A frosty afternoon at
the Madjeski Stadium saw 9th placed Gloucester take on
11th placed London Irish. It was predicted to be a brutal
battle for safety in the Aviva Premiership. Whoever rose to the
challenge on the attack would win but that was easier said than done.
Inconsistency, kicking errors and lack of versatility in the phases
of play, led to a close encounter.
Surprisingly, it took
all of 63 seconds for London Irish to score the first try of the game
by Fergus Mulchrone, converted by Ian Humphreys, but they spent the
next 38 minutes trying to defend and redeem poor play. With Irish
failing to execute clinically,
it was Billy Twelvetrees who slotted a penalty 7 minutes in to put
initial points on the board for Gloucester, 7-3. However, they were
consequently punished in the ruck and after 11 minutes a penalty was
awarded to London Irish. Unfortunately, an unsettled Humphreys
kicked it just wide and their four point lead remained.
Gloucester's control
and attack displayed tenacity in parts and they showed glimpses of
adding depth and speed to provide snatches of dominance. To cement
their hard graft, Gloucester were awarded a penalty 19 minutes in
after Blair Cowan was penalised for not releasing. The kick was well
placed by Twelvetrees and the score stood at 7-6.
For the most part, the
phases of play by both teams seemed rigid and rehearsed. Their set
play meant that slow ball was being played off the breakdown and both
sides appeared to lack the ability to create opportunities or make
the yards. However, having said that, when the London Irish defence
was caught off guard, with absolutely no-one securing the ruck, it
meant that the ball was brilliantly pinched in open play by
Twelvetrees, offloaded to 'legs eleven' Jonny May, who made the most
of it and darted away to cross the whitewash enabling Gloucester to
steal the lead, 7-11. Reliable Twelvetrees secured the conversion
and the score widened to 7-13 after
25 minutes.
Scrappy play saw these
two teams well matched and with a disjointed first half with little
character being shown, it was hard to distinguish who wanted the win!
A penalty after 40 minutes was awarded to Gloucester and Twelvetrees
again extended the margin, taking the game to 7-16 at half time.
HT 7-16
Five minutes into the
second half and Ben Morgan was pinged for a late obstruction on Topsy
Ojo. A penalty was awarded to London Irish but a hesitant
Humphreys failed again to put the points on the board. It wasn't the
best of days for the fly-half!
Soon after, a
remarkable break from Ofisa Treviranus saw him gain tremendous ground
for London Irish and when Gloucester were camped out on their own try
line with fourteen players honey-potting in a swarm
around the ruck, shouldn't common sense have prevailed and Irish
thrown the ball wide for a try? No, far from it! Lack of
communication saw the Irish pack battling Gloucester and Jonny May
retrieving possession to clear the danger, leaving Irish with nothing
to show for their efforts, yet again!
Into the 53rd
minute and with Irish conceding too many penalties, Twelvetrees made
it five from five, taking Gloucester to a 7-19 lead. Shane Geraghty
was then welcomed onto the pitch for London Irish with 25 minutes
left to play. With the fly-half playing such a pivotal role on the
pitch, the question was could he change the dynamic and end the
stagnant kicking game between the two teams?
Mostly, there was very
little imagination in the passive play during this game, but London
Irish showed cohesion quite clearly on crash defence and with a solid
consistent drive from the forward pack, Sheridan was able to cross
the line in the corner, scoring his first try for London Irish.
Geraghty couldn't close the gap further and missed the conversion,
12-19.
It
was a flurry of fly halves when Freddie Burns came on for
Mike Tindall 58 minutes in and he became first choice for kicker when
a high tackle on Twelvetrees saw a penalty being awarded and Burns
made it a ten point gap, 12-22, 60 minutes in.
Even though Gloucester
seemed to be the more forceful in the scrum, they were penalised for
pulling it down, which set up Sheridan for his second try of the
game, bringing London Irish back into the contest. Geraghty managed
to convert, closing the gap, 19-22 with nine minutes left to play.
Just minutes later,
Gloucester were once again penalised in the scrum. With the clock
ticking, Irish fans must have been hoping that Geraghty would convert
this golden chance to aid Irish to break even but his kick went wide
and Irish were left to reflect on their three missed kicking
opportunities.
FT 19-22
An
aimless kicking game from both sides slowed down play today. This
begs the question, on average how much ground is gained when neither
side shows the proactive will needed to chase the ball? Consistency is
key and unless your team are prepared to chase the kick and move up
in a solid defensive line, surely the kicking proves pointless
without aiming for touch? With the pitch supposedly favouring open
running rugby, it was anything but, and in my opinion the game became
'floury'.
It
would be good to see a creative spark emerge between the Irish team
before they meet Warriors next week.
Gloucester sealed the
win today but the team lacked shape and cohesion and their counter
rucking was at times, in disarray. When they play the league leaders
Saracens on home turf next week in Round 12 of the Aviva Premiership,
Gloucester need to re-evaluate their strategies and be on top of
their game.