Sunday, 20 January 2008
Weekend training, all is quiet ...
As all the teams have a quiet weekend in their training camps there has been little contact with the media. We understand all the players are fit and although there is bound to be a few changes none of the sides to our knowledge have bought in any new players or staff ... the weather for the next round still looks like being fine or only light rain, so the teams should be able to show their stuff!
Thursday, 17 January 2008
Next weeks fixtures ...
After the excitement of the first round of matches we are all looking forward to next weeks. One of the fixtures in particular promises to be full of fire, even before kick-off. The Wasps coach has come in for some harsh words from the Sale Sharks over the last week. Sparked by the Wasps claims of 'tackles bordering on assualt' and then the comments about Saracens 'dirty, underhand' play the Sharks management have basically accused the Wasps of being not up to the task. Both teams seem to be out to prove something. The other game sees Saracens host Stade. Always close games the French don't normally travel well and this game will really test them.
Thankfully the weather looks fair for both grounds, a far cry from the last games!
Kick off 7:00pm Tuesday 22nd January
Saracens vs. Stade Francais
Sale Sharks vs. London Wasps
Thankfully the weather looks fair for both grounds, a far cry from the last games!
Kick off 7:00pm Tuesday 22nd January
Saracens vs. Stade Francais
Sale Sharks vs. London Wasps
Dawe has his say ...
We caught up with Ian Dawe, the Sale Coach, getting off the plane from Paris in the still driving rain ...
'Damn just goes to show that if you don't make the pressure count count it can all so easily come undone.
We dominated the first half entirely Stade never even got into our half but we couldnt convert no matter how we tried. Lund made a fantastice break from the start but stout defence smothered the play, late in the first half Lamont made a fantastic break away on the left wing it took 3 defenders to bring him down but alas the forwards choked at the 9th hour.
Unfortunately we went to sleep for the first 10 minutes of the second half and were punished severely , their number 14 was outstanding , if i were a Wasps coach I would probably say that he was on performance enhancing drugs or something to the effect, but I am not ... the boy done good and thoroughly deserved his MOM award. On a more serious note Charlie Hodgeson injured his ankle in prematch warm up , but was so fired up for the game he neglected to tell me , it would explain why his kicking was off last night . It looks as though he may be a doubt for the next match but you know ... Wasps are going to pay either way!'
'Damn just goes to show that if you don't make the pressure count count it can all so easily come undone.
We dominated the first half entirely Stade never even got into our half but we couldnt convert no matter how we tried. Lund made a fantastice break from the start but stout defence smothered the play, late in the first half Lamont made a fantastic break away on the left wing it took 3 defenders to bring him down but alas the forwards choked at the 9th hour.
Unfortunately we went to sleep for the first 10 minutes of the second half and were punished severely , their number 14 was outstanding , if i were a Wasps coach I would probably say that he was on performance enhancing drugs or something to the effect, but I am not ... the boy done good and thoroughly deserved his MOM award. On a more serious note Charlie Hodgeson injured his ankle in prematch warm up , but was so fired up for the game he neglected to tell me , it would explain why his kicking was off last night . It looks as though he may be a doubt for the next match but you know ... Wasps are going to pay either way!'
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
IN THEIR OWN EYES ...
Saracens versus Wasps … the fallout & Stad praise the Sharks:
Horizon Sports were at both post game press conferences, luckily the two coaches were not in the same room! Here at HS we suspect we have not heard the last of this game!
Firstly looking rather resigned McTague, the Saracens coach, talked to Mike Tindale as the Sarries were leaving Vicarage Road:
“Hi Mike, well that started well and ended in a little confusion.
The weather played such a part that I don’t think the ref had much to do but try and keep warm!! Of course I am disappointed, to go from 14 zip to 14 square is a bit depressing but no you have to look at the stats to see that no points were scored against the wind in that match. I also have spoken to our Scrummie and he claims he didn’t hear the end of normal time. When he realised he quickly released the pass to the fullback, expecting him to bury it into touch. Unfortunately the full back was expecting the scrummie to do so … and well the pass was a surprise and the rest is history.
The opening phases saw the boys getting a nice clean couple of tries, the opposition just didn’t like to get in there and make it personal, basically they were afraid of getting physical. They whinged about the physicality of the Sevens against Sale if I remember rightly, maybe the coach isn’t cut out for the big boys league. Also I think the second half showed that they also lack a little control with their number 8 getting 'sin binned'. I know my boys aren’t angels but we do try and play fair. If we dominated the first half then they certainly dominated the second, both times with the wind was at the teams’ backs, a draw is a fair result for what happened out there today, a win would have been nicer for the home supporters but I guess the guys wanted to show there stuff off and get a bigger margin of victory, we were held by the weather not by Wasps . I was happy, well they our attacks were unstoppable and the defence strong and well placed, both the opposition tries were from breakthrough passes by the fly half helped no doubt by the wind.
