Post by happybadger on Apr 18, 2018 1:24:00 GMT
On the charter flight from Cape Town to Manchester, we got to sit down with the Raptors' boss, Theo, and, in between bites of steak or fish (for me) or lasagna (Theo), an interview was quietly conducted:
Q: 36-20, Rochdale won, in a very difficult environment at Capetown Stadium...
A: Climate change, which Trump and May and Trumbull all deny, is making it very difficult in Cape Town, everywhere! The drought is real. I mean, the stadium management would not allow us to shower, or use a flush toilet, whilst they seemed to let the Ravens shower okay - I mean, yeah, before the game, their players were GQ cover-ready, and my players were, shall we say, malodorous, and we washed up as best as we could with just scented moistened baby wipes before and after the game.
Let's just say, a quick shower, a refreshing sauna, and a Swedish massage, then a long hot tub with some Newcastle Brown Ale and some fish and chips for everyone, then we might be clean enough to go home.
Q: So, the game started really quickly...
A: Too quickly for my taste, with the score going 18-14 us in 21 minutes, and a try each in the first six minutes. We expected the Ravens to want a fast and unrelenting tempo, and you can see that in that first portion of the game, they imposed their tempo on us. We did OK, but we wanted a bit slower tempo, with a bit of change of pace...
...in other words, here's what we expected, and got, from Cape Town:
...and here's what I wanted:
...and let's just say, that it took time for us to disrupt their tempo, but after the 21st minute, we took control, and whilst they still were dangerous, I thought we were in a very good position to win. And we kept control, which makes up for the yielding by us of 20 points in the game, that was a bit disappointing, we need to do better.
Q: Jonathan Thurston and Daly Cherry-Evans - you had a choice of which team to have, and you chose the one with the lesser-rated Cherry-Evans over the better rated Thurston...
A: I've worked with Cherry-Evans (with Ponte Preta in FFBRL), and yes, Thurston is, on paper, a much better player...but I knew that Daly understood what I wanted, and could react instinctively based on what I've worked with him on in the past, so, for me, Thurston isn't the better player...
...having said that, if I had had Cape Town with Thurston for half a season, then played a team with Daly, Jonathan would understand how I worked, and what I wanted, and react instinctively with that knowledge, and Daly's arse would have been kicked.
Q: Injuries, a bit tricky this week...
A: Jarrod Wallace will definitely be out against Sydney Oilers - if it had been Armageddon, with instant death if we lost the next game, he could have played, but it isn't, so he won't. Trbojevic and Coote had minor knocks, they'll be available for selection.
Q: Sydney's not doing well this season yet...
A: ...the operative word there is "yet" - I've always had problems with teams from Sydney, so we're going to not take anything about the Oilers for granted at all, especially in team selection and evaluation of tactics...
Q: ...and choice of tempo?
A: Correct...now, I need a nap, go play Portal with Bunty, will you, and let me sleep?
Q: 36-20, Rochdale won, in a very difficult environment at Capetown Stadium...
A: Climate change, which Trump and May and Trumbull all deny, is making it very difficult in Cape Town, everywhere! The drought is real. I mean, the stadium management would not allow us to shower, or use a flush toilet, whilst they seemed to let the Ravens shower okay - I mean, yeah, before the game, their players were GQ cover-ready, and my players were, shall we say, malodorous, and we washed up as best as we could with just scented moistened baby wipes before and after the game.
Let's just say, a quick shower, a refreshing sauna, and a Swedish massage, then a long hot tub with some Newcastle Brown Ale and some fish and chips for everyone, then we might be clean enough to go home.
Q: So, the game started really quickly...
A: Too quickly for my taste, with the score going 18-14 us in 21 minutes, and a try each in the first six minutes. We expected the Ravens to want a fast and unrelenting tempo, and you can see that in that first portion of the game, they imposed their tempo on us. We did OK, but we wanted a bit slower tempo, with a bit of change of pace...
...in other words, here's what we expected, and got, from Cape Town:
...and here's what I wanted:
...and let's just say, that it took time for us to disrupt their tempo, but after the 21st minute, we took control, and whilst they still were dangerous, I thought we were in a very good position to win. And we kept control, which makes up for the yielding by us of 20 points in the game, that was a bit disappointing, we need to do better.
Q: Jonathan Thurston and Daly Cherry-Evans - you had a choice of which team to have, and you chose the one with the lesser-rated Cherry-Evans over the better rated Thurston...
A: I've worked with Cherry-Evans (with Ponte Preta in FFBRL), and yes, Thurston is, on paper, a much better player...but I knew that Daly understood what I wanted, and could react instinctively based on what I've worked with him on in the past, so, for me, Thurston isn't the better player...
...having said that, if I had had Cape Town with Thurston for half a season, then played a team with Daly, Jonathan would understand how I worked, and what I wanted, and react instinctively with that knowledge, and Daly's arse would have been kicked.
Q: Injuries, a bit tricky this week...
A: Jarrod Wallace will definitely be out against Sydney Oilers - if it had been Armageddon, with instant death if we lost the next game, he could have played, but it isn't, so he won't. Trbojevic and Coote had minor knocks, they'll be available for selection.
Q: Sydney's not doing well this season yet...
A: ...the operative word there is "yet" - I've always had problems with teams from Sydney, so we're going to not take anything about the Oilers for granted at all, especially in team selection and evaluation of tactics...
Q: ...and choice of tempo?
A: Correct...now, I need a nap, go play Portal with Bunty, will you, and let me sleep?
