doedin wrote:Happy to admit I got it wrong in that it was a far better display than I expected, a mixture of our improved performance and Leinster being under par. I got it wrong about the BP loss but correct about the most important number, the zero points we took from the game!
However lets be clear Cockerill would have planned his season out some time ago and decided to play a number of our internationalists in the first 4 games and as a result, according to SRU protocol, would have needed to be rested for this game. He obviously decided to throw them into the other games on the basis this was the least winnable. He is probably pleasantly surprised at the performance and in particular of the likes of Johnstone.
I have seen time and time again Embra put in a decent, plucky and unexpected display against a top team but fail to take anything from the game. This seems to spur some guys on this forum to suddenly decide we are 'almost there' and the misplaced optimism comes flooding back only to be dashed in the next game or two. Surely the first signs of any improvement is when we take something tangible from a game like this rather than a decent performance and some half hearted plaudits from the opposition's supporters forum?
Lets not forget our miserable display against the Italian giants Benetton when we managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory after being two tries up. This was probably a better yardstick of where we are in our development.
Lastly I would encourage everyone on this site to get out and support Scottish rugby, whatever the level, rather than sitting on their lardy DonalCourtney watching the tv. Heriots v Watson game was an excellent game in front of a decent crowd and worth having to watch the Embra game later once I got home. I suppose I am a rugby supporter first and foremost, I make no apology for that.
Why is the Benetton game a better yardstick for where we are now than the Leinster game? Does only one of them count? Is it because the Leinster game surprised you and sits less well with your prejudices and dogma?
The yardstick is 5 games, 2 wins, 3 defeats. One win considerably above expectation, one defeat desperately below expectation, 1 win and 2 defeats where we got what we expected, more or less, but the manner of achieving those results was better than expectation. Only points count at the end of the season, let's see.
I like benchmarking against last season, as it shows like for like progress, or not. So far, we've taken 10 points from these 5 games, last season we took 9. Pretty much like for like. Last season we lost at hoe to Zebre, so let's see where we are after 6 games, will be interesting.