My man of the match has to be Rod Penney, not only was he in front line making us huge ground on offense, but was also seen flying back to drop their wingers on the breakaway plays..... Our training focus for the guys this week will be on clearing the ball quicker from the pack, and I will be sending the scrummy to get his ears syringed!! Thanks to all the supporters that showed up for the match in such awful conditions and I hope we have the same atmosphere for when we entertain Stad Francais next week!’
Not exactly kind words but not the fighting words that came out of the Wasps press conference a few hours later. Obviously still fuming Fase begrudgingly said a few words to the associated press a few hours after the end of the match from their HQ in High Wycombe:
‘“Despite an impressive fight-back following some early errors by the forwards we feel that we were simply not given a level playing field.” When quizzed about exactly what he meant by this all Fase would offer was,
“The standard of decision making by the ref was quite simply appalling. There were at least three blatant fouls as we moved inside the Saracens 22, each as ugly as McTague’s cackling face.”
The incidents he was referring too seemed to be tackles made by Penney, the Saracen’s winger, which were marginal at the best but went completely unseen by the linesman and referee. The video footage tends to be obscured and inconclusive as well (the ref rolls made by Shaun M in each case were 1,1 or 1,2 !).
Ian Dickey from the Observer asked about the conditions out there on the pitch;
“With playing conditions making ball handling difficult for both teams we played well throughout the second half and were only denied victory by the officials. To be honest it was only Saracen’s greed that let us back in at the end and let Lol (Dalagio) lead the boys superbly to even the match.”
He rounded the short conference off by a scathing attack on McTague and the tactics of Saracens;
“It’s a shame that a side that I only had praise for throughout the sevens tournament felt that they didn’t have the strength to play us man to man and had to resort to such underhand play. I think that we can almost take that as a back-handed compliment as we move on to next weeks game at Sale with heads held high.”
With that he stormed out the room, with the accusations of ‘assault like’ dirty tackles still fresh in the Sale Sharks coaches mind next week will be interesting to say the least!
Meanwhile the press conferences held in Paris following the Stad/Sharks thriller were of an all together gentlemanly nature. Jonno caught Jones, the Stad coach, on his way to a welcome pint in the hospitality rooms, he had this to say about the match.
‘The real winners of tonight’s match has to be the fans of both sides who travelled to see there team. Considering the conditions I thought both sides played with a lot of flair. The wind kept kicking to a minimum and it was tense out there. I was surprised with the tenacity shown by the Sharks, considering our second XIV had held them at sevens the previous week I was expecting a bit of an easier match to be honest. But Sharks showed that at this level there are no easy matches and I felt proud that our defense managed to keep them out. A great game played by two great sides, I will tip Sharks to decimate the Wasps next week and look forward to meeting them again come finals time. The main man for us in my opinion was Fillol at scrum half. He directed the play in both attack and defense and made some fine decisions out there. Looking forward to next week … well its our old foes Saracens. It’s never easy to play at Vicarage Road with the stands packed in over the narrow pitch, the atmosphere is always oppressive. Both teams know each other so well and they are always the team we find it hardest to dominate … but as the great gridiron coach Vince Lombardi once alluded to … winning is a habit … and at the moment our coaching staff have the habit!’
Horizon Sports were at both post game press conferences, luckily the two coaches were not in the same room! Here at HS we suspect we have not heard the last of this game!
Firstly looking rather resigned McTague, the Saracens coach, talked to Mike Tindale as the Sarries were leaving Vicarage Road:
“Hi Mike, well that started well and ended in a little confusion.
The weather played such a part that I don’t think the ref had much to do but try and keep warm!! Of course I am disappointed, to go from 14 zip to 14 square is a bit depressing but no you have to look at the stats to see that no points were scored against the wind in that match. I also have spoken to our Scrummie and he claims he didn’t hear the end of normal time. When he realised he quickly released the pass to the fullback, expecting him to bury it into touch. Unfortunately the full back was expecting the scrummie to do so … and well the pass was a surprise and the rest is history.
