The boys
London Irish 14 Leeds 26 Report
The boys
By Loobs
April 21 2003
A blustery, grey day at the Madejski Stadium was a sure fire indicator that London Irish were playing at home. A first half war of attrition saw the makeshift back line become the makeshift makeshift back line.
The boys
April 21 2003
A blustery, grey day at the Madejski Stadium was a sure fire indicator that London Irish were playing at home. A first half war of attrition saw the makeshift back line become the makeshift makeshift back line.
The game itself has been dissected extensively on the Message Board part of this site, but here is this writers take on proceedings.
With just 3 minutes on the clock, the Doc came head to head with Cammie Mather and didn’t get up for ages. Play continued around him whilst the Physios looked on from the line. When he did get up, he hopped to a position slightly nearer the line and went down again. Once Richard Mack reached him, he instantly signalled for a substitution and Kevin Barrett was pressed into service on the wing, with replacement winger Geoff Appleford coming in to the No. 12 position. Geoff performed admirably in the first half, with some looping runs that we have all been wanting to see. Surely this will be the last outing we see for Brendan Venter as a London Irish player. It is sad to see the great man’s career ending on such a low, but thanks for the memories, Brendan.
Just 10 minutes later, Geoff departed the field after a clash of heads with Braam Van Stratten, who had just put Leeds 3 points ahead. BVS lasted just 2 more minutes. Tofty came on to cover at Centre for his first appearance of the afternoon.
Fortunately Geoff re-appeared within a few minutes to resume his big hitting and forays into Leeds territory. Braam’s absence on the kicking front didn’t worry Leeds too much, never fear, wee Gordon is here. Why is this guy not automatic first choice for Scotland? Many times I thought of a ¾ pairing of Redpath and Ross, awesome.
Darren Edwards began to have some attention and was only on the park at the end of the game thanks to the application of several cans of aerosol to his back.
Kevin Barrett performed excellently in what is not his position and must have been so hacked off at his nemesis for the day, Leeds no. 22, Stanley. The same Stanley who was cruelly exposed by Paul Sackey on more than one occasion and who, cynically in my view, committed at least two blatant professional fouls on Paul in the second half. Both when Paul kicked through to chase, knowing he had the legs over the distance. The first was a deliberate obstruction and a push over the touch line; the second was the most blatant shirt pull you will ever see. This happened right in front of the ref and the Touch Judge, both oblivious.
The referee, Mr. Pearson and his touch judges, with a combined age of 906 years between the two of them, will need to seriously look at that performance today. My reaction to the sin binning of Mather just on the hour was that this should have been his second time and he should have been staying on the bench for the rest of the game.
I don’t think I can recall O’ Strudders ever going in for afters, but if Mather had stood up on one occasion on the side line in front of the drummers, it would have been interesting. As it was, Ryan was furious. This was big and he knew it.
We saw a very good Leeds team on the park today. Their defence, especially in the second half reminded me of a certain London Irish defence from last season. I felt there were holes to be exploited in the first half, but come the camping on their try line in the second, I wasn’t so sure. From an Irish perspective, there always seemed to be that split second to get it to Gordon Ross (yes, him again, of Headingley last time fame) who pinned us back into our own half, or just took the sting out of the Irish forward momentum with a finely placed kick to touch or into an empty space to get the Irsh moving backwards.
Whatever was said in the dressing room at half time, only those who were there know, but the team that emerged for the second half, wholesale changes allowing, was a team on a mission.
Tofty dropped in to the no. 10 slot, Naka returned for a millisecond, but his place was taken by Flavin, with Beefy on for Worsley. The next front row replacement followed 5 minutes or so later, with the arrival of Halford. This signalled a sea change in the scrum, suddenly Leeds were under a lot more pressure and replaced Regan and Holt shortly afterwards. I felt that Irish had the upper hand in the scrum from here on in. Much ahs been made of the fly-half switch, but I remain to be convinced. The ball that didn’t find touch led to the sucker try from Murphy and took away all hope of a losing bonus point. That vital necessity from this game in my view.
The passing, recycling game so often seen last season but not this season returned and had Irish played with that intensity, focus and sheer ferocity all season we just would not be in this situation right now. Did we see the realisation sink in? The interlinking play of Edwards, Tofty, Appleford and Burrows. The sheer intensity of Beefy Hatley sticking ball under arm and having a tear off up the wing.
We saw Zac returning for the last 25 minutes or so, to provide stability to the Leeds back row. The guy is a really excellent player. The strength and craft of the man. If asked for a Leeds MOTM, my money would be on Harder, a constant menace going forward and a hard hitter in defence. An Irish MOTM, the whole team for the second half performance.
With apologies to the legions of Mike Horak fans, but if he would only offload as he went into contact, even once, for me he would be the complete article. This is an aspect of his game that I have been looking at for a while now.
