Goodbye, And Thanks!
Building for next season
By Andy Brown
April 30 2008
We made a valiant attempt at Premiership rugby this year, but no matter how you look at it, Leeds Carnegie weren't good enough this year. With some astute investment in players though, it could just be a minor blip on the 5-year plan. Writing for the Leeds Guide, Andy Brown looks forward to the next two games, and the season beyond.
Well the inevitable has finally happened and those Carnegie followers who were holding their breath can now finally exhale - Leeds Carnegie are officially and mathematically relegated as of 20th April. A spirited performance down at Kingsholm against Lesley Vainikolo and his star studded Gloucester side was not enough to avert a 39-16 loss. Apparently a fifteen minute lapse in concentration was all it took for the cherry-and-whites to rip through the Leeds defence, and that, ladies and gentlemen, was that.
Another away trip to London Irish on May 4th where I'm sure the team will battle hard dispite the lack of any prize at the end of it, and then we welcome Wasps to Headingley Carnegie for the last game of the season. A very special occasion it will be too as we will be saying farewell to two players; Stuart Hooper will be off to join Bath and remain playing in the Premiership next season, whereas England fans will be keen to give Lawrence Dallaglio a rousing send-off in his final regular season Guinness Premiership match.
It will I'm sure be an emotional day for both players, and both have showed courage and loyalty to their respective causes by the bucket load. Hoops leaves us at Leeds with universal good wishes, and we hope to hook up again in a couple of years time when he will be lining up with the opposition. Dallaglio, by contrast, we won't see again (except perhaps as a pundit on the telly) but he also has done his club and his country proud over a long and distinguished career.
We won't be seeing internationals of his standard in National 1 next year, but we will (I hope) be seeing an awful lot more winning rugby from Leeds, and this season spent in the Premiership will help to drive the team on to a challenge for the title. The signing of Henry Paul is a promising start for the Carnegie investment to help generate crowds, winning rugby and a return to the Premiership in 2009/10, hopefully on a much more permanent footing...
goodbye and Thanks for all the fish?
A winning finale would only be good for crowds next year.
A poor loss will be unacceptable
Suffering on the Leeds and Yorkshire roller-coaster since 2001
