Is it really too much to ask of a full-time professional player that they should be able to catch the ball ?

Not only catch it (without knocking on), but also

catch it on the full instead of waiting for 3 or 4 bounces ?

work with team-mates in the same area of the field to decide WHICH of them is going to catch it ?

Would it also be too much to ask to return the ball up with some enthusiasm ? (running would be a good idea instead of a half-hearted jog)


I thought we were frankly amateur in that department today and the pressure we put on ourselves made the difference in the result.
Forget all the "blame the ref" moaning - only when you have your own house in order should you look to blame others. WE had that game won today and WE blew it, not ganson.

And the kicking game is shocking. Can't be that difficult to improve an individual's kicking ability

It must be, we've been trying with Horne for over 10 years now and if anything he's got worse.

Full backs have no problems catching Hornes kicks

Shame we cannot get him kicking to ours then

Our kicking didn't lose us the game. Catching (or lack of it) did.

His kicking in 2005 and 2006 was much better than it is now

It rarely wins us any either.

If our kicking game was anything like then we'd have put much more pressure on saints

Sharp would have maybe caught his , if he had been stood in the correct place.

You beat me to it TKOAH.

Kicking game and the back 3's catching were poor today and ultimately cost us. on the other side of the coin, and for balance, our '5 drives and a kick' team continue to score some really top notch tries with great support play and speed.

Spot on.

Ur right he should have been stood on the goal line.

He will learn from that, bet he is never short again

It's not just our catching at full back either from bombs. We seem really laboured when chasing a long kick back from them, mostly we allow it to bobble and bounce. Most other sides would stand 10 yards deeper and come forward to meet the ball on the full.

Our back 3 have been good of late but we really missed Phelps today IMO. I doubt so many balls would have been left alone had he been playing.

Preferably at Harlequins, yes he is fast but the rest of his game is a liabilty.

Both wingers are guilty sometimes too of not showing enough urgency and from being out of position. Agree we missed Phelps though, saying that, it's probably the worst i've seen Whiting play. He normally wouldn't have let us down like that.

Like Tom Briscoe?

Utter rubbish.

You can see from the warm ups that we are now training our backs to catch "Aussie rules style".

It will never work in RL.

Who ever is introducing this tactic is seriously deluded it will work.....granted Briscoe got away with one.....got away with it being the operative.

the rot set in as rich tried to take the ball as it was going out steeping into touch a try resulting from the next play

He had to play that ball or else Saints would have gone in. Credit the kick. It was the bombs that he and Briscoe seemed unable to sort out between them.

I'm not so sure. The ball would have bounced before Meli got there and it would have bounced on, or just over the line IMO. Even if it didn't, Whiting could have just shoved Meli into touch as soon as he attempted to take it.

maybe so but no way was that ball going to stay in the field of play