The result gave us a sixth successive Premiership defeat one short of our worst ever Premiership run in 2002/03, when the seventh loss on the spin was against…Sale away.  So much for the optimism created by last week’s win against Castres, and hopes of gaining form going into the semi-final on Friday week.

I’m not sure how I feel at the moment, after the Bristol game I was angry, or at leas for a few hours.  I’m more sobre (alcohol-wise) than then, so maybe that’s why I’m confused.  Maybe it’s getting used to long trips home after a defeat as our home form in the league disintegrates and I’m on the train disappointed again.

I suppose I should say a bit about the game.  We of course had a double blow before the game, losing Jamie Noon and Toby Flood to injury, so the players knew this would be an even tougher task than a normal visit by London Irish.

Intelligence is key when the odds are high against you, so I was spitting when Andy Long picked up from a ruck and dived straight into a tackle, completely isolated.  Result: penalty, Irish 0-3 up thanks to Peter Hewat’s boot.

Sailosi Tagicakibau had a chance soon after, hacking on and chasing whilst alleged man of the match Mathew Tait ambled down the touchline after him.  Tom Dillon did manage to palm the ball away from the quick winger, and Tait tackled 5m out.

Our first venture into the Irish 22 ended quickly after a scrum, and when Tait and John Rudd cleared up a crossfield kick from Hewat, we won a penalty just inside the Irish half for offside.  However Jonny Wilkinson’s kick fell short of the goal.

Within minutes, Irish were back on the attack moved play from the right to left as we struggled to tackle, and on the right a three man overlap developed and Declan Danaher scored the first try, although the conversion missed.

Our next penalty on halfway was kicked to touch on the 22, but following the lineout we kept play tight for too long and Irish cleared, missing a penalty of their own before going into half time in the lead.

What we had witnessed in the first half was a continuance of the Bristol, Leeds and Harlequins performances.  What happened to any momentum from Castres?

The second 40 didn’t start any better, with the visitors straight back onto the attack.  With a three-on-one developing on the left, Dillon had no option but to go to the ball carrier and Danaher received the pass, squeezing into the corner to score his and the Exiles’ second try only three minutes into the second half.

What happened next would have defied belief if any other team had done it.  With a lineout on the Irish 22, Long and David Wilson were brought off for Matt Thompson and Carl Hayman, the two going straight into a high pressure situation with huge weight on the hooker’s shoulders.

But as usual our DoR (doesn’t really matter if he’s called Fletcher or Bates) followed a pre-conceived plan, without reacting to what was happening on the field.

As you may have gathered we lost the lineout, although we did get on the scoresheet finally through a Wilkinson penalty for a dangerous tackle, one of the few David Rose punished.

This was I believe Irish’s third high tackle, and earned captain Bob Casey a talking to.  As did the fourth.  And if the referee won’t take action, who can blame Irish for taking advantage?

Coming up to the hour, we put together our best passing move of the day across the pitch, and won a penalty on the let.  Surely Hayman (well he had the ball in his hands) or more likely Wilkinson would go for the corner on a rare visit to the away 22?  No, the ball was placed on the ground, kicked and sailed wide.  Brilliant.

Fair enough, three points would’ve got us within seven, but did anyone have much confidence in getting back into the 22 that often?  Go for the try, if we get that then we just need a drop-goal or penalty to pull level.  But we didn’t even get three.

Incredibly, with five minutes left and still ten points down, with a penalty in front of the posts, Steve Jones kicked for touch.  Wilkinson had been taken off injured by this point I know, but Tom May could’ve kicked that penalty over in his sleep, plus with Irish finally having a player sin-binned, Seilala Mapusua, we would’ve had a slightly better chance of scoring a try but with the cushion of a bonus point already.

We did get the bonus point though, with Rudd powering into the Irish 22 on the left and offloading to replacement Tim Visser, who scored the final points of the day with a try.  Jones I think just dropped the ball for the conversion, which missed.  Maybe after the team’s performance he just didn’t care anymore, like a lot of the crowd.

It wasn’t pretty viewing, and that was reflected by another poor atmosphere in the stands compared to what we fans are capable of.  But faced with another performance combining stupidity with ineptitude, there’s only so much you can get up for.

Two things I regularly criticise the Falcons for are too much kicking and too little use of wide men.  Both were in evidence today, especially in the first half, with May and Tait running more in the second half and gaining ground.  Incredibly.

Not much positive to report on the winger front, with May taking a pass on the touchline with a defender on top of him with Dillon free in the centre!  The wing was finally involved when the ball should have gone inside!

OK, now I’ve realised I’m angry.  We have one more game to prepare for the biggest game of the season, the semi-final in Worcester, and if Sunday was some kind of way to “keep us” for that game, if Sale is the same then I guarantee we will lose at Sixways.  We needed to get into form, but now all the confidence from last week is shot.

I am a naturally optimistic person, as Steve Bates himself once said “there doesn’t seem much point in being anything else”.  But even I am losing patience as I head back to London after another defeat, now becoming a more regular occurrence at home as well as away.

It’s peeing me off.

Rant over.