The opening phases saw the boys getting a nice clean couple of tries, the opposition just didn’t like to get in there and make it personal, basically they were afraid of getting physical. They whinged about the physicality of the Sevens against Sale if I remember rightly, maybe the coach isn’t cut out for the big boys league. Also I think the second half showed that they also lack a little control with their number 8 getting 'sin binned'. I know my boys aren’t angels but we do try and play fair. If we dominated the first half then they certainly dominated the second, both times with the wind was at the teams’ backs, a draw is a fair result for what happened out there today, a win would have been nicer for the home supporters but I guess the guys wanted to show there stuff off and get a bigger margin of victory, we were held by the weather not by Wasps . I was happy, well they our attacks were unstoppable and the defence strong and well placed, both the opposition tries were from breakthrough passes by the fly half helped no doubt by the wind.
My man of the match has to be Rod Penney, not only was he in front line making us huge ground on offense, but was also seen flying back to drop their wingers on the breakaway plays..... Our training focus for the guys this week will be on clearing the ball quicker from the pack, and I will be sending the scrummy to get his ears syringed!! Thanks to all the supporters that showed up for the match in such awful conditions and I hope we have the same atmosphere for when we entertain Stad Francais next week!’
Not exactly kind words but not the fighting words that came out of the Wasps press conference a few hours later. Obviously still fuming Fase begrudgingly said a few words to the associated press a few hours after the end of the match from their HQ in High Wycombe:
‘“Despite an impressive fight-back following some early errors by the forwards we feel that we were simply not given a level playing field.” When quizzed about exactly what he meant by this all Fase would offer was,
“The standard of decision making by the ref was quite simply appalling. There were at least three blatant fouls as we moved inside the Saracens 22, each as ugly as McTague’s cackling face.”
The incidents he was referring too seemed to be tackles made by Penney, the Saracen’s winger, which were marginal at the best but went completely unseen by the linesman and referee. The video footage tends to be obscured and inconclusive as well (the ref rolls made by Shaun M in each case were 1,1 or 1,2 !).
Ian Dickey from the Observer asked about the conditions out there on the pitch;
“With playing conditions making ball handling difficult for both teams we played well throughout the second half and were only denied victory by the officials. To be honest it was only Saracen’s greed that let us back in at the end and let Lol (Dalagio) lead the boys superbly to even the match.”
He rounded the short conference off by a scathing attack on McTague and the tactics of Saracens;
“It’s a shame that a side that I only had praise for throughout the sevens tournament felt that they didn’t have the strength to play us man to man and had to resort to such underhand play. I think that we can almost take that as a back-handed compliment as we move on to next weeks game at Sale with heads held high.”
With that he stormed out the room, with the accusations of ‘assault like’ dirty tackles still fresh in the Sale Sharks coaches mind next week will be interesting to say the least!
Meanwhile the press conferences held in Paris following the Stad/Sharks thriller were of an all together gentlemanly nature. Jonno caught Jones, the Stad coach, on his way to a welcome pint in the hospitality rooms, he had this to say about the match.
‘The real winners of tonight’s match has to be the fans of both sides who travelled to see there team. Considering the conditions I thought both sides played with a lot of flair. The wind kept kicking to a minimum and it was tense out there. I was surprised with the tenacity shown by the Sharks, considering our second XIV had held them at sevens the previous week I was expecting a bit of an easier match to be honest. But Sharks showed that at this level there are no easy matches and I felt proud that our defense managed to keep them out. A great game played by two great sides, I will tip Sharks to decimate the Wasps next week and look forward to meeting them again come finals time. The main man for us in my opinion was Fillol at scrum half. He directed the play in both attack and defense and made some fine decisions out there. Looking forward to next week … well its our old foes Saracens. It’s never easy to play at Vicarage Road with the stands packed in over the narrow pitch, the atmosphere is always oppressive. Both teams know each other so well and they are always the team we find it hardest to dominate … but as the great gridiron coach Vince Lombardi once alluded to … winning is a habit … and at the moment our coaching staff have the habit!’
THE WAIT IS OVER ...
Horizon Sports bring you the latest news from tonights matches:
THE GAME IS ON …
On a damp, windy and miserable night in both Paris and London it can be only be said that no-one would have walked away from the games disappointed. The break away cup event could have been in danger of being a wash out (literally) in its opening night … instead it was a showcase for club rugby.
Horizon Sports were at both grounds to bring you all the action … firstly we visit Vicarage Road in North London where in terrible conditions a good crowd turned out to see the match. The atmosphere was tense from the start as Saracens were on the pitch to ‘greet’ their local rivals with strains of the Who’s classic song, “Who are you … who who are YOU?” belting out over the PA.
