New RFU Ref's Badge?
Irish 15 - 36 Northampton (and D. Pearson)
New RFU Ref's Badge?
By Reading Fatboy January 5 2004
Three weeks ago, many of us agreed that the two home games over New Year would most likely define our season, and tell us just where we are in the ZP pecking order.
New RFU Ref's Badge?
Three weeks ago, many of us agreed that the two home games over New Year would most likely define our season, and tell us just where we are in the ZP pecking order.
Last week we played pretty well but were given a real roasting by the team who many think are the best in Europe. This week we were the better team for much of the game but in the end were beaten soundly. The key events in this game were Irish mistakes, and some clear influencing of the officials by Northampton.
The Irish defence was superb in the first half, and we looked pretty much like Wasps defence of last week. Up very fast in midfield but always ON SIDE, and giving absolutely no room for the ponderous Paul Grayson to set his backs moving. However, after the Saints management had talked to Mr. Pearson at half time, the rather weak willed ref, gave penalty after penalty against the Irish midfield, whilst completely ignoring the persistent Saints infringements around the fringes. This was not the only thing I would take Mr. Pearson to task over. More later.
Then in the second half two mistakes - Mike Horak’s poor positioning led to a try for Reihana, and a horrible fumble by poor Kevin Barrett led to a try for Sharkey Robinson - made the game safe for Northampton.
This, after it had all started so well.
Within 2 minutes of the start Saints infringed at a ruck, and Tofty had a long pot at goal but hit the post, there were a couple of good passages of play, but both defences were working pretty well and there was just no way through. Irish really dominated most of the possession and territory.
At eight minutes Saints went offside at a scrum on the LH side and about 30 metres out, as he did most times in the first half, Mr. Pearson spotted it and awarded Irish the penalty. Tofty missed it past the right post.
At 16 minutes Tofty provided a real highlight when he absolutely buried Nick Beal in a tackle and Beal passed the ball to touch. From the lineout the ball went right, and Tofty made a diagonal chip into the 22, Bish was up fast on Cohen and bundled him into touch. Irish won the lineout and the ball was spun left, one ruck on the LH side between 22 and goal line, the ball came out to Tofty, who passed it back inside to Sackey coming off his wing . Paul made the 15 metres for the try, Tofty converted.
18 minutes. Irish 7 Saints 0
At this stage the Irish defence is dominating the game. Geoff Appleford forces a Saints turnover near the centre line, and Irish throw the sink at Saints. A great handling move featuring two great breaks from Horak results in Saints infringing again at a ruck right in front, Tofty converts.
21 minutes Irish 10 Saints 0.
The Saints restart brought Graysons one error in the game, as he faked to kick to the forwards then reversed for the old Saints trick of kicking for big Cohen to chase, but Irish were wise to it, and left Murph to cover that side. He had it well covered but it sailed straight over his head into touch. Irish sadly squandered the scrummage win, with Rob Hoadley taking contact and knocking on.
From this error, Saints set up a most impressive forward drive, they retained the ball through at least 15 phases, and despite heroic Irish defence they rumbled over for a great forwards try by (I think) Hunter, who received a bad injury while scoring the try. Now here is where I take Mr. Pearson to task. Hunter clearly had a bad injury, and was in the in goal area, Grayson scored the conversion to make it 10 – 7, and then with the hapless Hunter still motionless, and receiving treatment, he allowed the game to restart. For me this was unforgivable and reckless. It was a further 2 minutes before he finally remembered the injured player and stopped play for at least 4 minutes to allow Hunter to be treated. Mr. Pearson. Your first duty is to the safety of players. What you did on this occasion was a disgrace.
Over the next few minutes there is a lot of attacking and good defence by both teams. The Irish crowd were calling for offside against Saints at at least four breakdowns, before Mr. Pearson finally decides to start picking on the Irish defensive line, giving an offside that even the Saints supporters near me were amazed at. Grayson converts and it is
37 Minutes Irish 10 Saints 10
Now it is Tofty’s turn to put the kickoff straight out. Saints make no such mistake at the scrum and for the first time in the game, start to look like a very good team, attacking well through the backs and forwards, however the great Irish defence gets the ball back, and Irish get a lineout on the Saints 22. Naka throws to the back and Murph catches, only to have his legs taken away and get dumped on his head right in front of Mr. Pearson …….. Nothing.
