Wave Goodbye to the Shiny Cup!
Poor Game?
By John R
October 3 2005
It’s Powergen time again, remembering the heady days of last March when we won it at Twickenham. It’s changed now, just the Guiness Premiership clubs together with the four Welsh divisional sides. Our group opposition are also Sale & Newcastle.
After the good display last week against Leicester and noting that the Scarlets are not doing too well in the Celtic League, could this be the first win of our season?
Out they come and we see that Tom Palmer is missing, (apparantly a very late injury ruling him out,) replaced by Scott Morgan and that Rob Vickermam is at outside centre. Rather hoped he may have been brought in at inside centre, to try and sort the problems of that particular position, but obviously not!
We start the first attack which is immediately rebuffed with a long kick into the corner. From the line-out, the Scarlets move the ball to Gareth Bowen who drops a goal.
One minute gone, three points down! Hell’s teeth, what a start.
Another long kick is fielded eventually by Ross, deep in our twenty two and he starts a move to Vickerman, Biggs and Jones which is eventually stopped on the Scarlets twenty two. That looked promising……
John Davis leaves with a cut head, replaced by another Davies (they are a Welsh side of course,) but ten minutes later they switch back, head duly restored.
Then another attack by Scarlets with Chris Jones penalised for holding and Bowen taking the penalty to make it 6 – 0 on eighteen minutes.
Scott Morgan’s turn for a cut head, replaced by Chris Murphy, (no problem there then!) Another move down the left sees Biggs kick ahead and then be taken out by a huge body check. The South Stand erupts, Spredders talks with Chris White, then with the Scarlets…………and awards a line out!
Scott Morgan returns and eventually half time, ( a forty seven minute half??) arrives. The chat suggests the Tykes are building, slowly but Scarlets look dangerous on the counter, Wayne Peel showing his class on a number of occasions. But 6-0 down and all to play for.
We get a penalty straight after the re-start, but Ross misses. Scarlets immediately attack with an Easterby short penalty to himself, then Bowen to Watkins and a feed to Selley who goes into the corner. Bowen misses the conversion! 0 –11. Doom decends on the faithful (only 2,582, not good!)
On fifty three minutes Tykes are again penalised, this time for going in at the side and Bowen is successful this time 0 –14.
At sixty minutes Scarlets hooker Afeaki is replaced by Hoti Louw and Tykes De Marigny replaces Ross. Almost immediately a further charge by Scarlets sees another try by Mills (or Thomas) the scoreboard & commentator differed here, so who knows? Bowen again converts and it’s 0 – 21. Deep doom!
A host of replacements now on sixty five minutes. Morgan, Kerr and Bulloch leave for Murphy, Issacson and Rawlinson. Stimpson also appears to replace Balshaw who has had a torrid game, but no! Vickerman goes and Balshaw moves to centre??
Within a few minutes a good Tykes attack is building when Balshaw floats a pass towards Rees which is intercepted by Watkins who, untouched, goes in under the posts. Bowen again converts and now it’s 0 – 28. Doom is replaced by despair !!!
Another Quinell now appears from the Scarlets replacements, This one is Gavin. He clearly should talk to his elders as, after giving two penalties away and claiming not to know why, he is yellow carded for a high tackle and departs for good. ( Mmmm? Could do better! Suggest Derek, as leader of that dynasty, takes him into a dark corner and explains how to do things without incurring the wrath of the officials!)
In the last five minutes, when all is lost, probably the best effort of the Tykes all game from deep in their own half, results in a Rob Rawlinson try under the posts. De Marigny converts. 7 – 28.
The final whistle puts us all out of our misery (other than the Llanelli faithful who had made a long but worthwhile trip,) and we depart, wondering what next?
That has to be the post mortem. Where do we start? Many Tykes played well individually, notably the “young ones” , Vickerman, Crane, Biggs and Dunbar. Marshall and Morgan (and Murphy when on) never stopped working. Gerber and Kerr worked well in the loose and the scrums generally were better. The lineouts worked when thrown to Crane who was magnificent throughout, Morgan and Murphy also won good ball.
Chris Jones never stopped working, though must be taught to pass before or during a tackle and to lay back the ball if grounded!
Balshaw has surely never played a worse game? Hooper, Hyde and Parks did nothing to speak of.
BUT, far to many penalties given away again, far too many turnovers after tackles, (did we even gain a ball after an attack was stopped.?)
Coaches, please teach players to go to ground over the ball, so it can be made available to Marshall and the rest to re-cycle. Why are the pack holding the ball in and driving, (not very far,) when attacking in their own half? That should surely be saved for within ten metres of the opposition line? Lot’s more work needed to get a “team effort” into place.
What next? Sale away ! Can we do a Newcastle…………..?