This clearly rattled Wasps as their early play was dire, fighting against the gale force wind they were pinned down in their 22m for most of the first half. An early break by the winger Haughton in the corner was easily converted with assistance from the wind by Russell. Wasps kick off was literally blown back in their face and the resulting passage of play saw poor handling skills from Wasps allow the big ex league centre Farrell to plough the line and under the posts. As this point of the game it was looking far too easy for Saracens and then completely against the run of play Voyce, the Wasps full back, managed to snap up a ball and have an easy run under the posts at the stroke of half time. One of the few times Wasps had even seen the ball saw them going in only 7 points down.
The half time talk from Dalalgio must have been a corker as Wasps showed a never say die spirit in the second half. An over confident looking Saracens took the field only to see Russell completely slice the kick off and taken by the wind it sailed out, not making the ten yards required. It was obvious that Wasps were a team with a mission as they assaulted the Saracen line again and again. The visiting fans and their coach Steve Fase were fuming as a series of very late tackles and one straight arm, which if it had been spotted would have been a red card, thwarted their every move. The game slipped by and it looked like Saracens had held on to the victory.
The final hooter went and it was at this stage things went wrong for Saracens. From up in the commentary box it seemed like the raging wind was muffling the advice from the Saracens coach McTague as the Saracens looked as if they were keeping the ball in play looking for the bonus ‘try fest’ point. Solid defending kept them out and after a few near run (and yet another dodgy tackle from Saracens) attempts from Wasps the Saracens fly half finally called to the scrum half to give him the ball so he could boot the ball out. However he fumbled the kick and managed to knock on giving Wasps an excellent mid field position on Sarries 22!
A well worked peel off the back and pass to Voyce saw him crashing over the line … the crowd were hushed as the conversion attempt sailed over with the wind behind it … the teams went in tied at 14 all. The air in the Saracens dressing room was blue as the coach laid into the team. Wasps put up a spirited fight and in the end deserved to come away with a draw. I am sure we will hear from the coaches tomorrow!
Meanwhile over in Paris the expectant Parisian crowd braved the conditions. They had every reason to feel optimistic. There home form was excellent and the arrival of the World Cup winning coach added to the feeling that this was going to be their year!
This feeling lasted about 2 minutes … Lund caught the kick off as it veered off its intended target in the wind. The flanker made an excellent break (hand off and two break away cards) down the right wing and it appeared all Stad could do was stand and watch. Only an excellent covering tackle by Corletto saved the try. But the Stad players were left stranded as the Shark players descended on the ball. The muddy conditions obviously added to the difficulty of gathering from the ground in open play and the rucks and Thomas saw the ball squeeze from his hands for a knock on. The Stade spectators gave a sigh of relief, this is not what they had come to watch. It seemed that Stade were rattled by the opening few minutes and at the scrum Sale took the ball against the head. A break away from Chabal at number 8 was only just stopped by some solid Stad defending. It was at this point that Sale Sharks began to bite … they threw everything except the proverbial kitchen sink at the Stad line. Stad were pinned down in their 22 for the first time in ages. The cross wind made clearance kicks to risky and the crowd were treated to open running rugby which was reminiscent of Sevens play. Considering the conditions this was amazing stuff, but Stad couldn’t break out of their half and Sale assaulted the try line again and again. The Parisian crowd were worried but the Stad defence held firm, a number of game saving tackles being made only 3m out. Bergamasco and Lienberg making some fine tackles. A huge sigh of relief went around the ground as Hernandez kicked the ball out to end the half with both teams scoreless. One could only wonder if the Sharks were going to pay dearly for failing to make the extreme pressure pay.
They didn’t have to wonder for long however as the second half started with Hodgson, who had had an excellent game thus far, make a very bad kick off. The wind carried the ball over the dead ball line and the French team were quick to ask for the scrum back. An open side darting break from Fillol the scrum half saw good support play from Corletto who picked up and passed inside to Saubade who crashed over under the posts. The Sharks looked stunned as they watched the Hernandez conversion sail over. After 90% of possession in the first half they found themselves trailing 0-7 after a few minutes of the second half kick off. It was Stad’s turn to pile on the pressure, from the kick off the French team broke up the middle of the pitch, a number of players crashed through tackles and it was Saubade, the big winger, who again was lunging for the line. This time it was closer as the Ref went to the TMO to see if he had made a double movement over the line. The verdict was a try and the English club side looked gutted. Only the swirling wind sending the conversion wide gave them a little to be cheerful for.
