Normal Vision restored to LI
By NoExpert
February 23 2009
Twenty Twenty is a term used in association with perfect eyesight. While LI & Bath may have attained this in terms of the scoreline at The Rec on Saturday, none of the supporters present could deny that the game itself turned out to be a real spectacle.
February 23 2009
Twenty Twenty is a term used in association with perfect eyesight. While LI & Bath may have attained this in terms of the scoreline at The Rec on Saturday, none of the supporters present could deny that the game itself turned out to be a real spectacle.
On a perfect day for rugby, Bath decided to spend the first ten minutes camped in our territory. In fact they spent an unhealthy amount of time in our 22. Only sterling defensive work, including a couple of key tackles by Dodge kept Bath at bay. That and Mr White’s eyesight as a sweeping move put Dixon in at the left corner. Fortunately he adjudged there to be a marginal forward pass.
No sooner had we made it into the Bath half than they scored the first try. A high hoisted ball was knocked backwards by Homer straight to Harrison. After a couple of recycled drives the ball was worked to the left touchline where Banahan was tackled short of the line. Unfortunately he managed to offload in doing so for Hooper to dot down in the corner. James faded his kick wide.
11mins: 5-0
The pattern for most of the first half was already set. We continually tried to run the ball from our own 22 and occasionally good handling would get us up to halfway but then there would be a mistake, a knock-on or forward pass and we would be pressed back into our 22. This was typified by a neat inside pass from Maps enabled Topsy to breach the first line of defence but when he was caught on their 22 he was pinged for not releasing as he had no support. Bath had much better control as James astutely mixed his kicking & passing game and when we did push them into their 22 either James or Maddock produced long clearing touch kicks to the left.
The second try came in a similar fashion to the first. A high up& under to our 22 saw Homer gather it cleanly but in the ensuing armwrestle, Bath turned over possession. A couple of drives by Bath found one of their forwards rumbling through a gap in our fringe defence and only a last ditch tackle by Homer saved the try. However it was merely a temporary reprieve as the recycled ball was moved left and a flipped pass beat our onrushing defence to provide space in the corner for Banahan. James failed again with the conversion.
21mins: 10-0
Bath maintained the territorial advantage while Irish were still trying to be positive from their own 22 but still the errors continued. A quickly taken pen by Shane enabled him to make 30 metres before the ball was spilled forward at the breakdown. A half break by Dodge saw him being pinged for holding on.
The third Bath try came in fortunate circumstances. Another move down the left hand side saw the ball cannon off a Bath payer into Topsy’s hands. Topsy’s attempted clearance gained no height and the ball ricocheted between players before breaking for nicely for Bath. Banahan was stopped short of the line but he managed to offload for Maddock to go in at the left hand corner again. James finally found his radar from this position and added the extras.
31mins: 17-0
Bath’s cute kick-and-chase game was continually putting our back 3 under pressure. Our scrum was also struggling and being disrupted whereas theirs was rock solid. Still our adventure could not be faulted. A scrum 5m form our line was in trouble when Hoff picked up brilliantly and made a half break – quick hands along the backs enabled Homer to surge to the halfway line before being tackled into touch. That seemed to sum up our half – trying to play too much running rugby in the wrong areas of the pitch. The Bath half backs, particularly James, were managing the game far better and their backrow seemed to be getting to the breakdown slightly ahead of ours enabling their ball retention to be good. Lineouts were going with throws but our scrum was in trouble, with poor quality ball being delivered.
HT: 0-17
The view amongst our travelling contingent about our first half performance was that we were lucky to get nil. Gentle chiding of the Bath fans for their team’s failure to get the bonus point try was met with their approval of our team’s style as both teams were running the ball at every opportunity. This led to an entertaining game but clearly we had to play the game higher up the pitch.
The most unusual sight at halftime was Toby spending most of it sitting in splendid isolation on the touchline. He had clearly been to the dressing room but had not spent too long there – what he had to say may have been short but definitely not sweet.
