#It'sAllAboutTheBoysInGreenIn2014

So doing a match report for this weeks game is going to be astruggle in all honesty, as I didn't make any notes, and don't have time to rewatch the game right now.  However, for anyone who doesn't know, I run a twitter account which is @RugbyLI, and is devoted to all things London Irish.  On Saturday, I was tweeting from it, and others were tweeting me, so here is a selection of what we were all saying, before, during and after the the game.

PRE GAME

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
#GameDay Excited for this one. Big big performance needed from the @LiRFC boys today! Crowd needs to make some noise! #16thMan #BleedGreen

Sailosi Tagicakibau ‏@losi11 4 Jan
Been waiting patiently for a chance & nw looking 4ward 2 running out @ the madstad once again! ❤️ Saturday rugby & hungry 4 that WIN @LiRFC

Guy Armitage ‏@MrGuyArmitage 4 Jan
Good luck to the @LiRFC lads today! Time to get that Win. New year and all, let's give the people what they want! #ShapeCutting #BleedGreen

Gerard Ellis ‏@GerardEllis1 4 Jan
Good luck to all the @LiRFC lads today at the Madstad! Let's start 2014 with a win! #COYI

Charlie Hill ‏@Charliechip89 4 Jan
Mahoosive game for the @LiRFC boys today. Time to smash Wuss. Weather won't dampen our spirits! GAME DAY - best day of the week! #BOOM #COYI

Richard Palframan ‏@RichiePalframan 4 Jan
Good luck to the @LiRFC lads today vs Worcester, it's a massive game lets get the W boys #COYI #BleedGreen

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
Walking up to the stadium now and can feel the adrenaline rising in me. Want this W so much today. #16thMan #BleedGreen #COYI

Darren Allinson ‏@DarrenAllinson9 4 Jan
One hour until kick off...let's give Worcester a beat down and a display the fans will be proud of #COYI @LiRFC

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
Big crowd not looking likely. All those of us who are here need to make some noise. #16thMan #OneTeam #BleedGreen #COYI

Nick Heath ‏@rugbymedia 4 Jan
John Yapp needs to find more syllables in his name for @LiRFC's announcer to enjoy saying it as much as Sailosi Tagicakibau.

Poo Corner ‏@PooCorner1 4 Jan
So who is going to score a #tryinpoocorner first today let me know chance to win a signed shirt.....

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
@PooCorner1 @losi11 has to be. #BleedGreen #COYI

Poo Corner ‏@PooCorner1 4 Jan
@RugbyLI He has been promised a KFC if he does - got to be worth the effort!

Charlie Hill ‏@Charliechip89 4 Jan
@PooCorner1 @RugbyLI that's if @HAulika doesn't eat it first!!


FIRST HALF

Then it began. What can only be described as a tense first half. Relatively straightforward kicks missed, and knocking on with the try line beckoning having kicked to the corner meant that for a time Worcester actually lead 6-3 and there was a definite sense developing around me in Y22 that this could all go horribly wrong. I thought back to my tweet when walking up to the ground, about adreniline kicking in and how I felt nervous, and it struck me that perhaps the players were suffering the same. Still, just before the break and a penalty makes it 6-6, and at least we aren't going in behind.


HALF TIME

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
Difficult first half. We can't keep leaving points out there. Huge second half needed. #BleedGreen #COYI

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
Been slightly muted on and off the pitch so far. 2nd half needs to be much more lively. #16thMan #BleedGreen #COYI #OneTeam

Charlie Hill ‏@Charliechip89 4 Jan
Very stressful and tense first half ... No nails left. @LiRFC need to make the most of our opportunities. BIG second half needed #COYI

LondonIrishBlog ‏@LondonIrishBlog 4 Jan
@Charliechip89 @LiRFC my relationship with my nails ended the day i started supporting this club haha!

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
"@joepurdey: This is difficult to watch :( but I wouldn't be anywhere else in the World right now, COME ON YOU IRISH!! #BleedGreen" SPOT ON!

Sarah Winter ‏@SarahLWinter80 4 Jan
There's definitely a theme to the half time music #singingintherain #whydoesitalwaysrainonme #lirfc


SECOND HALF

Now it may be just me, but my recollection is that we were the better side throughout with the possible exception of the final 10 minutes, but I'll come on to that shortly. Three more penalties from James O'Connor see us sitting a bit more confortably at 15-6, when Worcester pull down a maul near to their line. I have to say, and it may be green tinted specs, but I was furious, and here's what i tweeted...

