Reality Rears its Ugly Head
By Mrs Goz
January 20 2004
Arriving in the South of France in good time for lunch on a fabulously sunny Friday, why would you be full of anything other than optimism? However, to keep us grounded and Carrickman busy, reality reared his ugly head and without so much as a ‘by your leave’ slapped us firmly round the chops!
January 20 2004
Arriving in the South of France in good time for lunch on a fabulously sunny Friday, why would you be full of anything other than optimism? However, to keep us grounded and Carrickman busy, reality reared his ugly head and without so much as a ‘by your leave’ slapped us firmly round the chops!
We arrived at the stadium via Henri’s Fun Wagon and spilled into the ground to hook up with all the other balloon encumbered, wig-bearing and slightly more subtle Irish supporters. There we encountered what I would assume is Narbonne’s version of Doris but 1000% more! He was very proudly showing off his flag which bears the emblems of the clubs he has visited in the past, including ours. Photo’s a-plenty were taken.
Into the ground and we settled ourselves not far short of the half way line. For some strange reason the TV cameras and assorted photographers seemed drawn towards the wigged-ones and DublinAnnette managed to secure herself an interview with a TV cameraman. I heard that he’d asked if she thought Oirish would win and that her reply was she’d no idea, she was only here for the party!
The players came out on to the pitch just as the rain starts.
Narbonne start the match and swiftly move down to our 22 where they very kindly knock-on to Sackey who clears nicely. Narbonne are then pinged for a further knock-on and Irish are awarded a scrum on our 22. We in turn are penalised for bringing down the scrum and Narbonne take the points. 1 minute on the clock and the score is 3-0.
Tofty kicks for the restart and although the ball travels 10m and doesn’t leave play, he’s made to retake it because his foot was slightly over the line. Some clumsiness in the Narbonne side enables Strudders to storm down towards Narbonne’s line before being tackled. We recycle the ball Tofty chips the ball down the line for Sackey but the ball goes dead before Paul can ground it.
Play re-starts but Irish are pinged for offside almost immediately and just inside our own half. Narbonne again opt to take the points and another successful kick at goal leaves the score 6-0.
The match and the rain are both fast and furious. We lose possession and Narbonne make very swift progress towards our line before finally being pushed into touch 5m from our line. We win the line-out and clear the ball to touch on our 22. Irish are penalised for an offence in the line-out and Narbonne again opt to kick for the points but the ball goes wide and the score remains 6-0 with 10 minutes gone.
From the re-start, Murphy catches the ball and passes to Horak who clears to touch. Narbonne win the ball and again start their advance towards our line. Irish maintain a solid line and tackle well before knocking forward. Narbone are awarded a scrum which they win and with the ball retained a handily placed No.10 slots over a beauty of a drop goal. 12 minutes played and it’s 9-0.
Tofty kicks the ball deep into the Narbonne half from the restart and the French receiver drops the ball and spills it forward. Irish quickly advance towards their line and receive a penalty following on from a Narbonne offside. Tofty prepares to take the kick as the home support start banging drums, honking hooters, stamping, clapping and generally making as much noise as is possible. Tofty kicks for the points but the ball goes wide.
In a mirror-image of an event away at Montauban, at the restart, Bishop is penalised for being in front of Tofty. The crowd haven’t noticed anything amiss and it is at about this point that I hear for the first time that the referee is a Llander (a beautifully subtle reference to his Welsh status I think!). Narbonne kick the ball which goes obligingly through the uprights and it’s 12-0.
The rain, which has been constant but not particularly troublesome decides to up the ante and comes swirling in. I am therefore quite happy to state that any anomalies between what you saw and what you are reading are a direct result of my pen running on wet paper!
A period of possession by Irish culminates in Horak passing the ball to Sackey. Or at least Horak trying to pass the ball to Sackey (Oh, the irony!). Narbonne’s winger is obviously unaware of the intended recipient, intercepts the pass beautifully and streaks off up the pitch to score a glorious try, duly converted to leave the score 19-0 with 26 minutes gone.
I suspect at this point that we’re going to find it hard to turn the game around.
Following from the restart, Narbonne clear the ball to touch on our 10m line. We win the throw-in but fail to retain possession and Narbonne again have us under pressure and retreating towards our line before the ball goes into touch.
The full on rain and howling gale continue unabated but if the weather is bad it’s not as bad as life as an Irish player is about to get.
