Oct 06 Ospreys v Sale

Heaven knows I’m miserable now

What did you get up to last Friday - a meal in a restaurant or a trip to the cinema maybe? I spent nearly fifteen hours travelling. Before you ask, it wasn’t to Alice Springs or anywhere exotic like that: no, I went to Swansea on a coach with other supporters to watch Sale Sharks take on the Ospreys. Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we traipse all over this island and Europe to support our team? Are we deluded or simply masochistic? No, I’d like to think we’re neither, we’re just passionate and committed rugby fans who believe in our team and will cheer them on come what may. Sometimes it is hard and can be dispiriting, but we do it none the less – maybe we are masochists after all! All we ask in return is that the team show the same sort of belief and passion as us and play with confidence and a conviction in their own abilities.

We had all travelled in the hope of a four point win or a draw at the very least. So, what went wrong? Why did we manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? Well, ask any of those same supporters and they’ll reel off a list of grievances as long as your arm: a lack of conviction and belief, a failure to put away the chances and kill off the game, no support for breakaway runners, poor handling, mistimed final passes, a lack of passion, and on and on it continues from there. All of these criticisms could rightly be levelled at the performance. Some described the performance as ‘naïve’. After the lessons we were taught in Limerick and San Sebastian last year, I don’t think that can be used as an excuse any longer: we are a big team with a European pedigree now and have to start playing like it. Many criticised the referee for his poor handling of the game. Certainly the tackle on Mark Cueto whilst still in the air did deserve some form of punishment and the blatant stamp on Corcho by the Wallaby Boyo, Brent Cobain, should have resulted in a red card. The fact remains though, you have to play to the referee you are given: he has officiated for us before and we should have known what to expect. At the end of the day, in my eyes at least, we actually threw the match away. We had so much territorial possession in the second half but just couldn’t convert that into points. We should have won comfortably.

The mood on the coach on the way back was one of sombre reflection, and not just because we knew how long the return journey was likely to be. There was some cause for optimism though. Corcho put in yet another blazing performance and Richard Wigglesworth once again produced the form he last showed at Twickenham in the Premiership Final. Unfortunately the prospects of qualifying for the quarter finals now look to be very bleak. We are now in a position where we have to win all our remaining group games, preferably with bonus points. That includes a trip to current French League leaders, Stade Francais, not an easy place to go at the best of times. Are we still going to qualify? The realist in me says probably not, but the optimist in me says yes. It all depends upon your outlook on life in general: is your glass half full or half empty? Mine is still half full, but I am beginning to feel very thirsty.