Still Irish attack, and set up DG attempt for Tofty which he misses right, but Saints put the drop out straight to touch. From the resulting scrum Irish attack right then recycle quickly, and pass the ball along the line Horak joins at pace and scores wide left. Tofty misses the conversion.
Half time Irish 15 Saints 10
The saints pep talk has the required effect on Mr. Pearson, and within a minute of the restart He pings Irish for the first of many offsides, Grayson converts
41 Minutes Irish 15 Saints 13
Irish attack and get pinged at a ruck, deep in the Saints half, Saints kick to touch, but Bob wins the lineout, Irish attack but lose the ball forward, Grayson notices Horak miles out of position and cross kicks to Reihana, the ball bounces perfectly for him and he easily wrong foots Horak, then beats a despairing attempted tackle by Sackey to score. Graysons long conversion goes in off the post, and a combination of poor refereeing and a BIG Irish mistake turn a half time 5 point lead into a 5 point deficit just three minutes later.
43 minutes Irish 15 Saints 20
Now Mr Pearson goes completely haywire. Irish attack to midway, and are winning a ruck. Blowers is lying all over the ball, and Big Bob Rucks him out, Blowers doesn’t like this and aims a kick at Bob. The Irish crowd are howling, and the touch judge steps in as Mr. Pearson has missed the whole thing.
We all think that Blowers will at least get binned and maybe even Red carded, but incredibly, the penalty is given against Bob. Grayson kicks to the corner but hit the flag Ha Ha. Touch in goal and scrum back.
At 52 mins, Saints attack left and Kieron Roach makes a good tackle, but is instantly pinged for not rolling away. Grayson scores.
52 Mins Irish 15 Saints 23
Saints attack again, Irish get pinged for offside again, Grayson scores again
58 Mins Irish 15 Saints 26
For the next few minutes Irish really give it a lash, and throw everything at Saints, first Bish gets bundled out just short, then We turnover after the lineout win, then Irish attack again and Saints give away three penalties to stop us scoring. No binning and no penalty try. Irish run all of the penalties and a mixture of fantastic Saints defence and good old fashioned ….er……. professionalism keep us out.
After this period of Irish pressure, Saints break out and twice, Paul Sackey made great tackles to save tries. Then a real example of our ….er….bad luck with the referee came on 75 minutes. There was an Irish scrum on halfway. Saints wheeled it through 90 degrees and got the turnover, then on the Saints put in Irish did exactly the same and got nothing. From the resulting drive Mr. Pearson decides Irish must be offside once again, Grayson scores again
76 Minutes Irish 15 Saints 29
Irish tried hard to get back into the game but all came to nought, when we won our own lineout on our 10m line Murph handed it to Kevin Barrett who fumbled it and Saints back row came through fast and made good ground to put Robinson over near the posts. Grayson converted, and the game was closed out at
Full time Irish 15 Saints 36
After the game I received the following comments from an Irish player
“ Two Months ago we were winning these games”
“ We are just making crucial mistakes at crucial times”
I agree with both comments, but I have to say that today it was a combination of our mistakes, and simply unfathomable refereeing that beat us.
Our pack was fantastic. I made Kieron Roche pretty close to MOTM, and anyone who says Murphy doesn’t tackle should watch this video, also I thought Mike Haslett had a good game. Bob, Ryan and Murph dominated the linesout and the front row gave them a frightful doing in the scrums.
And our backs looked really positive and attacked well enough to score two good tries against a pretty tough defence. Tofty had a stormer as did Michael, Sackey and Bish.
So how on Earth did we lose by 21 points??
Simple. Two mistakes that led directly to tries, and a referee who was influenced by the Saints complaints at half time.
Oh… and to be fair, a faultless display by Paul Grayson, and really good, if borderline defence from the rest of the Saints team.