We are being controlled and manipulated by a very focussed and aggressive French side but we are still managing to win a good number of their line-outs. However, the pressure they are exerting is leading to desperate decisions being made and following on from another successfully won Narbonne lineout a badly kicked ball finds its way into the arms of a very grateful Narbonnaise right wing who manages to outrun/wit us to score another try. The conversion leaves the score at 26-0 with 33 minutes gone.
It seems as though a light switch has been flipped on somewhere, (or the team have started to think what the half-time chat with Mr Gold is going to entail) but the restart sees a determined Irish side advance steadily towards the Narbonne posts. Narbonne are penalised infron oftheir posts and Tofty manages to disturb the scoreboard. 26-3 and the Irish support around me goes wild!
From the restart, we retain possession and Tofty hoofs the ball into touch. Narbonne are penalised for a wonky throw-in and we are awarded a scrum just shy of the half way line. The ball comes out in our favour and Tofty kicks to touch but the ball has other ideas and wings into the arm of a grateful Narbonnaise who, in turn, wellies it back up the pitch into our half, Narbonne then knock the ball into touch.
From the throw in we retain possession albeit sloppy and some swift passing sees Spud Murphy cruising down the far side towards their line before being tackled just short.
Possession then alternates frantically but eventually Narbonne knock-on and we are awarded a scrum just in front of their posts. We retain possession and maintain a steady distance from their line while working our way along it in a curiously crab-like fashion. Narbonne are penalised for going in at the side but fail to go back 10m before tackling. From the resulting line-out, play works its way across the pitch where we have three out wide but the ball is chipped over and collected by the Narbonne defence who clear it to touch..
Llander (who actually isn’t that bad and has been relatively unobtrusive, normally a good sign) blows for half time and the players drag themselves towards a possibly less than welcoming dressing room.
The rain continues to lash down and while others may scramble for cover and the warmth of a bar, this scribe chooses to join in a song and dance routine with the usual suspects and the EastieBeasties of tomorrow. Our repertoire included ‘Singing in the Rain’, a variety from ‘The Sound of Music’ and several well-known musicals. Although an unkind person might think that the crowd in the stand were laughing at us, I prefer to think they were showing their appreciation for the free entertainment. There’s never a dull moment!!
After the break Greenstock comes on in place of Hoadley who is apparently injured, and Danaher comes on for Haslett. Having died down (or been frightened into submission by the entertainment) the rain makes an unwelcome return and the conditions on the pitch make for a very messy period of play.
Irish are forced to defend deep into their own half and it seems like no matter how often Tofty, or anyone else for that matter, boots the ball into the Narbonne half, their No.10 who is a dangerously good player (in my humble opinion), manages to counter attack almost every time.
We spend a good while camped on the Narbonne line but their defence are not letting anything through. Play moves up and down the pitch for a prolonged period where the slippery conditions do nothing to enhance the skill levels out there. We lose Spud in the 57th minute, replaced by Roche, and carry on switching between attacking and defending without really making tremendous ground. Narbonne are awarded another penalty when Dec is offside 5m inside their half, Llander allows the penalty to be taken from 5m inside ours, 29-3 and 65 minutes have gone by.
There follows another prolonged period of pointless play (in as much as no points are scored, rather than it has no purpose!) with both teams driving as hard as they can forward while giving as little as possible away. A number of our supporters seem to feel Narbonne are crossing but I have my head buried in my notebook so can’t confirm either way. We are awarded a scrum, fail to capitalise, knock-on, Narbonne are awarded a scrum, fail to capitalise and knock-on. Rees Buckler makes his debut first team appearance, replacing Halsey. This switching of possession carries on for a while until Narbonne are penalised for indiscipline. Horak receives the ball, ploughs down the line and touches down for a fantastic try. Tofty converts, the Irish supporters go wild and on 72 minutes it’s 29-10. There’s still time!!
Play recommences in much the same way, possession switching from one to the other. The ball and ground are very slippery so there are a number of errors. Doug Wheatley catches the ball while inadvertently offside and a penalty is awarded, they miss by several country miles which amuses me as it seems like they spend a good 15 minutes lining it up and waiting to see if the wind would blow it over. Strangley the Narbonne supporters don’t seem to think their players require the ‘help’ that a cacophony of sound gives when taking a kick!
That concludes the scoring opportunities although there were team changes when young Mr Barrett comes on for Horak (a bang to the head) and Flavin comes on for Wheatley.
After what seems like an age Llander finally plays his solitary note and our European travels come to an abrupt end.
My summary, short and sweet, is this:
Narbonne were determined to win, at all costs. They played well and didn’t seem to be offside as much as the previous week.
