By RtR on 12/3/2003
March 12 2003

Oi, you lot, wake up! Rub the sleep from your eyes, its ZP time. You remember don't you, club rugby? Leeds Tykes? Zurich Premiership?

Its been a long time since we last saw the Tykes take to the field (a mere 5 weeks ago), but the Sharks game is finally upon us, and the Quins game is only 3 weeks after that. Spoilt or what?

And so to the weekend, when the trans-pennine rugby rivalry resumes, as the Tykes travel to Heywood Road in search of a victory that would keep up the pressure in the chase for Heineken Cup places next year. The Sharks remain one of the few ZP sides that the Tykes have yet to record a victory over, and the boys will be keen to put that one to rest, especially after the drawn game at Headingley earlier this season.

That game was a corker, as I recall, and one that the Tykes should have won, going into the final quarter of the game 14 points up, thanks to tries from Murphy and Mather, and the boot of BVS. But the Sharks showed that they have one of the most potent attacking sides in the ZP when they actually took the lead going into injury time, and it was only an injury time penalty from BVS that saved the day, and earnt the Tykes a draw. Diego was binned, and Charlie Hodgson had a good drop goal disallowed, and a miss was given (alledgedly). Phew!

In the previous season, the Sharks took all the honours, proving too strong in both the pack and the backs, although the Tykes fought gamely, particularly at Heywood Road, Japie Mulder and Chris Hall scoring tries in a narrow loss. But as we well know, the Tykes are a different proposition this year.

So how can the Tykes reverse recent form between the two sides, and finally record a much needed win over the boys from Sale? How do the sides stack up?

Much is said about the Sharks backs, and in Robinson, Hanley and the much underrated Cueto, they have one of the finest back threes in the league. If the Sale midfield feed quick ball to these guys, then points will surely follow. BVS and Tris will need to disrupt the Sharks centres to prevent the ball getting to the danger men. For the Tykes, Scabs has looked confident for the England A side, and Diego is as fine a winger as there is in the ZP. If we can get ball quickly through the centres, it should prove an entertaining spectacle.

The half back battle will also be interesting, especially as Charlie Hogdson is now injured for the rest of the campaign. Hodgson is as important to the Sharks as Wilkinson is to the Falcons, and without him the Sharks are a poorer side. The choice of scrum half for the Tykes will be interesting - Benton, Hegarty or Dickens (returning to his old hunting ground)? Even with the experienced Redpath, this is an area where the Tykes can gain advantage. The tactical kicking of Ross will be important, as we don't need to be feeding the ball to Robinson needlessly. In addition, Cammie and Dan will need to marshall the rucks well to prevent Redpath making inroads around the fringes.

In a way, Hogdson missing could work against us too, as Hodgson's tackling was shown to be woeful in the Six Nations - no doubt George will have had him lined up for most of the game. Should he play, George will see lots of ball - one thing we appeared to lack against the Falcons was a ball carrier in the same league as Epi Taione. Hopefully, a fit again Harder will punch holes and gain yards for the Tykes.

The back rows are well matched, Anglesea gains the hard yards as much as Zac, and Pinkerton and Sanderson are a good match for Dan and Cammie. The front fives are also fairly equal- the dual between Tom Palmer and rising Sharks lock Chris Jones will be worth the entrance money alone. The return of Ronnie to the Tykes pack may give us an extra edge we perhaps missed against the Falcons.

On league position alone, you have to fancy the Sharks chances - second in the league, never lost to the Tykes. But Hodgsons loss will disrupt their normally fluent game, and there have been signs that they are a confidence side who do suffer the occasional set back. If the Tykes can get stuck in and put pressure on early, a upset could be on the cards. The Tykes go into this game with their lowest league position of the year, so we need something out of this game.

Alas RtR will not be present, as a family holiday in Whitby beckons. I may not be there in person, but I will be in spirit. So give the boys a shout from me . . . . . .

COME ON TYKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

---