It was a day of ‘if only’… if only Tofty had opted for the corner instead of trying to kick for the score, had he scored, he would be a legend on here today of that I have no doubt. If only the team had that passion all season. If only Gordon Ross wasn’t playing, if only the ref and touch judges weren’t totally crap, if only……..
One thing is certain, when the supporters were needed, they came, they watched, they were counted. 7000 Irish supporters I would reckon from the 7125 in the gate.The combination of the return of the fighting spirit and the poor refereeing decisions served only to galvanise the support. The synchronised clapping, cheering and singing was just something special to be part of. The eerie silence when Chris Murphy crashed over for the last Leeds try was unbelievable, the disappointment, the heartbreak was palpable.
Still, ever onwards, the party in the Cowshed was phenomenal, God knows what it would have been like if we had won. I was thinking during the game that this was going to be a hard slog for the 2 hours after. We didn’t have our normal 2 blasts of the Fields before the band but as soon as that little girl (sorry, can’t remember her name) sang her version into the mic, we were off. The (butch) Dutch Ladies Team appearance was good for laugh too.The boys did their stuff, the supporters did their stuff.
I do have to mention that if I have to explain the logic of not placing your beer on/near the mixing desk and associated kit one more time, there may be more than words……..
How many people came up afterwards and said things along the lines of, there is no other club that can put on a show like this, it would be an absolute scandal if Irish were to go down.
It would be, that’s for sure.
Irish must take the positives from this game and there were a lot, into the last 2 games. There is an element of dependence on results around us at the moment which is an awful situation to be in. As word of the Newcastle result spread, the deflation increased across the support.
Sadly, I will be on my travels for the Tigs game. If at all possible, get thee along to show your support. Let the boys know you care, we know they do. If you are the eternal pessimist, take it as your last opportunity to visit Welford Road following your team for some time.
On the other hand, they are there to be beaten, keep the faith. All eyes, ears and emails will be looking for injury updates this week.
Come on Our Lads, we KNOW you can do it!!!
London Irish: Horak; Sackey, Burrows, Venter (Barrett, 4), Appleford; Everitt (Mapletoft, h-t), Edwards; Worsley (Hatley, h-t), Drotske (Flavin h-t), Hardwick (Halford, 45), Strudwick (captain), Casey, Danaher, Dawson, Sheasby
Try: Sackey. Pens: Everitt, Mapletoft 2.
Leeds : Albanese; Harder, Davies, Van Straaten (Stanley, 25), Hall; Ross, Dickens (Hegarty, 78); Shelley (captain), Regan (Rawlinson, 57), Holt (Kerr, 57), Murphy, Palmer, Mather, Hyde (Feau'nati, 54), Popham.
Tries: Dickens, Murphy. Cons : Ross 2. Pens: Van Straaten, Ross 2. Drop goal: Ross.
Sin-bin : Mather, 63.
Referee: D Pearson.
Att: 7,125.
With just 3 minutes on the clock, the Doc came head to head with Cammie Mather and didn’t get up for ages. Play continued around him whilst the Physios looked on from the line. When he did get up, he hopped to a position slightly nearer the line and went down again. Once Richard Mack reached him, he instantly signalled for a substitution and Kevin Barrett was pressed into service on the wing, with replacement winger Geoff Appleford coming in to the No. 12 position. Geoff performed admirably in the first half, with some looping runs that we have all been wanting to see. Surely this will be the last outing we see for Brendan Venter as a London Irish player. It is sad to see the great man’s career ending on such a low, but thanks for the memories, Brendan.
Just 10 minutes later, Geoff departed the field after a clash of heads with Braam Van Stratten, who had just put Leeds 3 points ahead. BVS lasted just 2 more minutes. Tofty came on to cover at Centre for his first appearance of the afternoon.
Fortunately Geoff re-appeared within a few minutes to resume his big hitting and forays into Leeds territory. Braam’s absence on the kicking front didn’t worry Leeds too much, never fear, wee Gordon is here. Why is this guy not automatic first choice for Scotland? Many times I thought of a ¾ pairing of Redpath and Ross, awesome.
Darren Edwards began to have some attention and was only on the park at the end of the game thanks to the application of several cans of aerosol to his back.
Kevin Barrett performed excellently in what is not his position and must have been so hacked off at his nemesis for the day, Leeds no. 22, Stanley. The same Stanley who was cruelly exposed by Paul Sackey on more than one occasion and who, cynically in my view, committed at least two blatant professional fouls on Paul in the second half. Both when Paul kicked through to chase, knowing he had the legs over the distance. The first was a deliberate obstruction and a push over the touch line; the second was the most blatant shirt pull you will ever see. This happened right in front of the ref and the Touch Judge, both oblivious.
The referee, Mr. Pearson and his touch judges, with a combined age of 906 years between the two of them, will need to seriously look at that performance today. My reaction to the sin binning of Mather just on the hour was that this should have been his second time and he should have been staying on the bench for the rest of the game.
I don’t think I can recall O’ Strudders ever going in for afters, but if Mather had stood up on one occasion on the side line in front of the drummers, it would have been interesting. As it was, Ryan was furious. This was big and he knew it.