Parisse succumbed to the pressure of the match, failing to catch the kick off. It suddenly looked like the Sharks would make a come back. Close pack play from Sharks forwards saw Sheridan catch a pop pass, put his head down and go for the line. Only a De Villier tackle and Bergamasco managing to drive Bruno into touch after he had picked up saved the try. Stad were under pressure again, a line out from their own 5 yard line. This was the gutsiest play of the match as Blin threw over the back to Parisse. A risky move but it saw the French team break down their left wing. A few excellent passes and blurring speed from Dominici (one of the rare smooth pass and break away card combinations) saw Stad on for the third bonus point try. Only 2 Shark players were close and the crowd erupted as Hodgson took Dominici out with a straight arm tackle, the referee missed this infringement and then rubbed salt in the wound by penalising Dominici for not rolling away. Hodgson decided against the kick in the gale force sidewind conditions and gave it to the pack to tap and go. Again the Stad defence held out for a few vital phases. But they took the ball into a ruck which just before the hooter sounded the Referee said ‘not coming out lads,’ awarding the scrum to the Sharks. 10m out this was the chance they needed to reduce the score and maybe get a vital ‘close game’ point.
Again Chabal broke, again the Stad defence held firm until a combination of quick passing saw an overlap on the left. The final pass let them down and from a snaffled ruck Hernandez received the ball and not trusting the wind ran into touch to end the game. Both sets of supporters gave the players a standing ovation as they left the pitch … if this was the standard of games the audience were in for then it seemingly justified the break away challenge cup … bring on next week!!
THE GAME IS ON …
On a damp, windy and miserable night in both Paris and London it can be only be said that no-one would have walked away from the games disappointed. The break away cup event could have been in danger of being a wash out (literally) in its opening night … instead it was a showcase for club rugby.
Horizon Sports were at both grounds to bring you all the action … firstly we visit Vicarage Road in North London where in terrible conditions a good crowd turned out to see the match. The atmosphere was tense from the start as Saracens were on the pitch to ‘greet’ their local rivals with strains of the Who’s classic song, “Who are you … who who are YOU?” belting out over the PA.
This clearly rattled Wasps as their early play was dire, fighting against the gale force wind they were pinned down in their 22m for most of the first half. An early break by the winger Haughton in the corner was easily converted with assistance from the wind by Russell. Wasps kick off was literally blown back in their face and the resulting passage of play saw poor handling skills from Wasps allow the big ex league centre Farrell to plough the line and under the posts. As this point of the game it was looking far too easy for Saracens and then completely against the run of play Voyce, the Wasps full back, managed to snap up a ball and have an easy run under the posts at the stroke of half time. One of the few times Wasps had even seen the ball saw them going in only 7 points down.
The half time talk from Dalalgio must have been a corker as Wasps showed a never say die spirit in the second half. An over confident looking Saracens took the field only to see Russell completely slice the kick off and taken by the wind it sailed out, not making the ten yards required. It was obvious that Wasps were a team with a mission as they assaulted the Saracen line again and again. The visiting fans and their coach Steve Fase were fuming as a series of very late tackles and one straight arm, which if it had been spotted would have been a red card, thwarted their every move. The game slipped by and it looked like Saracens had held on to the victory.
The final hooter went and it was at this stage things went wrong for Saracens. From up in the commentary box it seemed like the raging wind was muffling the advice from the Saracens coach McTague as the Saracens looked as if they were keeping the ball in play looking for the bonus ‘try fest’ point. Solid defending kept them out and after a few near run (and yet another dodgy tackle from Saracens) attempts from Wasps the Saracens fly half finally called to the scrum half to give him the ball so he could boot the ball out. However he fumbled the kick and managed to knock on giving Wasps an excellent mid field position on Sarries 22!
A well worked peel off the back and pass to Voyce saw him crashing over the line … the crowd were hushed as the conversion attempt sailed over with the wind behind it … the teams went in tied at 14 all. The air in the Saracens dressing room was blue as the coach laid into the team. Wasps put up a spirited fight and in the end deserved to come away with a draw. I am sure we will hear from the coaches tomorrow!
Meanwhile over in Paris the expectant Parisian crowd braved the conditions. They had every reason to feel optimistic. There home form was excellent and the arrival of the World Cup winning coach added to the feeling that this was going to be their year!
