By RtR on 17/12/2003
December 18 2003

So, the World Cup is now confined to memory, and the European competitions take a back seat for a while. Its back to league action for the Zurich Premiership sides, as Gloucester visit Headingley for an important league game.

Both sides will be at full strength for the game, and the fans can expect to see the best these two clubs have to offer doing battle on the pitch.......well , as many of us now realise, this is not the case.

Both sides will be seriously depleted of talent, as they both give up three players to the NZ Baa Baas 'Celebration game' down at HQ. The Tykes were to lose Mark Regan to the non-cap England XV (now to a foot injury), Aaron Persico, and that well known Kiwi Diego Albanese will take the field for the NZ Baa Baas. For Glaws, Trevor Woodman, Andy Gommarsall and James Simpson-Daniel will play for England. Quite and array of talent to be missing, most of it will be on the bench for Sunday's game.

This has caused much discussion amongst the fans, with accusations that the ZP's value is being diminished for the sake of an exhibition game. On the other side of the coin, it could be argued that this game still shows that the old Corithian spirit, when Baa-baas games were the highlights of the season, is still present in the game. Whilst the England World Cup victory should rightly be celebrated long and hard, some fans are starting to wonder how long the RWC hangover will last. It's difficult to get a balance here. The coaches of all teams loosing players will be bemused at the continued impact the RWC is having on their team selections. The alledged £100K sweetener to each club giving up players for the NZ Baa Baas game will please the club accountants, but not, perhaps, the coaches.

Nevertheless, there is a game to be played, and an important one at that. Both sides have struggled for consistency this year, and have failed to reach the heights reached last season, when the Tykes were a feature in the top 5, and Glaws were a feature at the top of the league almost all season. Both sides were depleted of players during the World Cup, with Glaws showing the better strength in depth.

The Tykes have struggled with a leaky defense, but this has improved dramatically in recent weeks. However, at the same time, the tries that flowed so freely earlier in the year have also dried up somewhat. The main problem for the Tykes will continue to be the lineout, which has faltered all season, and will be under pressure due to the absence of Regan, and Rawlinson (through injury). Matt Holt will probably take over at Hooker, and the Tykes will look to the in form Phil Murphy to secure first phase possession.

In the front rows, the Tykes will still be missing Gavin Kerr, but Glaws will be without Phil Vickery, missing through injury. The back row will be given a stern work out by the outstanding Jake Boer.

At half-back, Clive Stuart -Smith will be looking forward to meeting his old club, and the Tykes will need Ross to run the game as of old. The battle of the centres, with Snyman versus Paul being a highlight, could swing the game. It will also be interesting to see how Phil Davies plays the options in the back three. This is an area where it is still unclear what the Tykes best combination is is. Nevertheless, Glaws will call on the dangerous Marcel Garvey to cause damage down the wings.

Earlier in the season, Glaws won at Kingsholm, despite a late comeback from the Tykes. The two teams taking the pitch will be very different to those from that game. The two sides are likely to be quite closely matched, and if the Tykes do the simple things well, they could well repeat their victory achieved in the corresponding fixture last year.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: The Rugby World Cup will be at Headingley for this game! Come along and see that shiny gold thing for yourself. After that, get down to the Rugby Club Supporters Bar in the South Stand car park, for a free LTSA hosted Christmas bash, where you can dance along to "Roughedge" - a local band, and enter the draw to win christmas hampers, alcohol and chocolate, and enjoy a visit from a special red-suited, bearded gentleman.....

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