The Hounds get bitten by the Saxons

Dan Tuohy (Picture http://bit.ly/xUdkgh )

I didn’t have the time to watch the Wolfhounds/Saxons match, but no problem, I just hit Sky+. The problem came when I wanted to watch it and filed came up on the screen - too much Phineas and Ferb, Downtown Abbey and America’s Next Top Model on the hard drive. So I cleaned all that crap off, and recorded what I thought was a rerun of the match, which in turn turned out to be half baked highlights package.

 And it’s a pity as it didn’t look like the worst match either, the Saxons seemed to have the upper hand, but the Hounds didn’t give up, put together some moves, and kept trying until the end. There were a few players that I wouldn’t hugely rate that surprised me – Dave Kearney took a good line for his try, and did some sterling work in defence as well. He’s coming on in leaps and bounds.  Tomas O’Leary looked sharper than I’ve seen him for a long time, and scored a fine determined try. In the pack, Dan Tuohy put in a storming  performance and has to be on the bench for Ireland, while Henry and Ruddock are knocking on the door for higher honours. Keatley and Madigan both showed some good touches, and are worthy stand byes at provincial level.

I was concentrating on the Hounds obviously, but did notice Robson for the Saxons, and I thought Armitage stood out as well, if only he could sort his disciplinary record out.  Apart from that, Burns looks like he could go far, and Spencer seems to be in the right place at the right time, both playing at Saracens and within the England set up.

Now, bring on the real thing!

Saxons 23 – 17 Wolfhounds