A win's a win!
By Sam_R43
November 7 2011
It was Tuesday afternoon when I contemplated what it would be like to beat Leicester at Welford Road. By Thursday, after Rugby Club pointed out we had only won once since 1926, there was no expectation and very little hope left.
Not only was this Leicester Tigers at Welford Road but, all their 'star names' were back, they'd taken Sale apart in the 2nd half of their game the week before and we were without half a first team squad. The mood in the car on the way up was grim, we'd all be more than happy with a losing bonus point.
Arriving at Leicester is always an experience, queuing up to get onto the terrace a mere 2 hours 15 minutes before kick-off. The mad dash to get a place at the front of the terrace. And the eyes of hundreds of Tigers (supporters), ready to pounce. After all, there's nothing more dangerous than a wounded Tiger. After some time on the terrace we were joined by the usual, but slightly smaller group of Big-Al and Mad Monk. After a discussion of our chances the consensus was... not good (Apart from Big-Al, ever the optimist). We had already organised a sweepstakes as to how long it would take for Tiger's fourth try, 35 minutes was the latest. Even when Graham came over and tried to get some positive views from the committed travelling support, it was doom and gloom.
As the team ran out in their new all white strip, the bodhran was hardly effective with 6 LI supporters within ear shot. And the first few minutes didn't build up much confidence, after conceding a penalty Tigers showed their intent early on by kicking for the corner despite it being in range for a penalty. After another penalty for offside, Flood decided to take the three, but missed. A short time later he atoned for his mistake and made the score 3-0.
Then, a nice surprise, the next score was a try for LI. Tagi broke up the middle of the Tigers defence, just like Rugby Club demonstrated in the week, and with a good offload to the Hape in support he crossed the line under the posts. And, of course, Tom slots over the conversion, 3-7. Despite the try, the pocket of LI support was still pessimistic.
After a short time Tigers were back on the attack and inside the LI 22 again, and after the 5th penalty of the first 20 minutes Dan Bowden was sent to the sin bin for a tackle with no arms, to the delight of the Crumblie. Tigers, once again, cranked up the pressure by going for the scrum 5m out, after a penalty and another scrum the Tigers dominance in the scrum was clear as they drove towards the line, as the scrum buckled and twisted Pearson jogged under the post for a penalty try. During this time you could see Tagi getting a lot of attention from the medical staff, and a fully bandaged up knee; perhaps he wasn't as fit as we thought. After Flood added the extras it was 10-7, but felt more like 30-7 considering the dominance of the Leicester performance.
The rest of the half went off without much incident, we conceded several more penalties for being offside. Tom got the chance to level the scores from the half way line, but despite his accuracy, the kick fell just short but it used up the final minute on the sin bin. The half ended with another penalty conceded and Flood kicked the points to give Tigers a lead of 13-7 at half time. At which point I said “Ooo, we're not that far behind really!” But still, after the number of penalties and a lineout and scrum failing to function and the territory and dominance of Tigers, it seemed like just a matter of time.
As the players came out for the second half with just one change, Adam was on for Tagi. Straight from the kick-off we were on the back foot as Topsy attempted clearance kick was charged down and we were placed under pressure again, conceding another penalty for offside. After captain Dan got another talking to from Mr Pearson, Flood kicked the penalty for Tigers and made the score 16-7.
The glimmer of hope was the LI attack was still putting Tigers under pressure whenever we had the ball. Paice made a great break up the middle and dashed into the Tigers 22, then offloading to Jebb Sinclair who ran towards the touchline and did very well to keep the ball in play as he collided with the advertising boards. Eventually Ross Sampson was forced out 5m out from the Tigers line. After some more strong attack we failed to cross the line and the clearing kick forced us back into our 22. As Tom came over to cover and collect the ball under pressure a high bounce forced him to concede a lineout. After another penalty, Flood kicked a penalty to push us further behind, making the score 19-7.
Then came Leicester's second controversial try, after breaking up field Croft dived towards the line but for an LI defender to knock the ball backwards out of his hands, we failed to re-gather the ball and Agulla pounced on the loose ball and dotted it down over the line. After the assistant referee gave a very accurate description of what happened Pearson consulted with the TMO. After the TMO looked at the possible knock on, despite it being outside the in-goal area, he decided it had gone backwards and the grounding was obvious. Will Greenwood gave the thumbs up to a corner of Welford Road out of the window of the Sky presenters box, as the try was awarded you could see someone inside the Sky box punching the air in celebration... Greenwood! With the score at 24-7 with just 20 minutes to go it seemed like the game was over, we were expecting the floodgates to open and Leicester to get the try bonus point, as did the Sky commentators. Knowing the final result makes reading these quotes all the sweeter...
