With a new season the slate is wiped clean and this season Irish have another attempt at Premiership survival, now we are a few games into the season proper I thought now was a good time to review on progress made so far.
Irish have been in this position a couple of times now and personally I would argue the relegation to the Championship is not the end of the world albeit not ideal and causes a mass of players to leave. However on this attempt there was certainly a new air of optimism about the club pre-season I would imagine mostly due to the number of signings, the coaching set up but also the prospect of the Rugby World Cup and the ability to capitalise on those who may have lost significant chunks of their squad to the various teams in Japan.
The hope I would suggest was somewhat short lived following the only real pre-season friendly (would still like some more at Hazelwood) against Munster who brought Irish down to reality, a good solid first half performance was overshadowed by the final score line which shows Irish couldn't afford to miss opportunities against the better teams but given the time before the season started properly there was still time to improve (and you can't read too much into pre-season games).
However on came the Premiership Cup and my first away trip for the season (with the plus one and brothers) and I admit my hope was restored, despite a weakened Gloucester side the result was impressive and the reactions from some players really impressed me and I felt we shown a new form of grit that we may not have had before, an example of which was a knock on from Albert from a kick off which is seasons past we would not have seen a bounce back from however Albert did just that and the following kick off he made amends with a fantastic run. The Premiership Cup success was short lived with some really narrow losses to Quins and Sale which in hindsight we could have won, this made me worry a little bit as this sounded somewhat familiar to our last visit to the Premiership.
Despite the mixed fortunes no fan can ever stop the fresh air of optimism the new season brings and with that Irish travelled to Wasps for their first fixture (and my second away trip). I must admit pre-game I wasn't optimistic for the win (despite my £1 bet saying otherwise) however with the range of new faces and the world cup I thought now was as good as an opportunity than ever for Irish to take 4 points and despite a rather frantic ending (where I lost my voice) Irish sealed their first Premiership victory of the season. With this I probably quite naively thought that the pundits would give Irish praise but it appeared that they seemed more focused on Wasps poor performance than our dogged ability to defend the line even with 14 and our ability to score however I suppose being the 'new boys' and that every team which has been promoted recently have won their first game back I suppose their hesitation was fair.
The Sale sharks game for me I felt was winnable, buoyed by the optimism of beating Wasps and coming close in the Cup I thought Irish's chances were good however for whatever reason Irish were well and truly beaten and the harsh truth of Premiership survival returned and probably as a team high on a first game win this was probably a necessary lesson, albeit a very ugly one.
Next up was Saracens who despite missing a big chunk of their squad, Irish gave a good lash at and at half time if I were being honest I thought they would win however Irish hopes were dashed in the last kick of the game having conceded a try, a yellow card and then a penalty in the last moments. This loss reminded me of Irish of old, so close to winning, losing a winning position and penalties costing the team. Bonus points and close games we know will not equal survival, however with a new coaching team and a different squad I hoped we could learn our lessons and kick onwards.
This brought us to the Tigers game (my first home game of the season) and wow what a reaction, Tigers pushed early however I really saw Irish's new defence shine again and its not the pain we have experienced before. Additionally our backline despite a loss of young talent in the past 4-5 seasons really shone well with a try from Ben Loader and our new signing, Naholo, who teamed up with Phipps for a wonder try which harked back to Irish of old.
So the early battles have played out and four games into the Premiership, Irish have two wins and I must admit they are looking promising but it is still a long season ahead. I am optimistic for Premiership survival this time however Irish will need to constantly evolve and learn as the season goes on to stay ahead of the game. As a fan I think I can say after a few seasons of Premiership pain, we should keep the faith, keep behind the boys and whatever happens in the season ahead we ensure Team Green are loud and proud of what we achieve.
Bring on the European Challenge Cup and the rest of the season!
(Although it does feel a bit redundant now) KEEP IT GOING IRISH!!
Irish have been in this position a couple of times now and personally I would argue the relegation to the Championship is not the end of the world albeit not ideal and causes a mass of players to leave. However on this attempt there was certainly a new air of optimism about the club pre-season I would imagine mostly due to the number of signings, the coaching set up but also the prospect of the Rugby World Cup and the ability to capitalise on those who may have lost significant chunks of their squad to the various teams in Japan.
The hope I would suggest was somewhat short lived following the only real pre-season friendly (would still like some more at Hazelwood) against Munster who brought Irish down to reality, a good solid first half performance was overshadowed by the final score line which shows Irish couldn't afford to miss opportunities against the better teams but given the time before the season started properly there was still time to improve (and you can't read too much into pre-season games).
However on came the Premiership Cup and my first away trip for the season (with the plus one and brothers) and I admit my hope was restored, despite a weakened Gloucester side the result was impressive and the reactions from some players really impressed me and I felt we shown a new form of grit that we may not have had before, an example of which was a knock on from Albert from a kick off which is seasons past we would not have seen a bounce back from however Albert did just that and the following kick off he made amends with a fantastic run. The Premiership Cup success was short lived with some really narrow losses to Quins and Sale which in hindsight we could have won, this made me worry a little bit as this sounded somewhat familiar to our last visit to the Premiership.
Despite the mixed fortunes no fan can ever stop the fresh air of optimism the new season brings and with that Irish travelled to Wasps for their first fixture (and my second away trip). I must admit pre-game I wasn't optimistic for the win (despite my £1 bet saying otherwise) however with the range of new faces and the world cup I thought now was as good as an opportunity than ever for Irish to take 4 points and despite a rather frantic ending (where I lost my voice) Irish sealed their first Premiership victory of the season. With this I probably quite naively thought that the pundits would give Irish praise but it appeared that they seemed more focused on Wasps poor performance than our dogged ability to defend the line even with 14 and our ability to score however I suppose being the 'new boys' and that every team which has been promoted recently have won their first game back I suppose their hesitation was fair.
The Sale sharks game for me I felt was winnable, buoyed by the optimism of beating Wasps and coming close in the Cup I thought Irish's chances were good however for whatever reason Irish were well and truly beaten and the harsh truth of Premiership survival returned and probably as a team high on a first game win this was probably a necessary lesson, albeit a very ugly one.
Next up was Saracens who despite missing a big chunk of their squad, Irish gave a good lash at and at half time if I were being honest I thought they would win however Irish hopes were dashed in the last kick of the game having conceded a try, a yellow card and then a penalty in the last moments. This loss reminded me of Irish of old, so close to winning, losing a winning position and penalties costing the team. Bonus points and close games we know will not equal survival, however with a new coaching team and a different squad I hoped we could learn our lessons and kick onwards.
This brought us to the Tigers game (my first home game of the season) and wow what a reaction, Tigers pushed early however I really saw Irish's new defence shine again and its not the pain we have experienced before. Additionally our backline despite a loss of young talent in the past 4-5 seasons really shone well with a try from Ben Loader and our new signing, Naholo, who teamed up with Phipps for a wonder try which harked back to Irish of old.
So the early battles have played out and four games into the Premiership, Irish have two wins and I must admit they are looking promising but it is still a long season ahead. I am optimistic for Premiership survival this time however Irish will need to constantly evolve and learn as the season goes on to stay ahead of the game. As a fan I think I can say after a few seasons of Premiership pain, we should keep the faith, keep behind the boys and whatever happens in the season ahead we ensure Team Green are loud and proud of what we achieve.
Bring on the European Challenge Cup and the rest of the season!
(Although it does feel a bit redundant now) KEEP IT GOING IRISH!!
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