Rotherham are titanic but nilled
By Leipziger
October 27 2012
If nothing else, I am getting some easy headlines out of this league. It was either this or "Let it snow".
Well the performance was frightful in many ways, the Falcons wasting good possession and insisting on kicking a number of penalties rather than continuing to play, frustrating fans would returned home to a white ground after an unseasonable second-half blizzard. But the scoreline was so delightful.
One man who will be happy with his night's work is league debutant Zach Kibirige. With another try under his belt he will no doubt be enjoying a birthday beer tomorrow hoping to have a big future in the game. He looks to have every chance.
Kibby was the only change to the starting lineup that brought back five points from Connacht last week and with snow forecast for KP just 3,500 turned out for the visit of a big Rotherham side. For much of the first half the Falcons often confused fans by taking points from penalties rather than continuing to take on the Titans and Jimmy Gopperth kicked us into a 9-0 lead. The visitors made some running but rarely threatened to score.
For a while, the only time we really got into the 22 was when Jimmy hit the post with a penalty and Tom Catterick chased the ball down on the line, but it bounced dead before the winger could touch down.
A first try finally came towards the end of the first half when still-current Scottish international Rory Lawson scampered over to the left of the post, the referee consulting his touch judge but eventually making the right decision. Gopperth knocked over the conversion.
The Falcons lost Will Welch before the break, the captain requiring treatment after an awkward-looking fall while being driven into the defence but a second score, this time by Scott MacLeod from close range, put us 21-0 up at half-time.
Had a nice pint of Paradise Ale at half-time, thanks to Monkey, no bad at all.
Jonny Golding continued his solid start to the season with the next try, again from forward play. I hear Golding broke his nose last night, but he bravely played his part in a big defensive effort later in the game.
Thoughts obviously now turned to a bonus point and it was not long in coming. A loose pass from Rotherham was taken on our 22 by Kibirige and the teenage winger ran almost the whole length of the field to touch down his first Championship try, earning an ovation from the South Stand as he returned upfield. Gopperth converted but amazingly, with almost half an hour left, that was the end of the scoring.
Rotherham dominated most of the rest of the game as the snow came down over KP during the second half - the pitch was nice and white in the Titans' half in comparison to the disturbed ground of our 22. The referee seemed intent on helping Rotherham with a slew of penalties but finally justified them with a yellow card for Matt Thompson.
in the final few minutes the Falcons managed a final attack but there were to be no more scores and finally Rotherham kicked to touch to end the game.
It's now time to turn attentions to The Big One - Bedford away a week today. With eight bonus points and nine wins from nine games, we will go there full of confidence and can be confident of increasing the gap at the top of the table. It should be a cracking game.
(Note - due to the dog biting the computer wire, I'm having to write this on an iPad, so apologies for any typos)
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
In truth the Titans never looked like scoring but they are full of Yorkshire grit and defend like Yorkshire terriers so breaking them down is not easy.
A really impressive performance from our forwards once again. Thought Hogg was the pick of the pack. by the way I hardly recognised Golding. Has he been on the slimming pills? He looks too lean now to be a prop - needs to eat more pies.
I enjoyed Zach's opportunist try. I reckjon he touched the ball only two or three times in the whole game. But a ratio of one try to three touches aint bad!
My friend came up with a great nickname for him because of his impossibly difficult surname: Ziggy. Well done Ziggy and happy birthday for tomorrow.
I bet I wasn't the only one thinking back to another game in the snow, Christmas 2009. We lost to Leeds because they wanted to win & we didn't want to play in the awful conditions. We had a completely different team last night, they wanted the 5 points & got them, nilling the opposition as a cherry on the cake. That comparison says it all for me.
...and salutes his winter wonders [www.chroniclelive.co.uk]
Quote:Deano
....Rotherham found it far more frustrating with the weather and the way they handled the referee.
“They did not take their chances the way we did."
How many years have we waited to hear that sort of comment from our DoR!
Mind, Falcons supporters are so used to the broken promises of false dawns that we are slow in recognising the real sun appearing on the horizon to shine on a new day. It's too early for sunglasses, but I am finding it necessary to squint every now and then. Like Ziggy. Think ther name should stick.