The Green Years

The green kit was introduced at the Fan’s Open Night in June 2011, but in order to set the scene, it is necessary to look at the traumatic events preceding this important meeting. The previous season in the Premiership had been a real ordeal, even for the battle-hardened Carnegie fans (and I was not one at this stage). The first victory of the season came on New Year’s Day against Gloucester and then we crawled up level with Newcastle’s points tally only to be relegated on points’ difference following a final match against Heineken cup finalists Northampton, where we were frustratingly only inches away from achieving a try bonus point that would have kept us up. Even so, the Carnegie regime was not really up to standard: despite two England forwards we lacked sufficient depth of squad and quality in the backs and this was especially apparent at number 10 and when we kicked at goal. Relegation was confirmed when Worcester won the Championship play-off final. 

So the Green years were announced at the Fan’s Open Night in June 2011.  The way forward was to get a core of academy-grown young stars, supplemented by a careful dose of experience, and produce a cohesive team that really wanted to play for the shirt. Gone were the days of “Get promoted and buy a team”. Our Academy coach, Diccon Edwards,  had been promoted to Head Coach without the trouble of interviewing external  candidates. We were told that the money our generous benefactor had put forward to support the Premiership campaign had been squandered and that he was taking some of it back by holding onto the relegation parachute payment. So the green years were going to be lean and mean…… 

Relegation means a very serious drop in income and so many of the Premiership players had already been allowed to leave, even if in contract. Thus Steve Thompson, Marco Wentzel, HendreFourie and others were away. Interestingly, Andy Titterall, recovering from serious injury, was announced as club captain and Mike McDonald signed a two year contract in front of our very eyes at in the Lewis Jones suite.Diccon Edwards was not present due to existing duties and we wondered what he would be like…. 

Once we got on the pitch, the 2011/12 season did not start well. We lost our first two matches and sneaked a one point win in our third due to a last minute drop goal from our only recruited player, Joe Ford. Not looking like an immediate return to the Premiership at all. Home crowds dropped from 5000 in the Premiership to 2000, and occasionally you expected to see driftwood blowing in the wind across Headingley during play, such was the subdued atmosphere. Diccon’s selections were, at times, puzzling, and rumours circulated that the team –who the new Head Coach had inherited and included some former Premiership players – were not impressed and motivated by Diccon’s management. In fact at one point absolutely everyone was perplexed when our club captain disappeared off to Sale on loan for a short period. However, results started to pick up in large part due to the dead-eye dick place kicking of loanee Tommy Bell, brother of former player and now Wasps stalwart Chris Bell. After the slow start all was not lost because, bizarrely, the Championship hadpromotion play-off spots for the top eight teams and we were comfortably above the bottom four teams, (who would have their own relegation play-off competition). Nevertheless it was to no-ones real surprise that we were soon eliminated in the first round of the play-offs, which included deservedly (and painfully) losing to home to Rotherham. The final game of the season was a dead rubber, at home to Cornish Pirates (featuring a fast winger called Doherty). Knowing they would not be retained, Michael Stephenson, Mike McDonald and Lee Blackett played their final game for the club, the latter scoring before limping off at half time (I suppose he was famous for early scores…). For the record we won 42 -25. But, I hear you ask, wasn’t this the same Mike McDonald who we had witnessed signing a “two year” contract a few months before? I was starting to realise that RU players’ contracts are like no other form of contract that I know of (and I work in the Construction Industry!). 

Mr Hetherington commented that we had had a second season of under-performance and there wasn’t even any parachute payment to spend/give back to our chairman. And we were going to retain the same green kit. Were things going to get better? 

Well the 12/13 season started off with what was to become a standard feature; a loss to Nottingham. Then the style of play was getting better but we awaited the “pitch rebuilding”. Clearly the 16,000 or so who attend Rhinos matches, compared to the 2,000 brave soles  who go to Headingley to see RU, mean that any closure of the ground must happen in the RL close season. We were told (initially) that a couple of weeks or so and the new pitch would be right as rain. As a civil engineer I watched this interestingly and with disbelief. Sure enough the club issued statements that the work was going to take longer (I noted the weather was unusually clement for the time of year) and it was clear the club was drip-feeding us the truth ( I am being kind here). 

So to the actual rugby.  Well we got better. The starlets of our Academy were maturing, the players were all of Diccon’s picking and some sort of team spirit was growing, although we were prone to defensive lapses. There was, of course, matches played all around Yorkshire and “the game that never was”. The first match on the new Headingley pitch, against Plymouth, which unfortunately soon went to non-competitive scrums due to the new pitch rolling up like carpet . We “won” with 5 points but understandably Plymouth appealed and we had to back to West Park in February 2013 to beat them 28 – 26 to regain the 5 points. This season a well-timed late run took us to 4th place and a place in the play-offs. Game on! Sadly I had pre-booked a holiday in Texas so was unable to see the play-offs ( oh ye of little faith?) but young almostatyke son did go to the home leg. We had sort of got up to speed with the boring defence-minded rugby that Newcastle Falcons played with a close defeat at Otley a few weeks before our Headingley play-off encounter, so we deservedly won the first leg 24 – 19. Sadly (and I mean this for quality rugby as well as Carnegie) Jimmy Gopperth scored 5 penalties at the return leg in the Artic Circle and that snuffed out our chances. 

So in 2013, for once, no season-on-season under-performance and we had a new enhanced green kit! But it woudn’t be Cargegie without something coming out of the hat and the rabbit turned out to be Diccon’s surprise resignation and the appointment of Jimmy Lowes as his replacement. Now J-Lo was a RL star who had previously played for Rhinos but had seen greater success with Bradford Bulls. It looked as though this was a finance-lead (i.e. cost saving)appointment as he was already on Leeds Rugby books and despite claims of some RU experience it seemed that line-outs and scrums would take some unfathoming. Well the doubters were wrong. Jimmy soon got to grips with going up and down the M1 instead of across the M62 and he was clearly an inspirational man-manager. He inspired a team spirit and self-confidence that meant that the team not only played to its full ability but also he got the Bradford Bulls managers job when it unexpectedly became availableat the end of the season. I, for one, have nothing but respect for the man and wish him well in his chosen sport. 

I do not think it necessary to go into the events of the recent season,as we can all remember itall too vividly. Except I will say that the trip back from the Kassam stadium, after we squandered a 13 point lead with 12 minutes to go, will remain with me for a long time. But credit to J-Lo for getting us there! 

So the green shirts have been sold from the club shop, many for bargain prices, we have a new Head Coach and we look forward to the blue/white years to come and a solid defence.