Saints pain at a tuch of deja vu

Oct 6 2008

ST HELENS forward Lee Gilmour admitted there was a touch of ‘deja vu’ about his side’s second successive Grand Final defeat but insisted this time their pain was largely self-inflicted.

Saints, hammered 33-6 by Leeds at Old Trafford in 2007, made the brighter start this time and led 6-0 after Gilmour helped create an early try for newly-crowned Man of Steel James Graham.

But they relaxed their grip and, despite scoring second-half tries through Matt Gidley and Ade Gardner, became a strangely bedraggled outfit as they fruitlessly began to chase the game, eventually going down 24-16.

“We’re really disappointed,” said Gilmour. “I thought Leeds were the better side last year. They lifted the tempo in the second half and we couldn’t go with them.

“This year I feel frustrated because I felt we beat ourselves. We started really well and I thought in the first 15 minutes we were in control of the game but we gave Leeds too many piggy- back penalties.

“In the second half we maybe ran out of a bit of juice. We just didn’t perform.”

Television’s fly-on-the-wall dressing-room camera vividly captured coach Daniel Anderson tearing a strip off his players at half-time as he attempted to lift them for one last time.

It was not the dignity and composure that has characterised Anderson’s successful three-and-a- half-year tenure at Knowsley Road but Gilmour admitted his boss was right to read the riot act.

“It was probably one of the worst this year but it was absolutely deserved,” said Gilmour.

“When we played with shape and field position we looked in control of the game but then we would go to sleep for 10 or 15 minutes and you can’t do that in a big game like this.

“We’ve trained hard all year for this and fallen at the last hurdle again. We waited a year to try and put it right and it’s devastating, a bitter pill to swallow.

“We just have to go back to the drawing board and start again next season.”

There will be no chance to make it third time lucky for Anderson, who nevertheless returns home to Australia with nine trophies under his belt, while Nick Fozzard and Willie Talau bowed out on a losing note.

Meanwhile, Gilmour is hoping Saturday’s match will not be his last of 2008 as he eagerly awaits news of England’s squad announcement for the World Cup.

The 30-year-old former Wigan and Bradford second rower missed last year’s Test series against New Zealand with a knee injury but is hoping to resurrect his international career.

He played for Scotland in the 2000 World Cup but has now firmly pledged his allegiance to England.

“At the back end of the year I think my form picked up a bit,” he said. “After this disappointment, it would be a good way to finish the season so fingers crossed I’ll be on the plane.”

Outgoing coach Anderson offered no excuses after Leeds ruined his farewell.

“We were off the pace in the first half,” he admitted afterwards. “I thought we missed a lot of tackles. Leeds got the opportunity to build pressure and they took advantage of it with a couple of tries.

“In the second half we struck back, but Leeds responded every time. It’s a desperately disappointed dressing room, but we’ve had some wins, we’ve had some losses and you’ve got to suck in both sides.

“I didn’t think we were honest with our capabilities in the first half, I thought we didn’t play anywhere near the standards we had set.

“I thought we really battled hard in the second half but when we felt that we were getting our teeth into the game it didn’t happen for us.

“They broke tackles and they won the ruck and in the first half, the amount of times Sean Long had to pass the ball because he had three or four men coming at him, that was significant.

“That was a marker put in the sand by Leeds which meant we were kicking off the back foot constantly in the first half. Leeds did it better than us the whole game.”

But despite leaving on a sour note, Anderson, who is still awaiting a job offer in Australia’s NRL, was adamant that his stay in England has not been tarnished by this result.

“I have enjoyed my time,” he said. “I have enjoyed the company of the people that I have met over here, I’ve enjoyed the company of the players especially.

“They are fantastic rugby league players and very good men to boot. It’s been a privilege for me to be at St Helens.

“I will have a drink or two with a couple of the boys tonight and a lot of people that I have met in St Helens and enjoy my last few days.”