Review of the Season Part 3 - Jan & Feb 2005
Happy New Year?
By BrianC
May 17 2005
The year 2005 starts badly. On the 1st January we travel to bottom of the table Worcester, a team we have already beaten twice this season, and suffer a 16 – 6 defeat. This is perceived my many as our worst performance of the season thus far.
In his
first ever match report, Unhappy
New Year, Torbs detailed
the game, “we had a bad day at the office”. He pointed out to
us what a decent team Worcester were. What many of us didn’t realise then is how much Worcester had improved
and would continue to do so. At
this stage they were still very strong favourites for the drop.
The mood on the site is simply awful. Rich_H puts is thoughts succinctly in a thread entitled, Most depressing scoreline this season and of course Carrickman jumped in with yet another of his detailed analysis in a thread called, I told you so.
With many teams - not ourselves – involved in European
games the next two weeks are match free. A
group of our supporters go to watch, and support, Munster in their Heineken Cup
game against Quins at Twickenham to the chagrin of some Quins supporters. The
LISC organised ‘Meet the Coaches’ evening proved to be a great success. In
the thread discussing it Griff explained “Gary
especially showed himself to be every bit as passionate as those in the stands.
He also showed he's a bright guy who tempers this passion with wisdom.”
To be honest we were a tad fortunate to win this game. The Sarries kicker Glen Jackson had an awful game, had he been on form we may very well have lost. This is highlighted in a thread started by Greenham Phil, Great result but was it deserved?? In general however the relief that we have at last put our losing streak past us is palpable.
When the draw for the semi-final of the cup was made we found ourselves pitched against Leeds. This added an extra dimension to our next game which was against them at Headingley in the league. This was a game played in awful conditions which we lost 16 – 5. Whilst many were dismayed by this result, as I wrote in my match report, Terrie the Hamster Eat My Team I was not too disheartened. Not least because, after a long drought, we scored a try. A wonderful effort that had Catty’s mark all over it.
The mood on the site is again poor. In the lead up to our next home game against Sale Carrickman again chips in with the helpful If nobody turned up on Sunday thread, “Would they notice? They would care though because it would hurt their pockets. Oh I forgot the fans don't count.”
The six nations have started. Whilst a group of us travel to Rome to watch Italy vs. Ireland and London Irish are at home to a depleted Sale. Incredibly both matches are on at the same time, this must be the first time that London Irish have gone head to head with an Ireland international.
Depleted or not Sale ran out 6 – 9 winners. Many of those who were at the match drew heart from this performance. In his match report Who'd have believed it? Oxonrob explained that Tofty had a bad game. Putting this performance in context with the many times he has previously put in a match winning performance for us he pointed out “I am sure that yesterday’s hero is not a villain to many.”
Good performance or not relegation worries are really starting to kick in. The mood on the site is as agitated as I have ever seen it. In a thread named, If we go down what we might lose Brendan Duffy outlines what he sees some of the consequences to be. Russell O’Calaghan as ever hits the nail on the head. “My Kryce but this is turning out to be a particularly virulent form of depression”. The bookies now have us joint favourites with Leeds and Worcester for the drop. With a tough run in ahead of us nerves are starting to fray.
The run in to our next game is a two week one. The prospect of an away fixture at Saracens and a further slide down the table does not fill anyone with glee. Further bad news comes in the shape of an innuendo-ridden announcement from the club that Paul Sackey is transferring to Wasps. I pen an article entitled Hard Times.
It turns out that our game at Saracens was to be one of our
best performances of the season. Not only did we win 12 – 25 but crucially we
picked up a try bonus point. Whilst we are now not totally out of the relegation
zone our worries are greatly eased. The feelings of those at the game is captured
by Jock Convert in his match report Can
We Play Here Every Week? “The walk
back to the Red Lion was mixed with much joy and relief that we had done it.”
To say that the mood on the site brightens up at this stage would be something of an understatement. To me what darkens this newly joyful picture somewhat is calls by some for those who had been criticising the team and coaches to apologise. This strikes me as a tad petty. Now is not the time for recriminations, it is a time to be glad. In a thread entitled I was there JoeV points out “I think the hard work they have clearly put in since the Worcester debacle is starting to show dividends”. Carrickman is strangely quiet this week.
February ends with a tough fixture, home to Wasps. So it
was to prove to be as we as we went down 19 – 33.
In his match report Ouch
that stung Confusedidentity told the sorry tale. It was from an LI point of view a game of two halves, good in
the first and poor in the second. “A lot
of the first half suggested that we are, perhaps, a not-too-bad team, as we gave
Wasps some trouble and matched them up until half time.”
Result aside people do seem to be quite happy with the
performance. Big Andy starts a thread entitled
Was
it just me???? With a post that says “Result
was against us but I will stand up a say well done lads you all played well if
Wasp's had not had the Ref in their pocket we would have won”.
We end February still under the threat of relegation but not as seriously so as
a few weeks previously. Our next match is the cup semi-final against Leeds with
the mouth watering prospect of another day out at Twickenham.
nobody turned up on Sunday
If nobody turned up on Sunday