Irresistible force meets the immovable object
By Babs_O December 29 2009
1st vs 2nd - Irresistible force meets the immovable object
Full of Xmas cheer, turkey and other delights, myself and the rest of the clan headed to the Madjeski having looked forward to this game for a while. The less said about my journey to the stadium the better, but we got there just in time for kick off!
1st vs 2nd - Irresistible force meets the immovable object
Full of Xmas cheer, turkey and other delights, myself and the rest of the clan headed to the Madjeski having looked forward to this game for a while. The less said about my journey to the stadium the better, but we got there just in time for kick off!
So here it was, top of the table clash and the chance for Irish to exact some sort of revenge for the loss at the double header. Saracens had been very effective so far staying unbeaten without necessarily playing very attractive rugby but being top of the table, they would say very effective though. However it would be intriguing to see what would prevail today… London Irish and the expansive game or Saracens defending and pressuring Irish into mistakes for them to capitalise on.
So to the first half and before everyone could settle into their seats, Alex Goode had dropped a goal for Sarries to put them 3-0. To be fair, it was a good strike and almost seemed to set the tone for the way Sarries would play the rest of the game. They put kicks in behind Irish and made us play from deep. 10 mins in and a line out on our own 5m was won however the attempted box kick of Alfie Lalanne was charged down and Melck was on hand to dot down and the subsequent conversion from Glen Jackson made the score 10-0. You could hear the nerves coming from the crowd and all I was hoping was that we didn’t have a repeat of the Twickenham game meaning we could have to try and rescue the game from a large deficit. So we needed some points quickly and my how we got them! A scrum just outside the Sarries 22 for Irish and with some good interplay between Hewat and Steffon, Big Chris Hala’ufia stormed over just to the left of the posts and an easy conversion for Molly made the score 10-7 and we were back in the game. As penalties were exchanged by both teams, one thing I noticed was how organised the Sarries defence were and how Irish were not really doing enough to create space. Against a well drilled defence like that, we needed runners hitting the line at pace but this was not happening enough and so made it easy for the Sarries back row to slow down our ball far too often. It looked like they were doing it illegally but they played the referee very well and so I have to applaud them for that. Another penalty for Jackson after 29 mins made the score 16-10 and that’s how the half ended.
So 2nd half and Irish will need to really take the game to the Saracens in order to get the win and within the first few mins, Molly slots another 3 to reduce the deficit. Irish try to up the pace of the game but are not making much progress. A transgressions at the breakdown by Steff gives Jackson another 3 points and once again we are 6 points adrift. For the next 15 mins, Irish are playing all the rugby and even when Sarries get the ball they have no interest in doing anything except kick and defend. Paicey and Steff are carrying more and more in midfield in order to create space for our backs but we are still missing a bit of magic from somewhere. We get a penalty in front of the posts about 65 mins in and Molly once again does the business to make the score 19-16 with 15mins left on the clock. A host of substitutions occur for Irish to give us some fresh legs. At this point I feel Sarries are content to defend and make us run from deep to pressure us into mistakes and there are a couple of occasions where we turn over possession but survive a couple of woeful drop goal attempts from the Fez heads. So 10 mins to play and its all Irish, creeping ever closer to that score we need to at least tie the game. We get into the 22 and Malone looks all set for a drop goal but he decides against and feeds the ball to Elvis who bumps, steps and charges his way over the Sarries line for our 2nd try! With Malone once again converting we have a vital 4 point lead meaning Sarries need at least a try to win the game. Great defence and tactical kicking keeps them at bay and from a scrum we get the ball into touch and the game is won!
As usual I always like to give my overall thoughts to the game. Under the stewardship of the good Dr V., Saracens are a very well organised defensive team and I can see why they are up at the top of the league. Having said that, they will need to show a lot more ambition if they are to stay in the top 4 this season as this defeat will give all the other teams hope. Toby Booth once described Attack vs. Defence as Good vs. Evil and I certainly believe that was the case today. So as an Irish fan and as a fan of attacking expansive rugby, I am glad that we won this game to prove that good can and should triumph over Evil. Irish are still missing a bit of pace and guile in the back line I feel and we will need it for the difficult run of games over the next few weeks. Was good to see Delon back and once we get other game breaking players such as Dodge, Sailosi and Topsy available again, we will be able to make that push in all competitions. Man of the match, in my opinion was David Paice, he carried so many times for the hard yards and his set piece was good as well.
