Disgruntled Dowson rallies the troops
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:54
Newcastle captain Phil Dowson has banged the drum ahead of Friday's Guinness Premiership trip to Worcester, insisting his Falcons side has plenty to prove.
Going in to the game on the back of a 8-24 defeat to London Irish last Sunday, Dowson pulled no punches in his postmortem of the Kingston Park loss, but insisted the squad remains fully focused and determined to make amends next time out.
"When you're playing professional rugby you know there are going to be occasions when you lose games, but the disappointing and frustrating times are when you lose games by the fact that you simply haven't turned up and done what you said you were going to do during the week," said the skipper.
"The game plan was a good one, training was very positive but then we produced an 80 minutes of rugby which was as poor as I've seen in a good few years. Getting beaten by a better team when you've given your all is one thing, but when you don't even put up a challenge it's just unacceptable.
"The good thing this week is that we have a chance on Friday to right some of those wrongs, and the guys are itching to get back out there."
After a constructive week in which the focus has been firmly on the task ahead rather than recriminations for past events, he added: "There's no point going round slating each other.
"Everyone knows that Sunday was nowhere near good enough, and rest assured we don't need to be told. There wasn't anything wrong rugby-wise with what we had done during the week, the coaches had prepared the team well but as players we need to stand up and admit that psychologically we just weren't at the races.
"To sit there in that changing room after the game, look over to the guy next to you and know that you've let him and the supporters down with the way you've performed, that really hurts. I include myself in that, but we're proud people and we now have the ideal chance to come out fighting on Friday to show the public what we're really about."
With the Sixways clash coming just five days after their last outing, Dowson said: "We've been well looked after physically this week with a Sunday to Friday turnaround, and we know that confidence is going to be a massive factor.
"Obviously Worcester have no shortage of that after getting a result up at Sale last weekend, but we have the mindset that there is nothing for us to fear. We need to go down there full of belief, execute the plans we have set up during the week and really battle for each other. Last weekend we didn't show up, it was a total abomination of a performance, but that's gone now, so rather than crying over spilt milk we're looking ahead and working hard to get things back on track.
"It's great to get guys like Davey Wilson and Geoff Parling back from injury, because it's a pretty lonely place when you're rehabbing in the gym and the physio room for months on end.
"When you're in that situation you just look forward to any chance you get to play, and so for those boys this Friday will be a massive game for them which they will have been anticipating for months. They both made good cameos last Sunday, there are points to prove in terms of selection and having them back has been a real lift to the squad."
In terms of his own role as skipper, he added: "There's only so far words can get you, ultimately it's about our actions out on the field and obviously as captain I have a role to play in that.
"I have to hold my hand up and say I didn't do that through my own performance on Sunday, but I'm determined to make amends on Friday night and lead by example. I know I need to defend better, carry more effectively and make tactical decisions. I'm not shying away from that responsibility at all."
