5 Talking Points From Castleford 12 Saints 42

Saints Win Key Battle

Coming into this one a lot of the talk was about how the game could be won and lost in the front row. Castleford’s Liam Watts and the returning Grant Millington at prop either side of hooker Paul McShane taking on Saints’ front trio of Alex Walmsley and Luke Thompson at prop alongside James Roby at number nine.

It was always going to be a key battle and it was won by the visitors by the kind of margin normally reserved for Parliamentary votes on Theresa May’s Brexit deals. Saints’ front three combined for 323 metres while their direct opponents could only muster 180 between them. That was largely due to the extra defensive workload placed upon them by Saints’ domination of possession and territory. The Tigers’ three had to combine for 106 tackles, missing a further 15 while Saints’ threesome, ably backed up by Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Matty Lees and Jack Ashworth, were only required to make 56 tackles. They missed only five between them.

The question that is most often asked by Cas fans about why McShane doesn’t get more opportunity at international level was again answered by Roby. McShane is a very, very good player who arguably would be good enough to play for England or Great Britain in most other eras. It is no disgrace to him to be constantly overlooked in favour of Roby. The Saints man isn’t just the best number 9 in Super League right now, but one of the best to ever play the game. There is very little between him and even his great predecessor Kieron Cunningham, so what chance a mere mortal like McShane has of getting the better of him might most fairly be described as minimal.

And he duly did not. Roby had one assist and took off on 13 of his trademark scoots from dummy half while McShane, gassed out from trying to involve himself in every defensive tackle, could only manage five darts from acting half. Again that is indicative of his side’s lack of possession as error after error provided opportunities for a Saints side in fairly ruthless mood. If the old adage that the front row sets the platform for a performance is true then it is no surprise that Saints taught Castleford a bit of a lesson on the night. The Tigers should feel no shame about that. It is doubtful whether there is a better front row anywhere in the world of rugby league than the three in Saints trenches.

What’s Daryl Doing There?

Cas coach Daryl Powell was enduring a miserable night. He’d already seen Lachlan Coote and Regan Grace cross for first half tries before the comedy of errors leading to Saints’ third try caused Powell’s top to blow completely. The Tigers had recovered possession from an uncharacteristically wild Roby pass when Greg Eden lobbed it straight back into the arms of Lees. The prop forward hared towards the line and although he was stopped short the ball was worked from left to right where Theo Fages hit Dominique Peyroux running a great line to score his third try in as many games. His fourth would come before the end.

That first Peyroux try made the score 18-0 to Saints and for Powell it was all becoming a bit too much to take. As his side trudged back to half way to restart the game they found their coach suddenly out there with them. The explanation given during the TV broadcast was that the Tigers coach likes to watch the game from the opposite side of the ground to where the bench and technical area are located. If he hadn’t walked across the field he would have had to walk all the way around the pitch, no doubt picking up some pretty stern advice from the shell shocked home fans along the way. So he cut straight across the field, barking angrily at his players and in particular the hapless Eden as he went.

Nobody would reasonably argue that Powell was being polite or constructive. He wasn’t asking his players nicely to refrain from passing the ball to the chaps in the blue. Yet whatever he said and whatever tone he used surely it’s a form of on-field coaching. The kind of thing the RFL and Super League can afford to agree to frown upon since they can’t seem to agree on anything else. Action must be taken against Powell and if need be he needs to find a seat in the stand on the same side of the ground as his technical area. Otherwise we are a short step from coaches popping on and off the field whenever they feel their players might benefit from their wisdom. If we tolerate this we might as well go the whole hog and introduce time-outs. The Wolfpack fans would love it. But then what time will we get home from a 7.45pm kick-off?


It Works In Rugby

Every time the debate about whether to use technology in sport is raised those in favour trot out the same old stock phrase. It works in rugby. Quite often this is uttered by people who watch rugby about as regularly as Warrington win titles. There is a counter argument which suggests it doesn’t work in rugby. Not always. We saw another example of this in this one when Michael Shenton’s try was allowed to stand.

