Get ‘Arf My Land
The highflying Gloucester Rugby, well one place above us, are the next visitors to the Madstad to provide a stern test for the confident London Irish. They have re-branded and now don the most hideous playing shirts in the AG premiership.After a run of back-to-back premiership wins as well as the two Challenge Cup victories, the exiles will be hoping to continue this rich vein of form to claim at least 4th by Sunday evening, a status that would be ours with a win over the Cherry and Whites, if we indeed can call them that now-a-days.
Gloucester will be coming in to the game fecking pished off after losing 25 – 20 to a depleted Tigers side, where a win would have seen them join the Pests on 24 points. As it was, Tigers pushed dem lads closer to us. This also ensured that the West Country lads posted back-to-back defeats on the road, having lost to their bitter enemies at the Wreck, a place they have not won at in the professional era.
The season however, has started brightly for Glaws. Other than the two defeats mentioned, they have won four of the seven, and drew their opening game away to Wuss. They have proven to be a tough ask in both the fatboys and their pacey girls, especially at Castle Grim in front of their adoring shed full of shedheads.
With the return of the messier Ludo Mercier, the fecker that frickin ran us ragged at home to Pau last season, they have re-discovered the form that lead them to the top of the premiership three seasons previous. Since he left, the slippery slide down the league and entry into the Challenge Cup in Europe has been their reward, after the heights of the PowerGen Cup winning formula that destroyed all in its path.
They have lost Vickery and Royalty shagger Tindall to the England side for the upcoming All Blacks encounter, and most will say have been lucky to retain Forrester and Simpson-Daniel, two players that are in great form for the club.
Henry Paul, the bad arsed fecker from New Zealand, is currently out of favour for choosing hangover home stay to training, which cost him three weeks wages. His return will be down to Ryan and himself getting to some sort of common ground.
Glaws will again prove to be a tough nut to crack with a mobile pack and game breakers in the backs. The back row combo of Balding, Hazell and Forrester has speed, guile and fecking muscle that are up there with the best in the league, with the former exile, Boer available from the bench. This will be a key area for this match, and will require the selected combination from Irish to be at their very best.
The front row of Collazo, Davies, if not in the Welsh squad for the weekend and Powell may be tasty morsels for the current fatboys of Irish, but again a war will be declared at scrum time, more so if Azam makes a return.
Big Bob and Nick have proven themselves fecking handy of late in the lineout play as well as getting around the park. Their skills will be tested by the aggressive duo of Eustace and Buxton in the absence of the injured Brown.
Peter Richards, the former pest, has been making a return to scrumhalf where he now partner’s Mercier. This pivot provides both control and an edge to the halfbacks, which will help bring in the likes of Sinbad, Foster and Thirlby to use their feck-off pace. A couple of youngsters who both scored at the weekend, Allan and Morgan, should complete the very dangerous backs, an area that will ultimately determine the destination of the win.
The games last season between these two clubs were fairly tight affairs. The Kingsholm encounter turned on the weather, and the Paddy’s Day game turned on the woodwork.
More blood and thunder from the tight five, with dynamic back row involvement, coupled with a bit more flair from the girls, oh and a pinch more of luck could see the home side through. We will be underdogs again, and rightfully so, as on paper, Glaws should win it.
Lets fecking burn this paper squad comparison and get at a team there for the taking.
-- Master Scribe