London Irish
JUST A GOOD JOB THE TEAM PERFORMED SO WELL!
By Jon_r43
September 28 2010
As I start to type this report it's 5.55am on the Sunday after the game and I'm sat in the dark in a car park car outside a budget hotel (better not say which chain, but it's not the one advertised by Lenny Henry and advanced rooms cost £19) in Skeeby just south of Scotch Corner.
Why is that significant - well it's a long story ... At the end of this article I'm going to propose some new names for the company, it's JUST A GOOD JOB THE TEAM PERFORMED SO WELL!.
It all started on Saturday morning about 8am when BQFM arrived at our house and we began the journey north for the 5.15 kick off ... (Thanks Sky as most of the Newcastle's home games are on a Friday night this year and that would have made travel very difficult for us) We use Tom Tom with live travel news to ensure we arrive on time for the game so I type in the post code for the Twin Farms pub and the kick off time and the Sat nav informs me that we have 4hrs 10 minutes to spare before kick off. LKR suggests setting the time to 2 hrs before kick off because for her and BQFM it is part of the ritual to be at the ground ahead of the team, but I stick to my ground and argue that while I'm happy to arrive early I want to know how much time we have before we miss the kick off.
We lost about an hour on the way up to the north east partly because we got to Skeeby just after 1pm and stopped to pick up the keys for the rooms, a practice I usually use when staying away to avoid having to check in late on the way back late in the evening. As I approach the hotel I'm greeted by a member of the staff who tells me that check in is 3pm and that it will cost an extra £10 to check in early, despite explaining that we didn't need the rooms and just wanted the keys she isn't prepare to help without the charge, so we leave and head north again, and about an hour later, 3hr 22 minutes before kick off (LKR/ BQFM note how early!) we arrive in the car park of the Twin Farms pub. We nip in for a quick drink and notice that there are very few supporters in green around this year. BQFM tells us how in previous years, particularly the season when we played Newcastle last game and could have gone down (how times have changed!! (don't tell LKR I said this after 4 games!!)) the pub would have been full of Irish support. I guess the financial climate has changed as we think there were probably no more than 50 Irish supporters in the ground this year so most of us probably got on Sky at some point!
We headed off to the ground (just as Mr Monk arrived at the pub in disguise!!) before the team coach arrived; all the players who were announced got off the coach looking very serious and focused. We usually stand in the south terrace at Newcastle so we head round to behind the posts and watch the warm up from a long distance away. The new warm up routine however confirms that Tagi will not start as even from that distance you can see that he's in the subs and non-playing reserves group in orange bibs. As the teams run out there is a brief squally shower that blows in under the roof of the north stand and confirms the indication from the flags that Irish will be playing into the strong north wind in the first half. We make enough noise behind the posts for Dodge to notice us and acknowledge some of the travelling support.
Mr Barnes blew the whistle and the teams kick off and it seemed watching live that we were under pressure for the first part of the game (watching it back on Sky this never happened! So it must have been the tension relating to trying to extend our 6 game unbeaten run at Kingston Park). At one point Ryan kicked into the wind which caught the ball and blew it a long way off the pitch. After 7 minutes Newcastle had the ball, Amesbury knocked on and Dodge feeds the ball to Topsy who kicked long down field. Delon chases the ball, stop I thought aren't you offside but he keeps going (level when the replay came) Delon kicked past the winger collected and returned to Topsy who went in under the posts, Ryan made the conversion . (0-7 Irish)
Ryan made a long pass to JJ which gave Delon a chance in the corner but he's taken into touch.
14 minutes gone and Lamb takes what seemed to be a risky kick over the top in mid field (TV shows it was a free play as offside had been called) Maps collects on the full and feeds to Topsy who is in for a second try under the posts (0 -14)
We are becoming increasingly dominant at this point and Newcastle kick for touch Ryan is chasing the ball and falls over a sound boom! being held near the side of the pitch but saw the funny side of it. One more score at this point and we could be away, however, Falcons now have a period of pressure which eventually leads to a try for Gopperth. It's clear to us the Ryan and James B didn't see eye to eye over the responsibility for the try as Ryan was covering wide players and James couldn't get to him quickly enough. (7-14) One for Dave Ellis to sort out in the week.
