Hard work and grit mean London Irish have momentum going into Leicester Tigers challenge

 
18 February 2014

Momentum is one of those words that you hear all the time in a sporting context.

Whether it's a run of games, a certain passage of play or just plain good fortune, it's a key facet of sport that can go a long way to determining the outcome of the contest. The biggest challenge is capitalising on the opportunities if and when they arise - sometimes it's a matter of either maintaining it or finding a way to get it back after its been lost.

Think about Liverpool and Arsenal - they have played each other twice in the last week, each time the team with home advantage coming out on top. Liverpool where unplayable in the first 20 minutes at Anfield last week, whereas Arsenal had a much steelier look to them in the FA Cup match on Sunday. So why the difference in outcome?

In the last two weeks London Irish have recorded impressive back-to-back away wins against local rivals Saracens and London Wasps, the first time we have done so since 2010. After a difficult first half to the season, things are just starting to turn the corner and results are beginning to go our way.

Everyone talks about not just winning but also losing becoming a habit, however underneath that there are almost always subtle undertones and events that can change the whole outlook of a game. In the last two weeks it probably hasn't been our attacking brand of rugby that has stood out but more the intangibles - hard work and grit sprinkled finally with the bits of good fortune that were maybe missing earlier in the season.

Two chargedowns and a try that looked like it belonged on a five-a-side football pitch probably won't make the short list for try of the season but in the moments that they occurred they were vital pieces of play that provided huge shifts in our favour, proving decisive towards the outcome of the game. Scoring just before half time is always a boost going into the second half, just as scoring early in any match is.

After the Saracens game we stressed the importance of building and making sure it wasn't a one-off performance. Given that and the fact we had already played London Wasps three times this season and lost on all occasions was more than enough motivation to push through and seize the opportunity created by the win at Allianz Park the week before.

We welcome the champion Leicester Tigers to the Madejski Stadium this Sunday in what's going to be another tough encounter and the approach will be exactly the same. As good as the last two weeks have been, this weekend presents a completely different challenge but one which we will be fully prepared for. Our away support has been fantastic so it will be great to be back at the Madejski with the home support behind us. It's vital we carry on the good progress we've made recently and keep working hard to improve as a squad.

The Six Nations also resumes this weekend with two bumper fixtures in Wales v France and England v Ireland. Although only two of these teams are still in contention for the Grand Slam any one of them could walk away with the Championship this year. England and Ireland will both be looking to build on impressive wins in their last outings and with so many key battles across the pitch it's going to be an unbelievable encounter.

Danny Care might be the key to tipping this one in England's favour - he's been in scintillating form in the Championship so far and will be looking to put another marker down, especially with the Rugby World Cup looming over the horizon. There's so much at stake - England won't want any more losses at this stage of their progression while an Ireland win still keeps them in the hunt for that elusive Grand Slam. Either way it's going to be a great game and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in