Dewi: "That should be the game and it should give Leicester the chance to chase 4 tries because they have such dominance."
Harrison: "Well that's wide [after the missed conversion] but I’m not sure that matters anymore, it's about Leicester getting these 4 tries because surely London Irish are not going to come back from this. I don't want to throw the game away on the 62nd minute but this is the try you feel has broken it for Leicester.”
Then, as LI got back on the attack inside the Tigers 22, just as Sky commented about the lack of breaking the gain line Dan created as opening and Adam runs the right line to find the gap and goes over for a try, Dan punches the air in celebration right in front of the LI support and Tom nails the conversion. 24-14, 10 points behind, while Tigers supporters started to get twitchy, we still weren't confident. As we broke into the Tigers half we got the penalty in front of the posts, then Dan showed his mathematical skills. After getting the ball quickly, ready for the quick tap, he looks at the scoreboard, sees 24-14, a penalty is worth 3 points, the gap is 10 points, for a losing bonus we need to be within 7, it's simple. But then Dan taps! He's failed maths GCSE, fortunately Pearson calls him back and after some double checking Tom knocks the kick over to bring the score with 24-17 with 10 minutes to go. Sighs of relief from the LI support who think we might be in with a chance of securing the losing bonus!
After trying to play the territory game Irish found themselves with a lineout inside the Tigers half. But, like the rest of the game the ball was stolen, but then as Tigers tried to clear the ball was charged down. After Tigers re-gathered the ball and secured possession about 5m out from their own line, our old friend Jeremy went for a clearance kick but was charged down after a great effort from the LI back row. As the ball was loose Matt snatched the loose ball he dived over the line for the score. After a quick check with the TMO the try was awarded, just two points behind with a difficult conversion to come. Could Tom kick it? Of course! It sailed through the posts and we were level with just 3 minutes to go! At that point the pocket of Irish support was pretty sure that the losing bonus point was secure! LRK was sure we were going to lose it, as was I.
Tigers were back on the attack, the clock was counting down, the phases were growing and Tigers were about 25m out from a try. Every ruck lead to squirms in case we conceded another penalty like last week, I was sure it was going to happen again! But the defence held strong and Pearson's arm, for the first time in the game stayed by his side. The clock hit zero, Flood was back in the pocket, the forwards rumbled on. After scrappy ball it was passed above Flood's head and he went for the drop goal... It looked like it missed. We couldn't see Pearson through the players, all we saw was the LI bench on the edge of the pitch, nervously waiting for the whistle. It had missed and Pearson blew for full time and the bench erupted running onto the pitch in celebration, we'd done it! We'd beaten them against all the odds, despite the returning stars, the missing players, the forward domination, the possession, the penalty count, we'd beaten Leicester at Welford Road, Full Time, 24-24.
OK, it was a draw, but it felt a lot more like a win than a draw. A special mention to Dec as he spotted the group of 6 LI supporters on the Crumblie and pointed us out to the whole team so they came over and joined in the celebrations, LI supporters started appearing in different sections of the ground that we hadn't seen before. It was especially nice of Tigers to put on a wonderful fireworks display on the pitch after the game in celebration of our victory draw.
There were so many factors that made the win draw so much better. The number of quality players missing, JJ, Chris, Delon, Nick, Dodge & Darren to name but a few. The fact we were written off before the kick-off and throughout most of the game. The fact there was a penalty count of 17-6, and Tigers couldn't put us to bed. The strength of our attack and ability to break the gain line and score tries with so many players missing. The fact we denied Leicester their first win at home this season. It may have been a draw, but it was the best two league points I've ever seen us get.
So we look to Europe, starting off with Edinburgh at home. Despite Tagi ended up with his knee in a support, Topsy in a injury boot and Sampson icing his hand, if we play with the commitment, the passion and the heart we played with in the last 20 minutes at Welford Road then there's no reason that we couldn't win well.
I had this report written before the kick-off, I, like everyone else, had written us off. The odds were against us, but we pulled it off. That's what being a London Irish support is all about to me, no expectation and sometimes very little hope, but passion, commitment, a refusal to roll over and blind faith that we can beat (or draw against) any team, no matter the team or the ground. And to finish, the thing that makes me smile most, Will Greenwood,
“Poor old London Irish might just find themselves the meat in the victory sandwich that the Tigers fans have been so hankering after.”
Don’t feel sorry for us yet Will.
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K
MWM
LONDON IRISH - and loving it......
LET'S GO IRISH....LET'S GO IRISH
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