Reasons to be optimistic Pt3
Talent!
By Leemingtyke
August 26 2015
As a summer uncharacteristically bathed in the halcyon glow of British sporting success draws to a close, it can only mean that a new rugby season is just around the corner.
An England cricket team with more than a hint of Yorkshire about it have reclaimed the Ashes, Anderson and Broad statuesque against a backdrop of scattered Aussie stumps and Roots wicket in more immediate danger from woodworm than from the antipodean pace attack. Shame about the last test.
In Holland and France Chris Froome and Team Sky took on the worlds’ best (plus a few dubious spectators/pundits) in the toughest sporting event on the planet and emerged from the Alps resplendent in Yellow. An epic Tour De France decided in the end by a master class of true British grit. A finer team performance you will go a long way to see.
It’s not been all tea and medals. It wouldn’t be a British summer without a near miss at Wimbledon and Andy Murray, hotly tipped by the experts and so impressive all the way to the semis, came up against true sporting genius in the form of Roger Federer. Heather Watson’s epic third round tie with Serena Williams was as good a sporting contest as you could wish to see.
In Leeds, Headingley has been enjoying its own shimmering sporting heat haze. With a day out at Wembley this weekend and another Super League title tilt still very much on the cards, it looks very much like being another glory soaked Rhinos summer.
Standard, as I believe the kids say.
This summer though, the feelgood factor is not centred exclusively on Rugby League. Whilst our illustrious landlords have been cracking on as normal, Yorkshire Carnegie, the under achieving ugly kid that no-one talks about, has been quietly, meticulously preparing for a tilt at a little glory of our own.
Whereas you’d always expect the official pre-season noises coming out of Headingley to be entirely positive (training’s going well, the new boys have settled in really quickly, the lads can’t wait to get started etc, etc) this season we supporters seem to be similarly unanimous in our optimism. Whether on Facebook, Twitter, old fashioned radio and TV or even on this message board, you will struggle to find a single dissenting voice from anyone with even a passing interest in Yorkshire Carnegie. /
There’s no doubt about it, things are good at the moment and in the recent history of Yorkshire Carnegie, that is most definitely not ‘Standard’.
When compared with the situation a few months ago, the difference in outlook could not be more marked. Towards the end of November, after limping to a pitifully inept home draw against a Plymouth Albion side who were rooted to the bottom of the table, winless and reduced to 13 men, we were discussing whether or not the club had hit rock bottom. The general consensus was that it had.
That seems like a very long time ago now.
The source of this welcome transformation in attitude can be traced to the boardroom and the relatively unheralded arrival of Messrs Dockray, Da Costa, Smith and Wright last November. Prior to their arrival you got the impression that any union matters at Headingley were dealt with under any other business at the end of a Rhinos meeting.
Not anymore.
Now, at last, it seems the boardroom is populated by people whose main concern is the advancement of Yorkshire Carnegie as a club and a business and it seems that they’ve created an environment where everyone associated with the club is happy.
“We’re going to give you a Premiership quality coach before the end of the season so he’s got time to bed in and assess the squad” they said. ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’, I thought.
But then, before Geech could get the creases ironed into his ’97 Lions track suit, Bryan Redpath was being installed at HC having been released early from his contract at Sale.
So far so good but how would they fare when it came to the crunch – backing their man at recruitment time? Very impressively, that’s how.
Sir Kev, an entirely different class of RL convert to those we’ve dabbled with in the past (honourable mention to Josh Griffin, whom I really rated), is a genuine headline grabber and perfect example of the modern professional sportsman – they’re not daft this new board.
Saull, Stegman, Casson and Forsyth (Brucie, surely?) followed fairly quickly, all with Premiership experience at a young age. O’Donnell, Schofield and Ryder offer experience and know-how and Joel Hodgson joins from the Saints 3rd team with a point to prove following a promising but sometimes controversial spell up the road at Kingston Park. For a change, it’s the new arrivals that are the topic of conversation rather than the departures.
Brush’s arrival last season signalled a turning point in what had until then been a truly dire campaign. It also, as is often the case, proved the catalyst for improved performances on the pitch. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that everything he has done has been spot on but the vast majority certainly has and his CV inspires confidence.
When he did his radio interview with Gareth and questions were invited from the great unwashed, I asked him what was the single biggest change he needed to make at Yorkshire Carnegie in order to bridge the chasm in quality between us and the Premiership? In other words, where have we been going wrong?
