By Mark H
May 4 2006

Okay, so hands up who thought that this would be the relegation decider? When you look back at the 13-10 victory Falcons achieved at Headingley back in December, you realise just how priceless that result was in the bigger 2005/06 picture.

Things have taken a turn since then.

 

The Tykes have managed to turn losing tight games into an art form, whilst Falcons mustered together enough points before March to, at one point, make us all think of a sixth place finish and entry to the Heineken Cup.  Since the Leicester game in February though, the record has been LLLWL, with a mere seven points obtained in that time.

 

It's the Mally derby then, and both sets of supporters will be glad to see the back of this season.  For Tykes it's been a sorry tale, with 16 defeats out of 21 league games.  Like Falcons, the star signing was a letdown (for different reasons though); like Falcons the local hero is leaving (for different reasons though); unlike Falcons, the man at the top saw a need to freshen up his beloved club and sacrificed himself after a ten year tenure.

 

Phil Davies ends his involvement with Tykes already through the trap door.  He'll be a sad loss; during his five Premiership years in charge, they turned a first season bottom place into a run that saw them a victory at Kingsholm away from leading the pack at the halfway stage, and on into Europe through their league position before the most memorable season ever, a run to the Powergen Cup final, and success over Bath providing the impetus to the escape of all escapes, dragging themselves to 17 points out of the final 20 and survival.  Davies brought in a big name, hoped that the club would kick on, but fate turned against them, the first seven games lost, and here they are today.  I know it's hard for the Leeds supporters to take, but not having Davies there will be both a very good and a very bad thing next season - good because of the challenges ahead needing fresh eyes and ideas, bad because one of the most likeable men in rugby will not be there in the Skyrack having a pint and a chinwag after games.  As I said, a huge loss to rugby in Leeds, and I wish him well, whether his future lie at Llanelli, Wales, or elsewhere.

 

Meanwhile, our DoR stays put and frustration grows (but more of that later).

 

As seems to be the norm these days, when a club goes down, the vultures circle (and in one high profile case, the vulture becomes a rat and heads for shore).  Who knows where the likes of Jordan Crane, Tom Biggs, David Doherty, Tom Palmer, Gordie Ross, Chris Bell and Iain Balshaw will be next season?  Some names are already sorted; Andre Snyman goes with the good wishes of Tykes and the respect of the rest of the Premiership to try and win a place in South Africa's World Cup squad,joined on the plane by Rayno Gerber, whilst Gavin Kerr head north to try and cement his Scottish place.  Two names stand out though; one a hero, the other a villain.

 

The three biggest words of understatement in the rugby world in 2006 came a couple of weeks ago on the Tykes message board; not obvious ones like "England look poor" or "London Irish - wow!", but the simple epithet - SHELLEY IS LEEDS.  Mike Shelley leaves the Tykes after Saturday and heads for retirement having been the man for 10 years, and 244 appearances.  You'd have had to have a hard heart not to have a tear in your eye the moment that Stuart Hooper stepped aside at Twickenham last year and let Shelley lift that Powergen Cup; there's not a more unsung hero in rugby.  He may leave Headingley Carnegie at a time when his club are on a dip, but as with Davies, he steps aside to allow the club to rebuild and move on without him – he won’t love it any less, and he’s done more than his bit for them.  Good luck big man.

 

Villain of the season, for any club, can only be one man.  Justin Marshall to Leeds was always a curious move; could one man really make that much of a difference, or was it a pension plan?  The jury’s still out, but he said nothing in an interview on BBC2 Wales’ Scrum V programme last Sunday that convinced me that he didn’t come here only for a cheque.  Comments alluding to the Celtic League being easier that the Premiership (translation – no relegation, more dead matches, no pressure) really did make me think that Leeds are better off shot of him, so that he can play with his new mate Gavin at a level of intensity that suits him.  And before the Celtic Mafia protest, ask yourself why he turned down Wasps, a team consistently at the other end of the table and supposedly challenging for honours every season, in favour of the Ospreys?  Who’s to say that if Tykes had finished 11^th that he’d have wanted to stay anyhow?

 

Tykes team for Saturday shows Daryl Powell looking to the future.  Shelley’s career finished last Sunday (barring late injuries); Marshall is long gone.  Kepp an eye on Crane and Care, they’ll be the England eight and nine at the 2011 World Cup.  The team:-

 

1. Kees Lensing
2. Rob Rawlinson
3. James Isaacson
4. Chris Murphy
5. Scott Morgan
6. Jon Dunbar
7. Nathan Thomas
8. Jordan Crane
9. Danny Care
10. Gordon Ross (c)
11. Tom Biggs
12. Chris Jones
13. Lee Blackett
14. David Doherty
15. Roland De Marigny

16. Rayno Gerber
17. Gordon Bulloch
18. Tom Palmer
19. Dan Hyde
20. Mark McMillan
21. Chris Bell
22. Andre Snyman

 

Enough of the Tykes, it’s a big day for the Falcons also.  With the known departees all missing, a chance to say a last farewell to our local hero is robbed from us.  Seven years, two Powergen Cups, any number of matchwinning performances, and our last sight of Dave Walder in a Falcons shirt will be trooping off after just half an hour in the London Irish game.  It’s difficult to know what to feel, given the seeming inevitability of it; shock, certainly; worry, yes; respect for what he’s done, most definitely.  Most of all, gratitude from us for being a Geordie, and loving the club as much as we do.  I just hope that he’s given a chance to say a farewell, it will – shall we say – be an interesting moment.

 

It really is the no-win game for Rob Andrew.  Win, and it’s a result against the relegated side in a game with nothing to play for.  Lose, and the knives, if not already out, will certainly be on the “to sharpen” list.  In fact, it’s hard to see where things can go right on Saturday, other than a nominal win.  As for Leeds, well their consolation will be that a victory will open up the “if only” debate about what may have happened if they’d mustered enough points (blame Leicester I say – Falcons got six unexpected points off them, Tykes dropped seven.  The 13 point swing would put one point between the sides).

 

The side selected is a novelty in the English game, all 22 being English, the first time in Premiership history:-

 

15 Anthony Elliott
14 Tom May
13 Mathew Tait
12 Jamie Noon
11 Ollie Phillips
10 Jonny Wilkinson (captain)
9 Hall Charlton
1 Jonny Williams
2 Matt Thompson
3 Micky Ward
4 Andy Perry
5 Geoff Parling
6 Mike McCarthy
7 Ben Woods
8 Andy Buist

16 Robbie Morris
17 Andy Long
18 Greg Irvin
19 Ed Williamson
20 Joe Shaw
21 James Grindal
22 Toby Flood

 

 

The more I’ve thought about this today (and I saw the team about five hours ago now), the more the thoughts went through my head of (a) this is not necessarily our best available team, this is just to create that history, and (b) is this Rob’s last Falcons team, and he wants to go out with a bang?  I’m sure I’m right on the first thought, sure I’m wrong on the second.  I’m going through a cynical phase though which I can pinpoint on the game eleven days ago.

 

If Tykes come back to the Premiership – I’m not going to offer platitudes, I can’t see them coming back first time round unless the expected haemorrhaging of players is stopped – then we can only hope that they’ll come back to Kingston Park to play a club in better shape.  This time round, it’s nearly over, but the hardest work of all – for both clubs – now begins.