London Welsh
London Welsh v Nottingham
By Mark W-J
April 2 2010
This Saturday sees London Welsh bring down the curtain on their 53rd season at Old Deer Park with the visit of Nottingham. The Green & Whites played at Ireland Avenue for 102 years before moving to Meadow Lane in 2006 – while it may lack soul and atmosphere, it meets Premier Rugby’s strict criteria, meaning that Nottingham have genuine ambitions of joining the élite in the not too distant future.
Our co-tenants and Old Deer Park, Richmond Cricket Club, have been renting the land since their formation in 1862, and ten years later Richmond and Harlequins played out a 0-0 draw in the first rugby match to be played at ODP – these being the days when a try had no value but to earn a right to ‘try’ for a goal. Bizarrely, the meeting of Middlesex and Surrey on 11th November 1878 was the first rugby match to be staged under floodlights in London – although the experiment was deemed a success it was never repeated, and nearly 125 years on the lack of floodlights is one of myriad reasons why we’ll never be eligible for promotion as long as we remain here. Richmond stayed until 1889 before moving around the corner, to be replaced by London Scottish who – coincidentally – also opened their stay with a visit from Harlequins, although our fellow Exiles stayed for less than five years, joining Richmond at the Athletic Ground in 1894. This opened the way for Rosslyn Park and Old Merchant Taylors to share ODP, an arrangement which continued until 1922 when OMT acquired the War Memorial Ground in Teddington. Park stayed for a further 35 years, including staging the inaugural schools sevens event in 1940, before they moved on to Priory Lane – ironically, the venue where we were rumoured to be planning a groundshare at the start of this season. London Welsh’s first appearance at ODP is a matter of some debate. According to the club’s centenary history, Dragon in Exile, our first visit was a 13-5 win over Rosslyn Park on 28th March 1903, while the first game against OMT was a narrow away win on 30th October 1909. However, in an article to celebrate our first 50 years at the ground, it was revealed that we’d been comfortably beaten by London Scottish at the beginning of the 1890-91 season – the Scottish were, at the time, generally regarded at the best club in the London and we didn’t meet again for 14 years. Our first ‘home’ game was on September 21st 1957 against Rees Stephens’ International Select XV, and under the terms of a sub-lease to the cricket club’s main lease agreement with the Crown we’re here until 2016. Despite winning only five of their 11 games in the second half of the league season – all of them against teams in the bottom six – Nottingham finished fourth overall, just two points behind Welsh. It’s their third consecutive top four finish, after coming third in 2007-08, level on points with runners-up Exeter, and fourth last term.
After two rounds of play-off fixtures, each of the four teams in Pool B has won at home and lost away: this means that four wins from six should almost certainly be enough to qualify for the semi-finals. To achieve this, however, Welsh need to either record back-to-back wins over Nottingham or beat Exeter in a fortnight’s time before finishing with another victory at Doncaster on 1st May. The Green & Whites’ win over Exeter in round one has given them a big advantage – the Chiefs were already wary of Welsh after their defeat at ODP at the beginning of January, but they showed last Saturday that they recognised how they needed to raise their game if they’re to achieve the home semi-final they so badly desire. They won’t travel to Esher looking to settle for a losing bonus point, so if we’re going to progress to the knockout phase you sense that we have to gain an aggregate win - in terms of match points gained - from these next two games. Regardless of what happens on Saturday, the two qualifiers from this pool will have to earn it the hard way.
NOTE: Due to the problems with the SN sites this is an shortened version of Mark's preview. The remainder of the preview will be published next week in the build up to our return match against Nottingham at Meadow Lane.
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I was not able to get to ODP - Was it that bad?
05/04/2010 18:04
Quote:Di Bark
Not a lot of comment about the Nottingham game -
I was not able to get to ODP - Was it that bad?
The first hour was close, the last 20 minutes were fairly dire. I thought the referee, must have had the worst game he has ever had, as his performance aided by a lttle gey haired linesman fell below an acceptable level. A poor decision handed possession to Nottingah who scored, then we chased the game and they got an interception try, game over.
Notts scored from three rolling mauls and an interception try, nuff said.
Players and coaches were very disappointed after the game and determined to put it right next Sunday. If we don't win up there then our hopes of getting to the S-Fs must be all but over.
Sunday's game is really important and the more support we take to Meadow Lane the better. I will post details of the LWSC coach a bit later but if you want info earlier than that then please disturb Brian Jones' evening by calling 07989 784082!
The rolling maul gets boring after a while, but their first try was a textbook example of how to do it from fully 25 yards out. And seeing as neither backline seemed capable of unlocking the opposition defence, it made a lot of sense for them to stick to the tried and tested. I've said before that this stage is all about being clinical, that collecting bonus points and away wins will decide who progresses - and Nottingham did that to perfection.
