By Bifta on 12/02/2004
February 12 2004

Drag yourselves out of this slough of despair Tykes fans, and cast your mind back a year or two. Morally relegated, mathematically bottom of the league – no hope, no chance. And then, phoenix from the flames, the dizzy heights of Heineken Cup placings, a push for the play-offs, stick your morally relegated tag in your pipe and smoke it.

Maybe it was at that point that Phil Davies saw danger ahead. Maybe he saw an aging side struggling to match the pace in 2003/04. Maybe he saw some players believing the hype, and taking their foot off the gas. Whatever – PD decided things had to change.

Out went some big names, some in happy circumstances, some in less so. In came a collection of new faces, mainly young and often inexperienced new faces. The season started with a bang, Tykes running in tries from places Tykes had never run in anything from before. Bonus points – which many Tykes fans had started to believe were on a par with other extinct species like the dodo, were garnered. Tykes were the leading try-scorers in the Premiership! And then, as we know too well, things started to go awry.

We miss the experience of Isaac, the sheer professionalism and goal-kicking accuracy of Braam, the wonderful courage and spirit of Cammie Mather. They were blokes who had seen it, done it, been there and bought the t-shirt. They had taken a hiding and fought back. That experience can’t be bought, it can only be earned.

And the Tykes of 2003/04 are earning it, in spades, this season. Young and inexperienced, but no-one doubts – talented, full of potential, coming men. This season is the learning curve. From next year we will have a right to expect more – to expect a touch of canniness, of nous, a touch of the dog around the park. And, I’m confident, we’ll get it. The best things come to those who wait….

And now you’ve waited long enough for the match preview!

This is a meeting of two sides short on confidence, with young players looking for a leader, for authority. Newcastle, shorn of Wilkinson and, as importantly, Marc Andrews – are playing in a similar way to the Tykes. From the sublime (Tykes v Toulouse, Newcastle v Gloucester), to the ridiculous (vs anyone else!). Both teams have fly-halves who are off the boil, lacking in confidence, and there is no more exposed place on the rugby pitch to be than at No.10. Both teams have young and talented backs who are prone to throwing a pass into touch, or knocking the ball on. Both teams are stock full of good, even excellent players, who are lacking that je ne sais quoi, that elusive confidence, that killer touch.

And the chances are, rugby being the decisive game it is, that one team will go home with at least a touch of that confidence creeping back in to their game. It’s a mighty close call as to who it will be.

Home advantage favours Newcastle, but if there is one way to negate this it is a lack of confidence, which can swiftly be transmitted to an anxious and frustrated crowd. Both teams have strike runners of the highest class, and both teams are struggling to spring them free of opponents. And both teams have defences that can be breached too easily. It could be 40-40 (if passes go to hand), or 6-6 (if they don’t).

Our friend in the north (thank you Mally) was not full of confidence when asked about possible results. But then, is there a Tykes fan who is? Not me, I’m staying on the fence for this one, no idea who will win, but hopeful as ever that it will be the Tykes!