Player ratings v London Welsh
By Leipziger
October 12 2014
Again something different because I’m a bit late getting online.
15 Alex Tait – still looks a bit rusty in attack overall following injury I think, but defended very well. 6
14 Sinoti Sinoti – a thorn in Welsh’s side all game, made yards whenever he had the ball and would have got a try were Welsh’s hooker not crazily fast. Deserved his ovation when substituted. 9
13 Gonzalo Tiesi – went off injured early, which is a shame as he had made a couple of breaks in his twenty minutes on the field. 6
12 Adam Powell – has been revitalised over the summer and looks to have sewn up the twelve shirt for the moment, continued to make yards and tackle well, and deserved his try. 8
11 Noah Cato – a quieter afternoon than last weekend perhaps, at least in attack, but made one try-saving tackle in the second half and covered well when needed. 6
10 Juan Pablo Socino – missed a couple of kicks but ran the backline well in the first twenty minutes and then transferred creativity to centre to accommodate Rory Clegg. A dangerous runner who the Falcons are learning to use well. 7
9 Ruki Tipuna – showing signs of becoming the permanent heir to Gary Armstrong, a quick and intelligent passer who makes plenty of yards. Kept Welsh on the backfoot at the breakdown in first half and outperformed his illustrious opposite number Piri Weepu. 7
1 Kieran Brookes – the scrum was solid and Brookes made his presence felt in defence when the Falcons started to come under the cosh in the second half. 7
2 Scott Lawson – another all-action show by the Scottish hooker, leading from the front and taking the game to Welsh in the first half. We lost several lineouts but few could be blamed on Lawson. 8
3 Scott Wilson – did well to recover from a clatter by Chris Hala’ufia in the first half and held up well on his side of the scrum. 7
4 Calum Green – perhaps not the former Leeds man’s most conspicuous game for the Falcons so far, but did nothing wrong. 6
5 Dom Barrow – probably just about outdid his former Headingley teammate with a few good drives and defended well until substituted. 7
6 Mark Wilson – took one for the team with his late yellow card, and it is no slight on the Cumbrian that he was not missed as the rest of the Falcons kept the door shut in defence. A deserved try for a driving performance up front, and often deep in the second half defensive effort too. 8
7 Will Welch – a big performance from the captain who looked to keep the team fired up and nailed some big tackles. Answered a few critics. 8
8 Ally Hogg – showed his value in defence with some key tackles after the break, and another driving display in the first half. 7
Replacements
16 Rob Hawkins (for Lawson, 72) – not a great deal of time to make a contribution in attack but could be seen committing in defence. 6
17 Alex Rogers (for Brookes, 56) – the scrum did not relent in the second half, even if possession did. 6
18 Oliver Tomaszczyk (for S Wilson, 56) – kept discipline in the scrum. 6
19 Josh Furno (for Barrow, 56) – committed to the defensive effort with some big hits and put everything into defending successive Welsh mauls. 7
20 Richard Mayhew (for Hogg, 56) – used power well to repel the Welsh attackers, and tried to make carries out to get the Falcons on the front foot again. 7
21 Mike Blair (for Tipuna, 56) – often on the back foot as Welsh dominated but distributed well, and did nothing wrong. 6
22 Rory Clegg (for Tiesi, 22) – did nothing wrong that Socino didn’t too, and looked to have a bit more confidence and awareness about his game. Still appeared reluctant to take on the Welsh defence. 6
23 Tom Catterick (for Sinoti, 75) – another who had little time to shine, bar one attempt at a break in the dying minutes. 6
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So far this season he has been brilliant and we look dangerous in attack again
He is in brilliant form this season.
I am even starting to see Will Welch put in some great work to the point where I have stopped clamouring for a change
I thought we were deserved winners but if you were to pick on anything negative, the performance of Hala'ufia was top drawer and could kick start L Welsh in upping their game?
AF21 - thanks but probably not, I was lucky on Saturday to have quite a good view to be able to tell what individuals were doing, which you don't always get in the South Stand. I'll do some more at some point.
Flankers - I think I just didn't notice Green too much, but I thought Furno put in a decent shift in defence too. I didn't agree with the penalty when he was on the ground at the back of the Welsh maul.
Quote:Leipziger
Cheers guys.
AF21 - thanks but probably not, I was lucky on Saturday to have quite a good view to be able to tell what individuals were doing, which you don't always get in the South Stand. I'll do some more at some point.
Ok mate no problem I like things like this.