4 points lost at half time
By Jon_r43 March 1 2009
, two points won by full time!
Irish went into this game with a real opportunity to put one of our playoff rivals a long way behind on points, but ended up just ahead after a poor first 60 minutes followed by an impressive recovery. Like last week at Bath we are going to end up with 2 points from the game.
, two points won by full time!
Irish went into this game with a real opportunity to put one of our playoff rivals a long way behind on points, but ended up just ahead after a poor first 60 minutes followed by an impressive recovery. Like last week at Bath we are going to end up with 2 points from the game.
I woke up confident and made the mistake of thinking we would win an so rather than using the usual notebook I thought that as it’s a Sky game I could take the chance of watching it and then getting the detail from Sky afterwards, Following the game I now have 2 options:
Option one start ..…..53 minutes gone Irish 11 Leicester 28, Tagi, Dec, Danie and Alex on, the comeback must start here.
Option 2 to start watching Sky from the start so that we have a full report.
I suppose I had better go with option 2 so here goes…… bad news before kick off. We are in our seats early and no sign of Bob, according to Sky and rumours afterwards he has a torn bicep which was operated on in the week and could be out for the rest of the season. (Why did we name on Friday then?) Eoghan is out warming up and we wondered if he might get a chance but no, the team is announced with only one change (Gary starting for Bob) from the team announced of Friday.
Then the good team news Peter Hewat says to Radio Berkshire that he may be out for only 4 weeks and according to Toby (On Sky) Kieran may be available next week.
Two teams both missing several top line players take to the field. Let’s not start the debate as to who is missing most key players and just go for both sides were missing 5 EPS players during the week according to Toby in the programme.
We are to be joined in the west stand by a couple of Leicester supporting friends (including TigerR from the Tigers board) but they have yet to arrive so a fast start would be great so that we can let them know we are winning when they arrive. The fast start happened, Irish penalty after 36 seconds for not rolling away, 3 points to Shane and the Tigers supporters arrive (I let them know the score - just as well as it was the only time we were in front!.) Tigers also lost Dan Cole early to an injury.
At the first Tigers line out James Buckland is pinged for use of the shoulder and we lose 10 metres for talking back, (Maybe Mr Person remembered what happened when he was last here!) Dupuy kicks the penalty (3:3)
Tigers kick over the top and the ball bounces away from Tom Homer who takes it into touch despite Tuilagi being close to him. Both teams at this stage look to make breaks although the kick tennis also seems to be an option too, although it’s not as bad as at Croke Park the day before. Tigers get a two on one but Tom Homer tackles Hamilton who can’t release the ball and a Leicester man goes off his feet to save Irish.
After 15 minutes Leicester take a quick line out, Maps misses a tackle. Leicester are awarded an advantage for side entry. 35 seconds later (Couldn’t the advantage have been over?) Mr Person takes it back for another penalty (3:6)
Irish lose position and Leicester try to break. Topsy turns and tries to run back by Tuilagi runs into him Topsy’s retreat was almost as slow as Delon’s yesterday in the international when Bod fell over him. Irish try to run the ball which Shane takes into a ruck, the ball doesn’t come out and Tigers are given the feed. After an exchange Major receives a pass and slips past Elvis, he feeds Tuilagi who tries to chip through and the ball bounces off Shane and falls for Davies who passes to Azerza who goes under the posts. (3: 13, 23 mins)
The next action on note on Sky takes place after 26 minutes 7 Seconds when Dewi says Steffon is still slightly subdued. 11 phases later Steffon drives through to place the ball over the line (to be fair Morris he commentated that he didn’t look so subdued now!) Irish’s possession at this stage a bit slow with some balls high, some low and some handling problems. The family have noticed that Dodge seems to be standing off more than usual which may account for this as a wide range of players seem to be taking first phase and sometimes it’s high other times taken with a juggle and we are losing some Pace, (8: 13 after 28 mins)
More problems at a scrum give a free kick to Tigers which leading to a kickable penalty for not rolling away (8:16, 32 mins)
From another scrum Vesty tries a cross field kick. A couple of phases later Matt Smith crawls across the line and Mr Pearson goes upstairs. Unfortunately for Irish Adam doesn’t hold the tackle which made the crawling forward legal (8:21, 36 mins)
Just before half time Irish are awarded a penalty Dodge runs in to pick up the ball and appears to be kicked in the face by Ben Kay (who appeared to be looking right at him as he does it. Mr Pearson decided that it is accidental and we just get the penalty). Irish are in their own half and as the clock runs out we kick to touch anyway and head for the tunnel. Personally would have gone for something as the gap of 13 points is a big one and we’re looking like we could lose 4 key points today.
