Tony Buckley's big handoff on Simon Shaw

The Top 5 Crazy Cards of All Time

Rupeni Caucau try and nice assist

Massive try saving hit by Israel No.8

Matt Toomua Falcon vs the All Blacks

Schalk Brits runs into Wayne Barness

Isa Nacewa tackle on Gareth Owen

Carlos Spencer & Stephen Larkham fight

Sebastien Chabal knocks out Marc Giraud

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

London Irish beat Harlequins to reach the Guinness Premiership final

London Irish beat Harlequins to reach the Guinness Premiership final

The Guinness Premiership Final takes places this weekend at Twickenham with Leicester Tigers taking on London Irish, who beat Harlequins 17-0 in the other semi final on Saturday.

It was a fierce contest that bizarrely stood deadlocked at 0-0 going into halftime after six missed penalties, but it was London Irish who got on the board shortly afterwards when Delon Armitage kicked them into the lead.

Substitute James Hudson crossed to put the Exiles in control, and when Mike Catt intercepted late in the game, the contest was effectively over.

Catt, the 37 year old South African born former England back, is now having his name mentioned in Lions circles, as Ian McGeechan is yet to name a replacement for the injured Tom Shanklin.

After the performance he put in on Saturday, London Irish coach Toby Booth has said that Catt should be packing his bags for his former homeland.

"Mike Catt was absolutely outstanding. He should be going with the Lions," said Booth.

"From what you saw against Harlequins at the weekend, find me someone whos better. I cant speak highly enough of him. The irony is he spent two days in bed with flu. We still started him because we know how important he is to controlling things.

"Catty has a fantastic appetite - people dream about being able to do what he does at 37. Hes a credit to himself, his family and London Irish."

If Mike Catt does go on tour with the British & Irish Lions, he will overtake Neil Back's record as the oldest Lion. Experience will be vital on tour, so should he go, or is he past it already?


Time: 06:22

Posted at 12:14 pm | 40 comments

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Viewing 40 comments

Anonymous May 13, 2009 12:07 pm

whooop wwwhhoooope first

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Anonymous May 13, 2009 12:09 pm

having no fly half really showed good comitment from evans to try though i bet dan carter would not have done that big fairy

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Anonymous May 13, 2009 12:12 pm

catt is great player but you need players who if needed can go full 80 for all 3 tests which i dont think he could

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cp85 May 13, 2009 12:46 pm

Pretty firey start to this game, Danny Care and Mike Brown are two lairy bastards.

Not a bad game on the whole, decent second half. D.Armitage for lions surely?

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Anonymous May 13, 2009 12:53 pm

Catt for the Lions, SERIOUSLY? We aswell to bring back J Kyle too! FFS, form players only should go, we dont want another disaster where players are picked based on previous performances. I think Armitage, Geordan Murphy, D'Arcy and Vesty should be considered - not players who are waaaaaaaaaay over the hill.

Tree Fiddy

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Anonymous May 13, 2009 1:01 pm

Listen, Gordan D'Arcy is your only man to replace Shanklin!!

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JD May 13, 2009 1:07 pm

I'd let catt go- we won a world cup getting him on in the last 20mins of games to add some flair after teams had been bashed about by the forwards for the first hour.

Let the Catt out of the bag again!

Although Delon Armitage would be a good shout as he can play pretty much anywhere in the backs abd can goal kick too. If he doesn't go this year he's a dead cert for the next one if he keeps his form for England.

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Anonymous May 13, 2009 1:18 pm

I think the risk is to high with catt, and if not cat then the only other option is armitage. Vesty doesnt have the experience, and D'arcy, though would no doubt be a good addition to the team, is still getting back to full fighting form after injury, and though did well in the six nations, is not back to where he was

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dr May 13, 2009 1:37 pm

Forget oldtimers, there are enough already in this bloody lions team. Either Armitage or Max Evans to join the Lions.
Altho Armitage isnt a straight centre he does offer several positions and a kicker. And who knows what Max evans is capapable of with a quality team (hopefully) on the frontfoot. I would go with Max Evans but either would be a much needed exciting addition to this dull looking team.

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Hackney Griffin May 13, 2009 1:59 pm

Catt's time will come in 4 years. He'll be the backs coach of a free-flowing Irish or Bath side, maybe even involved in the England set up. And all that experience and guile will help the Lions back line tear into Australia.

But right now, the Lions can't afford a player who can't last 80 minutes, is liable to get broken and is suspect in the tackle to take a mid-field spot.

Don't want to take away from his brilliant display. Great season for both clubs, here's hoping Irish don't find Leicester out of sight by the time they start playing on Saturday.

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Kenny May 13, 2009 2:10 pm

dr said...
Forget oldtimers, there are enough already in this bloody lions team. Either Armitage or Max Evans to join the Lions.

Max Evans is nearly definitely injured and probably wont be going anywhere.

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Kenny May 13, 2009 2:15 pm

Darcy or Armitage would be more preferable to Mike Catt as they both can run without the help of a walker.

Darcy is clearly back to full fitness, he has played over 10 games since coming back from injury including a full HCup semi-final so if he is not ready now he never will be.

Armitage is also class but i would pick Darcy as he is a bit tougher for the physical game the south africans will definitely bring.

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Anonymous May 13, 2009 2:57 pm

If Catt goes, he must please not forget his zimmer frame!

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opfazonk May 13, 2009 3:34 pm

he's the sort of guy who has reached everything and now wants younger players to develop

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tachu May 13, 2009 4:47 pm

be there sir catt

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respectful fan Onyom May 13, 2009 8:26 pm

Funny, I noticed its a bunch of no names here saying Catt is too old as he is wracking up highlight footage during game time instead of one of you putting your mugs on the highlights reel and Catt running his fool mouth here. If he still has the stuff to get the call on game day, he should get to go.

