Back to the drawing board
By Leipziger
September 26 2009
After all the hope of a new dawn following some quality signings this summer, the Falcons are staring into a barrel after three draws and no wins in the first four games. Our second-worst start to a Premiership season continues and victory was thrown away in the first of two must-win home games against Harlequins last night.
For the third home game in a row (going back to Bath in April) we threw away a winning position at half time and allowed Quins to pull back an 11-point deficit to return south with a 17-17 draw. A good first half performance and signs of how good our backs will be once they click cannot hide this fact.
Danny Williams and Carl Hayman were late withdrawals from the team, being replaced with Charlie Amesbury and Micky Ward respectively as those fans demanding the benching of Gcobani Bobo got their wish, but more positively Micky Young was back in to take on Danny Care, allowing us to see two of England's very best young scrum-halves in direct opposition.
Nick Evans kicked Quins' first points of the night with a penalty and Jimmy Gopperth, captain in the absence of Hayman, slipped as he tried to reply. A quick attack down the left however saw Young set up Tane Tu'ipulotu from close range for a try, and Gopperth, possibly kicking with both feet off the ground or otherwise still looking uncomfortable, converting.
The Falcons were playing probably their best half of the season so far, and but for some of the horrible old kicking and ambling looked generally comfortable and in little danger, except when Quins would've scored but for the referee not giving them advantage in midfield. Micky Ward performed better in the scrum than last week and even when he was replaced with Laurence Ovens just before half-time we were still strong.
Despite a lack of errors though the away defence was performing well, but we managed to breach it again just into the second quarter as Tim Swinson, who can look very small on the pitch I must say, got over from close range again and Gopperth kicked his second conversion.
With two tries scored and us looking much better than Harlequins, at half-time my only concern was whether we'd get a bonus point or not. I thought we were that comfortable.
But alas, it wasn't to be. In the interests of keeping the game alive and the league exciting the Falcons allowed (well, I suppose they didn't allow it) Quins to dominate most of the second half, starting with a second penalty from Evans.
Ugo Monye then scraped a score far in the right corner but it went unconverted. Although Gopperth put us 17-11 ahead with a penalty, we were struggling to keep hold of the ball due to ill-discipline and silly mistakes that have dogged us so far this season but hadn't in the first half. Rob Vickerman, who otherwise had another good game, dropped a couple of balls and a booming kick over to Tom Biggs would've given him a decent chance if he hadn't had to catch the ball stationary and been crunched immediately.
The predictable replacements of Filipo Levi and Matt Thompson with Adam Balding and Rob Vickers brought cheer to the crowd halfway through the depressing second 40, and Baldy again showed his value with some good runs while we lost one of Vickers' early lineouts (I only mention this because some people won't believe it ever happens when he throws).
Another penalty brought Quins to within three points, and they then equalised in the last few minutes as Vickers was sin-binned on the 22.
With a minute to go we had one last chance with a lineout in Quins' 22, but Thompson threw the ball long and there was nobody at the back to gather, leaving us to contemplate a third draw in four games to start 2009/10. I can't imagine we or indeed any other team has drawn this many games in a season before, certainly not more, so at least we are setting some sort of record I suppose.
As I've said on the board the most frustrating thing for me is that we have seen at Leeds and in the first halves against Sale and Harlequins that we have the potential to be a really good team if we could play well consistently for a full game, cut out mistakes and stop giving away silly penalties when we don't need to. We have had some really good performers so far, like Golding, Balding, Gopperth and Vickerman, but for some reason they can't put it together as a team for long enough.
I'm not of the mind that “if we play well then the wins will come”. If we were playing badly I wouldn't be so annoyed as it is easier to build from scratch than finding whatever small things are missing at the moment. For me, get the wins first and then the performances will come. Starting next week.
Couple of comments on the crowd last night. 5,000 again. I don't think there's a great deal more that can be done to attract fans, other than get the team winning regularly, so now it's down to the Master and his apprentices.
And maybe I'm abusing my position of having a platform to say this on, but anyone who cheered so loud as Matt Thompson went off, can you please explain what you hoped to achieve except probably destroy the confidence of someone playing for the team you claim to support (support being the key word), and probably make the rest of a young team nervous that after a few mistakes you might turn on them too?
And finally, this is likely to be my last semi-original report for a few weeks, as I'm not going to Padova and I'm sure next week I will be able to just recycle this one and change a few details, like players names.
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And for those with personal axes to grind, the best rugby was played when Thompson & Levi were on the pitch, with Vickers & Balding in the team it all went to cack.
Leipziger certainly isn't `abusing his position' by making an excellent point about the minority abuse directed at Matt Thompson because it is a point well made.
Matt Thompson shows a lot of bottle to still be playing with the Falcons. The players (and fair-minded fans) value his contribution to the side and they know that a lot of the small-minded criticism is more to do with who his dad is, rather than what he does on the paddock.
Sadly, some of that negative and spiteful criticism makes its way onto this message board, too, often from so-called supporters who rarely go to matches.
I salute Leipziger's very balanced report which is easily the best I've read about the Quins match.
Why? Because his dad is not chairman at the other 11 clubs.
You claim to be an expert on hookers at the other Premiership clubs? Yet you can't resist having a swipe at one of ours based on who a player's dad is?
Enough said.
My opinion, that's all, but I happen to reckon my previous statement about Jnr's chances at another GP club would be agreed by most.
Whilst I've never seen Jnr having an excellent game I did priase his contribution, which was better than Vickers, in the Tigers game.
Silly me, they are not supporters, just boorish morons.
Well said Sarries, an excellent statement.
Tonight's development team on T'Offy
And his long overthrow in the last minute when we were threatening the Quins' line almost cost us the game. Quins worked the ball upfield and Nick Evans really should have nailed that drop goal. We would have had no complaint if they7'd stolen it at the death.