg Norman, Dennis Rodman, former tennis great Chris Evert, and women’s surfing champ Layne Beachley.

USA Sevens boss John Prusmack and director Dan Lyle were also in attendance. They were in Jacksonville to see how the city handled the event and to meet with American National Rugby League officials.