Yorkshire Carnegie
Half term report
The future?
By WW
October 29 2015
This weekend there is a break in the fixtures in the Championship as it is the World Cup Final. So our squad get a weekend off and we have the opportunity to look at what they have done so far and take stock of our situation.,,,
Bryan Redpath was busy from the off when he took over as Coach. By the end of last season he knew what players he wanted and as a result we acquired some big forwards and some tasty backs. The results of this strategy were soon obvious when our pack, re-inforced by O'Donnell and Schofield, matched the Romanian world cup pack in every aspect for 80 minutes. Our early season success was built on forward power to the point where we, the fans, were discussing the merits of winning ugly against the lack of flair in the backs. I think that Brush was lucky to inherit the makings of a good pack. He simply added beef and experience - the result being a very effective unit. players are rested/changed without any noticable detriment to performance. It could be argued that the forwards on the bench have made a big impact when they have come on during games.
All this when we have been deprived of the services of a number of key forwards due to injury has meant that several players have been given an unexpected place in the starting lineup. Bainbridge and Barnard have both played well in the back row, contributing 6 of the 19 tries scored by forwards so far this season.
Behind the scrum things have looked somewhat disjointed. Lots of chopping and changing and trying different permutations. Injuries to Hodgson, Dudman and Casson did not help matters. For me the issues have stemmed from the halfbacks. First choice scrum half Chris Pilgrim's delivery is pedestrian at best. Harry Leonard's kicking from hand is sloppy. Fortunately when Matt Dudman recovered and got into the team he delivered a bravura performance and, in my opinion, Leonard looked more comfortable receiving Dudman's slick passes. Matt also utilises the space created by a dominant pack to make sniping runs at the opposition.
Forsyth has impressed me since the off in the centre. His best partner has yet to be determined though I suspect that Casson will end up with the 12 shirt. The back three have the potential to be the most prolific in the division. Currently Holmes, Georgiou and Stegmann with the Doc, Prell and Goss in contention. I do not think that we have seen the best of Stegmann yet.
After 8 games we have won 6 and lost 2. We are second in the league behind favourites Bristol. We are also the leading try scorers in the division which goes some way to make up for several poor defensive performances. I would have been happy with that if it was not for the nagging suspicion that we are capable of so much more. The next phase of the campaign should see the introduction of Kevin Sinfield to the 15 man game.This will be critical to our performances so I hope that this will be a gradual introduction. For me Kev's strengths are his decision making, game management and his kicking. If we are fully utilising those assets as we approach the play-offs then we will be in the perfect position to execute our exit strategy from the second tier of English rugby.
Time will tell.
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon
31/10/2015 05:44
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:11:23:17:14:44 by Wildwillie .
Bainbridge has scored 7 himself. And you're right about Stegman - he's hardly had the ball really! Interesting that we've not seen Goss at all - is he injured?
Agree there is so much more to come which is very exiting.
- you forgot the all-important score.
I give Brush and the new board A and the team B+
