Ungrateful Me

Got to say, it is really difficult to get a decent point of view of the game against Worcester last Saturday, for reasons I will allude to later.I will start by pointing out that the National Rail App is not fit for purpose. I looked up the route on the App - we would have had to take the train via Oxford, Reading Kew Bridge, due to disruptions on the Marylebone route. But my friend used a different App revealing that info to be utter tosh. We travelled the whole way to the Gunnersbury stop without the bus replacement disaster.

It turns out it takes us the same amount of time to get to the BCS as it did the Madstad when you take into consideration the bus trip from the station. Which means probably getting a season ticket for the next season, I feel Irish owe me big time returns for season tickets over the last decade.

We sat in the north stand near the 22 yard line. The stadium has a good vibe and is thoughtfully designed to feel welcoming. I like it already. Before that we went to a nearby boozer for pre match nerve drinks - The Express Tavern which was larger than it first looks. There was a talented young girl singing and playing the piano in a conservatory out the back, which was a top drawer result.

The game itself started off quite quietly. The first thing I recall was a penalty to Worcester that was in an infinitely kickable position, so much so I was talking to the guy behind me and when I turned around to look at the touch judges, I was amazed to see them running back flags down.

Irish seemed to get into second gear after that, enough so as to score a try by Mr. Creevy.

Tries followed from Cinti and Gonzalez, it turned out that the Irish Argentine contingent were showing the way to the line. Worcester had missed another easy penalty in between the first and second try Jackson missed both first and second conversions. It was not a day for the tee, so far.

Worcester got a try before Half time. Needless to say the conversion went begging.

The second half started with that man Mr. Creevy bagging the try bonus point, the conversion from Jackson was cheered, as was the previous one.

An aggressive fend by Van der Merwe which caught Kyle Rowe with an arm to the head took the game from Worcester via a harsh red card.

Irish scored three further tries and the usual subs and fight back by Worcester at the end, that got them get a try, ending the game 43-12

Now you might think that I’m ungrateful but Irish pretty much played most of the match in second gear and apart from the line-outs, they were on top most the time. Yes the defense of Irish was solid, to the point that most the time Worcester looked like Irish did a couple of years ago when I remember watching Worcester beat Irish at Sixways, working the ball sideways but going backwards.

It took me a little time to realize what a good win it was but how Worcester failed to turn up on the day.

On a side note, although the match official Mr. Makepeace showed good control of the game, I like to see the flamboyant gestures to tell me what the reason for his interventions were (ungrateful again).