We don't want our summer holidays yet!
By Props Are Not Stupid
April 21 2009
I found a parking space a couple of minutes walking distance away from Franklins Gardens, possibly the prettiest rugby stadium. Traffic had been good, weather was good, and I had found myself a ticket for the game with only a few hours’ notice! It is not what you know... ;-)
April 21 2009
I found a parking space a couple of minutes walking distance away from Franklins Gardens, possibly the prettiest rugby stadium. Traffic had been good, weather was good, and I had found myself a ticket for the game with only a few hours’ notice! It is not what you know... ;-)
The sold out sign and atmosphere before the game proved how important the game was for both sides. A win for Saints would secure them Heineken Cup rugby for next season and a win for Irish would secure a place in the play offs. I was chatting to some very friendly and excited Saints fans before the game and they said how much they were looking forward to this fixture.
London Irish were aware of the task ahead and travelled on Friday to have a good night's rest before the game. Would that do the trick?
So, which Irish team were we going to see today, the one that turned up against Bourgoin or the one that was beating everyone playing champagne rugby a few months ago? The team is still affected by injuries to key players, some of whom are still playing as we have no alternatives, and players like Topsy forced to play out of their normal position.
I stood next to Martin Johnson before the game. The man has grown a few grey hairs now, I wonder why? He had quite a lot to look for in the game today: Ben Foden and Hartley for Saints and for the Irish the Armitages, Kennedy and Dodge, and maybe some other fringe players like Paice, Topsy or even Hudson?
The speaker who announced both teams was struggling with the pronunciation of our Pacific Islanders, and when he got to TA-GI-TA-KI (I GIVE UP!) BA-U he said: “I hope he doesn’t score!” Well, Lossy did not make his wish come true, as he picked up a loose ball from a messy kick off, and backed himself up to score just in front of me in the first minute or so of the game. Delon, our kicker for the day while Hewat is still recovering from injury, missed the touchline conversion.
Saints did not take long to come back as three minutes later Miler got the first three points. Saints had done their home work on Irish, and they put pressure on the set pieces, not allowing them to have quick ball from line outs and they managed to turn 90 the first Irish scrum. Resulting from the Saints put in they enjoyed a few phases with some good vertical rugby which resulted in second row Kruger scoring between the posts. 10-5 to Saints.
The Irish line-out is put to the test again, and Saints are awarded the scrum while the Hoff is being looked after. When it seemed that Declan was being called from the warm up to replace him, he gave the thumbs up and continued playing. Another line out to Irish, another penalty conceded in the resulting scrum, and another 3 points for Myler, 13-5 to Saints and all the rugby apart from a couple of flashes is being produced by the men in green today.
Irish then enjoy some rare moments of running rugby in the Saints 22, but handling errors get in the way. Delon kicks another 3 points and it is 13-8. My next notes are all about how well Foden is playing, and if Martin Johnson had to chose between Foden and Delon based on today’s performance, the former would be with a shout of earning himself another cap.
Saints dominate the scrums and it is not long before they score again, with scrumhalf Lee Dickson running alongside the touchline pretty much unopposed. Saints are 21-8 after the missed conversion, and it seems that Irish have left a mountain too high to climb. At this stage not even the most optimistic of the Irish supporters would dream of a losing bonus point, let alone winning the game.
But the second half came and London Irish could do nothing but improve. To be honest, improvement was not really that noticeable. The key moment in the game was the injury to international hooker Dylan Hartley, who had a very sound game until then. The combination of Hartley off and fresh front row replacements for Irish, especially young Alex Corbisiero, who made an instant impact in the game by winning a penalty in the first scrum, started to change the possession and territory ratio, which until then it had been greatly in favour of Saints. Still handing errors go into double figures for Irish, who were playing with their hearts more than with their heads, and were trying to chase the game far too quickly.
Penalty kicks by Delon kept Irish ticking over, but it still seemed that Saints were closer to score than Irish. 21-11 while we see Wilson leaving the ground injured, replaced by Mark Easter. He then kicked the next penalty as he struck the ball into the right post.At this moment it seemed that Irish could get something from this game. A losing bonus point was looking like the most Irish could aspire to.
Declan had now replaced the Hoff, who not only had a very good game in defence but also managed to last without being shown a yellow card. Funnily enough, Declan saw yellow as Pearson did not spot tight head prop Euan Murray grabbing Dec’s shorts as he was covering the channel number one in the ruck, but he saw Dec complaining loudly and trying to free himself from Euan’s illegal grasp by punching him repeatedly in the arm.
Delon had another easy kick 20 metres out, which he successfully kicked, leaving the scores 21-14. Despite being a man down and not managing to produce more than three passes in a row without throwing a hospital pass, it was pretty amazing thinking that Irish were in a position to draw or even win the game, spoiling Saints’ party once again.
It didn’t happen. Saints managed to slow the game down in the final minutes, and scrums had to be reset over and over again until the stadium Franklins Gardens shouted along the countdown clock.
Well deserved victory for Saints, lucky losing bonus point for Irish that smells of play offs. Toby Booth will have to work hard to motivate a team that is injured, tired, and thinking of summer holidays. We, the supporters, do not want to take our rugby holidays just yet. Give us three more games, please!