Quote:Mark W-J
It's easy to blame the officials, but how many unforced errors did Welsh make? The visiting football fans were dreadful, but their constant braying donkey sounds that greeted everyknock-on, kick direct to touch, pass direct to touch and so on highlighted the fact that we were making mistakes from start to finish.
As one of the really lucky ones stuck next to these guys and girls, they even accidentally brayed one of their own players getting sinbinned. I still don't think they realised as we pointed out their dreadful mistake.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:04:06:09:15:15 by Ellie Crisell.
LW don't know how to counter-maul (although there was more than a touch of truck-and-trailer to a few of those mauls). Exeter were all over us, now Nottingham. We had a strong set of forwards earlier in the season, now they look like powderpuffs. (The only effective attempt was BT's in the second half, he managed to efficiently locate and tackle the ball carrier.)
We had our opportunities and ****** them up, Ross's intercepted pass was the final straw but the heads had gone down already.
And why have we converted a hooker to a flanker? Yes, we have injuries but where have all the loan players gone?
Also can we get rid of cast off's from other clubs, especially the ones that don't add to the cause.
Also I thought that Saturday epitimised the state we are in, the ground looked neglected without the stands and marque and that made the atmosphere flat!
Let's hope the whole club can be funded correctly next year and we can get a home that is for keeps.
Quote:That's most of the team then....londonbound
Also can we get rid of cast off's from other clubs,
As for the the bulk of the squad they have shown what they can do,and they are not anyones cast off's!
I was talking to a few LW supporters after the game who had no problem with the noise and in fact said that at least there was an atmosphere at ODP because of it.
No I am not a football fan or a knuckle dragging northern Neanderthal
I think that is a bit strong, some of our pack have played almost every single game this season (Corker, Powell, Mills) and have given it there all! The forwards are usually very consistent and i guess tiredness is setting in, there are no fit back row players at the moment even Mills, Hills and Beach are carrying injuries and are HAVING to play week in week out!
Yes it wasn't a good performance but saying they look like 'powerpuffs' is utter s**t!
Quote:notts fan
Granted our support is noisy but they have never shouted"go on kill him" to anyone.
I was talking to a few LW supporters after the game who had no problem with the noise and in fact said that at least there was an atmosphere at ODP because of it.
No I am not a football fan or a knuckle dragging northern Neanderthal
Eeyore, eeyore gets tiresome quite quickly.
Especially when it's brayed at almost every move of the match.
The main brayer didn't even realise he was braying his own man who was sinbinned. He just saw the ref stop play, have a few from each side for a chat, so started the braying, without much idea of who or why he was doing it.
Supporting your team and 'banter' is part of rugby, clueless idiocy belongs in wendyball.
At least this time we were saved from the supporter who shouted 'knock on' at every play last game, including kicks!
Quote:No1supporter
I think that is a bit strong, some of our pack have played almost every single game this season (Corker, Powell, Mills) and have given it their all! The forwards are usually very consistent and i guess tiredness is setting in, there are no fit back row players at the moment even Mills, Hills and Beach are carrying injuries and are HAVING to play week in week out!
Yes it wasn't a good performance but saying they look like 'powderpuffs' is utter s**t!
How many rolling mauls have we been unable to counter in the last couple of games?
How many have led to tries?
I appreciate there are players out there doing their best, but the recent opposition have figured out how to beat us. It's not pretty and it has lost us games. And they still have petrol in the tank while we're running empty and unable to find a petrol station.
And as for you dottigirl... OK, you find drumming and chanting annoying. Fair play. But to refuse to speak to opposition fans after the game, well, that's quite frankly not rugby. We were having a few beers and banter with some of your guys after the game, which is all part of the fun!
As London [b]Welsh[b]I am rather surprised at your total lack of Welshness... Millennium Stadium anybody?!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010:04:06:19:24:09 by notts fan.
At times like this when the going gets tough that is the time they most need our support. C'MON everybody get behind the team let's not criticize. SUPPORT, SUPPORT, let's MAXIMISE the volume MAKE IT LOUD C'MON YOU WELSH PADDYTAF
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:04:06:22:48:51 by paddytaf.
PT that is exactly the thing Notts fans have been doing, and all that happens is a portion of supporters slate us for it, I wonder if the result might have been different if your fans had got behind your team the way the Green Army gets behind our lads! Good luck for sunday( well not to much luck) 
I can see the need for adding a bit more atmosphere to games but not at the cost of pushing out the traditionalists. Our time is not yet up and there certainly are not enough potential new supporters to mean we are no longer required!
For example, the pre-match music at Exeter is OTT but relatively small things that work well are the team collectively jogging across the pitch in front of the terrace and down the half way line before the game (it's the same routine everytime) and the tunnel of children (probably 60+ of them) with flags cheering the teams out. As I said previously, we managed to lose our 15 mascots before kick-off!
These things are not difficult, wouldn't offend anyone and can only help lift the atmosphere in the build up to the game.
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