The Corsairs are Coming!

This weekend the Leeds Carnegie players have to pick themselves up, dust off the remnants of last week's defeat at the Mem' and get ready to face the sons of Kernow in the  fixture where they can avenge the drubbing at The Mennaye back in September.

Getting 50 points put past you is bad enough but it must have been a real eye opener for Diccon Edwards and his coaching team. Since that black September day the 'Neegs have won 7 games without showing any real consistency. They are 7th in the league, 7 points behind Rotherham and are in danger of staying in that position.

A win against the Pirates is possible, unlikely but possible. Diccon has named a strong team - all they need to do is play to their capability and it could be very close. Leeds to win by 3!

Welcome back Danny!

One of the most pleasing sights for me at Headingley Carnegie Stadium last night was the return of Danny Paul. The former prop, converted to backrow showed his versatility when he came on at lock in the second half. He seemed to slip back into rugby without any noticeable reaction despite the fact that the second half was a very physical session against tough, streetwise opponents. I hope he gets an extended, injury-free run in the team. We need him!

Bananaskin avoided, just!

Leeds came back from Esher with a narrow win. Enough to get the lads up to sixth in the league. The skipper and Big Mac both came on in the game so will be in contention for selection against Rotherham. They will be needed! Rotherham beat neighbours Donny this weekend and will be looking forward to our encounter on Friday night. carnegie will have to up it's collective game to get anything out of that fixture.

Our Nemesis returns.

Today Leeds Carnegie plays a routine fixture down in Surrey. Despite the "bananaskin" potential of this match the Tykes are ( in my view) expected to win. In six days time we have a home fixture against Rotherham Titans. Roth are a few places above us in the league and beat the lads down at Clifton Lane earlier in the season.

The game next Friday will provide a good indicator as to how much we have improved ( because we have!) and tell us much about our likely final league position. If we win then a top four place is realistic otherwise top eight and playoffs. How many times in the past have Roth widdled on our bonfire? Time to stick it to them and move onwards and upwards methinks.

Time to Raise our Expectations.

The autumn has, so far , been quite horrid for Tykes fans, until last weekend when the pups were unleashed at Bedford . They came away from Goldington Road with all five points, bucket loads of kudos and a much needed boost to their collective self confidence.

This must now be taken forward into the Nottingham game! It is not unreasonable for us to expect a degree of consistency, game on game. Despite the fact that we have won four consecutive fixtures the home games have been flakey performances to put it mildly.

Our senior squad players seem to be bearing the brunt of the injuries at the moment so it is down to the youngsters to shoulder the burden of performance. To me it seems that they are up to the task. Tomorrow's team has enough about it to see off Nottingham. I expect to see an improved performance and a place in the top half of the table by Xmas.

The Season Started Yesterday.

Leeds managed an away win down at London Scottish yesterday just after England's world cup dreams were trampled into the New Zealand dirt by the rampant French. Do I feel sad? No, I feel relieved that our season has finally started, albeit with lowered expectations and we have the prospect of back-to-back wins to look forward to if we can overcome Moseley at HC next Sunday. We also had the big plus of Mike MacDonald returning with a forceful second half performance. Perhaps now our scrummaging will improve - always a good sign of better things to come.

Looking at the Championship table I can see us getting up to about 5th or 6th by Christmas. By that time many of the kids will have found their feet in this tough division and we will be in a better position for the play-offs. Bring it on!

Another Stiff Test for the Kids

Two defeats on the trot for the kids. Bristol are up this weekend enjoying the sort of form that their long-suffering fans could only dream about last year at this time. The Tykes were given a torrid time in the set piece last weekend. Will they fare any better this time around?

It is too soon to expect a win with tries flying in from all corners of the ground. What we do need to see, however, is improvement in those areas where we have been lacking. That plus some leadership from the older players otherwise we could be bottom of the heap on Monday morning.