It may seem a little trifling to worry about conceding a try when your team is 32-0 up but the score line should have no influence on when it is appropriate to use video evidence. Jonny Lomax should have been celebrating a try at the other end after he was put clear by Zeb Taia but was hauled down just short. Theo Fages then attempted to switch the ball out to the right edge only to find Shenton. The former Saints man was so far up alongside the Saints attacking line that viewers may have been forgiven for thinking that the centre was still playing for the club. Even he was surprised, looking back at the officials several times before parking Grace on his backside and strolling under the posts.

The incident was not reviewed. Had it been the evidence would have shown Shenton to be four or five metres offside. It’s baffling to consider why a review was not called for given the modern trend towards looking for reasons to disallow tries. Twenty-four hours before Shenton’s effort Jake Mamo had a try ludicrously chalked off in Warrington’s narrow win over Wakefield Trinity after forensic scrutiny of the footage conjured up an obstruction. We’re happy to review obstruction calls over and over but not to check how a defender ended up in an attacking line so quickly. It doesn’t work in rugby.

Defensive Desire Wears Cas Down

Saints were comfortable for most of this game. Sides of the past might have been tempted to take the foot off the gas but Justin Holbrook has a different philosophy. The desire of this group to defend its try-line regardless of how far ahead they are on the scoreboard is phenomenal. Several examples stand out, but two in particular within a few seconds of each other sum up the attitude that the coach has instilled.

Coote had already pulled off a try-saver on Jordan Rankin close to half-time. That set the tone for the others to follow. James Clare had replaced the hapless Eden but he wasn’t having any more luck. He was forced into an error by a superb gang-tackle from Saints. Danger averted, that is until Joseph Paulo was penalised for an incorrect play-the-ball to put more pressure on a Saints defence still getting its breath back. Bearing in mind that Saints led 32-6 at this point it would have been easy to buckle. Yet they responded again, bundling Alex Foster into touch to win back possession.

There was one real lapse on the night. On the last play of the game Jake Trueman jinked between a tiring Thompson and Lees to notch Castleford’s second try, their first legal effort. After keeping the Tigers scoreless in the first half Saints racked up a sixth completed 40-minute period of the season in which they have not conceded a point. Defence is an attitude and Saints approach to it so far in 2019 is a big reason why they are setting the early pace.

How Good Is Lachlan Coote?

Hands up who thought we’d never replace Ben Barba? I have to admit I’m raising my hand as I write. Before arriving in England Coote had a reputation as a solid performer. The kind of guy who was always likely to be good enough for Super League but who would pale in comparison to Barba. We’d miss the explosiveness, the 90-metre miracles and the ability to sing our own version of Glad All Over.

The early indications are that Coote is much better than we might have expected. It took him only three minutes to open the scoring, taking Roby’s pass to sneak over. From then on he was involved in everything, setting the example for the defence as we’ve seen but also showing his creative influence too. It was his offload that allowed Mark Percival to cross for Saints sixth try of the evening. Before that he’d been involved in a clinical movement from a scrum which allowed Percival to put Grace over, while the Scotland international’s pin-point kick to Cas’ left edge also allowed Tommy Makinson to put Eden into touch and set up the position for Lomax to put Taia over early in the second half.

Everything Coote does has a touch of class about it. He never looks remotely hurried whether fielding kicks or weighing up passing options. The only area of his game we might reasonably expect him to develop is his goal-kicking. He landed five from nine attempts in this one which is ok for a reluctant kicker but something that he will be keen to improve on.

Like Barba, Coote has his own song on the terraces already. Unlike Barba, ‘The Reason’ may be Saints last line of defence and a genuine attacking force for a sustained period of time. It’s early, but Coote has the potential to become one of the club’s best ever NRL imports.