Tag: PRC

Posted in match reports

View from here and there: A double header of sorts

Posted on by an old grey dog

Well, that was a fun day – heading up to Heywood Road first thing for the women’s game, then dashing off to the Trafford Centre to catch the men playing later in the afternoon.

It’s been a busy week for me following those two games, so this is going to be a quick recap of them, more for the sake of publishing something than to do any in-depth analysis. I should be back to more ‘normal’ screeds once the PREMiership gets under way.

Sale Sharks 14 Saracens 27 (PWRC)

Given that in last year’s PWR, Saracens were 26-0 up by half-time, this defeat is still evidence of a remarkable improvement in the Sale women’s team.

I’m not going to read anything into this performance: I know that both teams are missing players, but I’ve seen enough to anticipate at least a decent mid-table finish this year. As I said last week, there’s something different about the team’s approach. It’s hard to quantify, but it mostly comes down to a feeling: that there’s more purpose about their play, a stronger intent.

And, let’s face it, Saracens were flattered by the scoreline. It was only a breakaway try when Sale were pressing for a potentially winning score that made the gap as wide as it is.

I’ve still got a good feeling about this season.

Sale Sharks 24 Bristol Bears 15 (PRC)

And so, over to what we now have to call the other Corpaq Stadium for the men to take on Bristol.

I was a bit apprehensive about this, as we were fielding a very mixed first/academy team (with significant international absences). In contrast, Bristol seemed to be taking it seriously, with many of their top players out there.

The first seemed to justify the gloomy predictions, as Bristol piled on a 12-5 lead by halftime, without seeming to be trying.

But then, Sale seem to have the measure of Bristol. Keep van Rensburg and Ibitoye quiet, and Briz don’t have the fluency that they’re known for.

So it was that the tide turned in the second half as converted tries from Jibulu and Hanson took Sale to a seven-point lead. McGinty pulled a penalty back, but a late try from Ollie Davis meant we took the full five points from the game and denied Bristol anything.

Kudos this week to all the women against Sarries. What I said last week still applies, and again I’m going to single out Sharifa Kasolo. Very impressive.

The men all stepped up following the game that shall not be mentioned the week before. It was a shame that Obi Ene went off injured after half an hour, as he’s looked good every time I’ve watched him. Lots of potential there.

I think we may have a second Asher in the shape of our new hooker: that was a seriously impressive outing. And, yes, I’m going to say it…

I like the cut of his jib.

Sorry.

I thought Tom Curtis had his best game in a while, and Flats seems to have found the fountain of youth.

So, that’s it for the men: one game, then a bye week. Hardly seems worth it, does it? Come back a week later for the first of four PREMiership games in four months up to the end of the year. Talk about giving the supporters what they want and keeping the crowd’s interest…

Yes, actually, can we talk about that? Because the powers that be don’t seem to give a toss.

As for the women, they go down to Bristol for round four of the PWRC. A win there should see them through to the knock-out stages (although it’s hard to be sure as the PWR website is woefully short of useful details like tables and so on). Good luck to them, but even if they don’t manage the win, they’ve shown me enough that I’m looking forward to the league campaign.

Posted in match reports

View from the south stand: Sale 64 Ampthill 0 [PRC]

Posted on by an old grey dog

I’ve said before that I don’t enjoy watching one-sided matches. Thankfully, this should be the last weekend of them, both domestically and in that competition going on over in France.

This week alone has seen scores of 64–0, 98–14, 68–10 and 82–12.

Does either team get anything out of this sort of mismatch, other than game time? Is it really the case that being on the wrong end of a drubbing is a “good experience”? It’s one thing to lose but feel that you gave a good account of yourself (q.v. Caldy last week); it’s something else to be totally outclassed: that has to be demoralising.

And what about dishing it out? Do you really learn anything about your own capabilities? What does beating up a part-time scrum tell you about how you’re going to get on when Northampton come calling?

These sort of drubbings against what should be closely matched teams concerns me at times. It suggests that there is a superficiality to the game, both nationally and internationally. All looks great at the top, but one level down is too far away in ability for it to be healthy.

I don’t have any answers, it’s just that the sorts of mismatches that have happened over the last few weeks (not to mention the collapse of three Premiership clubs in one season) expose, I feel, a systemic problem in the world game. And that makes me less than sanguine about the future.

Rant over, back to business.

First off, let’s hear it for Ampthill. Outclassed, maybe, but they never gave up and even had some genuine opportunities right at the end. They could have put points on the board with a couple of penalty awards late on but chose instead to go for the big prize. After all, what’s the difference between 64–0 and 64–3? But to pull a try back: that would have been something to take home. That they didn’t manage it is – almost – irrelevant: the heart was there.

For Sale, Cobus marching out in the second half was the highlight for me – he can make (and made) a big difference. It leaves us a Curry or two short of our ideal back-five selection pool but we’re in a good place. Tommy Taylor’s return eases a few worries about the pack: Ethan Caine is a real prospect but we do need an old, wise head around and with LCD a doubt and Creevy still in France, TT gives us a stable base in the front row.

Raffi’s looking sharp again. It’s going to be a major battle between him and Gus for the starting spot, especially given Gus’s obvious ability from the tee now making him a viable back-up kicker.

On the downside, though, I counted some six butchered chances at the start of the second half. All of them – if I remember correctly – dropped balls just metres from the line. This is a bit concerning because we won’t get away with that when the proper games start up next week. Basic skills, guys, basic skills.

Looking back at the last five weeks, we’ve seen some younger and fringe players given the chance to show what they can do and, almost unanimously, putting their hands up to say “I’m here, and I’m good enough”. We have some good talent coming through; I’m looking forward to watching them make their marks in the Premiership in the coming seasons.

We’ve also given the established guys a chance to blow off the cobwebs and, apart from a – by the sounds of it – sub-par performance against Newcastle and the butchering of chances here, things seem to be ramping up nicely ready for the real tests to come.

And on that note: Northampton come calling next up. We beat them here last year but, if memory serves, it was not entirely comfortable. I’ve got a bit lost over the summer concerning who has picked up whom; who has made major improvements to the squad; and who we should be watching out for this year (usual suspects aside).

Given that we have Leicester away and Exeter away in rounds two and three, we could really do with getting off to a good start in this game, and the Super Accurate Magic Predictor™ gives us some hope:

SAMP–5Sale 26 – 15 Saints
SAMP–10Sale 22 – 15 Saints

Can’t wait…