The second half began in much the same fashion as the first. A Bath scrum marched our scrum back a good 5 metres. Another smart handling move by our backs on our own line took the ball to halfway before petering out. A kick to touch from a penalty by Shane failed to make touch & the returned kick took us back another 15 metres.
Finally we got on the scoreboard. Elvis robbed Beattie for Buckland to put Thompstone clear in space on the left touchline for a 30 metre run to the corner. Shane’s kick mirrored James’s early attempts and faded left.
47mins: 17-5
Toby immediately swapped Corbs & Hoff for Tonga & Dec. Within a minute of the failed conversion we almost had a second try. A brilliant offload out of the tackle by Shane to Maps on his shoulder enabled Maps to break the Bath line. He still had 35 metres to the line but clearly did not back himself against the Maddock and the tracking winger. He dawdled for support, just as he had up at Leicester, and then chipped the ball over the FB to about 3 metres short of the line. This led a footrace between Maddock & Topsy with the Bath player getting there marginally ahead of Topsy. While he tried to shield the ball, Topsy strove to reach round him but only succeeded in knocking the ball forward across the line for Steffon to dot down.
There is now a perceptible change in momentum in the game. We are starting to get better control of the ball at the breakdown, getting better ball to our backs and playing on the front foot at pace. Most of the game was now being played around the halfway line. Bath are starting to struggle to contain our game and are repeatedly being pinged by White for a number of offences at the breakdown and at the scrum. A penalty on halfway is quickly taken by Shane & kicked deep into a corner of the Bath 22. The attempt to run it clear is halted by a follow up tackle by Shane underneath their posts, and with Dec in support, Bath get pinged for holding on. Shane slotted over the kick.
57mins: 17-8
Corbs tormentor, Flatman, was replaced while Danie came on for Buckland. Danie immediately missed his jumper in the lineout. Irish are now getting better possession and looking dangerous. Our second try stemmed for Bob winning our lineout ball & Topsy taking the ball on the burst at inside centre. He made good ground to their 22 and with the ball being quickly recycled, the ball was fed towards the right wing only for Maps to surge back against the drift defence and power his way over to the left of posts with a couple of Bath tacklers hanging off him. From a not too difficult position, Shane missed the conversion.
64mins: 17-13
Tellingly replacements were now starting to come on thick & fast for Bath as they struggle to match the pace of the game. The fresh legs helped get Bath inside our half and gain a penalty when Dodge emerged from the wrong side of a ruck. James took the 3 points.
67mins: 20-13
Despite that setback, LI were still driving the game forward. From a ruck, the ball was spun left where Steffon made good ground before being stopped. The ball was then recycled right and reached Topsy on the wing who then makes a slashing diagonal run back through the Bath centres and around the full back to ecstatically dive under the posts. Shane then added the extras.
70mins: 20-20
The last 10 mins was almost an anticlimax as neither team could conjure the decisive score and neither could get into the right position for a drop goal. The pace of the game was taking its toll as players on both sides were getting pinged the breakdown. Our scrum is now in the ascendancy as we disrupted and wheeled theirs. A Bath lineout & drive from our 22 ended with Bath knocking the ball on. Still we come back at Bath. From the halfway line a subtle inside pass from Maps put Thompstone clear only for the TJ (not White) to adjudge it to be forward.
With only a few minutes remaining Bath work a good position only for the right wing to spill the ball in space inside our 22. Bob looks uncomfortable & gets replaced by Gary J. Finally Corbs come on to replace Dermody for the last few seconds. At the final whistle, it was no surprise to see many of the 30 players prostrate at the end of an exhausting match.
FT: 20-20
This was a terrific rugby match with both teams playing an open running style. We rescued the game by playing at a higher tempo in the second half, with our forwards getting to the breakdown quicker and our fitness levels were again exceptional. Although a draw may have been unsatisfactory for both teams, the fightback by LI from a fairly hopeless position at half time was exceptional. Now lets get Tigers in our sights.
