So I have returned from my sourjurne to the Wonderful Barrow (Barra), Whitehaven and Cumbria. Despite people scaring me on TRL about Barrow I really liked and enjoyed Barrow. So After a 7 hour train trip from London to Barrow, passing through great RL towns such as Wigan, Warrington. I stayed at the Victoria Park Hotel, an easy 500m walk up from the station just off Abbey Rd, very nice place, clean, good price and the the staff were really awesome, friendly and always willing to have a chat... maybe me being an aussie had something to do with it.
Anyway got picked up to go to Haven, great drive saw some of the wonderful sights of the area along the way such as the nuclear power plant and mines...impressive actually... Haven is a tucked away little town and the Rec ground reminds me a bit of the old Redfern Oval but with good seats and clean toilets. It was a freezing night though, a cold wind and drizzle didn't help the conditions and am sure the French lads were not used to it. Lezignan had a merchandise stand... well seat! Which i was glad to see though you'd need to get me really, really, really drunk to buy a flouro pink jersey. I did pick up a nice white Lezignan T-shirt, but dissapointed that Haven weren't selling any jerseys.
The game was entertaining but both teams I think played fairly average... and I think the conditions were the biggest contributor to this. Now the score looks lop sides at 46-6 to Whitehaven, but it does not tell the whole story. Lezignan probably were at the Haven line as much if not more than Haven, but just did really silly things not to convert to points.
I saw three things that the FCL need to work on,
- Kick offs. OK kicking the ball out on the full once, happens to the best of them, twice, OK let it slide, three times... its worrying 4 times inexcusable, basic stuff that should not happen.
- FCL played in the usual french flair that was great to see, they threw the ball around and tried to use their quick backs and wingers... probably would have worked if they didn't keep dropping the friggin ball. So they need to learn to hold that ball. A few times the scrum half (Half back) didn't take good options and put in the wrong kicks or kicked when should have passed etc... Funnily enough the try they did score was off just a barging charge from Chris Beattie, the only time they really didn't look to throw the ball around.
- Third is their discipline, having players sent off really hurts and they gave away 13 penalties. Now when you think about it that is 78 extra tackles that need to be made, which really takes a toll on your fitness.
There was a good scrap after the second haven try, all 26 players were in the in-goal getting involved... I got it on video so YouTube highlights here we come. Haven also were not that spectacular but they just got the basics right and that won the game. I think the local support of about 1600 also helped and the conditions as I said were really tough.
But it was a fantatsic night out, the game was entertaining, the crowd were vocal and many of the fans around me were down right confused what an Aussie was doing all the way in Haven for CC game. The "food" was surprisingly eddible for a RL match but was hot which was the important thing, the beer also good... but is there anywhere that FOSTERS has not infected. Holy crap. Its all that there was, Fosters larger. Here I was hoping for something local at the ground, and nope got Australias worst.
The drive back was through Ulverston and then to Dalton where I watched a video of the Wales v SAcotland WC qualifier, hadn't seen it yet, so that was good. Then got home well past midnight. The next morning found a pub, the Railway in Furness, which showed the Doggies v Sts NRL match. Then did a bit of sight seeing around Barrow. Had a good night watching the Quins v Cas game, that was cracker I thought, would not have seen it go the way it did. And then yesterday flew back from JLAirport to get back to Germany. Thanks for the lift Marv appreciate it and hope I can reciprocate the gesture if ever your in Oz.
OH yeah picked up a sweet Barrow jersey, 25th Anniversay eddition for their Lancashire Cup win in 1983.
So all in all a great trip, want to head up to Cumbria again, the scenery around there is definitely worth seeing... and underated part of England.
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