Westoe aim to restore pride v Lions
WESTOE have motive enough to lift their game at home to Leicester Lions tomorrow.
They will be smarting at criticism from director of rugby Andy Howells after their woeful 37-8 defeat by hosts Bradford and Bingley on Saturday, as well as disappointment at their dismal performance.
They have only suffered one greater defeat in this their first season in National Two North – and that was a 46-5 mauling by the Lions in their own lair in November.
It was, as captain Gareth Nesbit ruefully recalled, a "total shambles".
This was because, firstly, a settled team was disrupted at the last minute when two main men, line-out king Matty Muchall and No8 Michael Ellery, had to pull out through injury.
Then a bad road crash trapped the team coach in a massive M1 traffic jam, which meant they arrived at their destination 30 minutes after the scheduled kick-off and more than seven hours after leaving South Shields.
To make matters worse, centre James Clark, then, and still, the side's top try scorer, limped off after 20 minutes with a damaged knee.
It mattered, too, that a similar injury had confined Nesbit, always something of a talisman, to the bench until the second half. His absence always leaves a yawning gap.
And last weekend he was unavailable due to other commitments – a very rare occurence.
He said: "It would be very wrong of me to pass comment on the team's performance because I was not there, but it seems there was no question it was below par.
"But the boys will be anxious to put that behind them, and show the Lions and everyone else just what they are capable of doing.
"Unfortunately we have blown hot and cold this season, but on the good days we have played fantastic rugby with wonderful individual performances.
"Now that we are pretty well through all our injury problems it is time to get our game together consistently and move forward. And I would like to see that start against Leicester."
While both teams are locked in mid-table, each with 54 points and 10 wins in 21 games, the Lions have a much better scoring record, being 120 points in credit while the Dunes Adventure Island-sponsored Shieldsmen are 59 in debit.
And the Midlanders will come to Tyneside in buoyant mood after a resounding seven-try 45-24 victory in their derby battle against Rugby Lions on Saturday.
n Amid what is generally good news on the injury front, it is sad to report that Graeme Haswell, the versatile back whose fearless terrier-like spirit has made him a mainstay of the side in recent times, faces a long haul back to fitness.
He injured a knee at Loughborough back in September, and limped off with a recurrence of it in his comeback game against visitors Hull seven weeks ago.
Now a scan has shown that it is the cruciate ligament that is damaged.
* The game is being sponsored by Norman Jenson Construction Ltd whose boss, Norman Jenson, played as a fly-half at Westoe. The match ball is sponsored by committee members John Tighe and Albert Gibson.
* Otherwise it is Durham County Cup semi-final action tomorrow, the Seconds travelling to Blaydon and the Thirds, who have won the trophy five times in the past six years, making the journey to Durham City.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for South Shields
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