No sooner had we made it into the Bath half than they scored the first try. A high hoisted ball was knocked backwards by Homer straight to Harrison. After a couple of recycled drives the ball was worked to the left touchline where Banahan was tackled short of the line. Unfortunately he managed to offload in doing so for Hooper to dot down in the corner. James faded his kick wide.
11mins: 5-0
The pattern for most of the first half was already set. We continually tried to run the ball from our own 22 and occasionally good handling would get us up to halfway but then there would be a mistake, a knock-on or forward pass and we would be pressed back into our 22. This was typified by a neat inside pass from Maps enabled Topsy to breach the first line of defence but when he was caught on their 22 he was pinged for not releasing as he had no support. Bath had much better control as James astutely mixed his kicking & passing game and when we did push them into their 22 either James or Maddock produced long clearing touch kicks to the left.
The second try came in a similar fashion to the first. A high up& under to our 22 saw Homer gather it cleanly but in the ensuing armwrestle, Bath turned over possession. A couple of drives by Bath found one of their forwards rumbling through a gap in our fringe defence and only a last ditch tackle by Homer saved the try. However it was merely a temporary reprieve as the recycled ball was moved left and a flipped pass beat our onrushing defence to provide space in the corner for Banahan. James failed again with the conversion.
21mins: 10-0
Bath maintained the territorial advantage while Irish were still trying to be positive from their own 22 but still the errors continued. A quickly taken pen by Shane enabled him to make 30 metres before the ball was spilled forward at the breakdown. A half break by Dodge saw him being pinged for holding on.
The third Bath try came in fortunate circumstances. Another move down the left hand side saw the ball cannon off a Bath payer into Topsy’s hands. Topsy’s attempted clearance gained no height and the ball ricocheted between players before breaking for nicely for Bath. Banahan was stopped short of the line but he managed to offload for Maddock to go in at the left hand corner again. James finally found his radar from this position and added the extras.
31mins: 17-0
Bath’s cute kick-and-chase game was continually putting our back 3 under pressure. Our scrum was also struggling and being disrupted whereas theirs was rock solid. Still our adventure could not be faulted. A scrum 5m form our line was in trouble when Hoff picked up brilliantly and made a half break – quick hands along the backs enabled Homer to surge to the halfway line before being tackled into touch. That seemed to sum up our half – trying to play too much running rugby in the wrong areas of the pitch. The Bath half backs, particularly James, were managing the game far better and their backrow seemed to be getting to the breakdown slightly ahead of ours enabling their ball retention to be good. Lineouts were going with throws but our scrum was in trouble, with poor quality ball being delivered.
HT: 0-17
The view amongst our travelling contingent about our first half performance was that we were lucky to get nil. Gentle chiding of the Bath fans for their team’s failure to get the bonus point try was met with their approval of our team’s style as both teams were running the ball at every opportunity. This led to an entertaining game but clearly we had to play the game higher up the pitch.
The most unusual sight at halftime was Toby spending most of it sitting in splendid isolation on the touchline. He had clearly been to the dressing room but had not spent too long there – what he had to say may have been short but definitely not sweet.
The second half began in much the same fashion as the first. A Bath scrum marched our scrum back a good 5 metres. Another smart handling move by our backs on our own line took the ball to halfway before petering out. A kick to touch from a penalty by Shane failed to make touch & the returned kick took us back another 15 metres.
Finally we got on the scoreboard. Elvis robbed Beattie for Buckland to put Thompstone clear in space on the left touchline for a 30 metre run to the corner. Shane’s kick mirrored James’s early attempts and faded left.