This feeling lasted about 2 minutes … Lund caught the kick off as it veered off its intended target in the wind. The flanker made an excellent break (hand off and two break away cards) down the right wing and it appeared all Stad could do was stand and watch. Only an excellent covering tackle by Corletto saved the try. But the Stad players were left stranded as the Shark players descended on the ball. The muddy conditions obviously added to the difficulty of gathering from the ground in open play and the rucks and Thomas saw the ball squeeze from his hands for a knock on. The Stade spectators gave a sigh of relief, this is not what they had come to watch. It seemed that Stade were rattled by the opening few minutes and at the scrum Sale took the ball against the head. A break away from Chabal at number 8 was only just stopped by some solid Stad defending. It was at this point that Sale Sharks began to bite … they threw everything except the proverbial kitchen sink at the Stad line. Stad were pinned down in their 22 for the first time in ages. The cross wind made clearance kicks to risky and the crowd were treated to open running rugby which was reminiscent of Sevens play. Considering the conditions this was amazing stuff, but Stad couldn’t break out of their half and Sale assaulted the try line again and again. The Parisian crowd were worried but the Stad defence held firm, a number of game saving tackles being made only 3m out. Bergamasco and Lienberg making some fine tackles. A huge sigh of relief went around the ground as Hernandez kicked the ball out to end the half with both teams scoreless. One could only wonder if the Sharks were going to pay dearly for failing to make the extreme pressure pay.
They didn’t have to wonder for long however as the second half started with Hodgson, who had had an excellent game thus far, make a very bad kick off. The wind carried the ball over the dead ball line and the French team were quick to ask for the scrum back. An open side darting break from Fillol the scrum half saw good support play from Corletto who picked up and passed inside to Saubade who crashed over under the posts. The Sharks looked stunned as they watched the Hernandez conversion sail over. After 90% of possession in the first half they found themselves trailing 0-7 after a few minutes of the second half kick off. It was Stad’s turn to pile on the pressure, from the kick off the French team broke up the middle of the pitch, a number of players crashed through tackles and it was Saubade, the big winger, who again was lunging for the line. This time it was closer as the Ref went to the TMO to see if he had made a double movement over the line. The verdict was a try and the English club side looked gutted. Only the swirling wind sending the conversion wide gave them a little to be cheerful for.
Parisse succumbed to the pressure of the match, failing to catch the kick off. It suddenly looked like the Sharks would make a come back. Close pack play from Sharks forwards saw Sheridan catch a pop pass, put his head down and go for the line. Only a De Villier tackle and Bergamasco managing to drive Bruno into touch after he had picked up saved the try. Stad were under pressure again, a line out from their own 5 yard line. This was the gutsiest play of the match as Blin threw over the back to Parisse. A risky move but it saw the French team break down their left wing. A few excellent passes and blurring speed from Dominici (one of the rare smooth pass and break away card combinations) saw Stad on for the third bonus point try. Only 2 Shark players were close and the crowd erupted as Hodgson took Dominici out with a straight arm tackle, the referee missed this infringement and then rubbed salt in the wound by penalising Dominici for not rolling away. Hodgson decided against the kick in the gale force sidewind conditions and gave it to the pack to tap and go. Again the Stad defence held out for a few vital phases. But they took the ball into a ruck which just before the hooter sounded the Referee said ‘not coming out lads,’ awarding the scrum to the Sharks. 10m out this was the chance they needed to reduce the score and maybe get a vital ‘close game’ point.
Again Chabal broke, again the Stad defence held firm until a combination of quick passing saw an overlap on the left. The final pass let them down and from a snaffled ruck Hernandez received the ball and not trusting the wind ran into touch to end the game. Both sets of supporters gave the players a standing ovation as they left the pitch … if this was the standard of games the audience were in for then it seemingly justified the break away challenge cup … bring on next week!!
Monday, 14 January 2008
Long trips and breakfast deals ...
Sale make the long trip to Paris to try and escape the northern rain, Wasps and Saracens are not so lucky as the weather in North London looks set to be messy ...
The London boys will be getting:
Heavy rain and a strong southerly wind blowing up the pitch - on the plus side it will be fairly mild.
Sale will feel right at home in Paris meanwhile as the conditions are very similar although the wind will not be as strong.
It looks set to be a powerful close encounter between the forwards!
The London boys will be getting:
Heavy rain and a strong southerly wind blowing up the pitch - on the plus side it will be fairly mild.
Sale will feel right at home in Paris meanwhile as the conditions are very similar although the wind will not be as strong.
It looks set to be a powerful close encounter between the forwards!
Sunday, 13 January 2008
A QUIET WEEKEND ...
