Yorkshire Carnegie
Poor Leeds win through with mental toughness
Faultless place kicking
By Andy Brown
January 26 2009
Arriving at the ground on Sunday I met up with Mark_C and chewed the fat over what we could expect to see from the Carnegie boys as they met up once more with London Welsh, the team against which by common consent they put in their finest performance of the season so far. Could we expect more of that great rugby?
When the stadium announcer went through the teams, I was pretty upbeat, but I confess my heart sank when I heard the name of the official being caalled, one Andrew Small. I'd seen him before and hadn't been impressed. More on him later.
As is normal on these occasions, the first couple of minutes didn't see much in the way of spectacle, but by hook or by crook, Leeds were awarded a penalty 30 metres out for Welsh going over the top at the ruck. A routine three points taken by Alberto and Leeds were in a lead they were never to relinquish.
The restart didn't go the ten yards, and it looked like it could be a long day for the Welsh. However that was soon put to rest by a massive scrum by the Welsh and putting Leeds under huge pressure on their own put-in. The next few minutes there was little to write home about, and on 9 minutes Welsh were awarded a penalty, this time for Leeds going over the top. The kick was missed but a minute later handling in the ruck allowed the Welsh kicker to atone for his previous miss. Ten minutes gone, and the match was all square at 3-3.
There immediately followed a period of sustained phase-play with Leeds pressuring the Welsh line, Alberto narrowly missing a score and getting turned over into the bargain. Shortly after from the Leeds line-out, Alberto threw a delicious flat pass for Scott Barrow to storm through and break the defence. Heppy was on hand for support but no-one else was, and Dancing-Feet-Jonny was pinged for holding on after being hauled down ten metres short of the line. On twenty minutes though, and more sustained pressure had Sparky on the charge, and he spotted an overlap wide out on the left, and Hints burst through for a good score. With the difficult conversion missed, it was 8-3.
For the rest of the half, Welsh showed some real spirit and aggression and by contrast Leeds looked out of sorts; a case in point being where Biggsy was turned over while under little pressure and no-one was there for support. With knock-ons a-plenty and technical infringements being irregularly spotted, the game became extremely scrappy and a bit of a bore to watch. With some good phases Leeds were able to draw a penalty 15 metres out and with the kick a matter of routine, the teams went in for their half-time cup of Earl Grey at 11-3.
The second half started brightly for Leeds, but still they were unable to protect the ball enough and were frequently turned over at the breakdown. A spell of abysmal handling from both teams seemed to result in scrum after scrum, and with little will to do anything but box-kick, the spectacle was pretty poor. On 54 minutes the London Welsh hooker was sin-binned for a dangerously high tackle that had Big Mac gasping for breath; Alberto slotted the kick over and at 14-3 it was clear the win was in the bag, but the lack of penetration was becoming worrying.
At the regulation three-quarters-through-the-game mark, a roar from the meagre crowd went up as Villi Ma'asi came on for his first game since the start of the season, accompanied by Scott Mathie who took over scrum-half duties. Straight away Leeds applied pressure to the Welsh defence by sending the ball first one side of the pitch, then the other, and back again before getting turned over yet again. But the direct route became the most effective, and it had to be Villi who took the ball over from short range after it looked like the attack was lost. A good conversion from Alberto brought the score to 21-3, and with 20 minutes to go, there was still time to get the four tries and the invaluable bonus point.
Welsh decided they wanted to play as well, and some good interchange between forwards and backs, and with their excellent fly-half controlling matters they got over in the corner for a well taken score. Conversion made, they brought the score to a level of respectability at 21-10.
The time was ticking on, and Leeds were making the crowd nervous. There were only three minutes to go, and the chance of the bonus point was rapidly disappearing. Then another attack and Heppy's feet did the trick and got him over the line under the posts. With everyone in the stadium screaming at Alberto to drop-kick the conversion (which he duly did), the score went up to 28-10, and literally only seconds to go.
