Hard To Take

Another season as also rans. That's the prospect for next season as we will have to content ourselves with another crack at the Challenge Cup while the big boys are fighting it out in the European Championship. How will that affect our chances of keeping and attracting the top players?

The drop goal which won the game 23-22 for Bordeaux-Begles was a cruel blow but one we should have avoided. With the wind at our backs we needed to run up a bigger half-time score but  wrong options, dropped balls, forward passes and a lack of killer instinct cost us.

Losing Jonny May to a migraine was a big blow, and if he and Matt Kvesic had been on the pitch surely we would have put the game beyond the reach of the French.

Instead we let them back in the game, and they could hardly believe their luck as they exposed the frailities of our front five who showed little ability to stuff the ball up their jumpers as they battled into the wind.

Fijian Metuisela Talebula raced clear either side of the break with Pierre Bernard winning the game with a drop goal at the death. It came when we were turned over at a ruck in the dying seconds which just about summed up the whole day.