In our part of the West Stand we were all not quite in the right seats (Several people were watching from a Pub in Dublin!) and various others were moving seats due to visitors with them. A positive comment here for the ground staff at the Madejski, my seat was broken when I arrived (Football the day before?) and was fixed by the team inside 20 minutes before the kick off.
The second half kicks off with Mike Catt replacing Elvis. Catty is hit by Tuilagi in the first minute. Irish are quickly on the defensive, Mr Pearson stops play for a knee injury to Crane. He appears to give Irish a penalty however he can be heard on Sky telling Shane it was just stopping the clock. From the resulting scrum Leicester attack but the Irish defence is strong and we clear through Catt.
Irish have some position and are awarded a long range penalty for not rolling away. Shane converts from just inside the Leicester half (11 – 21, 48 gone).
A deep restart leads to a not rolling advantage for Irish, Dodge reacts by lifting his foot but makes no contact. Mr Pearson’s time off signal looked for a horrible second to be a penalty reversal right in front of the post but it wasn’t!!
Tigers get the ball and Tuilagi runs down the left wing, Maps misses the tackle, Tuilagi makes a switch with Smith who crosses for his second try (11 – 28, 53 minutes gone.)
So the alternative report starts here!………. 53 minutes gone Irish 11 Leicester 28, Tagi, Dec, Danie and Alex on, the comeback must start here! (According to Dewi Leicester are not easing off unlike Bath last week!!)
Tagi is involved from the start. After a couple of minutes Dodge makes a break through the whole of the Leicester defence. He is caught and Geraghty passes to Catt who throws a long miss pass to Tagi who crosses in the corner - the comeback has begun! (16 – 28, 56 Mins)
Irish disrupt a scrum and win the ball at the resulting scrum in our own half, Shane kicks through and Adam recovers. Dodge to Geraghty, another chip and Catty tackles Tuilagi over the line! Irish are really going for it.
From the scrum Irish keep possession unfortunately Mr Catt overthrows the pass into touch when we had a 3 on 1 overlap. Irish keep the pressure on and Chris goes for the line from a scrum and much more pressure but time is starting to run out. At this point TigerR is heard hoping that with the pressure we are putting on an intercept try is coming Leicester’s way!
Shane delivers a “hospital pass” to Topsy who is flattened by Tuilagi. Topsy hangs on to the ball and is penalised but the kick is missed.
9 minutes to go and we are 12 behind and Dodge goes off with a sore eye and Topsy is also hopping around. Mr Pearson penalises us for offside. Leicester take the safe route kicking of 3 points rather than going for the 4th try - however these are the points that ultimately win the game) (16 – 31 after 73 minutes 45 seconds!
So 6 minutes 15 left, only 2 tries and 15 points down it looks like no points to irish today. From the restart the ball is dropped by a Leicester player into touch giving Irish an attacking line out. Jon Fisher replaces Topsy and several Irish supporters in our section leave the ground (What they missed is worth the admission alone!) The ball is recycled, Maps drives through the middle and scores. Geraghty drop kicks the conversion (23 – 32 after 75 minutes.)
Another deep restart and Shane chips through to Maps who goes over half way. The ball comes out left then back to the middle carried forward by Jon Fisher. Shane tries a chip and does well to recover, it goes right and then left and Steffon goes in at the corner. Mr Pearson takes the safe option and checks upstairs. Shane just misses the kick. (28 – 32)
The crowd are going crazy as we recover the ball. Unfortunately there is an Irish knock on and we go to uncontested scrums with a Leicester put in. Irish get the next scrum and Shane tries to make a break. A Leicester knock on gives Irish a put in as time expires. The Leicester players try to get Mr Pearson to end the game but he points to his arm and says he has given it (I think there was one second left!) The scrum is however in our own 22. Adam (We sponsor him you know) Thompston takes the ball and goes down the pitch across half way. He takes the tackle and tries to pass to Steffon but the ball goes forward and the game is over.
It’s very odd getting to the end of a game at 3pm so spent a fair amount of time in the bar chatting to people about the game and what it means for top of the table, the playoffs and the HC qualification (Fortunately for us Sale lost at Sarries, Unfortunately for us Monye scored at the end of Quins game to grab 4 points at Bristol) It’s all looks close now but will it be 2 points gained or 2 points lost in the end of the season and how crucial will be Leicester’s missed bonus point end up being?