Half time is coming up and a 7 point lead is probably not bad especially into the wind but 14 would look so much better; Maps, Bowden Delon and JJ are increasingly involved and there is pressure but no points for us for nearly 25 minutes, Amesbury made one break and ends up in touch. Irish have one final period of possession - the ball comes out to the left, Maps feeds Delon who makes a break to half way. He releases the tackle to JJ who goes in at the corner. From 80 metres away the finish looked slightly hesitant but Stuart Barnes said "You won't see a better try than this." and Miles Harrison said "That was Rory Underwood the way he dropped the shoulder and went on the outside", so that's try of the season sorted then and shows what I know!! (7 - 19 Irish)
No changes at half time and the pressure continues, we are given three penalties in quick succession two on our right and then one on the left. Ryan missed the first one but gets the second and third (7-25 Irish.) This takes us to 3 scores ahead and the substitutions start with Alex and David replacing Faan and James. LKR reminisces at this point about the ECC quarter final in Newcastle when we were nearly 3 scores up with 10 minutes to go and nearly lost!
Another penalty is awarded but this time Lamb goes for the corner, the crowed are increasingly unimpressed with Mr Barnes but we"re on top now and they are having to work hard to stop us. From the line out there are a couple of recycled balls, Lamb feeds an inside ball to Maps who goes through a tackle and feeds Dan Bowden for his first try for the club that secures the bonus point. I'm really happy as I realise that when I added Lamb to my fantasy side this week I chose to drop Dodge (sorry!) not Bowden.
Falcons start to chase the game and this leads eventually to a bigger winning margin as first Topsy and then JJ pick up interception tries in the remaining minutes. Topsy was treating Delon who was down with cramp when the ball came to him, while JJ stole a pass and scored his third try in three games. In between these tries Falcons have a try disallowed for what referee Sam called a quadruple movement. (7 - 46)
The final quarter involved several changes and at the end we have no regular full back (Dan Bowden filled in there) because Topsy and Delon both had to come off the pitch. Maps finishes as captain when Clarke goes off and Sailosi made his return to action. At this point Falcons score a try which probably won't worry Dave Ellis to much as we are not likely to have the backs we had at the time on the pitch very often during the remainder of the season. (14 - 46)
The game ends and we all head down to the front of the stand, the players acknowledge us and head back to the changing rooms, after about an hour they have all come out across the pitch for their food and we head back to the pub and have a nice meal.
We begin the journey south and arrive at the hotel at about 9.45 and are greeted by two hotel staff who inform us that despite us booking 3 rooms that it's now company policy to overbook the hotel (along side charging for early arrivals and not offering soap in rooms etc) and because we are the last to arrive there are only two rooms left for the 5 of us, so would we mind sharing because these are family rooms!! (I always book a room for us and a room for the kids as I'm a very light sleeper) but there is no real option so we squeeze into one of the family rooms ... Several hours later I finally nod off and get a couple of hours sleep before waking up just before 6 and heading to the car (while the rest of the family sleep) to write this report! Radio 5 keep telling me that Irish are top of the premiership, unlike BBC 1 news last night who didn't even mention rugby union so that helps the mood.
We have hotels booked for away games at Ospreys, Exeter (where we will arrive late after the game) and Toulon ("The four seasons" with most of the travellers, but only on the Saturday after the game!) so I'm hoping that it's not a usual practice to over book hotels these days and only happens in what should maybe be renamed "Easy lodge" or "Ryan lodge" (not after our fly half!!) otherwise I may be losing many hours sleep over the next couple of months while following the team. However, if the team always perform as well as they did today that will be a minor inconvenience and well worth it.
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MWM
LONDON IRISH - and loving it......
LET'S GO IRISH....LET'S GO IRISH
...........
Quote:Pixham
I dropped Topsy from my fantasy team.
That'll learn ya
ME
RUGBY PLAYERS DO IT WITH LEATHER BALLS
Would definitely email hotel and complain!!
Glory, Glory London Irish, Glory, Glory London Irish
Faugh-a-Ballagh!
"Our prayer is 'God save Ireland' and pour blessings on her name!"
Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum
