December 05, 2004

Campbell claims Glasgow only have themselves to blame

Posted by Assistant Editor on December 5, 2004 06:42 PM | 8 comments | Print | E-mail author

Glasgow players came under fire from coach Hugh Campbell
Hugh Campbell has blasted his side after their defeat in today's Heineken Cup match against Llanelli.

"Llanelli didn't beat us, it was our own failings that beat us in the end," said Campbell.

"We were robbed, but it was us who inflicted the damage by switching off in the second quarter.

"We had done more than enough in the first 20 minutes to show that we could get a decent result - but then we spoiled things by letting them carve out three tries without really having to work for them."

Campbell added: "We are now out of the running to qualify - but our campaign is not dead.

"Our guys have learned some harsh lessons of the reality of rugby at this level and they must use the next three matches to continue that process.

"Our priority, however, must now be to finish as top Scottish seeds in the Celtic League."

Llanelli director Gareth Jenkins admitted he was hugely relieved to hear the final whistle.

He said: "Glasgow were putting us under real pressure at the end and we were scrambling a bit.

"This is an enormous result for us because Hughenden is always a tough place to earn a result.

"We now have to focus on beating Glasgow again at our place next week and build towards the final two matches against Northampton and Toulouse. At least we have given ourselves a chance."

Hugh Campbell's full comments can be read here.

Comments
Posted by Gordon on December 6, 2004 02:26 PM | Reply to this comment

Interesting to see that Llanelli gave away 16 penalties and Glasgow 2. Quite a few penalties to give away without a yellow card being shown.

Posted by Iain on December 6, 2004 10:40 PM | Reply to this comment

Glasgow certainly lost this game through missed chances and missed tackles. It must have confirmed to everyone that Rory Kerr can't be expected to peovide a last line of defence as his fumbles and poor tackling cost us dearly yet again. An occasionally adequate performance isn't good enough for the professional ranks.

Posted by Big G on December 7, 2004 08:28 AM | Reply to this comment

Hear Hear, not to mention his fresh air shot when he attempted to kick the ball, which led to Llanelli's first try.

Rory simply isnt a full back, it is a specialised position and requires someone with experience of playing in that position, and Kenny Logan should have been playing on Sunday at fb.

Glasgow need a good full back and Scott Barrow isnt the answer, as he is far too slow, as evidenced by the ease with which attackers fly bye him.

I would propose that Colin Shaw is given an extended run at fb.

Posted by steve on December 8, 2004 11:07 AM | Reply to this comment

I would agree with the Colin Shaw comment - he has been excellent.

What really worries me is the management decision that left us with no full backs - allowing Stuart Moffat to leave when everyone knew it was Glenn Metcalfe's last season.

Rory isnt a full back - he's an excellent winger - and playing him out of position is damaging the team and must be harming a good player's confidence

Posted by Team Rory on December 8, 2004 08:18 PM | Reply to this comment

Agreed - its not fair to clear out our full backs, then expect a winger to fill the gap.

For a confidence player like Rod, this "experiment" must be doing more harm than good.... He's taking criticism from all sides, but this is effectively his first season as FB.

Posted by Iain on December 9, 2004 08:09 PM | Reply to this comment

I'm not sure I would describe him as an "excellent winger". He has had an occasional success in that position but struggles with tackling, catching the ball and kicking. I would have thought that being able to do at least one of these skills to a good level would be a pre-requisite for someone to be described as an "excellent winger."

Posted by Team Rory on December 9, 2004 09:11 PM | Reply to this comment

This season, Kerr has been shunted about from the wing to full back and back again, without any preparation for the full back role.

He is an excellent winger, who is maybe not getting the opportunity to play excellently at the moment, but is a fantastic foil to the wham bam Sean Lamont approach.

This year, Glasgow have gone into the season with no established full back. The decision has been made to get Rory Kerr to fill this gaping hole in the squad - yet how much preparation and training and support has he received to help him succeed. If this experiment had taken place last season, Glenn Metcalfe could have passed on his mantle, and shared his years of experience.

Good luck to Rory and lets hope he survives this baptism of fire.

Posted by hendo on December 10, 2004 10:22 AM | Reply to this comment

sorry - but......

rory kerr - full-back
duck - sahara

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