Next week we are away to Wasps and need to get an end to these losing bonus points and go for a win and ideally 5 points. After all Wasps haven’t scored a try for 2 games. Anyone remember Sunday 31 April 2006? That game was a late kick off, and on Sky with Irish winning 37 – 56. Not sure my heart will take that kind of open game but it needs to be something like that if these 2 points and the 2 last week at Bath are to mean anything!
Come on Irish
Option one start ..…..53 minutes gone Irish 11 Leicester 28, Tagi, Dec, Danie and Alex on, the comeback must start here.
Option 2 to start watching Sky from the start so that we have a full report.
I suppose I had better go with option 2 so here goes…… bad news before kick off. We are in our seats early and no sign of Bob, according to Sky and rumours afterwards he has a torn bicep which was operated on in the week and could be out for the rest of the season. (Why did we name on Friday then?) Eoghan is out warming up and we wondered if he might get a chance but no, the team is announced with only one change (Gary starting for Bob) from the team announced of Friday.
Then the good team news Peter Hewat says to Radio Berkshire that he may be out for only 4 weeks and according to Toby (On Sky) Kieran may be available next week.
Two teams both missing several top line players take to the field. Let’s not start the debate as to who is missing most key players and just go for both sides were missing 5 EPS players during the week according to Toby in the programme.
We are to be joined in the west stand by a couple of Leicester supporting friends (including TigerR from the Tigers board) but they have yet to arrive so a fast start would be great so that we can let them know we are winning when they arrive. The fast start happened, Irish penalty after 36 seconds for not rolling away, 3 points to Shane and the Tigers supporters arrive (I let them know the score - just as well as it was the only time we were in front!.) Tigers also lost Dan Cole early to an injury.
At the first Tigers line out James Buckland is pinged for use of the shoulder and we lose 10 metres for talking back, (Maybe Mr Person remembered what happened when he was last here!) Dupuy kicks the penalty (3:3)
Tigers kick over the top and the ball bounces away from Tom Homer who takes it into touch despite Tuilagi being close to him. Both teams at this stage look to make breaks although the kick tennis also seems to be an option too, although it’s not as bad as at Croke Park the day before. Tigers get a two on one but Tom Homer tackles Hamilton who can’t release the ball and a Leicester man goes off his feet to save Irish.
After 15 minutes Leicester take a quick line out, Maps misses a tackle. Leicester are awarded an advantage for side entry. 35 seconds later (Couldn’t the advantage have been over?) Mr Person takes it back for another penalty (3:6)
Irish lose position and Leicester try to break. Topsy turns and tries to run back by Tuilagi runs into him Topsy’s retreat was almost as slow as Delon’s yesterday in the international when Bod fell over him. Irish try to run the ball which Shane takes into a ruck, the ball doesn’t come out and Tigers are given the feed. After an exchange Major receives a pass and slips past Elvis, he feeds Tuilagi who tries to chip through and the ball bounces off Shane and falls for Davies who passes to Azerza who goes under the posts. (3: 13, 23 mins)
The next action on note on Sky takes place after 26 minutes 7 Seconds when Dewi says Steffon is still slightly subdued. 11 phases later Steffon drives through to place the ball over the line (to be fair Morris he commentated that he didn’t look so subdued now!) Irish’s possession at this stage a bit slow with some balls high, some low and some handling problems. The family have noticed that Dodge seems to be standing off more than usual which may account for this as a wide range of players seem to be taking first phase and sometimes it’s high other times taken with a juggle and we are losing some Pace, (8: 13 after 28 mins)
More problems at a scrum give a free kick to Tigers which leading to a kickable penalty for not rolling away (8:16, 32 mins)
From another scrum Vesty tries a cross field kick. A couple of phases later Matt Smith crawls across the line and Mr Pearson goes upstairs. Unfortunately for Irish Adam doesn’t hold the tackle which made the crawling forward legal (8:21, 36 mins)
Just before half time Irish are awarded a penalty Dodge runs in to pick up the ball and appears to be kicked in the face by Ben Kay (who appeared to be looking right at him as he does it. Mr Pearson decided that it is accidental and we just get the penalty). Irish are in their own half and as the clock runs out we kick to touch anyway and head for the tunnel. Personally would have gone for something as the gap of 13 points is a big one and we’re looking like we could lose 4 key points today.
In our part of the West Stand we were all not quite in the right seats (Several people were watching from a Pub in Dublin!) and various others were moving seats due to visitors with them. A positive comment here for the ground staff at the Madejski, my seat was broken when I arrived (Football the day before?) and was fixed by the team inside 20 minutes before the kick off.
