Confidence. Momentum. Luck. Three things that were all in short order before Christmas were clearly on Axe’s list to the big man (Santa, not Simon or Ged), as we haven’t been short of them since.
You don’t win four on the bounce, including two away from home, in this league without a bit of all three and it’s been heartening to see us play with a real swagger to our game that means wherever we play and whoever lines up against us, we seem to have the belief in our systems and players as well as the accuracy to deliver on that promise.
Let’s be honest, we needed a hefty chunk of luck to squeeze past Northampton at the Gardens in the form of a George Furbank missed kick in the last play. That said, would we have even been in with a shout in that game a few weeks ago? The form of Reed and Roebuck on the wings got us off to a flying start, the experience of Faf coming off the bench probably saw us home and Rohan’s red hot streak continued with one of his easier tries this season. That’s just the backs – in the pack Joe Jones is looking like he’s making us regret ever letting him leave in the first place, Jono is playing some of the best rugby of his career and can someone please have a word with Eddie Jones about Curtis Langdon because he appears to be missing one of the best hookers in England in his squad.
A bit of biased hyperbole for a Six Nations weekend there, you know us, but it is true that more and more of this team are putting themselves in contention for international caps the way they’re playing. The talent has always been there but we are now seeing performances and results on the pitch to match.
The squad has also been bolstered in the last couple of weeks by the signing of young lock Alex Groves and slightly less young lock Dom Barrow (no offence intended Dom – experience is invaluable). With minimal movements out of the club yet announced other than the heartbreaking one we don’t want to talk about, it’s likely we’ll still have some upheaval to come – but so does everyone in the league and we look well placed with our academy talent continuing to step up to the plate.
So, thoughts turn to London Irish at home, where a win would be a huge boost to our league position as we continue to push for Top 4. Irish are a team whose form has been superb and, in the politest way possible, frustratingly similar to our own. We win, they win. We beat the champions, they beat Sarries. Their squad is starting to really deliver on the potential they’ve shown in flashes for the last couple of seasons, with a heady mix of experienced international stars and fantastic young English talent which is great to see.
So here it is, Friday night lights at the AJ Bell, and is there anywhere you’d rather be than watching two fantastic teams go up against each other with everything to play for. Say-ul!
Alex, James and Lewis
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