Terrible display. Only Passi did much. LMS giving away penalties galore( back to his old ways) How many times have we conceded tries to Dwyer over the years? Good job they had a weakened side out.
Terrible display. Only Passi did much. LMS giving away penalties galore( back to his old ways) How many times have we conceded tries to Dwyer over the years? Good job they had a weakened side out.
If we lift the cup this game will be well forgotten. Taking the penalties may have seemed negative at the time but without them we could have been losing towards the end.
Loyal and true, not a glory hunter.
Not a good performance but we’re still in the draw for the next round which is all that matters. Over the years it’s surprising how often the cup winners have had to struggle through an earlier round while stand-out victors at the beginning of the competition have frequently failed to go on to lift the cup.
I didn’t think we were good. I’m relieved we’re through.
I thought Liam Moore was inconsistent as Video Ref. Roby’s try went up as a try on field. Moore asked if there was a better angle but there wasn’t and he decided that there was a loss of contact with the ball and that it was short of the line. He was faced with a similar decision with the Dwyer try but despite the fact that anyone could see there was real doubt that the ball was on the line he decided he was bound by the on field decision. I think both efforts were doubtful and that the TV evidence was indecisive so why didn’t he go with the on field decision for both? Can someone explain the difference or am I just biased? (I know I’m biased so that’s irrelevant .)
Thought the Roby no try in the first half was a shocker from Thaler. He didn’t allow Robys momentum to stop before calling held up. He clearly grounded the ball.
On the game itself we look really nervous when it comes to challenge cup games. Maybe it’s the weight of expectation having not won it in so long but I can’t remember the last time we played well in a cup game? Still a wins a win and we’re into the next round.
Very poor today but we won . As long as we learn and make improvements than all is good . knock out rugby has proved challenging for us over the years and that was no different today. It goes to show that their ain’t no such thing as a weakened team in knockout rugby .
We were crap , they played well , we are in the draw that’s all that matters !
We were pretty average but we have to remember that losing 2 of your pack members within the first 20 minutes isn't ideal, so a lot of the big lads had to do longer minutes and we didn't have the luxury of interchanges as we would have under normal circumstances.
We made a lot of unforced errors which didn't exactly help.
Not a great performance, we're through, but need to be a lot better.
Leeds came with a clear game plan and the emotion of defending their trophy. It’s the first time this season we haven’t matched the intensity of our opposition. Ironically, I think we would have had an easier game if Leeds had had their full compliment out, as we didn’t seem to cope with Leeds playing a very different type of game (not sure if that was naive or arrogant by us).
For us to concede the 3 tries in exactly the same way is disappointing in the extreme, and very unlike what we have come to expect from a Woolf team/ Saints since 2017. There were some really poor performances from some of our usually completely reliable players; Coote, Walmsley and LMS had games to forget and with the exception of Paasi, everyone else was barely above average.
But where we’re at is now, anything less than a canter is seen as a mitigated failure. We’re in the bag for the next round having knocked a team out whose beaten us in these types of games time and again. It wasnt pretty but it was a win, and we can keep building on it.
Also, you add on two Roby tries, or take of the last Leeds try (you have to do one or the other because the inconsistency is ridiculous) and everythign is just a bit more comfortable. With the exception of the red card (which I was pleasantly surprised the right call was actually made) Leeds got away with absolutely everything today, offside, messing around at the ruck etc we seem to keep having to play against 14 this year.
It’s the refs job to use all available resources to reach the right decision, not to make a snap judgement to make it look like you’re in control. Maybe having a captains challenge isn’t such a bad idea. Shame we can’t utilise the ref, linesman and video ref as a team like they do in union. TMO would have been in the refs ear telling him he needed to check that.
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.
Ah well Leigh or Shudds
Better draw but taking nowt for granted in cup games
I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but did we go into this game expecting an easy win?
If so, it bit us on the bum and we panicked a little, leading to some uncharacteristic errors.
Coote wasn't match fit either, which didn't help.
I also get the feeling that players play beyond themselves when a man down. Perhaps more so that they would do when a couple of subs down?
However, a result was all that we needed. Job done!
In short (because I can’t be bothered formulating proper sentences):
An extremely ugly win
Goal line defence was appalling for all 3 tries
Coote had his worst game for us
Poor errors from Walmsley, LMS, Makinson off the top of my head
Dodd isn’t a hooker; him playing there annoys me
Paasi was excellent
Our wingers are very very clinical
Welsby is slowly becoming a better centre than a full back
Lomax is top top class
NEVER WRITE OFF THE SAINTS
Agree with every point you've made. Especially after the easy early try, I think we fully switched to 'we can do this in 2nd gear' mode mentally.
Leeds, on the other hand, I think took "it's a free hit for Leeds' rather literally.
Ultra-aggressive defence that definitely pushed the boundaries, culminating in that tw*t hitting Theo late and high with a shoulder. They did reign in the 'near the knuckle' stuff to a certain extent, but still tackled like demons.
I guess that playing with 10 forwards on the pitch lends itself to aggressive tactics.
We, on the other hand, struggled to up and maintain intensity, especially at times round the ruck at the PTB.
It’s the inconsistency in refereeing that is frustrating. Referees that want to check absolutely everything even if they were right in front of it and those who want as little help as possible and can make their own mind up on the spot. For the referee to not pass that up today is a bit of a joke. He clearly didn’t see what happened as he made 100% the wrong call.
Coote's worst game since Wembley - but first game since November so clearly not match fit.
Walmsley made some good yards but showed handling like when he first signed for us.
Thompson made some good yards, but it'd be nice to see an offload or two in there
Paasi, great lift for the team when he came one, difficult to put down and made some good yards.
Other than that, a very clunky display again, littered with handling errors. The backs didn't really get much chance to do anything - but they took their tries well. Tough win too, losing Matautia and Lees early, and having Dodd on the bench was always going to be tricky. Probably one of those games we'd have lost prior to Woolf
I thought that Welsby showed some class by drawing defenders and then executing a magnificent pass to Regan to score. One of the highlights of the game for me. To be fair to the other partnership, however, Naiqama executed an excellent pass to Tommy on the other wing that totally fooled me watching live.
Welsby seems much improved and is gaining confidence with every game.
The worry for me is that we are too easily put off our game when sides get In to our faces. This needs sorting as all teams will do it.