London Irish
Exiles’ total pest control
By davidg
February 28 2013
Seasoned supporters of the team will always view a team sheet containing 10 S.Jones with a certain degree of apprehension, based on previous encounters with the Scarlets. Once more he was at the Mad Stad, but the pre-match shivers were more concerned with the arctic weather conditions, making hot soup or drinks the order of the day. Even the Cowshed had only half a door open to keep the worst of the elements out.
Pre-match media and hype focused on Wasps recent rise up the table, with 5 wins in a row, whilst the Bath fiasco was best avoided. On to the game itself and straight from the kick off Irish made their intentions clear – a fine kick was followed up by determined tackling to secure a very early penalty. Unfortunately Homer’s kick struck the left post and bounced safely away. Barely 2 further minutes of sustained Irish pressure resulted in an easier penalty which Tom safely put over. Already it was pleasing to note that the Irish scrum was on the front foot and throwing themselves into the fray. After 8 minutes the first input from the TMO saw an Irish drive from an attacking line-out cross the whitewash but the ball was deemed “held up”. More Irish pressure and superb handling saw Yarde over in the corner but TMO’s second involvement confirmed “foot in touch”. 14minutes in and the Wasps team had barely any possession worth speaking of. Eventually Wasps made it on to the scoreboard with a penalty on 22min (6-3).
A key moment in the game came on 23 min when Wasps conceded yet another penalty in the red zone (what – still no yellow card?): Humph took a quick kick and released Geraghty who scampered low over the line and through weak tackling to add 5 points and increase the lead. Simpson was lucky not to be “spoken to” for his foot-first contact with Shane. The balance then swung in Wasps’ favour with the home side conceding penalties put away by Stephen Jones, before Wade squeezed down the wing to touch down in the corner beneath the drummers in the East Stand. Jones’ excellent touchline conversion nudged the visitors further ahead 16-11. Irish set about going through the phases with several “pick and drives” until the Pests infringed and Tom duly slotted over the penalty.
Half time arrived with the snow beginning to fall and the players gladly retreating to the dressing rooms, with the hosts trailing 14-16. To be honest the score flattered Wasps who had much less territory and possession, but with SJ’s kicking improving all the time, the game was finely balanced. Our HT discussion was briefly interrupted when Y21 was to be the “Lucky Seat” location, but once more the wrong row (CC next time please) had been selected. Refreshed with birthday cake (thanks folks) and hot drinks we eagerly awaited the 2nd half.
Barely one minute after the re-start the TMO became involved again, and controversially Chris H was eventually yellow carded for “leading with the elbow” as Irish broke upfield. The spectre of the Rec from the previous weekend loomed large as 14 prepared to play 15 for ten minutes, and Jones restored their lead to 5 points. To their credit Irish continued to take the game to Wasps, using pick and drive, supported by IHumph’s probing kicks. On 47 min and half way through the sin-bin period Tom slotted home another penalty, but determined defence quelled Wasps’ foray into our 22. Ashley Johnson seemed the “player most likely to” for the visitors but handling errors were letting them down. Chris H returned to the fray with a 3-3 net points over his 10min absence. The game opened up and in the 52nd minute Yarde scored a wonderful try after sublime back-row off loading in the tackle involving the 7 and 8. With the successful conversion the momentum was clearly with Irish.
Next a controversial moment when Yarde was clearly taken out in the air as he took an excellent high attacking kick, but no involvement of the TJ or TMO ensued. No wonder supporters get frustrated with the officials at the lack of consistency in games. Simon on trumpet was in fine form, and duly delivered his version of “Three blind mice” from the stand. A long range penalty was safely despatched by Tom on 58 min to open up the 8 point lead, as the bench started to be used. Garvey and Geraghty were warmly applauded as they left the pitch to be replaced by Fisher and Tagi. Both Irish half backs were playing well, constantly probing with good kicks to touch. Relief all round on 62min when SJ was substituted for Wasps by Robinson. On 66min Moates replaced Phibbs for Irish, and Gibson then replaced Trev. At this stage Wasps looked more threatening but the home defence stood firm, as their bench continued to empty. Into the last 10min, and straight from a stolen line-out Fisher won a crucial central long range penalty that Homer safely slotted to create an 11 point cushion. As we said in the stand, an unusual position to find ourselves in, but nervous times nonetheless. The Wasps efforts were becoming increasingly desperate as they chased the losing BP but the green defence was standing firm, especially near fulltime when IHumph made a try saving tackle in the 22. At the end another scintillating break and offload almost led to a 3rd Irish try.
A great team performance and bounce back after the previous week to take the team up to 10th place in the table. The icing on the cake was surely the choice of Hala’Ufia as man of the Match, despite that yellow card. All bodes well as we move towards the end of the season – a “TMO free” Franklin Gardens next week (albeit in the company of JP Doyle) - and not a mention of Jeremy Kyle (sorry – private Row CC joke)!
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Stumbleupon28/02/2013 11:45
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I wonder if anyone ever asks officially why none of the 3 officials on the pitch or the TMO can see an obvious incident like Marland being taken out in the air when everybody else in the stadium can?
@Heaf - it's quite plausible the TMO did see it but he wasn't asked. No excuse for the citing officer not to though.
Faugh-a-Ballagh!
"Our prayer is 'God save Ireland' and pour blessings on her name!"
Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum
"The TMO can only intervene unilaterally on matters of serious foul play."
Penalty and possible yellow but not serious foul play.
Doesn't explain what the TJ was there for though - other than a nice day out maybe.
Faugh-a-Ballagh!
"Our prayer is 'God save Ireland' and pour blessings on her name!"
Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum
