Definitely up and running

Stopped in his tracks..
By Whaley Shark
October 19 2013

So who said, looking forward to the opening of this season’s AP campaign “….I’d be very happy with 12 points from those five fixtures”?

Answer- I did, about six weeks ago, and since I took notes at the Biarritz game but then got swamped by other things and never wrote the report, I think a little bit of retrospection is needed to keep the board ticking over during our current run of away games.

Talking of the Biarritz game, it was memorable for two things- the small crowd, who actually missed a decent game, and Andrei Ostrikov’s outrageous try, gripping the ball in one hand and waving it around to bamboozle the defence, before galloping in from 25 metres. It was worth the money just to see that piece of sheer cheek alone.

Anyway, back to the general theme of this little piece, which I think is ‘So far, so good’. We have 13 points in the Premiership, and I am indeed very happy. Gloucester away was a good start and the Falcons defeat is starting to look like a bit of a blip, maybe an unfortunate conjunction of complacency on our part and a massive bollocking for the Falcons players from Deano as a result of their battering by Bath the previous week. Nevertheless, I am pretty content with three wins from five, and even away at Saints, which was always going to be tough, it seems that we played with spirit and the heads didn’t drop.

In the Amlin, Biarritz may have been out of sorts at Salford, but they are far from toothless, as today’s convincing win over Oyonnax shows. However, our bonus point win away at Worcester gives us a clear advantage in the Group. Early days but promising.

Looking at how we are playing, there are positive signs. I thought our scrum would be underpowered but it seems capable of holding its own. We may not have eight of the biggest names or the biggest physiques, but we do seem to have a unit, and their commitment in both the tight and the loose is making a big difference.

That bit of go-forward has made a big difference to Dwayne Peel, who looks a different player from the scrambling player, crabbing sideways, we saw so much last year. Cuets’ cameo at outside centre has impressed too, as he shows that there’s plenty of life in his legs yet.

Of the new boys, Andy Forsyth seems to add a cutting edge to the backline, and Tom Arscott looks pretty steady at fullback, while Phil Mackenzie’s shown some glimpses in the games he’s had so far. Joe Ford's got quite a boot and has impressed me too, while Danny Cipriani is rapidly converting me to a believer. In the forwards, Kirill Kulemin, Jonathan Mills and Michael Paterson have all added ‘dog’ and made big contributions, with Mills and Paterson bringing leadership and maturity.

It’s back to the Premiership next, away to a slightly wobbly Quins and then one of our bogey sides, Exeter, in Salford. Both are breathing down our necks in the table. Winning both would be a huge boost, and I’d be delighted if we could manage that. I think we can. In spite of my short term optimism, I’m not getting completely carried away though. I’ll be going to our away game at Welford Road just after Christmas and, if I’m honest, I’m not sure we’ll come back with five points. But, on current form, we’ll give it a bloody good go, and that’s all I ask.