The second half kicks off with Mike Catt replacing Elvis. Catty is hit by Tuilagi in the first minute. Irish are quickly on the defensive, Mr Pearson stops play for a knee injury to Crane. He appears to give Irish a penalty however he can be heard on Sky telling Shane it was just stopping the clock. From the resulting scrum Leicester attack but the Irish defence is strong and we clear through Catt.
Irish have some position and are awarded a long range penalty for not rolling away. Shane converts from just inside the Leicester half (11 – 21, 48 gone).
A deep restart leads to a not rolling advantage for Irish, Dodge reacts by lifting his foot but makes no contact. Mr Pearson’s time off signal looked for a horrible second to be a penalty reversal right in front of the post but it wasn’t!!
Tigers get the ball and Tuilagi runs down the left wing, Maps misses the tackle, Tuilagi makes a switch with Smith who crosses for his second try (11 – 28, 53 minutes gone.)
So the alternative report starts here!………. 53 minutes gone Irish 11 Leicester 28, Tagi, Dec, Danie and Alex on, the comeback must start here! (According to Dewi Leicester are not easing off unlike Bath last week!!)
Tagi is involved from the start. After a couple of minutes Dodge makes a break through the whole of the Leicester defence. He is caught and Geraghty passes to Catt who throws a long miss pass to Tagi who crosses in the corner - the comeback has begun! (16 – 28, 56 Mins)
Irish disrupt a scrum and win the ball at the resulting scrum in our own half, Shane kicks through and Adam recovers. Dodge to Geraghty, another chip and Catty tackles Tuilagi over the line! Irish are really going for it.
From the scrum Irish keep possession unfortunately Mr Catt overthrows the pass into touch when we had a 3 on 1 overlap. Irish keep the pressure on and Chris goes for the line from a scrum and much more pressure but time is starting to run out. At this point TigerR is heard hoping that with the pressure we are putting on an intercept try is coming Leicester’s way!
Shane delivers a “hospital pass” to Topsy who is flattened by Tuilagi. Topsy hangs on to the ball and is penalised but the kick is missed.
9 minutes to go and we are 12 behind and Dodge goes off with a sore eye and Topsy is also hopping around. Mr Pearson penalises us for offside. Leicester take the safe route kicking of 3 points rather than going for the 4th try - however these are the points that ultimately win the game) (16 – 31 after 73 minutes 45 seconds!
So 6 minutes 15 left, only 2 tries and 15 points down it looks like no points to irish today. From the restart the ball is dropped by a Leicester player into touch giving Irish an attacking line out. Jon Fisher replaces Topsy and several Irish supporters in our section leave the ground (What they missed is worth the admission alone!) The ball is recycled, Maps drives through the middle and scores. Geraghty drop kicks the conversion (23 – 32 after 75 minutes.)
Another deep restart and Shane chips through to Maps who goes over half way. The ball comes out left then back to the middle carried forward by Jon Fisher. Shane tries a chip and does well to recover, it goes right and then left and Steffon goes in at the corner. Mr Pearson takes the safe option and checks upstairs. Shane just misses the kick. (28 – 32)
The crowd are going crazy as we recover the ball. Unfortunately there is an Irish knock on and we go to uncontested scrums with a Leicester put in. Irish get the next scrum and Shane tries to make a break. A Leicester knock on gives Irish a put in as time expires. The Leicester players try to get Mr Pearson to end the game but he points to his arm and says he has given it (I think there was one second left!) The scrum is however in our own 22. Adam (We sponsor him you know) Thompston takes the ball and goes down the pitch across half way. He takes the tackle and tries to pass to Steffon but the ball goes forward and the game is over.
It’s very odd getting to the end of a game at 3pm so spent a fair amount of time in the bar chatting to people about the game and what it means for top of the table, the playoffs and the HC qualification (Fortunately for us Sale lost at Sarries, Unfortunately for us Monye scored at the end of Quins game to grab 4 points at Bristol) It’s all looks close now but will it be 2 points gained or 2 points lost in the end of the season and how crucial will be Leicester’s missed bonus point end up being?
Next week we are away to Wasps and need to get an end to these losing bonus points and go for a win and ideally 5 points. After all Wasps haven’t scored a try for 2 games. Anyone remember Sunday 31 April 2006? That game was a late kick off, and on Sky with Irish winning 37 – 56. Not sure my heart will take that kind of open game but it needs to be something like that if these 2 points and the 2 last week at Bath are to mean anything!