The restart was taken and the whole squad pushed forwards to camp out on the line, and with wave after wave of tight forwards pummelling the line, there was a massive cheer and sigh of relief as Danny Paul emerged from the melee and touched down to score the bonus point try. Alberto's conversion was the last kick of the game, and the final score 35-10 was welcome if flattering.
Reflections
On the day I said to all who would listen (and some who I suspect would rather not) that that was an unconvincing performance from a team that suddenly didn't look premiership quality. Since then however I have modified my view. That the skills and execution were not up to Premiership standard is true, but everyone in the crowd had given up hope of the bonus point with ten minutes to go, except the players themselves. They showed great belief, discipline and trust in each other to finish what they started and round off the game dispite an out-of-sorts performance. Mentally they were right up there.
The referee, as I mentioned at the start, filled me with dread, and although I was critical of some of his decisions, I was very aware of a lot of uninformed criticism of him around me. He was not as bad as I had feared, although he certainly didn't help to keep the game flowing.
Leeds in general played poorly against a spirited Welsh side, but the gulf in class that there should have been ensured that the win was never in doubt; the mental toughness that this side now has ensured that the bonus was attained and credit should be given for that.
We are still eight points ahead, and that is what matters. However, we cannot afford to play this kind of game if we are to survive in the Premiership. This spirit, however, is exactly what is needed.
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26/01/2009 22:31
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Thought Hints had a cracker for us, but Aled Jones played a blinder for Welsh at 10. Wonder if he's Premiership material?
He was abysmal...............!
Up the Carnegies !
looking forward to the Premiership next Season already...!
Due credit to the Welsh, they slowed and eventually killed the game. We have to learn how to break that strangle hold that other teams have on us at times.
A well fought contest and well done to our lads for having the tenacity to get the bonus point.
every year we have been in the prem we have improved the gates. to say the gates are pathetic at 2400 is a bit harsh. the games on offer are not great to watch at the moment, with not many opposition sides offering a genuine contest. if i am honest i think i enjoyed watching us get beat in the premiership than some of the contests (or lack of) this season.
There are no quick fixes - there is no tradition of mass spectator support for club rugby in Yorkshire. The only way forward is to be successful in the GP.
That's the interesting challenge about Leeds.
Pain is only temporary but victory is forever
, maybe 5KPain is only temporary but victory is forever
Waiting for the good times ...
..and waiting ....
... and waiting ...
I know this was covered in another thread, but it's pathetic.
Is it coincidence that our crowds have barely moved in all the time we've been in and out of the premiership? We have had many different players, several different coaches, a change of ownership, and we have at times played winning rugby (admittedly mostly while in ND1) but the one thing that is constant throughout is the marketing organisation.
Perhaps if we got some fresh blood there then things might change?
Waiting for the good times ...
..and waiting ....
... and waiting ...
Quote:Starting from a different place. The Rhinos have (and always had) a pretty big fan base to start with, so the marketing that works for them is of the "preaching to the converted" kind (or, as Mark puts it, selling air conditioners in Dubai!) The kind of marketing that needs to happen with Carnegie is more evangelical and requires a different outlook. I'm no marketing expert, so I can't say what will and what won't work, but as I say, the theme running through it is that with all the changes we've had, the two consistent things are the relatively low attendances and the marketing dept. It's not a coincidence to me.Andy, but surely its the same marketing organisation that look after the Rhinos and they would say that they were not doing a bad job.
Waiting for the good times ...
..and waiting ....
... and waiting ...
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009:01:29:11:23:41 by apb.
Quote:daveyjp
The correct spelling of the team we are playing would help - seeing a London "Welch" advert by the A64 made me cringe.
I know this was covered in another thread, but it's pathetic.
Absolutely. Can you imagine what will happen if we get back to the Premiership and play teams with difficult to spell names like "Leicester"?
PT
Quote:oopnorth
How ?