So now we are fifth with 8 games to go, we have found out that Wasps are better than us (And just about everybody else in the league) and we have found that if we lose concentration, then the teams around the top can beat us well. By bet now is for a fifth place finish. Our next two ZP games are must wins against Leeds away and Leicester at home. Lets just keep our fingers crossed.
The Irish defence was superb in the first half, and we looked pretty much like Wasps defence of last week. Up very fast in midfield but always ON SIDE, and giving absolutely no room for the ponderous Paul Grayson to set his backs moving. However, after the Saints management had talked to Mr. Pearson at half time, the rather weak willed ref, gave penalty after penalty against the Irish midfield, whilst completely ignoring the persistent Saints infringements around the fringes. This was not the only thing I would take Mr. Pearson to task over. More later.
Then in the second half two mistakes - Mike Horak’s poor positioning led to a try for Reihana, and a horrible fumble by poor Kevin Barrett led to a try for Sharkey Robinson - made the game safe for Northampton.
This, after it had all started so well.
Within 2 minutes of the start Saints infringed at a ruck, and Tofty had a long pot at goal but hit the post, there were a couple of good passages of play, but both defences were working pretty well and there was just no way through. Irish really dominated most of the possession and territory.
At eight minutes Saints went offside at a scrum on the LH side and about 30 metres out, as he did most times in the first half, Mr. Pearson spotted it and awarded Irish the penalty. Tofty missed it past the right post.
At 16 minutes Tofty provided a real highlight when he absolutely buried Nick Beal in a tackle and Beal passed the ball to touch. From the lineout the ball went right, and Tofty made a diagonal chip into the 22, Bish was up fast on Cohen and bundled him into touch. Irish won the lineout and the ball was spun left, one ruck on the LH side between 22 and goal line, the ball came out to Tofty, who passed it back inside to Sackey coming off his wing . Paul made the 15 metres for the try, Tofty converted.
18 minutes. Irish 7 Saints 0
At this stage the Irish defence is dominating the game. Geoff Appleford forces a Saints turnover near the centre line, and Irish throw the sink at Saints. A great handling move featuring two great breaks from Horak results in Saints infringing again at a ruck right in front, Tofty converts.
21 minutes Irish 10 Saints 0.
The Saints restart brought Graysons one error in the game, as he faked to kick to the forwards then reversed for the old Saints trick of kicking for big Cohen to chase, but Irish were wise to it, and left Murph to cover that side. He had it well covered but it sailed straight over his head into touch. Irish sadly squandered the scrummage win, with Rob Hoadley taking contact and knocking on.
From this error, Saints set up a most impressive forward drive, they retained the ball through at least 15 phases, and despite heroic Irish defence they rumbled over for a great forwards try by (I think) Hunter, who received a bad injury while scoring the try. Now here is where I take Mr. Pearson to task. Hunter clearly had a bad injury, and was in the in goal area, Grayson scored the conversion to make it 10 – 7, and then with the hapless Hunter still motionless, and receiving treatment, he allowed the game to restart. For me this was unforgivable and reckless. It was a further 2 minutes before he finally remembered the injured player and stopped play for at least 4 minutes to allow Hunter to be treated. Mr. Pearson. Your first duty is to the safety of players. What you did on this occasion was a disgrace.
Over the next few minutes there is a lot of attacking and good defence by both teams. The Irish crowd were calling for offside against Saints at at least four breakdowns, before Mr. Pearson finally decides to start picking on the Irish defensive line, giving an offside that even the Saints supporters near me were amazed at. Grayson converts and it is
37 Minutes Irish 10 Saints 10
Now it is Tofty’s turn to put the kickoff straight out. Saints make no such mistake at the scrum and for the first time in the game, start to look like a very good team, attacking well through the backs and forwards, however the great Irish defence gets the ball back, and Irish get a lineout on the Saints 22. Naka throws to the back and Murph catches, only to have his legs taken away and get dumped on his head right in front of Mr. Pearson …….. Nothing.
