Post by Jamie Crawford on Feb 3, 2015 16:28:58 GMT
Some are wondering how a team can go from a fantastic performance when beating Munster ‘A’ in the British and Irish Cup to the team that lost 25 – 5 to Worcester Warriors?
Most others appreciate that it was a commendable if unlucky performance. To put it into perspective; Worcester are the form team in the Championship and the score was only 5 – 0 at half time. As michaeljohn said on the Forum, “Just for reference, Worcester's last four Championship results:
CHAMP London Scottish 17 - 34 Worcester Warriors Athletic Ground
CHAMP Leeds Carnegie 17 - 36 Worcester Warriors
CHAMP Worcester Warriors 62 - 26 Cornish Pirates Sixways
CHAMP Moseley 10 - 50 Worcester Warriors
Doesn't make today's 25-5 seem all that catastrophic by comparison.”
As Griff has commented, he appreciates the positive comments about the Knights’ performance but we still left with no points.
There was a nightmare spell of ten minutes when we were down to 14 men when the Warriors scored three of their tries. It’s apparent that you need all fifteen players on the pitch to play well to have a chance against a team like Worcester Warriors. Having one player less cost us fifteen points. We also had some key players injured; Latu Makaafi, our leading try-scorer to mention just one.
On Saturday we are not facing the form side in the Premiership, we are playing eighth-placed Yorkshire (Leeds) Carnegie, who we beat at Headingly 23 – 32 at the end of last September. Having previously beaten Carnegie at their home is a double-edged sword; on one edge of the sword Carnegie will be out to get vengeance against a team that has lost their last nine league games. On the other edge the Knights have the confidence of knowing that they have beaten Carnegie once, why not again?
Leeds Carnegie had a comfortable win against Moseley last Sunday, beating them 32 – 17, so they’ll be revved up with self-confidence eager to exact revenge on the Knights. In their turn the Knights beat Munster ‘A’ in the Cup and put on a valiant performance against Championship joint-favourites Worcester Warriors.
That win means that Carnegie have won four games to the Knights’ three but they’ve also drawn one that we lost. Together with their eight bonus points to our five, Carnegie (plus Bedford and Jersey) are nine points above us. They have scored 31 more points and conceded fifteen fewer. That is not a significant amount over 13 games.
The Knights, Carnegie and Moseley have only recorded one home victory so far this season but Carnegie and Moseley also had their draw at home. That stat is about to change on Saturday (hopefully) when the Knights will join Plymouth Albion and Jersey who have scored two home wins. Unfortunately Carnegie have had three away wins and they have scored 54 more points away yet conceded 19 more points away, both compared to at home.
Fly Half Harry Leonard is Carnegie top scorer and fifth in the Championship and unusually prop Ben Harris is their leasing try-scorer. Leonard has the fourth best kicking strike rate in the Championship with 70%. Leonard tops the away kicking strike rate, above our own Dougie Flockhart. Leonards strike rate away from home is nearly 10% better away than at home.
Over the 13 games Carnegie have scored eleven more tries than the Knights, over a quarter of these have been by the front row. 20% have been scored by the front row and 17% by the Centres. The other positions have only scored one but mainly a couple. So the Knights need to defend against push over tries unless Carnegie have some flying forwards!
The Knights have conceded three more tries than Carnegie; Carnegie’s tries have been scored by the opposition’s Back Row (31%), Full Back (22%) and Wingers (19%). Half Backs and Wingers have only scored one and no other forward position has breached the try-line. Carnegie have been stronger in the second and third quarters of the match but start and finish equally as strong. It seems Caernegie forwards score their tries but also consede nearly a third of them.
The slight majority of tries have been conceded in the second half, with 46% of the total being conceded in the last quarter. Carnegie haven’t been stronger or weaker at try scoring as the game progresses but allow tries to be scored against them more easily as the game marches on.
The game will also see the teams compete for the Yorkshire Regiment Trophy - which Doncaster are currently leading the way in having claimed two wins.
Elsewhere around England in the Championship that concerns the Knights in one game:
Moseley (10th, one point above) welcome sixth-placed Cornish Pirates to Billesley Common
Plymouth Albion (12th, three points below) travel to Goldington Road to play ninth-placed Bedford Blues.