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Crapstandardpremiers May 13, 2009 8:51 pm

Mike Catt for the Lions? That dinosaur? This is surely a joke on rugbydump's part. And for what is supposedly the highest standard, most competitive domestic competition in world rugby, the premiership is really shite.

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dean May 13, 2009 8:53 pm

no

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mark May 13, 2009 11:25 pm

tough call between d'arcy and armitage for the lions.they both bring very different qualities to the table.i'd still like to see someone like hook going though.i know he's had a bad season but they could do with someone who can slot into flyhalf better than flutey

just an observation after seeing this game,but does anyone else think this has been a terrible year for place kicking?!except for brock james it seems!

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MethodMan May 14, 2009 12:18 am

Any of these 3 in for shanklin.

Armitage - Good pace, exciting and would be a great midweek player.

D'arcy - The on form centre and his partnership with BOD is world class.

Hook - Not on best form but offers lots of positons and deceptively strong.

Any of these 3 though would be a terrible choice

Catt - Old, slow, not lions material anymore.

Henson - Barely fit and lacks the attitude IMO.

Tindall - Average player, PLEASE god not him.

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Anonymous May 14, 2009 3:03 am

How about Phil Bennett?

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Anonymous May 14, 2009 4:16 am

D'Arcy, definately

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Anonymous May 14, 2009 6:29 am

vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty vesty

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Kenny May 14, 2009 8:41 am

respectful fan Onyoma said...
Funny, I noticed its a bunch of no names here saying Catt is too old as he is wracking up highlight footage during game time instead of one of you putting your mugs on the highlights reel and Catt running his fool mouth here. If he still has the stuff to get the call on game day, he should get to go.

Im not a no name and i was the first to say that he should bring a walker with him, the guy is nearly 40 and is older than dirt.

Get over yourself mate, he helped beat quins in a guinness premiership semi, its not exactly the World Champs in their own back garden.

If he goes then so should I.
Nuff said....

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Nick S May 14, 2009 9:51 am

If Catt gets sent Guscott might take his kit 'just in case'. What's Scott Gibbs up to?

Good to see Catt still on form though. He isn't the fastest but he does have a good rugby brain and knows where to be.

Care is joke, ok that tackle was high but that reaction was a bit over the top (as he ducked into Catt, who isn't the biggest bloke anyway). Carter laughed him off last year when he tried to take a swing at him, that pointless charge at Horgan in the 6 nations and I've never seen a good play from him. Hope he's dropped for the autumn internationals.

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Anonymous May 14, 2009 10:16 am

Henson !!!!!!!!!!!

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Jim May 14, 2009 12:17 pm

mike catt did have a very good game but surely he's too old for the lions now? the lions team needs some flair added to it, ergo armitage, evans, darcy etc

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GS May 14, 2009 12:30 pm

Gavin henson could go as the hair products advisor to the squad.

Darcy all the way!!!

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vinniechan May 14, 2009 12:52 pm

I am a Tigers fan, but I'm also an England fan...
RESPECT MIKE CATT!!

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Anonymous May 14, 2009 1:09 pm

to be honest, if there goin to replace a player like shanklin, ther goin to replace him with a similar player like darcy. they chose shanklin for his physicality and hard running. darcy is perfect to fill that position.

armitage is a complately different type of player. im not saying hes not good enough, but thers no point replacing a physical player with a player like armitage, they have enough of them on the squad.

catt is a definite no. great in the premiership, but this is the lions, if he cant last 80 minutes with irish, he definitly wnt in south africa.

cant wait to see stefan armitage in a few years though, hes been player of the tournament an ive no doubt hell b on the next lions.

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Funny videos May 14, 2009 6:15 pm

I love your blog keep it up so I can keep reading.

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Anonymous May 14, 2009 6:33 pm

surely catt was not 10m back from the penalty tap before the interception ???? thoughts

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Anonymous May 14, 2009 6:36 pm

surely catt was not 10m back from the penalty tap before the interception ???? thoughts

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Anonymous May 14, 2009 7:56 pm

as a reply to the comment about the standard of the premiership, i have to say that in watching the super 14 this year i have no fear for the lions, such poor defence, no committment and just a very dull game, no passion and no excitement in super 14 rugby, a second class level

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Sickofit May 14, 2009 10:30 pm

Actually i'm sick of this. People making these big judgements based on one match. Catt played well, so now he should be on the Lions. Munster were beaten, so now Leinster are better from 1-15. O'Driscoll was on the winning team, so he should now be captain and o'connell is crap.

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Anonymous May 14, 2009 10:47 pm

phillips & jones halfbacks
D'arcy & O'driscoll centres
thats what i want to see.

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Anonymous May 15, 2009 8:55 am

Nick S

Obviously you haven't watched any Quins games this season if you haven't seen a good play from Care. You should stop watching things with anti-Care glasses on. The hit was high and from an off-side position, he didn't duck into it.

As for the other things, the hit on Horan was badly timed counter rucking and I haven't seen the Carter incident you mentioned.

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jake May 16, 2009 12:49 am

haha 'badly timed counter rucking' is pushing it a bit don't you think?

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jo 7 May 16, 2009 12:58 pm

impressive performance from the 37 year old but lions?? he's past it.

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Anonymous May 19, 2009 8:08 pm

Kenny, you aren't fit to carry Catt's walker, which is why you are here trading comments with me instead of at training.

On Yo Ma!!

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