His answer was exactly what I wanted to hear. “We need to instil a sense of professionalism into everything we do. It’s the little things like arriving on time for training and picking up the water bottles afterwards.”
Of all the things he could’ve said, that may seem like a strange one to highlight, a little pedantic even. Perhaps the new coach was trying a little too hard to assert his authority?
Nothing of the sort.
Bryan Redpath knows that getting details like that right is the starting point for an attitude which follows you on to the pitch. Before you know it, you’re making good decisions at vital times and you’re winning games that you used to draw or lose. As anyone who has had the misfortune to read one of my match reports will know, this has been my main criticism of the team over the last few seasons and I am hugely encouraged by that answer.
We aspire to be a Premiership rugby club and in Bryan Redpath I think we finally have a coach capable of instilling that hard, professional edge into a group of players who have always had the talent. With the squad he’s put in place, the academy pipeline and the people he’s got above him, I think he is the best placed of any Leeds/Yorkshire Carnegie head coach since our last relegation to be able to pull it off.
Obviously there are never any guarantees of success and there are questions still to be answered. With players of the quality of Beck, Burrows, Ryder, Walker, Saull, Bainbridge and Williams all in contention, how on earth do you pick a starting back row? A similar coaching headache exists in the centre where Fitzpatrick, Casson, Lucock, Forsyth and Clarke are vying for 2 positions. Has Joel Hodgson been signed as a 9 or a 10? And the big one – can King Kev make the transition from League to Union?
However it turns out, short of Richard Branson pitching up at Headingley with a blank cheque and a newly discovered passion for Leeds based rugby union, we’re in the best position our club could possibly be in going into the new season.
Yorkshire Carnegie, the concept that was greeted with derision by some and a resounding ‘whatever’ by pretty much everyone else, looks like it might actually be about to bear fruit. Previous false dawns warn against over optimism but, for the first time in a long time, all the pieces look as if they’re in place. We approach the new season in expectation rather than just hope and with a pretty much unanimous feeling that a corner has been turned.
Whisper it quietly but, this time, that thing glinting at the end of the tunnel might just be a Premiership light.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:09:11:07:01:14 by Wildwillie .
I went to the Meet The New Signings last night and Stegman did his best Francis Cummins impression to say that it's all in the detail.
It was a good, if understated and poorly attended evening. On the dot of 7pm the guys got up from their tables and sat amongst us. Bentos was not as p|$$ taking as usual as he interviewed the four new forwards then the backs then Cummins then Brush and it does all sound good. Had best part of an hour nattering with them after. Found out the reason for Saul's ripe language - last coach insisted on it!
New run out song to come....can't remember it but Hodgson & Forsyth sang a bit for us.
Season tickets are up 22\25% (can't remember exactly but I was impressed) - still only 1300ish so remember that for the prediction league. Your paperwork will be with you soon.
More investment news to come.
If I had all the money I've spent on drink ..... I'd spend it on drink.
Wish i cuda been to the do last night but got a note from my mum instead. Don't say anything to madame almo but the rainy north of france is a less attractive option.
I wasn't born in Yorkshire but I got here as soon as I could
Hopefully Sir Kev, some good results and the feel good factor from the RWC will translate into some additional bums on seats too. Much needed
At the Meet the Players we spoke to Tom Casson and he was honest, apparently without any preconceived, rehearsed platitudes. He spoke of being part of a great bunch of players who 100% buy in to the vision and being part of Brush's set up.
Now all we have to do is see how it works out on the pitch and we still have Sir Kev to come!
The mood at the 'Meet the Players' evening was very upbeat and this is a continuation of the optimism around both Headingley and the supporters of Yorkshire Carnegie.
The words coming from the various levels of management at the club all appear to have a sound base this year. Earlier years, no matter how well meant, have really been platitudes which most of us could plainly see, though hoped things would be good.
This time the words are positive and with a good base. Let's hope the players can continue this, once the season gets under way.
Bring it on!
Up the Yorkshire Carnegie TYKES !
Thanks for the comments.
Did the Boardman make the trip to France with you Almo?
Quote:leemingtyke
Did the Boardman make the trip to France with you Almo?
No took Madame Almo and a fishing rod instead.
A definite and much appreciated effort is being made by the media/promotion people at YC this season.
Another reason to be optimistic!