Yorkshire Carnegie
Shocking News from Headingley Carnegie!
Consistent believers.
By Wildwillie
May 3 2010
The Leeds squad travels to Bath this weekend for a meaningless end of season runout in the sunshine. The lads can relax and enjoy their rugby for the first time since they confounded their critics and shocked the rugby world. Yes, Leeds is in the Guinness Premiership again next season!
Whilst the news is slowly sinking in across the nation the Leeds management team has not been resting on its laurels. Departures and retirements have already been announced. Negotiations are under way with a number of seasoned pro’s who will join the club and help with stage 3 of the 3-year plan. This is to get the club into the top half of the GP league table and hence into the Heineken Cup. Unrealistic? You would have said so just before Christmas. Now there is a belief spreading out from LS6 that the form of the last 4 months can be carried over to next season and built upon.
But what of this week’s opponents? Bath has also shocked the rugby world this season, thrice! After the scandal during the close season our favourite opponents appeared to be one of the main candidates for relegation, along with ourselves. Looking at the penultimate league table Bath is in fourth place. More significant is the fact that the Rec boys only need 3 points to secure that place in the play-offs. That fact will be a major stumbling block for any hopes of another stunning away win. Oh and the third shock? A very rich fan has just bought the club! Old boy Stuart Hooper has had a good start to his career at Bath since leaving HC two years ago. Next season he will be joined by Tom Biggs who should thrive in a team that plays expansive rugby after a year in the frozen north where he saw very little of the ball.
This weekend will be the last time that some of our players put on a Leeds shirt. Despite the lack of official news it is rumoured that both Juan Gomez and Seru Rabeni will be heading for France in the summer. Gomez has established himself as the club’s best scrummager and Rabeni’s form since Christmas has been excellent. Both will be missed. On the plus side Andy Titterall will be staying at HC having grabbed the number 2 shirt and made it his own.
Looking back on the progress that the team has made over the season there has been one consistent factor behind every performance. That is the belief of the management team that they were on the right track. That the performances were improving and more importantly that the team would not be relegated. Neil Back and Andy Key have earned their spurs this season as much as any of the players. If they decide that we will not be overrun on Saturday then the team will, once more, rise to the occasion and take the game to Bath. Would you expect anything less?
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03/05/2010 11:13
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