With only a couple of days to go until the first matches it is hardly surpising that all the team camps are quiet. Don't forget to view on the night of the matches for the news ... you'll here it first on Horizon Sports!
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
What an appertiser!
Saracens and Stade Francais were involved in a pre comp friendly tonight. While both coaches obviously rested some of the bigger names it was still a closely fought contest. For a while it resembled a Super 14 southern hemisphere game with both teams involved in a kicking battle. Saracens looked like they would go in at half time 7 points up. However a kick ahead and chase by the Stade team managed to get in under the posts!
The second half saw more forward play although it was he backs who seemed to star for both sides in attack and defense. Another well worked back move and some very heavy hits in defense saw Stade leading 21-14 at the hooter. Amazingly Hernandez tried to kick and chase, obviously going for another try. However the crowd held their collective breath as he made his one kicking mistake of the match … the ball fell to the Haughton the Saracens winger who burst through the advancing Stade players. Some good covering defence managed to keep him wide as he crashed over the line. It was all down to Jackson to convert and tie the game … the roar from the home Stade crowd said it all as the ball fell short.
The second half saw more forward play although it was he backs who seemed to star for both sides in attack and defense. Another well worked back move and some very heavy hits in defense saw Stade leading 21-14 at the hooter. Amazingly Hernandez tried to kick and chase, obviously going for another try. However the crowd held their collective breath as he made his one kicking mistake of the match … the ball fell to the Haughton the Saracens winger who burst through the advancing Stade players. Some good covering defence managed to keep him wide as he crashed over the line. It was all down to Jackson to convert and tie the game … the roar from the home Stade crowd said it all as the ball fell short.
The final score was 21-19 with both teams showing some exciting running rugby!
If the commitment to attacking play is indicative of what we are in store for then … BRING IT ON!
SHARK BAIT...
Horizon Sports caught up with Ian Dawe the coach of Sale Sharks this morning. Dawe was obviously not happy with some of the fallout from the Sevens Comp, however he had kind words about the young Stade side that held his international players to a draw …
“ it is too harsh to say they disrespected the tournament, it was a good chance to let the younger fringe players shine. They showed great resolve and tenacity to fight back for the draw, although of course a few high tackles seemed to have been missed by the ref, but that’s rugby.”
This then got him talking about some of the comments allegedly made by the Wasps coach …
“If he (Fase the Wasps coach) thinks things got rough then he should try and remember that rugby is supposed to be a contact sport! The game is played by men and if his prima donnas can’t handle this then maybe they should go and play in the ‘Andrex League’ (for our foreign viewers this is the English toilet paper which prides itself on being ‘soft’).
Dawe then spoke about the match with Saracens which he narrowly lost …
“Fair play to Saracens for an excellent victory although we (the Sharks) were a little jaded in the final after chasing Wasps around the pitch in the match before, obviously they didn’t want to get their kit dirty!”
When asked if he was looking forward to the Cup Challenge he continued with the sledging of Wasps …
“ we are looking forward to showing the Wasps how to play the ‘mens’ game … I think they need reminding!’
Here at Horizon sports we think we are going to be in for a cracker of a comp …
“ it is too harsh to say they disrespected the tournament, it was a good chance to let the younger fringe players shine. They showed great resolve and tenacity to fight back for the draw, although of course a few high tackles seemed to have been missed by the ref, but that’s rugby.”
This then got him talking about some of the comments allegedly made by the Wasps coach …
“If he (Fase the Wasps coach) thinks things got rough then he should try and remember that rugby is supposed to be a contact sport! The game is played by men and if his prima donnas can’t handle this then maybe they should go and play in the ‘Andrex League’ (for our foreign viewers this is the English toilet paper which prides itself on being ‘soft’).
Dawe then spoke about the match with Saracens which he narrowly lost …
“Fair play to Saracens for an excellent victory although we (the Sharks) were a little jaded in the final after chasing Wasps around the pitch in the match before, obviously they didn’t want to get their kit dirty!”
When asked if he was looking forward to the Cup Challenge he continued with the sledging of Wasps …
“ we are looking forward to showing the Wasps how to play the ‘mens’ game … I think they need reminding!’
Here at Horizon sports we think we are going to be in for a cracker of a comp …
PEWC ELVS
Horizon sports in conjunction with the PERB (Ponders End Rugby Board) have announced a series of Experimental Law Variations to be used in the PEWC CUP. They are aimed at producing a more spectacular game.