Tell you what. If:
o They promise to get rid of the Challenger once and for all.
o They stop charging for entry to the bar after the game.
I solemnly promise to bring 5 extra people to the game against the Pirates at the end of March.
Anyone with me?
PT
A mate of mine has a Gold season ticket, this entitles him to some Freebies, he was sent vouchers to cover freebies that were not here yet, when he went to pick them up from the stadium he was told that they would not be available until after Feb 6th.
So if they treat there gold members in this way , then what chance the regular supporter of either code ?.
Somthing like that anyway to raise awarness.
Pain is only temporary but victory is forever
COME ON LEEDS.
We've been through it all together.
The other big issue which as a non-Yorkshireman I've noticed a lot and commented on before is the class angle. There is a massive perception that Union is a Toffs game and that 'Real' Yorkshireman won't have anything to do with it. And as the media want to attract the support of the masses they shy away from it. This is a deeply-entrenched attitude and will not disappear overnight.
I still believe that if and when we regain our place in the GP then the old slogan of 'Yorkshire's Premier Passion' should be revived and pushed....narrowing support to Leeds has proved to be relatively unsuccessful.
Quote:The other big issue which as a non-Yorkshireman I've noticed a lot and commented on before is the class angle. There is a massive perception that Union is a Toffs game and that 'Real' Yorkshireman won't have anything to do with it.
I'm not sure about that at all. There will be some with that attitude that's true, but my experience - and Prawn Cocktail will back me up here no doubt - is that the playing population of Yorkshire is much more akin to the traditional Welsh one, that of working class folk playing the game for fun and rubbing shoulders with professionals (doctors, teachers etc) in the same teams. Union as a Toffs game only really comes from those who have never had any involvement in the game. Believe me there are a large number of Yorkshire folk who ARE involved in the game.
The community aspect to Carnegie's work is trying to address the "Leeds is just an opposition club in a higher league" attitude which I think is the real problem they have at the moment.
Waiting for the good times ...
..and waiting ....
... and waiting ...
of course, the reality is, and always was, totally different and the old 'stereotypes' are very 20th century, if they were ever genuinely typical at all. union was always played across the whole of yorkshire, whereas rl only along the m62 corridor, really. you'd struggle to find rl given priority over union in north yorkshire or the 'people's republic'.
we need to be in the prem, also the gates always get bigger in the prem as we give tickets away to students for next to nowt!! why??
i dont get in any cheaper for being a loyal supporter.
I quite liked it, me my dad and the touch judge!
Rhinos have a bus painted that runs round Leeds, Carnegie have nothing.
At the start of the last Prem season they sent flyers round through doors which was good and told people when the fixtures were.
I remember when England won the world cup Headingley was heaving and you could not move - there is clearly support for rugby that can be tapped into. There are lots of things the club can do they just need to be a bit more creative...
Why are there not people out in fresher’s week handing out flyers for the upcoming season, buy one ticket get one free - great cure for a hangover on a Sunday afternoon....Targeting companies in the region for Friday night games - cheap client entertainment, if you buy this many tickets you get this discount... When we are back in the Prem that's what I will be doing.
North West business Insider magazine always has something about Sale Sharks in there, Yorkshires has nothing, target corporate clients as well which will mean some Friday night games as you can go straight from work...
It's not that difficult!
Quote:There are lots of things the club can do they just need to be a bit more creative...
That's what I was getting at to be honest
Waiting for the good times ...
..and waiting ....
... and waiting ...
Interesting in Merry's point regarding indifference to RL in the North and South ridings......so why do we target our marketing and advertising in Leeds, then?
plenty of us in york though and we seem to to be well represented on this board. it would be nice if the press wrote something about carnegie but i don't think they're that interested in things leeds. i've written to them in the past to let them know that i am but, like most yorkshire folk, they're pretty parochial. morley and otley folk will tell you they're 'nowt to do with leeds'.
COME ON LEEDS.
We've been through it all together.
