Yorkshire Carnegie
A Reason to Believe......
Indomitable!
By Newtfish
April 13 2011
I was glancing through the dictionary the other day, being at something of a loose end having finished putting my CDs in alphabetical order, when my eye was somehow drawn to a section containing words beginning with “hu”. I was interested to note the following:Hubris: Excessive pride or self-confidence; arroganceHumility: Modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance, rank, etcThose who were bored enough to read all of last week’s preview may well guess which of these two words characterises my approach to the next few weeks. I shall be counting no chickens, in fact the eggs probably haven’t been laid yet. I noted in another thread that whilst our odds on going down have lengthened and Newcastle’s shortened, we remain, statistically, the more likely club to be relegated, if only because of the Falcons’ game in hand. The fact that said game will only be played on the penultimate weekend of the season could well mean that the agony will be prolonged until 7th May, when I hope to be experiencing the joys of Franklins Gardens for the first time.
Prospects will of course be much enhanced if we can achieve a win at Adams Park on Sunday and that is not such an unlikely outcome as it might have seemed a couple of years ago. The first twelve premiership encounters resulted in eleven defeats and one draw, with few close games away from home. Last season, however, saw a glorious double of wins home and away. Whilst we lost the home fixture this season, that was the first game when Thompson and Fourie were missing on international duty and we went down to a good individual try by Joe Simpson and a dubious one by Tom Rees.
Recent form is also encouraging, with Wasps having lost three games on the bounce and four of the last five, whilst we have won three of the last five including consecutive wins in our most recent games. It would, of course, be foolish to underestimate a Wasps team stuffed with internationals and although a top four finish is all but impossible they are still in with a shout of Heineken Cup qualification.
Despite our recent form we have no grounds for complacency and I expect Backy to have our players’ feet firmly on the ground heading into this fixture. In this regard I think that Newcastle playing on Friday night this week and next, notwithstanding the possible advantages of being at home, will on balance be positive for us. If they have won we know we must do likewise to remain where we are; if they have lost we should be just as fired up to try to extend the gap and give the best chance of the Saints game being a celebration.
Saturday was a great day out at Kingston Park and, as Mark C commented elsewhere, the enjoyment at the end was all the greater for having suffered the pain of defeat so many times previously. If we show the commitment and belief evident in the last two games and continue to have an overdue share of good fortune we have a real chance of another victory on Sunday. Let’s hope that we shall be celebrating again come 5.00PM and that the fun bus (if a four+ hour coach journey can ever be described as fun) merits its name.
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13/04/2011 19:15
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Newty you take to previews like a duck to water - another thought provoking preview. Well done!
That journey home is going to be a killer - let's hope it's a happy journey or it will be even worse.
come on, leeds!
COME ON LEEDS
Then again, it may just contain two little words "We Won".
One lives in hope!
