Nott a bad day at the office
By Carnegiette1
February 16 2015
In fact a very good day at the office- and given that I have seen and reported on our 2 previous league bonus point wins this season, this was easily our most impressive.
The pre-match thoughts were all about which team would turn up – would it be the team who beat Moseley 2 weeks ago to record our first home win of the season- or would it be the lacklustre bunch who failed so dismally against Donny.
Post the Donny debacle, I was thinking of the fact that in 2013 we lost equally dismally there, then went on a winning run which saw us qualify for the playoffs, beat Newcastle in the first leg, and be narrowly beaten in the 2nd leg. Was such a thing possible again? Before yesterday’s game I was pretty sure that was a no, but afterwards, I feel there is a tiny, tiny chink of light at the end of the tunnel.
Anyway to the game, the signs were good almost immediately, and after Jonah had touched the ball twice in the first 5 minutes (albeit one of them being a knock on) this was confirmed as we seemed to have a vigour and vitality about us that was sadly lacking last week.
Our first try (how good it is to write that) came from the ever reliable Buzz from a catch and drive. Then I thought Phil Daly had gained a sense of humour as the club twitter feed proudly announced that “Harry Leonard pisses the conversion attempt”. Very apt, and very funny although soon corrected to “misses”. Shortly afterwards he did score a penalty, to take us to an 8 point lead, and after this some Jonah magic as he beat 3 defenders to score his first and our 2nd try.
We were dealing with the Nottingham threat quite easily, and after they first had a player injured and then a player binned for collapsing the scrum (Campese Maafu who had a torrid afternoon) we finished the half camped on the Notts try line. We should have had points here, and I feared that might come back to bite us, thankfully it didn’t. 15-0 half time.
The second half was a try fest for the disappointingly small crowd - 6 in total (tries not spectators). The first (Jonah’s second) after he collected a Leonard kick following a Lucock break. The bonus point try was from Georgiou from an Egerton break before Nottingham got one back through Pohe. Any Carnegie jitters were settled when Jarad Williams dived over to score, and although Notts got another back through Holford, the comeback was never on. The final try was a real team effort, with almost everyone getting their hands on the ball before Jonah raced away to score his hat-trick.
43-14 final score and finally a convincing win, although I am not sure Notts look like a top 4 side. Our scrum and lineout were excellent, we put in some monster tackles and we translated this into real pace from our backs. There always seemed to be support runners whoever made a break and this was a real team effort, characterised by the last try. Lots of genuine contenders for the bottle of fizz, Egerton, Buzz, Williams, Goss, Beech, Beck, Plug –but I am going with Jonah Holmes, great to see him back doing what he does best.
So on to next week and Rotherham – if we beat them and deny them any bonus points, by my maths we are above them. The play offs are still a stretch for us, but the pride of another local derby is at stake, and if that’s not an incentive I don’t know what is.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:03:06:20:33:26 by Gelbel.
COME ON LEEDS.
We've been through it all together.
Captures the essence of the day exactly.
I usually notice the backs contribution more than the forwards (easier to see with the untrained eye perhaps?) but yesterday I thought that Charlie Beech was outstanding and has been sadly missed this season. His contribution can be summed up by the penalty count given to us at the scrum in the first half and the eventual yellow card for the fantastically named Campesie Ma'afu who just happened to also be Charlie's opposite number!
Can't wait for Saturday at Roth!
It was a bit like the curates egg, being good, (very good) in parts, but occasionally not so good. We should and could have scored ten tries had we not knocked on, dropped the ball, managed to get penalised in our scrums and occasionaly missed tackles.
However, after the debacle of Castle Park the week before, this was really good. A number of players have (rightly) been praised earlier in this post and I thought Georgiou had yet another fantastic game, both in attack & defence. This young man is growing in status in every game and has made the full back slot his own this season, from an early start where he showed up in most of the back positions on the team sheet.
Rotherham next, who of course will raise their game because its us! If the guys perform as well as this again, and cut out the silly mistakes which have become a bit of a habit, (though diminishing, I am pleased to say) another victory and maybe a bonus is there for the taking. (IMV)
Up Tommy's Yorkshire TYKES !
(sm134)