A leap of faith
By WW
December 31 2015
Yorkshire Carnegie finished 2015 with three consecutive wins. We can now put behind us a fairly disastrous year and look forward to 2016 with a little more optimism than we had twelve months ago. Next year is a leap year so we will have an extra day to ponder on the state of the rugby at Headingley Carnegie stadium.......
After a really poor season last time out we got a new coach who was able to sort out who he wanted to bring in to the club. There then followed a decent pre-season and, as expected, a great start to this season. The slump in form that followed was unexpected. During this time Kevin Sinfield made the transition to the fifteen man game. With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight I would say that our summer signings have not been a great success with the notable exception of Rob O'Donnell who has added considerable grunt to our pack.
Looking forwards we could argue that we are sat in third place in the league and hence in a good place to progress to the play-offs in April. There is, however, a lot of work to be done in the coming months if we are to have any chance of a realistic shot at promotion. That work starts on Saturday in west London where the squad play Ealing Trailfinders. Ealing, promoted last season & everyones favourite to return to National 1, are battling hard to get a foothold in the Championship. When they came to HC in the autumn they never stopped scrapping and even back then I thought that they would improve as the season wore on. Last weekend they went to the RAG and came away with a win.
Our last game of the year was a comprehensive dismantling of our old rivals Rotherham Titans. The victory was based on forward domination with the ever improving Sinfield showing signs of managing the game like an experienced 10. Those in the bumper crowd saw a ruthless performance. I would suggest that we need more of the same at Vallis Way to show that we have turned the corner and are back to being serious contenders. Now is the time to show some consistency. Brush to pick the best team and those players to deliver the performances which will ensure our progress to the play-offs.
To Ealing and beyond!
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016:01:21:05:55:29 by Wildwillie .
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016:01:01:12:51:20 by Carnegiette1.
To put things in proportion we were 8th this time last year and there has been a marked improvement throughout the second half of 2015.
I believe the Ealing pitch will be heavy and expect a hard-fought forward-dominated victory. I do not think it is the right occasion to throw the ball wide in the hope that the backs can re-discover their form.
I will leave it to you WW to explain to Mr Schofield why you think he has not been a useful addition to the squad !
As for Sir Kev I can only see him getting better......his kicking from hand has already been impressive .
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:12:31:18:58:20 by farmertyke.
Quote:Carnegiette1
Good write up though possibly a bit harsh on our summer signings . Hodgkin has proved a lively replacement, and Saull has a lot to offer after being injured in the second game I think....( though we certainly have strength in depth at 7)
My words exactly. Casson's been injured. Scofield makes an impact - when he's not binned and Forsyth makes holes when he doesn't spill the ball.
Our forwards are fast becoming a formidable force ( hope I'm not tempting fate!) and seem to have mastered the maul as a lethal weapon at close range....and Kev is now providing the territory and accurate positioning to capitalise on this.
Our defence is better. Our discipline seems much improved ( or improving?) We give away fewer silly penalties. We are slowly morphing into to more of a 'cool and considered outfit'...that's how it seemed in the B&I and against Roth....and as I have said before we are starting to look a little bit like Worcester were a few years back.
As I see it the next five games are 'critical' starting on Sat. After their last win against Scottish we know it will take a full 80 min performance against Ealing... which means 'building the win' in the first half and staying totally focused....not slowly strolling into the game...as we seemed to be doing before x-mas? Attention to detail.
I have no issues with how we score tries as long as we take the points and seriously worry all the other teams. Now is not the time to stress about being a bit one-sided when so much else is starting to work....but sometime soon we need the 'option' of some blistering power at centre or something...some spark... that gives us an extra yard or half break.
Anyway...a happy and healthy New Year to all us dogged supporters. Fingers crossed for Sat. 2016 will be a Rugby year to remember!