Still Irish attack, and set up DG attempt for Tofty which he misses right, but Saints put the drop out straight to touch. From the resulting scrum Irish attack right then recycle quickly, and pass the ball along the line Horak joins at pace and scores wide left. Tofty misses the conversion.
Half time Irish 15 Saints 10
The saints pep talk has the required effect on Mr. Pearson, and within a minute of the restart He pings Irish for the first of many offsides, Grayson converts
41 Minutes Irish 15 Saints 13
Irish attack and get pinged at a ruck, deep in the Saints half, Saints kick to touch, but Bob wins the lineout, Irish attack but lose the ball forward, Grayson notices Horak miles out of position and cross kicks to Reihana, the ball bounces perfectly for him and he easily wrong foots Horak, then beats a despairing attempted tackle by Sackey to score. Graysons long conversion goes in off the post, and a combination of poor refereeing and a BIG Irish mistake turn a half time 5 point lead into a 5 point deficit just three minutes later.
43 minutes Irish 15 Saints 20
Now Mr Pearson goes completely haywire. Irish attack to midway, and are winning a ruck. Blowers is lying all over the ball, and Big Bob Rucks him out, Blowers doesn’t like this and aims a kick at Bob. The Irish crowd are howling, and the touch judge steps in as Mr. Pearson has missed the whole thing.
We all think that Blowers will at least get binned and maybe even Red carded, but incredibly, the penalty is given against Bob. Grayson kicks to the corner but hit the flag Ha Ha. Touch in goal and scrum back.
At 52 mins, Saints attack left and Kieron Roach makes a good tackle, but is instantly pinged for not rolling away. Grayson scores.
52 Mins Irish 15 Saints 23
Saints attack again, Irish get pinged for offside again, Grayson scores again
58 Mins Irish 15 Saints 26
For the next few minutes Irish really give it a lash, and throw everything at Saints, first Bish gets bundled out just short, then We turnover after the lineout win, then Irish attack again and Saints give away three penalties to stop us scoring. No binning and no penalty try. Irish run all of the penalties and a mixture of fantastic Saints defence and good old fashioned ….er……. professionalism keep us out.
After this period of Irish pressure, Saints break out and twice, Paul Sackey made great tackles to save tries. Then a real example of our ….er….bad luck with the referee came on 75 minutes. There was an Irish scrum on halfway. Saints wheeled it through 90 degrees and got the turnover, then on the Saints put in Irish did exactly the same and got nothing. From the resulting drive Mr. Pearson decides Irish must be offside once again, Grayson scores again
76 Minutes Irish 15 Saints 29
Irish tried hard to get back into the game but all came to nought, when we won our own lineout on our 10m line Murph handed it to Kevin Barrett who fumbled it and Saints back row came through fast and made good ground to put Robinson over near the posts. Grayson converted, and the game was closed out at
Full time Irish 15 Saints 36
After the game I received the following comments from an Irish player
“ Two Months ago we were winning these games”
“ We are just making crucial mistakes at crucial times”
I agree with both comments, but I have to say that today it was a combination of our mistakes, and simply unfathomable refereeing that beat us.
Our pack was fantastic. I made Kieron Roche pretty close to MOTM, and anyone who says Murphy doesn’t tackle should watch this video, also I thought Mike Haslett had a good game. Bob, Ryan and Murph dominated the linesout and the front row gave them a frightful doing in the scrums.
And our backs looked really positive and attacked well enough to score two good tries against a pretty tough defence. Tofty had a stormer as did Michael, Sackey and Bish.
So how on Earth did we lose by 21 points??
Simple. Two mistakes that led directly to tries, and a referee who was influenced by the Saints complaints at half time.
Oh… and to be fair, a faultless display by Paul Grayson, and really good, if borderline defence from the rest of the Saints team.
So now we are fifth with 8 games to go, we have found out that Wasps are better than us (And just about everybody else in the league) and we have found that if we lose concentration, then the teams around the top can beat us well. By bet now is for a fifth place finish. Our next two ZP games are must wins against Leeds away and Leicester at home. Lets just keep our fingers crossed.
Bookmark or share this story with:
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon
More London Irish headlines
London Irish latest threads
London Irish Poll