47mins: 17-5
Toby immediately swapped Corbs & Hoff for Tonga & Dec. Within a minute of the failed conversion we almost had a second try. A brilliant offload out of the tackle by Shane to Maps on his shoulder enabled Maps to break the Bath line. He still had 35 metres to the line but clearly did not back himself against the Maddock and the tracking winger. He dawdled for support, just as he had up at Leicester, and then chipped the ball over the FB to about 3 metres short of the line. This led a footrace between Maddock & Topsy with the Bath player getting there marginally ahead of Topsy. While he tried to shield the ball, Topsy strove to reach round him but only succeeded in knocking the ball forward across the line for Steffon to dot down.
There is now a perceptible change in momentum in the game. We are starting to get better control of the ball at the breakdown, getting better ball to our backs and playing on the front foot at pace. Most of the game was now being played around the halfway line. Bath are starting to struggle to contain our game and are repeatedly being pinged by White for a number of offences at the breakdown and at the scrum. A penalty on halfway is quickly taken by Shane & kicked deep into a corner of the Bath 22. The attempt to run it clear is halted by a follow up tackle by Shane underneath their posts, and with Dec in support, Bath get pinged for holding on. Shane slotted over the kick.
57mins: 17-8
Corbs tormentor, Flatman, was replaced while Danie came on for Buckland. Danie immediately missed his jumper in the lineout. Irish are now getting better possession and looking dangerous. Our second try stemmed for Bob winning our lineout ball & Topsy taking the ball on the burst at inside centre. He made good ground to their 22 and with the ball being quickly recycled, the ball was fed towards the right wing only for Maps to surge back against the drift defence and power his way over to the left of posts with a couple of Bath tacklers hanging off him. From a not too difficult position, Shane missed the conversion.
64mins: 17-13
Tellingly replacements were now starting to come on thick & fast for Bath as they struggle to match the pace of the game. The fresh legs helped get Bath inside our half and gain a penalty when Dodge emerged from the wrong side of a ruck. James took the 3 points.
67mins: 20-13
Despite that setback, LI were still driving the game forward. From a ruck, the ball was spun left where Steffon made good ground before being stopped. The ball was then recycled right and reached Topsy on the wing who then makes a slashing diagonal run back through the Bath centres and around the full back to ecstatically dive under the posts. Shane then added the extras.
70mins: 20-20
The last 10 mins was almost an anticlimax as neither team could conjure the decisive score and neither could get into the right position for a drop goal. The pace of the game was taking its toll as players on both sides were getting pinged the breakdown. Our scrum is now in the ascendancy as we disrupted and wheeled theirs. A Bath lineout & drive from our 22 ended with Bath knocking the ball on. Still we come back at Bath. From the halfway line a subtle inside pass from Maps put Thompstone clear only for the TJ (not White) to adjudge it to be forward.
With only a few minutes remaining Bath work a good position only for the right wing to spill the ball in space inside our 22. Bob looks uncomfortable & gets replaced by Gary J. Finally Corbs come on to replace Dermody for the last few seconds. At the final whistle, it was no surprise to see many of the 30 players prostrate at the end of an exhausting match.
FT: 20-20
This was a terrific rugby match with both teams playing an open running style. We rescued the game by playing at a higher tempo in the second half, with our forwards getting to the breakdown quicker and our fitness levels were again exceptional. Although a draw may have been unsatisfactory for both teams, the fightback by LI from a fairly hopeless position at half time was exceptional. Now lets get Tigers in our sights.
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StumbleuponNormal Vision restored to LI
Posted by: The Craic www.londonirish.org (IP Logged)
Date: 23/02/2009 12:22
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Re: Normal Vision restored to LI
Posted by: Carlovian (IP Logged)
Date: 24/02/2009 16:37
Sorry for not saying so before, but thanks for this, NoExpert - it's a good, easily readable report. (Like the clever title, too!)
K
K
Re: Normal Vision restored to LI
Posted by: mulledwinemarie (IP Logged)
Date: 24/02/2009 16:40
And you defo have the wrong name - you should be called the I AM THE EXPERT - lovely read for those not there. thanks
MWM
London Irish - and loving it...........
MWM
London Irish - and loving it...........
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