The referee was, I think, fair throughout. Yes a couple of decisions seemed a bit suspect but I’m quite sure Narbonne felt the same about decisions against them.
Irish didn’t perform. They know that and they know we know that. We were unlucky in that the penalties we were awarded were rarely in the Narbonne half so couldn’t be converted to a ready 3 points, except in the first half when the wind was most definitely having a laugh at our expense.
So there you are, that’s how I saw it.
Into the ground and we settled ourselves not far short of the half way line. For some strange reason the TV cameras and assorted photographers seemed drawn towards the wigged-ones and DublinAnnette managed to secure herself an interview with a TV cameraman. I heard that he’d asked if she thought Oirish would win and that her reply was she’d no idea, she was only here for the party!
The players came out on to the pitch just as the rain starts.
Narbonne start the match and swiftly move down to our 22 where they very kindly knock-on to Sackey who clears nicely. Narbonne are then pinged for a further knock-on and Irish are awarded a scrum on our 22. We in turn are penalised for bringing down the scrum and Narbonne take the points. 1 minute on the clock and the score is 3-0.
Tofty kicks for the restart and although the ball travels 10m and doesn’t leave play, he’s made to retake it because his foot was slightly over the line. Some clumsiness in the Narbonne side enables Strudders to storm down towards Narbonne’s line before being tackled. We recycle the ball Tofty chips the ball down the line for Sackey but the ball goes dead before Paul can ground it.
Play re-starts but Irish are pinged for offside almost immediately and just inside our own half. Narbonne again opt to take the points and another successful kick at goal leaves the score 6-0.
The match and the rain are both fast and furious. We lose possession and Narbonne make very swift progress towards our line before finally being pushed into touch 5m from our line. We win the line-out and clear the ball to touch on our 22. Irish are penalised for an offence in the line-out and Narbonne again opt to kick for the points but the ball goes wide and the score remains 6-0 with 10 minutes gone.
From the re-start, Murphy catches the ball and passes to Horak who clears to touch. Narbonne win the ball and again start their advance towards our line. Irish maintain a solid line and tackle well before knocking forward. Narbone are awarded a scrum which they win and with the ball retained a handily placed No.10 slots over a beauty of a drop goal. 12 minutes played and it’s 9-0.
Tofty kicks the ball deep into the Narbonne half from the restart and the French receiver drops the ball and spills it forward. Irish quickly advance towards their line and receive a penalty following on from a Narbonne offside. Tofty prepares to take the kick as the home support start banging drums, honking hooters, stamping, clapping and generally making as much noise as is possible. Tofty kicks for the points but the ball goes wide.
In a mirror-image of an event away at Montauban, at the restart, Bishop is penalised for being in front of Tofty. The crowd haven’t noticed anything amiss and it is at about this point that I hear for the first time that the referee is a Llander (a beautifully subtle reference to his Welsh status I think!). Narbonne kick the ball which goes obligingly through the uprights and it’s 12-0.
The rain, which has been constant but not particularly troublesome decides to up the ante and comes swirling in. I am therefore quite happy to state that any anomalies between what you saw and what you are reading are a direct result of my pen running on wet paper!
A period of possession by Irish culminates in Horak passing the ball to Sackey. Or at least Horak trying to pass the ball to Sackey (Oh, the irony!). Narbonne’s winger is obviously unaware of the intended recipient, intercepts the pass beautifully and streaks off up the pitch to score a glorious try, duly converted to leave the score 19-0 with 26 minutes gone.
I suspect at this point that we’re going to find it hard to turn the game around.
Following from the restart, Narbonne clear the ball to touch on our 10m line. We win the throw-in but fail to retain possession and Narbonne again have us under pressure and retreating towards our line before the ball goes into touch.
The full on rain and howling gale continue unabated but if the weather is bad it’s not as bad as life as an Irish player is about to get.
We are being controlled and manipulated by a very focussed and aggressive French side but we are still managing to win a good number of their line-outs. However, the pressure they are exerting is leading to desperate decisions being made and following on from another successfully won Narbonne lineout a badly kicked ball finds its way into the arms of a very grateful Narbonnaise right wing who manages to outrun/wit us to score another try. The conversion leaves the score at 26-0 with 33 minutes gone.
It seems as though a light switch has been flipped on somewhere, (or the team have started to think what the half-time chat with Mr Gold is going to entail) but the restart sees a determined Irish side advance steadily towards the Narbonne posts. Narbonne are penalised infron oftheir posts and Tofty manages to disturb the scoreboard. 26-3 and the Irish support around me goes wild!