So, which Irish team were we going to see today, the one that turned up against Bourgoin or the one that was beating everyone playing champagne rugby a few months ago? The team is still affected by injuries to key players, some of whom are still playing as we have no alternatives, and players like Topsy forced to play out of their normal position.
I stood next to Martin Johnson before the game. The man has grown a few grey hairs now, I wonder why? He had quite a lot to look for in the game today: Ben Foden and Hartley for Saints and for the Irish the Armitages, Kennedy and Dodge, and maybe some other fringe players like Paice, Topsy or even Hudson?
The speaker who announced both teams was struggling with the pronunciation of our Pacific Islanders, and when he got to TA-GI-TA-KI (I GIVE UP!) BA-U he said: “I hope he doesn’t score!” Well, Lossy did not make his wish come true, as he picked up a loose ball from a messy kick off, and backed himself up to score just in front of me in the first minute or so of the game. Delon, our kicker for the day while Hewat is still recovering from injury, missed the touchline conversion.
Saints did not take long to come back as three minutes later Miler got the first three points. Saints had done their home work on Irish, and they put pressure on the set pieces, not allowing them to have quick ball from line outs and they managed to turn 90 the first Irish scrum. Resulting from the Saints put in they enjoyed a few phases with some good vertical rugby which resulted in second row Kruger scoring between the posts. 10-5 to Saints.
The Irish line-out is put to the test again, and Saints are awarded the scrum while the Hoff is being looked after. When it seemed that Declan was being called from the warm up to replace him, he gave the thumbs up and continued playing. Another line out to Irish, another penalty conceded in the resulting scrum, and another 3 points for Myler, 13-5 to Saints and all the rugby apart from a couple of flashes is being produced by the men in green today.
Irish then enjoy some rare moments of running rugby in the Saints 22, but handling errors get in the way. Delon kicks another 3 points and it is 13-8. My next notes are all about how well Foden is playing, and if Martin Johnson had to chose between Foden and Delon based on today’s performance, the former would be with a shout of earning himself another cap.
Saints dominate the scrums and it is not long before they score again, with scrumhalf Lee Dickson running alongside the touchline pretty much unopposed. Saints are 21-8 after the missed conversion, and it seems that Irish have left a mountain too high to climb. At this stage not even the most optimistic of the Irish supporters would dream of a losing bonus point, let alone winning the game.
But the second half came and London Irish could do nothing but improve. To be honest, improvement was not really that noticeable. The key moment in the game was the injury to international hooker Dylan Hartley, who had a very sound game until then. The combination of Hartley off and fresh front row replacements for Irish, especially young Alex Corbisiero, who made an instant impact in the game by winning a penalty in the first scrum, started to change the possession and territory ratio, which until then it had been greatly in favour of Saints. Still handing errors go into double figures for Irish, who were playing with their hearts more than with their heads, and were trying to chase the game far too quickly.
Penalty kicks by Delon kept Irish ticking over, but it still seemed that Saints were closer to score than Irish. 21-11 while we see Wilson leaving the ground injured, replaced by Mark Easter. He then kicked the next penalty as he struck the ball into the right post.At this moment it seemed that Irish could get something from this game. A losing bonus point was looking like the most Irish could aspire to.
Declan had now replaced the Hoff, who not only had a very good game in defence but also managed to last without being shown a yellow card. Funnily enough, Declan saw yellow as Pearson did not spot tight head prop Euan Murray grabbing Dec’s shorts as he was covering the channel number one in the ruck, but he saw Dec complaining loudly and trying to free himself from Euan’s illegal grasp by punching him repeatedly in the arm.
Delon had another easy kick 20 metres out, which he successfully kicked, leaving the scores 21-14. Despite being a man down and not managing to produce more than three passes in a row without throwing a hospital pass, it was pretty amazing thinking that Irish were in a position to draw or even win the game, spoiling Saints’ party once again.
It didn’t happen. Saints managed to slow the game down in the final minutes, and scrums had to be reset over and over again until the stadium Franklins Gardens shouted along the countdown clock.
Well deserved victory for Saints, lucky losing bonus point for Irish that smells of play offs. Toby Booth will have to work hard to motivate a team that is injured, tired, and thinking of summer holidays. We, the supporters, do not want to take our rugby holidays just yet. Give us three more games, please!
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Posted by: The Craic www.londonirish.org (IP Logged)
Date: 21/04/2009 00:24
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Re: We don't want our summer holidays yet!
Posted by: cailín úr (IP Logged)
Date: 21/04/2009 08:34
Very well written report pans but was final score not 21- 17?
Re: We don't want our summer holidays yet!
Posted by: Props are not stupid (IP Logged)
Date: 21/04/2009 08:41
Yes, it was 21-17. I should have finished the match report properly and added the extra kick by Delon.
Re: We don't want our summer holidays yet!
Posted by: MadMonk (IP Logged)
Date: 21/04/2009 11:37
And if that final throw in had been called straight? That was a big call and not even covered in the TV highlights.
Good report Aitor - the text messages you sent obviously contained enough detail to nail the important points
Good report Aitor - the text messages you sent obviously contained enough detail to nail the important points
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