Brizzle Cometh From The West
The HQ win now seems like a distant dream, throwing the ball about for fun and polishing the Tykes off with a five pointer. It may have actually been a dream due to much AG and other, er stuff that may have magnified how good we really were that day.The Wuss game demonstrated that we are still struggling at scrum time. Sale just blew us apart on Friday evening, with their own five pointer and Cueto breaking the premiership record of scoring a try in seven consecutive league games.
So, next up are the new boys to the top flight, after a couple of seasons in the second tier. Brizzle, the right way up the M4 (the opposite direction to the fecking Causeway), had made a perfect start with a shock win over their (and all other ten premiership sides) bitter rivals, Barf, and a determined win over that fecker Squeaky’s Falcons, before coming apart against their other West Country cousins, Glaws. The cherry and whites mullered the Bass boys 41-9 at the memorial to leave Bristol a mere two points ahead of us. The ‘Age of Consent’ triangle on their playing shirt may have been rather apt having taken such a rogering.
Bristol would have taken eight points from the first fifteen available if offered at the start of the season prior to coming back to the last premiership ground they visited before they were relegated. That relegation seems to have proven a real catalyst to surviving any merger with Barf or move to Oxford, that fecking crap piece of three-sided stadia no where near Oxford. They took the change in status and rebuilt under the legend that is Dicky Hill, before claiming their rightful place in the English rugby elite. They have returned a stronger club mentally and physically, but also as a family club with great fans who interact with their players in a special way.
During the close season they have had a busy time recruiting, bringing in the likes of Lima, the chiropractor, and Denny from Wasps via Castres to provide steal in the midfield as well as more Argentines than Tesco corn beef stocks.
Mark Regan has also made a return back to his roots from Leeds, although he will be out of our game with a broken thumb, sustained in their win over the Falcons. This injury was believed to have been sustained while using his thumb to shut Rob Andrew up, blocking the orifice that Squeaky usually delivers his words of rugby wingedom from, a place just south of his jellied spinal column.
At scrum half, they have nabbed Shaun Perry from Coventry, and he has settled into the higher grade without any problems what so ever, even being touted as a potential England 9 in the near future. Gathered with Paul Hull’s return to the coaching staff after taking the London Irish game backwards, it has been a very busy time at the Memorial Stadium.
Irish must treat this game and the next three premiership matches as our cup final to ensure that we can move in the right direction in the league standings. Brian Smith seems to have built self-confidence into the exile players, who now seem to have the willing to chase for tries at every play, although this may have to be curbed slightly with smarter decision making.
The front row will again be facing horrible nasty bastards in the set piece with the hideous feckers of Hilton, Nelson and Crompton being their view in the crouch before impact.
The halfbacks will have to work hard on breaking Perry and Strange pivot, while Penney better not hang around too long with the ball as Lima may wish to re-mould his body into some sort of box shape. Contepomi/Denny will be eyeing a nurturing session for our Catt to stop Irish playing.
These two teams will be going into battle with confidence knocked after both were issued demolitions in week three. For Irish to move on and start building a big points gap over the two bottom teams of Barf and Leeds, the later taking on Tigers, then we must improve and win this one. It may be early in the season, but targeting games against potential fellow ‘R’ word strugglers as 4/5 pointers is a must. Win Saturday and we can start our PowerGen/Anglo-Welsh Tin Cup campaign in a slightly better frame of mind. Lose and we will be locked at the bottom with Wasps, Tigers and Glaws still to play.
Saturday in Reading it is then. Madstad needs to be green and a home win would make a superb change.
-- Master Scribe