The long hot summer break ended at Headingley last night when our boys entertained the Romanian national team in a pre-season friendly in some proper Yorshire drizzle. However it was not just two squads going through the motions and proved to be a close fought encounter. I went mainly to get a first impression of the newbies but one or two of last years squad looked to have stepped up a gear and caught my eye.
The Romanian pack looked, as they trundled out at the start, big! Our front eight looked even bigger - Rob O' Donnell and Dean Schofield look like a pair of honeymonsters. Our first lineout went, as did so many others last night, like clockwork. Asbo to Dean at two produced good ball every time. I was actually looking forward to seeing how we would perform in the scrum and was not disappointed. Charlie Beech is a good scrummager and we took an early one against the head with a straight shunt which Buzz picked up and ran through a tackle. That seemed to settle the lads down and much of the half was spent in attack. Casson looked out of sorts and was soon replaced by Fitzpatrick who immediately impressed with some hard running.
The visitors defended well and took their chance from a rolling maul which we did not defend very well. Despite going 10-3 down our pack had more than matched the opposition as they took the game to the Oaks.
In the second half our confidence grew and the backs started to move the ball. Chris Walker knocked on over the line after a fine forwards drive & Fitzy latched onto a slick pass from Pilgrim to cross under the posts. At 10-10 we defended well. Pilgrim's box kicks were chased by Stegmann and Prell whilst Georgiou looked to run the ball at every opportunity. The substitutions saw Tom Ryder replace Schofield as the "go to" lineout jumper and it was midway through the second half before Asbo missed his man in a lineout. The Doc and Ollie Goss both looked sharp in tight situations and Matt Dudman reminded us what a good player he is.
I know it is early days but our set piece looks good. If Asbo can maintain last night's form our pack, already looking formidable, will be highly effective and we still have the likes of Williams, Beck and Smith waiting in the wings. Fitzy's performance will give Brush some good options as the competition for places in the backline hots up.
So plenty of good stuff last night with the promise of more to come. Dean Schofield was my pick of the newbies with Fitzy outstanding from last years squad.
Onwards and upwards!
It's early days but.........
Posted by: TykesRugby.co.uk (IP Logged)
Date: 15/08/2015 08:06
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:08:31:06:54:23 by Wildwillie .
Was a bit frustrated by how long we spent camped on the line without scoring, but Fitzpatrick scored well when his chance came. He definitely carried on from where he left off right at the end of last season, and will be one to watch this year if fit.
Stayed and watched half the Rhino's game. Two great touch line conversions from Sinfield. But it's going to be a hell of a change for him playing in front of the 2,000 (ish) faithful after the Rhinos. Hope he brings some fans with him.
Have to agree. I was pleased with the performance against a very physical side. Both sides defended well which is always crucial. Conditions made it hard so it was not really possible to see if champagne rugby is still on offer
I was a bit disappointed with some of the kicking from hand straight at the full-back but Leonard got his eye in with some good kicks to the corner later in the match.
Overall 10-10 against a World Cup side who are ranked 17th in the world is a great result. The conditioning staff have done their work well as at the end of the match it was the Romanians who were struggling
Very good start for the lads against a big tough Rumanian side. Game could easily been won were it not for our "arrogant" decision to go for the corner rather than the posts. Agree with the comment about the pointless kicking to the opposition fullback but at the same time pleased at the enthusiasm shown in chasing the kicks down. A good performance. Marks 8/10
I really enjoyed last night's match. The squad is looking fit - some who I thought were too bulky last time out have shifted some timber. There seems to be a good team spirit - new & old recognising each other when they exchanged places off the bench.
No need to kick penalties in a warm up match - no better time to test what's been practiced to death in training against real opposition.
Seems Casson popped a rib hence not looking like he did much. Dudman seems to have shrank over the summer but what a live wire.
Top efforts from me go to Nilsen - he was everywhere, Buzz, Stegman, Leonard - fab kicking out of hand, Myerscough and Beech were putting themselves about too. Anyone see how our new captain was captaining? I think he may use the telepathy concept - happy to be put right.
Leonard looked a bit overawed for the first twenty minutes but grew in confidence. The four wingers on show last night still have Jonah to contend with for the 11 & 14 shirts. Georgiou looked confident at fullback. Is it my imagination or has he put on some muscle over the summer?
A reasonable performance against an international team. 17th in the world playing 17th in the country.
There were many encouraging signs, but also a few negatives that need to be worked on. The new players in the pack reduced Buzz's visibility and I wasn't impressed with Pilgrim. He is too slow at the breakdown, I don't want another season of box kicks and he was clearly tiring with 30 minutes to go, yet we didn't sub him until there was less than 10 remaining. Joe's lineout accuracy still needs work too.
Overall, I'd give them 7/10, but much more encouraging than last year.
Suffering on the Leeds and Yorkshire roller-coaster since 2001
Timofe .....There were many encouraging signs, but also a few negatives that need to be worked on. The new players in the pack reduced Buzz's visibility ...
...surely a good thing to have 5 ball carriers sharing the burden? You don't have to be visible to be effective.
I agree. For me really pleased that Fitzpatrick is carrying on where he left off last season: much under-rated in my book. Stegman looks fast and I thought kicking out of hand was also much improved. At least we stand a chance of getting under our own high balls now. Not sure how the forwards kept lifting Schofield in the line out without putting their backs out, but it seemed to work. For me there is still the problem of missed/falling off of tackles but hopefully this is a bit of a priority over the next couple of weeks. I hope that we maintain our creative offloading style as, if I am a bit picky about this match, we were slightly one dimentional/predictable. The one and only low point for me?.......................the Rhino's anouncer welcoming Yorkshire Carnegie to Headingly, sums up our situation nicely!!!
Looking promising but let's not get too carried away quoting 17th in world. Georgia are 13th and Chile 23rd nuff said. Was a dirty old night and we slugged out a decent looking draw. Think when you look at our squad you have to ask yourself how many would be first choice at other champ clubs. Don't think we can say that in some of the key decision making positions. However I'll be thrilled to be proved wrong. Just waiting for the real serious stuff to begin to know more.
Hopefully we will see more consistency in the team and individual performances game after game as this season as there is someone possibly 2 who can step into your shirt next game.
Not always ideal JDH. Players want to play every week and three players for each position means 66% of the squad could be disappointed week on week. Keeping up squad morale can become a real issue as the season progresses. Resulting negativity can sap others in the squad as players lose their commitment. Real issue not having A games if you want real squad depth necessary for the Premiership.
I dont see the negative to be honest. Part of a pro sports persons job description to fight for their place. The competition should heighten performance. If you want to play every week you have to turn up on game day. We didn't have that last season.
Agree re the requirement of some A games though.
A player with a top club told me that a group of players who weren't feeling the love had all but given up with a third of the season still to go. They were only interested in sorting out their next move. Their hearts and heads were gone and they were sapping to be around and he was struggling not to be dragged down with it. Must be hard to keep motivated when you aren't being selected. Know players are supposed to be "professional" but it takes someone very special to be a professional trainer. Most players I have met want to be key members of the team not fringe, and failing that at least to have a game to look forward to where they can make their point.
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