The old Canadian know-all may not have been able to distinguish between a loose-head prop and an elk, but he understood a thing or two about the media age. Those clips of the goings-on in Limerick appeared just as the Munster support inside the ground – 50,000-strong, at a conservative estimate – was bottoming out with the dawning realisation that Biarritz were in the ascendant and perfectly capable of overturning a 10-point interval deficit. The images from the far side of the Irish Sea proved a mighty stimulus: the noise levels were amplified in an instant, the passion intensified and Munster tapped into reserves of energy they did not know they possessed.Purists will insist the footage should not have been shown in a month of Sundays, but as the small screen rules 99 per cent of the world, why should rugby union’s one per cent get away with it? Besides, the travelling Basques did not deserve, not even for a second, to deny Munster the victory they had craved for so long. After an hour of this captivating Heineken Cup final in Cardiff, just as the Munster effort was running out of steam and the mistakes were coming thick and fast, the big screens behind the posts showed live footage of the scenes back home: thousands upon thousands of red-shirted partisans congregated in the middle of the aforementioned road, screaming like banshees in support of their local heroes Somehow, this one clip of film changed everything. O’Connell Street in Limerick is named after Daniel, the great Irish statesman and liberator, rather than Paul, the wonderful international lock forward, although there may soon be a change of dedication.
Substitutes used: Chan, Berthezane, Casty, Rudder.Referee: A Klein (Keighley).* Dewsbury opened up a two-point lead at the top of National League Two yesterday after beating the previous leaders Swinton 22-18 at Sedgley Park, even though Swinton scored four tries to Dewsbury’s three.. Substitutes used: Wood, Heaton, Strong, Nash.Catalans: Guigue; Murphy, Wilson, Hughes, Verges; Frayssinous, Dobson; Fellous, Rinaldi, Guisset, Hindmarsh, Fakir, Jampy. Nanyn then got his second, although Justin Murphy had the last word for the Dragons three minutes from time.”When you look at the team we put on the field, I’m proud of what they’ve done,” said the Widnes coach, Steve McCormack.Widnes: Cardiss; Woods, Bowman, Nanyn, O’Connor; Crook, Coyle; Summers, Smith, McDermott, Cassidy, Draper, Beswick. Mark Smith then scored for Widnes, although the Dragons stretched their lead through Laurent Frayssinous before half-time.Dobson released Mark Hughes after the break, but Widnes’ combative streak was epitomised by their veteran prop, Barrie McDermott. He gave his all, coming back on after a pain-killing injection in his chest and then having a furious punch-up with Adel Fellous. Astonishingly, neither player was sent to the sin bin – though R?ud Guigue was later on. It looked ominous, but Widnes showed their spirit when Mick Nanyn scored from James Coyle’s pass.Verges scored again for the Catalans and when Dobson followed his own kick for their third try it looked as though they might run away with it.
“Everyone will remember him not just for his effort today, but over the last 12 weeks.” Dobson kicked five goals, scored a try and set up two others at the Halton Stadium. Without him, a Widnes side missing 10 regulars would have got much closer.The side from National League One conceded a try after 40 seconds when Paul O’Connor lost the ball and Bruno Verges got his first from Dobson’s precise kick to the corner. The understudy has given the little Kiwi master a tough act to follow.
“It was a great performance,” said his coach, Mick Potter. Subject to a last X-ray on the arm he broke, Jones will return against Wakefield on Saturday. Michael Dobson signed off for the Catalans Dragons with a performance that underlined his rich promise as Widnes’ young players were beaten but not disgraced. The 19-year-old Canberra scrum-half flies home this week after three months filling in, with distinction, for Stacey Jones.
Substitutes used: K Pryce, Gene, Henderson, Vagana.Referee: K Kirkpatrick (Warrington).. Substitutes used: V Anderson, Wilkin, Graham, Fozzard.Bradford: Withers; Johnson, B Harris, Hape, Vainikolo; I Harris, Deacon; Fielden, Newton, Lynch, Myers, Ferres, Langley. “We’ve got strength in depth, great skill and the pack to take us forward.”Long had an interception try from Terry Newton’s pass disallowed for offside but that, as Bradford’s video will have shown, was the only thing that did not go Saints’ way.St Helens: Wellens; Gardner, Lyon, Talau, Meli; L Pryce, Long; Cayleff, Cunningham, P Anderson, Sculthorpe, Gilmour, Hooper. Long’s kicking was inspired and Kieran Cunningham and Paul Sculthorpe were in rampaging form in the pack.
“This is the best St Helens team I’ve played in and that’s a big statement,” Long said. Brian Smith, the former Bradford coach, arrives tomorrow on a short-term consultancy. On this evidence, the team need a good deal of help.
It was their misfortune to catch Saints on such good form. He dragged his team in for extra training and video analysis yesterday.
