Yorkshire Carnegie
The "C" word
By Leemingtyke
March 20 2013
As we round the final bend and head into the home straight the regular championship season has thrown up yet another twist in the enthralling battle for 4th place. In Grand Prix terms, Bristol have bumped wheels with their bogey team Moseley and slid on to the gravel and, whilst they are by no means out of it, we have been left with a clear view of the chequered flag and open road in front of us......
There is a problem though. So far this season the Leeds Carnegie vehicle has been about as reliable as the ingredients label on a pack of value burgers, i.e. not very. In short, it’s make or break time and when the lads take to the pitch at Moseley on Saturday they must demonstrate that they have finally found what has eluded them all season, the C word………. Consistency.
Having put the skids under Bristol’s promotion hopes last Friday night, Moseley will be hoping to do much the same to us this weekend and they have two very good reasons for wanting to do so. Firstly a win would virtually secure championship rugby at Billesley Common for another season. Secondly, when the two teams met at Wharfedale in November we came away with a very routine 38-12 win. To put it mildly, Moseley had an off day. However, recent results have shown that they are a much better side than the one that didn’t bother getting off the bus at Wharfeside Avenue and they will be sure to want to prove it on Saturday.
Moseley’s home record this season makes interesting reading. They didn’t win a Championship game at Billesley Common until 5th January when they defeated Jersey 23-19 however, since then they boast a 100% home record in Championship rugby. A stat that, of course, includes that win over Bristol on Friday night when they overturned a 14 point deficit to run out 23-14 victors.
With only four games to go a team that only needs 1 more win to be virtually sure of avoiding relegation is a very dangerous team to be playing against and Leeds will have to put in a thoroughly professional performance to come away with the points.
Leeds have had the luxury of a fortnight off, a fortnight which has presumably been spent resting battered bodies and re-charging the batteries in preparation for the final push. Successive victories over Cornish Pirates and then London Scottish have left us ruing the early season lapses against Notts and Plymouth and also the more recent ones against Jersey and Doncaster and hopefully minds have been focused on making the most of our latest lifeline.
Hopefully our starting 15 will remain the same as it was for the London Scottish game. That line up looked strong and balanced to me and that would appear to be backed up by the result. Several posters have commented over the last two weeks that they are happier when Josh Griffin is included in the back line and I agree completely. It’s always handy to have more than one string to your bow and, whilst he is far from being a one trick pony, his physicality offers a destructive alternative to the guile of Burdon in the centres.
As far as the 10 shirt goes, there is only one option for me. Joe Ford is both the man in possession and the man in form and to drop him would be an absolute travesty. If Diccon does decide in favour of Rory then he would effectively be telling Joe ‘I don’t care how well you’re playing, when it comes to the big games I just don’t trust you’. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that if this happens then Joe’s career at Leeds is as good as over and he will join the ever increasing list of Leeds Carnegie youngsters who are realising their considerable potential elsewhere.
The fact that Leeds are still in with a chance of extending the season beyond the 22 game point is in itself quite staggering. We have, after all, lost 50% of our league games so far and, as far as the play-offs are concerned we should by rights be dead and buried.
Perhaps though, after all we have had to put up with this season, we deserve a little bit of luck and, thanks to our bonus points column and some favourable results elsewhere, we are still in with a very strong shout.
In fact, we’re now back in the driving seat and back in control of our own destiny. If our promising team is to add ‘play-off experience’ to their CV’s though, then our season long pursuit of the C Word has to have come to a successful conclusion by 3 PM on Saturday afternoon. If it hasn’t then by 5 PM we may have wasted one second chance too many.
I’m going to predict a hard fought Leeds victory, but just the 4 points. Come on Leeds!
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20/03/2013 17:54
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:03:26:09:18:30 by Gelbel.
COME ON LEEDS.
We've been through it all together.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:03:20:18:31:01 by Haxbytyke.
Looks like the weather could be 'all and everything'?
Come on ye tykes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I say narrow win to Leeds - who may finish with a last 5 minute flurry to make it a reasonable win due to superior fitness.
Cant even listen this week.
"Moseley will have one advantage going into this game having been able to work out Leeds lineout plays following their appearance on TV’s Question of Sport. Unfortunately we probably cannot count on them selecting Phil Tufnell in their second row!"
