Yorkshire Carnegie
Carnegie blazing a Trail…..
By Rocky The Tyke
January 3 2016
YC welcomed in the New Year with a 5 point win against Ealing Trailfinders in West London. Taking to the 3G pitch in awkward wet weather we set about trying to pair our strong set piece with our backs, this wasn’t as easy as you would hope as a tenacious Trailfinders team kept us on our toes until the ever reliable driving maul took over.
We arrived at Ealing following a wet journey on the M25 and M1 which didn’t give us hope for an expansive game of rugby. A decent group of support had made the long trek down from Yorkshire and it was great to see Chairman David Dockray there along with other members of the board. It was the first time I have had the opportunity to chat with him and he seems like a great guy who is as emotionally invested in the club as he is financially, this coupled with the effort to communicate with the support base is a great thing for the club.
Anyway on to the game, the lads came out and the rain came down and shortly after the kick was the first handling error. From the scrum on 3 minutes a pen was awarded but the boot of Sir Kev sent it wide. Ealing knocked on a few minutes later to set up a scrum inside the Ealing 22, Pilgrim took it on and shipped it to Doc who got nailed but recycled it. It was sent wide to Jonah who, with nothing on, cut back and showed his gas and his step and some top skill to scoot over and dot it down. Sinfield added the extras.
YC continued to try and play running rugby in the worsening conditions but errors stopped us from capitalising on opportunities. The next try came from a long passage of play on 18 minutes. From a line out near half-way the ball was shipped to Prell who attacked the defensive line, the ball was swung back to Sonny Phil aka ASBO who was playing at first receiver who offloaded to Sinfield whose step sent him past the onrushing defence. He was dragged down but at the next breakdown a slipped pass from Sinfield to Saull released him to cross under the post to make it 14-0. You’d think that Carnegie would kick on but Ealing refused to be cowed and their strong scrum afforded them some respite.
The strong YC lineout had been targeted by Ealing and by targeted I mean they refused to compete at all. Initially YC seemed bemused but Brush must have listened to Nigel Owens on Brian Moore’s podcast as non-competition at the lineout was covered recently. We however were having much more luck with competing against the Ealing lineout stealing a few of their balls. With 30 minutes on the clock Ealing’s scrum earned a penalty which they kicked for the corner, we stole it but a horribly loose pass from Pilgrim floated over Sinfield behind our try line. Doc managed to scramble it away to safety but we almost undid out own hard work but panicking. Sadly on 35 minutes we conceded a penalty and this allowed Ealing their first points of the game. YC’s strong defence was stopping Ealing making ground but another penalty on 40 minutes allowed Ealing to take the score to 6-14 at half time.
Half Time. Ealing Trailfinders 6 – 14 Yorkshire Carnegie.
I took this opportunity to grab a coffee to allow for me to feel my fingers again (note taking in the rain is cold work!). Christmas cake was shared and the brandy content was beneficial in the warming up process.
The teams emerged in the darkening heavy skies of West London and it was YC who made the first major error. On 44 minutes a high ball from Ealing was completely missed (I think by Sinfield) and regained by Ealing. They retained possession and good hands released their winger to cross in the corner to take the score to 11-14. Our kick off went dead which handed a scrum on half way and the home side earned a penalty from this. A great kick from the Trailfinders levelled the score at 14 all and some looks between the away fans were wondering if we were about to throw away another promising position. When in doubt you return to something you are good at and that it exactly what we did.
With 50 on the clock we got a penalty from the scrum and Sir Kev kicked for the corner, a great lineout rumbled ominously forward before it was dragged down by the Ealing 4. The ref went under the posts and the lock went to the bin. The conversion was slotted and to take it to 14-21 to the visitors. An improving scrum for Yorkshire was hindered by some sloppy handling, YC tackled a man without the ball giving Ealing the opportunity for an instant riposte which they took. 17-21 with 56 gone.
Yorkshire restarted but Ealing knocked on and unfortunately for them it was played by the guy infront, penalty to Yorkshire and you can guess what happened. The ball was kicked to the corner for another lineout, ET stood off and Yorkshire moved forward slowly this time however the ball didn’t cross the line. It was span wide and a kick was stabbed through by (I think) Lucock and Doc crossed in the corner for our 4th try to secure the bonus point. A great conversion by Sinfield made it 17-28 with 59 minutes gone. My notes go blank for a few minutes as more cake was distributed but with 66 minutes on the clock Ealing lost another man to the bin for pulling down a maul from a lineout. We kicked to the corner again, rumbled on again, ref went under the posts again and another Ealing player took a 10 minute break. Sinfield converted, and with 68 gone it was 17-35 in favour of Yorkshire.
Finally the ref had an opportunity to bin a Yorkshire player Saull the recipient on 71 minutes. Ealing retained the ball well before some scrappy play created a hole in the defence to allow them to cross for a deserved try. It was converted and the score was 24-35.
Soon after the restart YC earned a penalty and we stuck it in the corner again, another great lineout drive allowed Buzz to cross to make it 24-40 as the conversion was missed. The Ealing fans were moaning about the rolling maul, my response….tough s**t. It is a facet of the game which we are doing well in and, if you want to stop it then find a way. Lots of teams have areas of their game in which they are strong, this happens to be one of ours. We have played very pretty rugby and not managed to get promotion, I would take ‘ugly’ rugby and 5 point wins over pretty defeats any day. Plus as a prop I think the rolling maul is a thing of beauty.
Anyway, away from my little diversion, the excellent work from the lineout jumpers allowed us to turn over an Ealing lineout with 76 on the clock. Great hands and an arcing support run from Doc allowed him to cross for a lovely try showing that we can do that part of rugby quite well too!
As the came to its conclusion Ealing tried their hands at a driving maul which was successful giving them their 3rd try and now it gave them a target, the try BP which could be incredibly important to them in their basement battle for survival. The missed conversion didn’t matter, it was all about the try. 79 on the clock and the score was 29-45, how much injury time was up in the air. From the kick off Joel sent it long handing the possession to Ealing. They made ground and crept forward, another penalty was awarded to them but it was the last play so they tapped and went, the defence held strong and a turn over from Yorkshire denied them a try and allowed us to clear for the win.
Full Time. Ealing Trailfinders 29 – 45 Yorkshire Carnegie.
So, conclusions. A 5 point win leaves us 3rd in the table 1 point behind Doncaster who came back from 17-0 down to draw with Jersey. Highlights are the lineout which was excellent considering the weather conditions, our back three are a threat with ball in hand with Prell showing his growing confidence as well as his his strength. Sinfield shows flashes of superb skill but the weather in London limited the distribution game so it is harsh to judge the backs but we definitely have things to work on.
Post match the travelling support were happy with the win, disappointed that we almost threw it away but the strength to come back from surrendering the lead and then comprehensively winning is an area of our game where we have been weak in the past. Bigger challenges are ahead but ultimately the most you can achieve in a game is 5 points, we did that so job done. Champagne rugby it was not but it was far from a New Year's hangover.
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03/01/2016 13:59
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016:01:21:05:53:39 by Wildwillie .