DONNY, DONNY, DONNY…
Most others appreciate that it was a commendable if unlucky performance. To put it into perspective; Worcester are the form team in the Championship and the score was only 5 – 0 at half time. As michaeljohn said on the Forum, “Just for reference, Worcester's last four Championship results:
CHAMP London Scottish 17 - 34 Worcester Warriors Athletic Ground
CHAMP Leeds Carnegie 17 - 36 Worcester Warriors
CHAMP Worcester Warriors 62 - 26 Cornish Pirates Sixways
CHAMP Moseley 10 - 50 Worcester Warriors
Doesn't make today's 25-5 seem all that catastrophic by comparison.”
As Griff has commented, he appreciates the positive comments about the Knights’ performance but we still left with no points.
There was a nightmare spell of ten minutes when we were down to 14 men when the Warriors scored three of their tries. It’s apparent that you need all fifteen players on the pitch to play well to have a chance against a team like Worcester Warriors. Having one player less cost us fifteen points. We also had some key players injured; Latu Makaafi, our leading try-scorer to mention just one.
On Saturday we are not facing the form side in the Premiership, we are playing eighth-placed Yorkshire (Leeds) Carnegie, who we beat at Headingly 23 – 32 at the end of last September. Having previously beaten Carnegie at their home is a double-edged sword; on one edge of the sword Carnegie will be out to get vengeance against a team that has lost their last nine league games. On the other edge the Knights have the confidence of knowing that they have beaten Carnegie once, why not again?
Leeds Carnegie had a comfortable win against Moseley last Sunday, beating them 32 – 17, so they’ll be revved up with self-confidence eager to exact revenge on the Knights. In their turn the Knights beat Munster ‘A’ in the Cup and put on a valiant performance against Championship joint-favourites Worcester Warriors.
That win means that Carnegie have won four games to the Knights’ three but they’ve also drawn one that we lost. Together with their eight bonus points to our five, Carnegie (plus Bedford and Jersey) are nine points above us. They have scored 31 more points and conceded fifteen fewer. That is not a significant amount over 13 games.
The Knights, Carnegie and Moseley have only recorded one home victory so far this season but Carnegie and Moseley also had their draw at home. That stat is about to change on Saturday (hopefully) when the Knights will join Plymouth Albion and Jersey who have scored two home wins. Unfortunately Carnegie have had three away wins and they have scored 54 more points away yet conceded 19 more points away, both compared to at home.
Fly Half Harry Leonard is Carnegie top scorer and fifth in the Championship and unusually prop Ben Harris is their leasing try-scorer. Leonard has the fourth best kicking strike rate in the Championship with 70%. Leonard tops the away kicking strike rate, above our own Dougie Flockhart. Leonards strike rate away from home is nearly 10% better away than at home.
Over the 13 games Carnegie have scored eleven more tries than the Knights, over a quarter of these have been by the front row. 20% have been scored by the front row and 17% by the Centres. The other positions have only scored one but mainly a couple. So the Knights need to defend against push over tries unless Carnegie have some flying forwards!
The Knights have conceded three more tries than Carnegie; Carnegie’s tries have been scored by the opposition’s Back Row (31%), Full Back (22%) and Wingers (19%). Half Backs and Wingers have only scored one and no other forward position has breached the try-line. Carnegie have been stronger in the second and third quarters of the match but start and finish equally as strong. It seems Caernegie forwards score their tries but also consede nearly a third of them.
The slight majority of tries have been conceded in the second half, with 46% of the total being conceded in the last quarter. Carnegie haven’t been stronger or weaker at try scoring as the game progresses but allow tries to be scored against them more easily as the game marches on.
The game will also see the teams compete for the Yorkshire Regiment Trophy - which Doncaster are currently leading the way in having claimed two wins.
Elsewhere around England in the Championship that concerns the Knights in one game:
Moseley (10th, one point above) welcome sixth-placed Cornish Pirates to Billesley Common
Plymouth Albion (12th, three points below) travel to Goldington Road to play ninth-placed Bedford Blues.
DONNY, DONNY, DONNY…