Come on Irish
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Stumbleupon4 points lost at half time
Posted by: The Craic www.londonirish.org (IP Logged)
Date: 01/03/2009 22:58
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Re: 4 points lost at half time
Posted by: antoinog (IP Logged)
Date: 02/03/2009 08:11
Great write-up Jon. Thanks v much for doing this.
Interesting: I too thought we had been awarded a penalty near our own line at the beginning of the second half but next thing its a Tiggers scrum. And my Sky didn't record so I can't check it :-(
Amazing too - a number of people leaving towards the end just before our comeback: how they must be kicking themselves.
All in all, disappointing to lose it (we've got to stop letting the opposition build up a lead before we roar back) but a combined 4 points from Bath (a) and Leicester (h) - would we have taken that at the start of the season? Yes please!!
Tony
Interesting: I too thought we had been awarded a penalty near our own line at the beginning of the second half but next thing its a Tiggers scrum. And my Sky didn't record so I can't check it :-(
Amazing too - a number of people leaving towards the end just before our comeback: how they must be kicking themselves.
All in all, disappointing to lose it (we've got to stop letting the opposition build up a lead before we roar back) but a combined 4 points from Bath (a) and Leicester (h) - would we have taken that at the start of the season? Yes please!!
Tony
Re: 4 points lost at half time
Posted by: Barney_Gumble (IP Logged)
Date: 02/03/2009 08:22
A good read Jon, thanks!
Re: 4 points lost at half time
Posted by: Stopsy (IP Logged)
Date: 02/03/2009 08:31
Thanks Jon, a good read.
Re: 4 points lost at half time
Posted by: Griff (IP Logged)
Date: 02/03/2009 09:30
Tony, Mr Pearson saw Deacon's knee go and immediately called a halt (and time-off, which was why his arm wnet up). We thought it was a penalty too but it was actually Mr P (who had a brilliant day) being spot-on (again). Well done Dave!
Re: 4 points lost at half time
Posted by: bisach (IP Logged)
Date: 02/03/2009 10:13
Before I go for a lie down, I have to agree with Griff. I thought Mr Pearson had a good game. The only thing he maybe got wrong was not yellow carding Kay for the lash out with the boot at Dodge at the end of the 1st half. Let's just wait to see if the citing bods make anything of it.
Mind you, 3 times he's officiated our games this season. 3 losses.
Mind you, 3 times he's officiated our games this season. 3 losses.
Re: 4 points lost at half time
Posted by: Irish Wolf (IP Logged)
Date: 02/03/2009 11:53
Though felt we didn't get the rub of the green, what a difference to Wrigglesworth.
Re: 4 points lost at half time
Posted by: SirBurger (IP Logged)
Date: 02/03/2009 13:55
Good write-up. My thoughts:
1. The pack was completely outplayed, in the first half especially. Individually, I thought Clarke, Hudson, Steff and Chris H all had outstanding games, but there wasn't enough cohesion. Leicester dominated the breakdown and the scrums. Our line-outs were better thanks to some excellent work by James H, Gary J and even Hala'Ufia. However, it is noticeable that without Bob and Nick our capacity to steal is lacking; I recall seeing only one steal yesterday against a Leicester line-out which with Nick and Bob competing I would have expected us to take at least 3 or 4.
2. The Leicester defence was very good until the second half, when it began to tire. Plenty of effort from the likes of Maps, Elvis and Adam but there was little impact in comparison to usual. Bringing Catt on at 10 and shifting Shane to 12 certainly added a greater thrust and despite some criticisms from certain quarters, I think both had good games.
3. Our back line play was also guilty of drifting with the ball in hand far too often. One passage of play strikes me particularly, where Topsy caught the ball from a kick off, ran sideways before passing to Maps, who then ran sideways before passing to Tagi, who then had 2 men to beat in a very limited amount of room and was thus forced into touch.
4. Paul H was stood at first receiver far too often. He has the distribution skills to do so, but ultimately he will fail to break the line with any regularity so it became far too predictable for the Leicester defence to work-out that shifting the ball on is all he was going to do. His job is to get the ball out of rucks and release his team-mates. Hopefully he will do that more in the next game...Alfredo was also guilty of the same thing against Quins and I hope that it isn't actually something which Toby and Catt are encouraging us to do.
