The End is Nigh!
Long Suffering?
By Peter Creek
April 14 2010
With three games to go the GP is reaching a nail biting climax, especially for the teams at the foot of the table. Four teams are struggling to avoid the drop. This weekend Worcester and Newcastle have home games whilst Leeds and Sale are on the road. The trip to the Madejski Stadium is a tough one for Leeds and with the wrong results the ‘Neegs could be bottom of the heap again by Monday.
The Leeds team has had some serious wobbles in recent weeks which have in turn led to some sleepless nights for us, the long suffering fans. When the lads beat Sale, Wasps and Saracens to haul themselves up from the relegation slot it looked as though, at long last, their hard work and endeavour was starting to pay off. Since then there have been three defeats and only one lbp in the process.
There has been much debate about fielding the “best” side but the management appeared to have found the right blend before the last two results. On top of this key centre Scott Barrow has been ruled out through injury. I find myself wondering – how will he be replaced? Are there other changes that need to be made? Certainly Lee Blackett can do a job in the centre. The blind side flanker spot continues to be an issue. Replacing one hothead with another was not a big success last week but we are very limited for options.
The early season encounter with the Not-nots was a very one sided affair with Leeds on the end of a fifty point drubbing. London Irish stand-off Ryan Lamb scored twenty seven points that day. Will he become the grim reaper? However looking at the side that Leeds fielded that day compared with the latter-day regular starting XV then little relevance can be attributed to that score line. What is relevant is that the LI backs are still capable of inflicting serious damage if our defence is not up to snuff. At The Stoop last week Carnegie had lots of possession which they failed to convert into points and only Seru Rabeni looked capable of taking advantage of it. This weekend the lads need to get something from the game. Whilst it is stating the obvious, I know, discipline must be exemplary. Lamb will capitalise on any penalties conceded. The team must also maximise its return on any chances for points that occur.
In the weekend’s other fixtures I expect Sale to lose at Bath and Newcastle to struggle at home to the Tigers. However the game which is hardest to call is at Sixways where Wasps will need to be on top form to see off the Worcester Warriors. For me the Warriors will still be twelfth come Monday but the gap will have narrowed to two points. Whichever way the results go on Saturday/Sunday, for one of the struggling teams, the end is most definitely nigh.
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Onwards and upwards.et amplius deinceps
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Zandra YaPoI
YaPoI - Yorkshire and Proud of It
'proficiscor in una'