Where to from here..........???

By Finno
December 9 2015

Following the recent LDH against Wasps, there were further positive signs of improvement, as we remained in the game for 70 minutes, but eventually the sheer pressure on our defence eventually told. Although we had to defend (and defended well) for most of the match, there were some positive signs in attack also, with young Williams belying his tender years.

...and so on to Quins at The Stoop last weekend. Despite a number of changes, the recent improvements as detailed above, seem to suggest that we would be, at the very least be competitive against a strong Quins side (many of whom were looking to impress the new England manager who was in attendance).

Although it was blustery and windy, it was dry and mild, so all looked set fair for an exciting match.

Slight diversion here (pardon the pun). I left home in Sussex in plenty of time but a 'bunged up' A316 meant that I only got to the Rosebine carpark at 14:40. What a nightmare to get parked both before and to get away after the game. I know we all moan about the MadStad from time to time, but it's streets (sorry again!) ahead of the chaos at The Stoop last Saturday !

Irish kicked off in the first half with the wind at their backs, attacking the North Stand where I was sat....'Should see some action' I thought. How wrong could I have been, apart from one foray into Quins 22, Irish spent the rest of the half defending in their own half, and actually did well to restrict Quins to a 10-0 lead at half time. The only use we made of the wind, was to be able to kick a little further to touch from deep defensive positions....we never managed to use the wind as an attacking tool for the whole half.

I checked on this Forum at half-time to see what others thought....it wasn't looking good was the general consensus....I had deep fears, that once Quins had the wind at their backs, it could get ugly. Unfortunately it did, big time, we saw lots of action at the North end, as Irish were on the back foot for the whole of the second half, and the floodgates began to open. A couple of tries, were uncomfortable to watch, with many missed tackles. It almost looked like men against boys and in the end we were lucky to get away with a final score of 38 - 7 to Quins.

I left the ground in a daze....what had I just witnessed ? I've been to all the games this season (save Grenoble), and although we have been well beaten , there were some positive signs...even Exeter away (when I did the report...boy do I know how to pick 'em!).

A comment , in the Guardian summed it up in my view... 'Irish barely fired a shot all afternoon. It was credible that they held Quins tryless till just past the half-hour, but that is as much as can be said'

So.......where to from here ?? It was a huge step backwards from the all our recent performances....

Was it just a 'bad day at the office' ?
Was it the quality of the opposition ?? They were good, but we didn't even compete.
Was it our tough start to the season, playing all these top sides ? It was a pretty tough start last season, but we weren't pointless at this stage
Was it the number of changes made to the side, unsettled and not yet comfortable with each other ?
Was it the new style that's bedding in, identified and exploited by Quins ? Maybe some truth in that...
Was it the lack of a 'Top quality 10' ?? More on that below..
Was it that we are simply not good enough, and Quins cruelly exposed that ? Every side has strengthened this year...maybe our strengthening hasn't even kept pace with everyone else , never mind improving us !
Is the new style, ever going to be effective in the AP ? Personally, I doubt it, in its pure Super 15 form....needs to tailored.

I suspect the answer is a mixture of of some of the above and other reasons that I'm not qualified to spot.....either way, we are rapidly getting to a point where, where relegation looms large (if we're not already there). Significant points will be required to stay up this season, as I believe that most of the lower teams (from 6 downwards) will take points of each other and thinking that beating Falcons or Worcester will be enough, is simply fantasy !

'We need a Top Quality 10'.....I think Noakes has done well under the circumstances and the problem is that you don't know how good or average he is, until you see him operate behind a dominant pack with lots of go forward....and we haven't had that for a long time and certainly not since he arrived. You only have to look at how George Ford struggled last week against Saints dominant pack. He's not a Carter, but those that think a 'Top Quality 10' will solve our problems, are misguided unless we sort the pack out (which is going in the right direction). Place kicking, is a different story....but that doesn't have to be a 10's job!

....and finally, there has been much comment both on this forum and on social media (Twitter in particular), that anything other that 100% blind positive optimism for our Club, is seen as betraying or being 'fair weather' etc and is bad for the moral of the players. Utter tosh !

Passion takes many forms, and some (me included) will criticise if we see things as being poor or needing improvement. That doesn't mean that we are any less passionate about our beloved club than the 'happy clappy brigade' . If you weren't a committed supporter, you'd be gone seasons ago! I honestly believe that the players and coaches...if they read this forum orother social media, would prefer an honest view on their performances rather than some of this inane positive stuff.

I would....wouldn't you ??

Where to from here..........???

Posted by: The Craic www.londonirish.org (IP Logged)

Date: 09/12/2015 13:22

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