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
How is that not a penalty try? If they don't pull that maul down we score.#baffled #oneruleforoneoneforanother #BleedGreen #COYI

To be fair fair it wasn't long before fury became elation and the tone of my tweet changed...

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
Get in! @JamesOConnor832 you little ripper! #TryTime #BleedGreen #COYI #WaltzingMatilda

So 22-6 up, which eventually became 22-9. The final 10 minutes were nervy, with the majority of it spent in our 22. Huge credit to Leo Halavatau coming back on after Jamie Hagan's yellow card to steady our scrum. At the final whistle the relief was palpable around me, but actually, on reflection, I don't think we were ever in any danger of letting them score.


POST MATCH

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
Tremendous defence in that last 10 minutes. #heart #pride @LiRFC #BleedGreen #COYI #unbeatenin2014 #yearoftheExiles

London Irish ‏@LiRFC 4 Jan
We would just like to thank all of our Irish Family for coming down to the #MadStad on this very cold afternoon. Thank-you so much.

Charlie Hill ‏@Charliechip89 4 Jan
KEEP IT GREEN FOR 2014!!! Win! @LiRFC yes boys!!!! #COYI #BleedGreen

OJ The Exile =) ! ‏@OJW_Exile_80 4 Jan
OMG @LiRFC @RugbyLI @LISC_ExileFiles What an AWESOME Win; upto 10th; 14pts of Worc; we are safe; now let's push on #UnbeatenIn2014 #COYI !

LIRFC Supporters ‏@LISC_ExileFiles 4 Jan
A win is a win - forgot how that felt! COYI

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
Well deserved MOTM award for @JamesOConnor832 but have to say @nicrouse put in a real shift out there today as did the entire pack. #COYI

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
Also thought @Blair_CowanTC was excellent today. So strong over the ball and real nightmare to play against at the breakdown. #COYI

Nic Rouse ‏@nicrouse 4 Jan
Great win today, ground out the win! Thanks to all @LiRFC support today, much needed 16th man. Thanks for all the tweets too #BleedGreen

Rachael Brand ‏@brand_rachael 4 Jan
So good having the family at the Mad Stad, and topped off by London Irish grabbing the win #LuckyCharm #BleedGreen

Jim O'Toole ‏@JimOToole 4 Jan
And breathe........well done the boys in green

Glenn Delaney ‏@Glaxo5 4 Jan
Thanks to all the support today for @LiRFC, great win, now onward for 2014

Kieran Low ‏@kieranlow 4 Jan
Mid way through an episode of friends I've never seen #shocked

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
@kieranlow rock and roll!!! Well played today fella, huge effort from you boys out there! #BleedGreen #COYI

Kieran Low ‏@kieranlow 4 Jan
@RugbyLI proper rock'n roll! Crowd were great! #16thMan

#RugbyLI ‏@RugbyLI 4 Jan
@kieranlow #OneTeam ;-) #COYI

jamesoconnor832
2 days ago
Honoured to be named man of match tonight- one of best team efforts I've been involved in! Must win Game and boys really stepped up from coaches Games Plan to mongrel in Frwds to game management from Halves. Awesome win #2014BigThingsComing #BuildingMomentum #BleedGreen @LiRFC

Richard Whiffin ‏@whiffy15 4 Jan
Thanks to all the support today for @LiRFC, great win. Forward dominance & control back the pack! onward for 2014


FINAL THOUGHTS So there you have it. We won. That's actually all we need to know. The hows and whys are more for the coaches and players to ponder, and to make sure that they can be repeated. Was it a classic? Probably not. Do I care? Absolutely not. What I saw out there was our team putting their bodies on the line. The whole pack were immense, but I must give mentions to Nic Rouse who I thought put in a massive shift, and Blair Cowan who simply has no regard for his own personal safety out there. The backs were solid in defence and threatened in attack when the opportunity was there. It was great to see Losi back out there, and although he didn't score, I thought he got through a huge amount of work. O'Connor is a class apart, and we need to make full use of that while he's here.

Does one win suddenly make us top 6 material? No, of course not, but I don't buy into the mindset that we are a terrible team. We've lost some close games, that really we could and on occasions should have won. Hopefully this win gives us confidence going forward, because we are actually a decent side, who should be nowhere near a relegation dogfight.

Onwards and upwards. It's all about the boys in green on 2014.

COME ON YOU IRISH!!!