We saw a very good Leeds team on the park today. Their defence, especially in the second half reminded me of a certain London Irish defence from last season. I felt there were holes to be exploited in the first half, but come the camping on their try line in the second, I wasn’t so sure. From an Irish perspective, there always seemed to be that split second to get it to Gordon Ross (yes, him again, of Headingley last time fame) who pinned us back into our own half, or just took the sting out of the Irish forward momentum with a finely placed kick to touch or into an empty space to get the Irsh moving backwards.
Whatever was said in the dressing room at half time, only those who were there know, but the team that emerged for the second half, wholesale changes allowing, was a team on a mission.
Tofty dropped in to the no. 10 slot, Naka returned for a millisecond, but his place was taken by Flavin, with Beefy on for Worsley. The next front row replacement followed 5 minutes or so later, with the arrival of Halford. This signalled a sea change in the scrum, suddenly Leeds were under a lot more pressure and replaced Regan and Holt shortly afterwards. I felt that Irish had the upper hand in the scrum from here on in. Much ahs been made of the fly-half switch, but I remain to be convinced. The ball that didn’t find touch led to the sucker try from Murphy and took away all hope of a losing bonus point. That vital necessity from this game in my view.
The passing, recycling game so often seen last season but not this season returned and had Irish played with that intensity, focus and sheer ferocity all season we just would not be in this situation right now. Did we see the realisation sink in? The interlinking play of Edwards, Tofty, Appleford and Burrows. The sheer intensity of Beefy Hatley sticking ball under arm and having a tear off up the wing.
We saw Zac returning for the last 25 minutes or so, to provide stability to the Leeds back row. The guy is a really excellent player. The strength and craft of the man. If asked for a Leeds MOTM, my money would be on Harder, a constant menace going forward and a hard hitter in defence. An Irish MOTM, the whole team for the second half performance.
With apologies to the legions of Mike Horak fans, but if he would only offload as he went into contact, even once, for me he would be the complete article. This is an aspect of his game that I have been looking at for a while now.
It was a day of ‘if only’… if only Tofty had opted for the corner instead of trying to kick for the score, had he scored, he would be a legend on here today of that I have no doubt. If only the team had that passion all season. If only Gordon Ross wasn’t playing, if only the ref and touch judges weren’t totally crap, if only……..
One thing is certain, when the supporters were needed, they came, they watched, they were counted. 7000 Irish supporters I would reckon from the 7125 in the gate.The combination of the return of the fighting spirit and the poor refereeing decisions served only to galvanise the support. The synchronised clapping, cheering and singing was just something special to be part of. The eerie silence when Chris Murphy crashed over for the last Leeds try was unbelievable, the disappointment, the heartbreak was palpable.
Still, ever onwards, the party in the Cowshed was phenomenal, God knows what it would have been like if we had won. I was thinking during the game that this was going to be a hard slog for the 2 hours after. We didn’t have our normal 2 blasts of the Fields before the band but as soon as that little girl (sorry, can’t remember her name) sang her version into the mic, we were off. The (butch) Dutch Ladies Team appearance was good for laugh too.The boys did their stuff, the supporters did their stuff.
I do have to mention that if I have to explain the logic of not placing your beer on/near the mixing desk and associated kit one more time, there may be more than words……..
How many people came up afterwards and said things along the lines of, there is no other club that can put on a show like this, it would be an absolute scandal if Irish were to go down.
It would be, that’s for sure.
Irish must take the positives from this game and there were a lot, into the last 2 games. There is an element of dependence on results around us at the moment which is an awful situation to be in. As word of the Newcastle result spread, the deflation increased across the support.
Sadly, I will be on my travels for the Tigs game. If at all possible, get thee along to show your support. Let the boys know you care, we know they do. If you are the eternal pessimist, take it as your last opportunity to visit Welford Road following your team for some time.
On the other hand, they are there to be beaten, keep the faith. All eyes, ears and emails will be looking for injury updates this week.
Come on Our Lads, we KNOW you can do it!!!
London Irish: Horak; Sackey, Burrows, Venter (Barrett, 4), Appleford; Everitt (Mapletoft, h-t), Edwards; Worsley (Hatley, h-t), Drotske (Flavin h-t), Hardwick (Halford, 45), Strudwick (captain), Casey, Danaher, Dawson, Sheasby
Try: Sackey. Pens: Everitt, Mapletoft 2.
Leeds : Albanese; Harder, Davies, Van Straaten (Stanley, 25), Hall; Ross, Dickens (Hegarty, 78); Shelley (captain), Regan (Rawlinson, 57), Holt (Kerr, 57), Murphy, Palmer, Mather, Hyde (Feau'nati, 54), Popham.
Tries: Dickens, Murphy. Cons : Ross 2. Pens: Van Straaten, Ross 2. Drop goal: Ross.
Sin-bin : Mather, 63.
Referee: D Pearson.
Att: 7,125.
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