From the restart, we retain possession and Tofty hoofs the ball into touch. Narbonne are penalised for a wonky throw-in and we are awarded a scrum just shy of the half way line. The ball comes out in our favour and Tofty kicks to touch but the ball has other ideas and wings into the arm of a grateful Narbonnaise who, in turn, wellies it back up the pitch into our half, Narbonne then knock the ball into touch.
From the throw in we retain possession albeit sloppy and some swift passing sees Spud Murphy cruising down the far side towards their line before being tackled just short.
Possession then alternates frantically but eventually Narbonne knock-on and we are awarded a scrum just in front of their posts. We retain possession and maintain a steady distance from their line while working our way along it in a curiously crab-like fashion. Narbonne are penalised for going in at the side but fail to go back 10m before tackling. From the resulting line-out, play works its way across the pitch where we have three out wide but the ball is chipped over and collected by the Narbonne defence who clear it to touch..
Llander (who actually isn’t that bad and has been relatively unobtrusive, normally a good sign) blows for half time and the players drag themselves towards a possibly less than welcoming dressing room.
The rain continues to lash down and while others may scramble for cover and the warmth of a bar, this scribe chooses to join in a song and dance routine with the usual suspects and the EastieBeasties of tomorrow. Our repertoire included ‘Singing in the Rain’, a variety from ‘The Sound of Music’ and several well-known musicals. Although an unkind person might think that the crowd in the stand were laughing at us, I prefer to think they were showing their appreciation for the free entertainment. There’s never a dull moment!!
After the break Greenstock comes on in place of Hoadley who is apparently injured, and Danaher comes on for Haslett. Having died down (or been frightened into submission by the entertainment) the rain makes an unwelcome return and the conditions on the pitch make for a very messy period of play.
Irish are forced to defend deep into their own half and it seems like no matter how often Tofty, or anyone else for that matter, boots the ball into the Narbonne half, their No.10 who is a dangerously good player (in my humble opinion), manages to counter attack almost every time.
We spend a good while camped on the Narbonne line but their defence are not letting anything through. Play moves up and down the pitch for a prolonged period where the slippery conditions do nothing to enhance the skill levels out there. We lose Spud in the 57th minute, replaced by Roche, and carry on switching between attacking and defending without really making tremendous ground. Narbonne are awarded another penalty when Dec is offside 5m inside their half, Llander allows the penalty to be taken from 5m inside ours, 29-3 and 65 minutes have gone by.
There follows another prolonged period of pointless play (in as much as no points are scored, rather than it has no purpose!) with both teams driving as hard as they can forward while giving as little as possible away. A number of our supporters seem to feel Narbonne are crossing but I have my head buried in my notebook so can’t confirm either way. We are awarded a scrum, fail to capitalise, knock-on, Narbonne are awarded a scrum, fail to capitalise and knock-on. Rees Buckler makes his debut first team appearance, replacing Halsey. This switching of possession carries on for a while until Narbonne are penalised for indiscipline. Horak receives the ball, ploughs down the line and touches down for a fantastic try. Tofty converts, the Irish supporters go wild and on 72 minutes it’s 29-10. There’s still time!!
Play recommences in much the same way, possession switching from one to the other. The ball and ground are very slippery so there are a number of errors. Doug Wheatley catches the ball while inadvertently offside and a penalty is awarded, they miss by several country miles which amuses me as it seems like they spend a good 15 minutes lining it up and waiting to see if the wind would blow it over. Strangley the Narbonne supporters don’t seem to think their players require the ‘help’ that a cacophony of sound gives when taking a kick!
That concludes the scoring opportunities although there were team changes when young Mr Barrett comes on for Horak (a bang to the head) and Flavin comes on for Wheatley.
After what seems like an age Llander finally plays his solitary note and our European travels come to an abrupt end.
My summary, short and sweet, is this:
Narbonne were determined to win, at all costs. They played well and didn’t seem to be offside as much as the previous week.
The referee was, I think, fair throughout. Yes a couple of decisions seemed a bit suspect but I’m quite sure Narbonne felt the same about decisions against them.
Irish didn’t perform. They know that and they know we know that. We were unlucky in that the penalties we were awarded were rarely in the Narbonne half so couldn’t be converted to a ready 3 points, except in the first half when the wind was most definitely having a laugh at our expense.
So there you are, that’s how I saw it.
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