I’ll make us competitive but it takes time – Wood
YORKSHIRE Carnegie director of rugby Martyn Wood admits the first few weeks of the season have been a steep learning curve for his hastily put together side who begin their league campaign on the back of three heavy cup defeats.
Carnegie conceded 131 points to Nottingham and Cornish Pirates without managing any in reply but a battling second-half performance down at London Scottish, albeit in another heavy loss (50-7), has lifted spirits.
As former England, Wasps and Bath scrum-half Wood points out, getting the side on the right track was always going to take time. “Other Championship clubs have been together for 14 weeks, we’ve been together for two to three weeks before those game,” he said.
“We used them as preseason and we learnt a lot about the players – some good and some negative as well – and we are really looking forward to the first game, this week, against Bedford at home.”
That Carnegie get to play another fixture at Headingley is a story in itself, the club nearly having gone to the wall in the off-season. But Wood is preferring to look forward, after leaving a DoR role at Hull Ionians to take on one of the toughest jobs in rugby.
“There has been a lot of hardship and a lot of stuff that has gone on at the club over the last couple of years that hasn’t been good by any account,” he added.
“But I don’t want to dwell on the past, my job is to look forward and make sure there is competitive rugby at Yorkshire Carnegie, and I’m enjoying the challenge.
“When I came in, we didn’t have a single player. We have tried to build a squad that is competitive. It is going to take time.”
While they won’t admit it publicly, Bedford will be looking to run up a cricket score, although matching Ben Stokes’ magnificent 135 at Headingley must surely be beyond one of the Championship’s most attractive attacking sides.
“The Championship is a fully professional league, big and physical with some very good players in there. We know each week there is going to be a different challenge and one that we are looking forward to on a weekly basis,” Wood stressed.
“We need to show what we are about, and be up in their faces.”
The hosts have made four changes to the team which lost to London Scottish last week, with centre Joe Carlisle the sole change to the backline. Thom Smith and Guy Graham join Henri Lavin in the back row and James Flynn is named at loosehead.
Bedford have also made four changes, handing starts to wing Pat Tapley, centre Fraser Strachan, and back rows Oli Curry and Joe Atkinson.
Blues backs coach Paul Larkin said: “Headingley is always a tough place to visit, but we had a good result last season and we’ll look for much of the same.”