Details of these rules can be obtained from the PERB by contacting crashtackleAThotmail.co.uk
Details of these rules can be obtained from the PERB by contacting crashtackleAThotmail.co.uk
NO STING IN THE TAIL ...
London Wasps were left ruing what could have been after consecutive losses saw them only coming ahead of a Stade 2nd IV in the PEWC Sevens competition. In the press conference after the evening Fase, the coach, tried to explain away the results:
"The Saracens simply outplayed us, we had no real answers on the night and made too many basic errors. At least we put some points on the board, Saracens are worthy champions. The Sale game was a different matter however, they put in some extremely hard tackles which my staff and I feel were unnecessary in Sevens and to be honest bordered on assualt! We stood up to them all the way and it was only a questionable penalty that handed them the victory. I am sure my players will be looking forward to meeting them in the near future."
The Wasps players looked subdued leaving the ground and will be wanting to put a better performance in against Saracens when the PEWC CUP starts next week!
"The Saracens simply outplayed us, we had no real answers on the night and made too many basic errors. At least we put some points on the board, Saracens are worthy champions. The Sale game was a different matter however, they put in some extremely hard tackles which my staff and I feel were unnecessary in Sevens and to be honest bordered on assualt! We stood up to them all the way and it was only a questionable penalty that handed them the victory. I am sure my players will be looking forward to meeting them in the near future."
The Wasps players looked subdued leaving the ground and will be wanting to put a better performance in against Saracens when the PEWC CUP starts next week!
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
LATEST SCORES ...
Tonight Saracens managed to win the PEWC SEVENS competition sweeping aside London Wasps in the early game 21-7 before seeing off Sale Sharks in the final 21-14. Wasps had also lost to Sale Sharks in a hard fought game 7-10 which must dampen their spirits before next weeks games. Stade Francais fielded a 2nd XIV seven which managed to hold the Sharks to a 7 all draw.
Meanwhile the Stade first XV were dismissing Leciester Tigers 14-0, the Tigers hardly saw the Staid 22 and if it hadn't beeen for some staunch defensive work the score could have been higher. The match can have only boosted the confidence of the French team going into next weeks match with Sale.
The Staid coach was remarkably subdued during the after match press conference, praising the Tiger's defence he hinted that the crowd should expect Staid to come out with all cylinders firing in an offense orientated game next week at Sale!
Meanwhile the Stade first XV were dismissing Leciester Tigers 14-0, the Tigers hardly saw the Staid 22 and if it hadn't beeen for some staunch defensive work the score could have been higher. The match can have only boosted the confidence of the French team going into next weeks match with Sale.
The Staid coach was remarkably subdued during the after match press conference, praising the Tiger's defence he hinted that the crowd should expect Staid to come out with all cylinders firing in an offense orientated game next week at Sale!
Monday, 7 January 2008
Stade ruffles some more feathers ...
In a move guaranteed to provoke response from the other teams Stade are rumoured to be putting out a second team seven for the Tuesday comp while the First XV play a visiting side from the north of England. Details are sketchy at the moment but the Stade coach gave us this short comment on his way to the training ground in North London :
"Our players are confident we can play a full XV game at the same time as the sevens comp and probably win them both! We got the opportunity to play a full match on the same night with a visiting side and obviously took the opportunity so as to try some of our training ground moves out in a full match."
Commentators are quick to blame this move on the fact that Stade may want a ready made excuse if there sevens form remains as it is at present having recently been beaten by both Wasps and Saracens!
"Our players are confident we can play a full XV game at the same time as the sevens comp and probably win them both! We got the opportunity to play a full match on the same night with a visiting side and obviously took the opportunity so as to try some of our training ground moves out in a full match."
Commentators are quick to blame this move on the fact that Stade may want a ready made excuse if there sevens form remains as it is at present having recently been beaten by both Wasps and Saracens!
Friday, 4 January 2008
Fixtures announced ...
The draw for the first week of the PEWC CUP was made in Enfield today under independant scrutiny ... the first round of games to take place on the 15th January at 7:15 KO ...
Wasps v. Saracens
Stade v. Sale
Watch out for pre-match views from the coaches soon on Horizon Sports ....
Wasps v. Saracens
Stade v. Sale
Watch out for pre-match views from the coaches soon on Horizon Sports ....
New Year Sevens...
The teams are spending a final weekend of rest before the one day sevens tournament on Tuesday. While many see it as no indication to how the season will kick off the following week pride is certainly at stake ... no one will want to lose badly and have to start the following weeks full comp psychologically 'kicked' ...
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