5. Finally, it was brilliant to see Tagi and Pete R back in Irish shirts. Tagi hasn't been out for nearly as long but was still sorely missed. His ability to break the line and finish off tries with a severely limited amount of space makes us a far greater weapon. I turned to my friend after he scored and shouted "best winger in Europe." I think that tag is justified. Richards seemed to add some zest to our play, as he always does and I would be tempted to start him against Wasps. We need to play with the sort of tempo that we managed for the last 15 against Leicester for a much greater percentage of the game against Wasps. It will be a must win game. If we fail to win this then we are really going to struggle to break into the top 4 unless we win all of our remaining games, and that includes difficult away trips to Worcester and Northampton.
1. The pack was completely outplayed, in the first half especially. Individually, I thought Clarke, Hudson, Steff and Chris H all had outstanding games, but there wasn't enough cohesion. Leicester dominated the breakdown and the scrums. Our line-outs were better thanks to some excellent work by James H, Gary J and even Hala'Ufia. However, it is noticeable that without Bob and Nick our capacity to steal is lacking; I recall seeing only one steal yesterday against a Leicester line-out which with Nick and Bob competing I would have expected us to take at least 3 or 4.
2. The Leicester defence was very good until the second half, when it began to tire. Plenty of effort from the likes of Maps, Elvis and Adam but there was little impact in comparison to usual. Bringing Catt on at 10 and shifting Shane to 12 certainly added a greater thrust and despite some criticisms from certain quarters, I think both had good games.
3. Our back line play was also guilty of drifting with the ball in hand far too often. One passage of play strikes me particularly, where Topsy caught the ball from a kick off, ran sideways before passing to Maps, who then ran sideways before passing to Tagi, who then had 2 men to beat in a very limited amount of room and was thus forced into touch.
4. Paul H was stood at first receiver far too often. He has the distribution skills to do so, but ultimately he will fail to break the line with any regularity so it became far too predictable for the Leicester defence to work-out that shifting the ball on is all he was going to do. His job is to get the ball out of rucks and release his team-mates. Hopefully he will do that more in the next game...Alfredo was also guilty of the same thing against Quins and I hope that it isn't actually something which Toby and Catt are encouraging us to do.
5. Finally, it was brilliant to see Tagi and Pete R back in Irish shirts. Tagi hasn't been out for nearly as long but was still sorely missed. His ability to break the line and finish off tries with a severely limited amount of space makes us a far greater weapon. I turned to my friend after he scored and shouted "best winger in Europe." I think that tag is justified. Richards seemed to add some zest to our play, as he always does and I would be tempted to start him against Wasps. We need to play with the sort of tempo that we managed for the last 15 against Leicester for a much greater percentage of the game against Wasps. It will be a must win game. If we fail to win this then we are really going to struggle to break into the top 4 unless we win all of our remaining games, and that includes difficult away trips to Worcester and Northampton.
Re: 4 points lost at half time
Posted by: SteveS (IP Logged)
Date: 03/03/2009 00:17
The final 20 glossed over what was a poor display in the first 60. Tigers have not had an away win in ages so this result must go down as a disappointment regardless of the breathless excitement of the denoument.
What surprised me was just how completely the Tigers managed to physically bully us in the ruck and tackle area, I haven't seen that since we bulked up the team with our South Sea Island New Zealanders. The one exeption to that was Chris H, who never took a backward step and was the one man who stood out for me, a long way my MOTM on our side. Maps for me didn't quite live up to the high praise that he received after the Bath game.
Great finish, wished Thompstone had kicked through! And what a player Thompstone is going to be, he reminds me of a young Yannick Jauzon, surely he needs to be moved to the centre and developed there.
Our position in the table is OK I feel, we've got a lot of hard games out of the way and I think a place in the top 4 (maybe even top 2) is ours if we show our true potential.
The one fly in the ointment being Bob's injury of course, which I think will be worrying Toby more than any other thing at the moment.
What surprised me was just how completely the Tigers managed to physically bully us in the ruck and tackle area, I haven't seen that since we bulked up the team with our South Sea Island New Zealanders. The one exeption to that was Chris H, who never took a backward step and was the one man who stood out for me, a long way my MOTM on our side. Maps for me didn't quite live up to the high praise that he received after the Bath game.
Great finish, wished Thompstone had kicked through! And what a player Thompstone is going to be, he reminds me of a young Yannick Jauzon, surely he needs to be moved to the centre and developed there.
Our position in the table is OK I feel, we've got a lot of hard games out of the way and I think a place in the top 4 (maybe even top 2) is ours if we show our true potential.
The one fly in the ointment being Bob's injury of course, which I think will be worrying Toby more than any other thing at the moment.
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