So to the first half and before everyone could settle into their seats, Alex Goode had dropped a goal for Sarries to put them 3-0. To be fair, it was a good strike and almost seemed to set the tone for the way Sarries would play the rest of the game. They put kicks in behind Irish and made us play from deep. 10 mins in and a line out on our own 5m was won however the attempted box kick of Alfie Lalanne was charged down and Melck was on hand to dot down and the subsequent conversion from Glen Jackson made the score 10-0. You could hear the nerves coming from the crowd and all I was hoping was that we didn’t have a repeat of the Twickenham game meaning we could have to try and rescue the game from a large deficit. So we needed some points quickly and my how we got them! A scrum just outside the Sarries 22 for Irish and with some good interplay between Hewat and Steffon, Big Chris Hala’ufia stormed over just to the left of the posts and an easy conversion for Molly made the score 10-7 and we were back in the game. As penalties were exchanged by both teams, one thing I noticed was how organised the Sarries defence were and how Irish were not really doing enough to create space. Against a well drilled defence like that, we needed runners hitting the line at pace but this was not happening enough and so made it easy for the Sarries back row to slow down our ball far too often. It looked like they were doing it illegally but they played the referee very well and so I have to applaud them for that. Another penalty for Jackson after 29 mins made the score 16-10 and that’s how the half ended.
So 2nd half and Irish will need to really take the game to the Saracens in order to get the win and within the first few mins, Molly slots another 3 to reduce the deficit. Irish try to up the pace of the game but are not making much progress. A transgressions at the breakdown by Steff gives Jackson another 3 points and once again we are 6 points adrift. For the next 15 mins, Irish are playing all the rugby and even when Sarries get the ball they have no interest in doing anything except kick and defend. Paicey and Steff are carrying more and more in midfield in order to create space for our backs but we are still missing a bit of magic from somewhere. We get a penalty in front of the posts about 65 mins in and Molly once again does the business to make the score 19-16 with 15mins left on the clock. A host of substitutions occur for Irish to give us some fresh legs. At this point I feel Sarries are content to defend and make us run from deep to pressure us into mistakes and there are a couple of occasions where we turn over possession but survive a couple of woeful drop goal attempts from the Fez heads. So 10 mins to play and its all Irish, creeping ever closer to that score we need to at least tie the game. We get into the 22 and Malone looks all set for a drop goal but he decides against and feeds the ball to Elvis who bumps, steps and charges his way over the Sarries line for our 2nd try! With Malone once again converting we have a vital 4 point lead meaning Sarries need at least a try to win the game. Great defence and tactical kicking keeps them at bay and from a scrum we get the ball into touch and the game is won!
As usual I always like to give my overall thoughts to the game. Under the stewardship of the good Dr V., Saracens are a very well organised defensive team and I can see why they are up at the top of the league. Having said that, they will need to show a lot more ambition if they are to stay in the top 4 this season as this defeat will give all the other teams hope. Toby Booth once described Attack vs. Defence as Good vs. Evil and I certainly believe that was the case today. So as an Irish fan and as a fan of attacking expansive rugby, I am glad that we won this game to prove that good can and should triumph over Evil. Irish are still missing a bit of pace and guile in the back line I feel and we will need it for the difficult run of games over the next few weeks. Was good to see Delon back and once we get other game breaking players such as Dodge, Sailosi and Topsy available again, we will be able to make that push in all competitions. Man of the match, in my opinion was David Paice, he carried so many times for the hard yards and his set piece was good as well.
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StumbleuponIrresistible force meets the immovable object
Posted by: The Craic www.londonirish.org (IP Logged)
Date: 29/12/2009 00:13
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Re: Irresistible force meets the immovable object
Posted by: JamesC (IP Logged)
Date: 29/12/2009 08:20
Thanks - pity it was not on TV as I have liked to watch again
Re: Irresistible force meets the immovable object
Posted by: mulledwinemarie (IP Logged)
Date: 29/12/2009 11:35
Thanks Bab O - nice filled out report for us Exiles.........
Buon Natale e Felice Buon Anno 2010
MWM
GLORY GLORY London Irish - and loving it -
Buon Natale e Felice Buon Anno 2010
MWM
GLORY GLORY London Irish - and loving it -
Re: Irresistible force meets the immovable object
Posted by: Props are not stupid (IP Logged)
Date: 29/12/2009 12:38
Nice report for a nice game. Thanks, Babs.
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