Newcastle Red Bulls
Hopes shredded like a coach tyre
By Leipziger
March 27 2011
So I'm standing in Oddfellows not far from Vicarage Road pre-match this afternoon watching Northampton v Wasps. It gets to 2.15pm and I suddenly realise I'm the only away fan there. Quick text to a travelling supporter – a tyre burst on their coach! Ouch.
Fortunately it happened (or at least it was discovered) in a service station rather than on the road, which could obviously have led to a serious accident. The tyre didn't so much burst as shred, so it looked from a photo.
That meant it was up to the few Geordies in the crowd at kick-off to support our boys on potentially our last visit to Watford. Saracens were trying to gather written support for Copthall during the today, so it is strange that in his programme notes Nigel Wray chose to mention that strange idea that gets peddled every now and then about the threat of relegation preventing investment.
The writing seemed to be on the wall early on when Jimmy Gopperth's kick-off went untouched out of play, and then after just a few minutes Jason Short scored the opening try on the left as the Falcons ran out of defenders. The conversion missed but we were looking at a long 80 minutes.
The floodgates never opened though, and though the Falcons never threatened to score a try (I don't think we ever had the ball in the home 22 in the first half) we defended well. Alex Goode kicked a penalty to extend Saracens' lead but Gopperth, who had failed with his first attempt, finally re-found his shooting boots with a penalty of his own.
With the seconds ticking down to half-time, referee Martin Fox gave Saracens a penalty at a scrum and a second penalty, this time by Owen Farrell, gave the hosts an 11-3 half-time lead.
Midway through the first 40 the travelling blacks had arrived in Vicarage Road, although I am told they were basically let in as their booked tickets could not be found. Not the greatest away day it seemed.
The noise they generated though seemed to be having an impact. Early in the second half we put some pressure on Saracens, with the driving maul being quite an effective weapon, and the Fez Boyz' discipline deserted them, allowing Gopperth to knock over two more penalties.
The deficit was now just two points. A losing bonus point looked a distinct possibility, unless we could get more...
The Falcons probed further in the set piece, but conceded a penalty in the Sarries 22 and the hosts relieved the pressure by kicking far upfield. We conceded a penalty, Ally Hogg being sin-binned, and Farrell kicked successfully. Another penalty took us out of bonus point range and Saracens had now re-asserted their control of the match.
In the final few minutes replacement Jared Sauders forced his way over to rub salt in the Falcons' wounds, Farrell adding the conversion. The game ended 24-9.
So how do we consider today's game? Firstly, if Saracens had scored twice as many points as they did, probably few would have been surprised. That they didn't is because of a combination of the apparent patience they showed, perhaps a little too much, and some dogged Falcons defence. There was no shortage of effort but then there rarely is.
However, if you want to talk about 'deserving' a result in terms of attacking, possession and territory, then we got what we 'deserved' today – nothing. We looked clueless with the ball in the first half, compared to Saracens' neat movements, regular off-loading in the tackle and driving carriers on. I know Saracens are second in the league, but we could really have done with a losing bonus point at least today with games running out and Leeds being very unpredictable.
Last and least, if this is goodbye to Watford, I for one won't miss it. A soulless stadium devoid of atmosphere and character, and a place we've been trounced at many times in the past. Plus, Copthall is closer to where I live ;-)
* Disclaimer: The company depicted in the above picture was NOT the one that provided today's coach. If you look closely it seems to be left-hand drive anyway.
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Stumbleupon27/03/2011 19:46
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A negative - this was the fourth game in five in which we've had a player yellow-carded. We've had 15 yellow cards in total this season, I'm not going to look through all the stats but that seems very high. Perhaps something for Tait to think about.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:03:27:20:04:51 by Leipziger.
Good luck for the remainder of the campaign.
See you all at Copthall!
"I am very disappointed with Hogg... Grabbing the scrum half was a stupid thing to do and he deserved the yellow card.
But overall I'm pleased, despite the defeat, because we showed a lot of character after a tough fortnight."
We must have had a lot in the Tinpot and Anglo Welsh cups to make up Leipy's total of 15.
The director of rugby said: "We put more than 50 points on Newcastle in this fixture last season so give them credit for improvement with a number of young players on board. But we'll need to address the way we played during the week before taking on Bath."
Quote from tonights Evening Standard! Would almost seem like praise for us - at least he can see an improvement!
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