History in the making
Published on: 14th May, 2009
History in the making | Related News
This year’s Guinness Premiership final has the makings of a cracking contest, with the vastly experienced Leicester Tigers coming up against an exciting London Irish side who have won plenty of plaudits for their attacking stance and never-say-die attitude.
Still in the hunt for a Premiership – Heineken Cup double, the Tigers proved too strong for a tired Bath in last week’s semi-final. The big games are coming thick and fast for Richard Cockerill’s side but they themselves have shown no signs of fatigue and are strong favourites to capture a record eighth Premiership title.
London Irish were just as convincing during their 17-0 win over rivals Harlequins at a jam-packed Stoop. Mike Catt threw back the years with an outstanding display, while Delon Armitage knows that another big performance in Saturday’s showpiece will put him in strong contention for the vacant Lions spot.
Can head coach Toby Booth clinch Premiership glory for the Exiles in his debut season, or will the Tigers experience of the big occasion see them home? Miles Harrison will be commentating at Twickenham and he anticipates a titanic battle.
It’s unchartered territory for London Irish Miles, but they will be brimming with confidence following their superb win at Harlequins.
MILES REPLIES: They are coming into new territory as a group and you just don’t know how that is going to pan out; maybe they don’t even know themselves. That could be a good thing though. Sometimes not knowing how much pressure there is in these situations can work for sides. We’ve seen that happen before in finals.
But let’s focus on what we can base our opinions on, and that is what we saw from London Irish against Harlequins last weekend. That was one heck of a performance. I would go as far to say that was the Guinness Premiership performance of the season. They held Quins to nil, who were the second seeds and at home. Obviously they were helped by those three missed kicks in the first half but they still achieved it.
Leicester will start as favourites and quite rightly so considering the way they’re playing and that they’ve been in these situations before. The Tigers have the edge in experience but London Irish have a more than fighting chance here and everybody knows it, which makes it very exciting.
Mike Catt reeled in the years at the Stoop and his phenomenal display was rewarded with Irish’s second try. The Exiles will need a similar performance from him at Twickenham.
MILES REPLIES: And that’s the issue: can Catty put in a performance like that twice in a week at his age? He looked absolutely exhausted when he scored his try; he was calling to the bench to be taken off! I think it was one of those moments that we’re never going to forget, Catt intercepting the ball, showing it to the crowd before touching down, then being engulfed by his teammates in that great celebration. It was the oldest guy in the Premiership running through to clinch a final place for his side.
When you get to 37 can you produce a monumental performance twice? If there’s one man that can do it, it’s Mike Catt. He’s very durable, we’ve seen that, and there’s no compromise with him. He still plays the same game he’s always played, challenging on the gain line, trying to bust his way through, dropping back intelligently and kicking into the corners and keeping his side in enemy territory. It was such an intelligent performance against Harlequins, but it was also a very physical one. He’s playing in a very full-on way. On that basis there’s every chance he can bounce get and get a bit more out of the Catt body.
Both sides came through extremely physical encounters at the weekend. There would have been a number of sore bodies this week. Given the late stage of the season, could it be a factor?
MILES REPLIES: The point about sore bodies is a very relevant one. I think that in Bath and Harlequins in the semi-finals, we saw two teams who were on their last legs. Nick Evans didn’t look fit for Quins; they just got him out there because they felt they had to play a game like that with him involved, they had to give it a go. When Tom Williams got injured he couldn’t really go off because they didn’t have the option that they wanted on the bench. Bath too have been losing players and unravelling from that point of view for quite a while now. If we were honest about it the writing was on the wall. In the end they didn’t have the depth to take on Leicester.
I think we’ve got the right final in terms of the two squads. Leicester have a very deep squad and that shows at this time of year. Therefore it’s no coincidence that they’re in these kind of games, and I think London Irish are underestimated too in terms of their depth. They have a very strong bench and a number of players who can impact upon a game. I know they have a couple of players carrying knocks but they’re in pretty good shape considering what stage of the season we’re at.
Leicester bring bags of experience to the table. They were clinical in their win over Bath and ended the game as a contest quite early.
MILES REPLIES: They were very impressive against Bath. I know they left holes in defence in that period after half time but that game felt over very early on. It was almost an inevitable procession towards victory. Bath are a plucky team and they weren’t going to let the game pass without giving it everything. They just didn’t have enough to give on the day though. I think it did show how well Leicester are playing at the moment and if they do find their rhythm, which is what they’ve been doing post-Christmas, they’re very hard stopped.
They’re looking to be crowned champions for the eighth time, which is quite remarkable. This is their fifth final in a row but they’ve only won one of them. That may play on their minds a little but I think Leicester are the very best at approaching each season with a clean slate, and if they do have disappointments in a previous season they use that as a motivating factor. Those final losses won’t worry them but from a London Irish point of view it shows that the Tigers are beatable at this stage. Even though Leicester Tigers are as a big a name as it gets when it comes to English club rugby it doesn’t mean that when they get to a final they’re inevitably going to be champions.
You would fear for London Irish if they started as slowly as they did against Harlequins, as Leicester can be ruthless in those situations.
MILES REPLIES: Yes, Leicester have a ruthless streak, but London Irish have a fighting streak. We’ve said it about them all season; they get stronger and stronger as the match goes on. They have been the best finishers in the league. They’re very strong in that final quarter and if they’re anywhere near Leicester going into that stage of the game they are right in this.
Irish have proved it time and time again with the bonus points they picked up when they couldn’t buy a victory. They hung in there, they sorted themselves out and the wins started coming again. In the games they did lose they were never far away from winning and I think that is testimony to their staying power. That is a key element in this match. Leicester will not be comfortable if they haven’t put Irish away by the hour mark.
So can Irish replicate last weekend’s performance against the Tigers, or will the Premiership trophy be making the familiar journey up the M1?
MILES REPLIES: I wouldn’t rule Irish out. I’ve said it all season: London Irish are not going to go away. You see enough in their play, their tenacity and refusal to accept defeat. We didn’t see it against Bourgoin and that was a major slip in their mental approach. But in a funny sort of way that game may have helped them. For a start they didn’t have the distraction of Europe – even though they would have prioritised the Premiership – as fighting on two fronts may have proved too much. They also had a major lesson that if they take anything too lightly they’re not good enough to do that. They need to be 100 per cent on their game. When they are they’re as dangerous as any other English side in the Premiership and that’s why they’re in the final. I do think they have to deliver their best performance of the season on Saturday. That is asking a lot of any team but if they do that they have a very good chance of making history.
Having said that, I understand totally why Leicester Tigers are the favourites. They deserve to be and if they play to their own capabilities they will win. That’s the way I see it at the moment. It’s about whether London Irish can get to their optimum and whether Leicester are not at theirs. If Leicester aren’t on top of their game and London Irish produce a performance that they have been threatening to achieve for an awfully long time, there could be something very special happening for them at Twickenham this weekend.
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