RUGBY UNION: All to play for says Jones (From The Oxford Times)

RUGBY UNION: All to play for says Jones

9:17pm Sunday 10th February 2013 in Rugby

London Welsh head coach Lyn Jones was left with mixed emotions after his side’s 28-12 defeat to Leicester Tigers.

Jones praised the commitment of his players, particularly for their second half showing, but was left to reflect on first half display which left the Exiles with too much ground to make up.

“We’re pretty disappointed; our first half performance was inaccurate and ill disciplined, and we gave too much away to Leicester,” he said.

“Probably our worst half of rugby in the Premiership so far, but we did come back and show what we are capable of.

“Second half we came back into it strongly and we got quite close. From going 12-16 we didn’t get out of our 22 as we wanted to, which allowed Leicester some more pressure.

“We came back strong and put a lot of phases together and played some entertaining rugby and failed to cross.

“You’ve got a bunch of fellas giving 100 per cent and that’s all you can ask. They need to get up to speed with the intensity and accuracy of how the game is played in the Premiership.”

With Sale Sharks and London Irish both winning, the weekend’s results leave Welsh just six points off bottom place, but Jones was keen to emphasise that there’s a long way to go.

“I think we’re ahead of where we’d like to be at the moment, but we’re not that far away from Worcester, and could Worcester be a target for us? We’re five points behind them, so it’s everything to play for still,” he said.

“The Premiership is never a walk in the park, whether you’re top, in the middle or near the bottom. “Everyone is fighting for their livelihoods and that’s the way it should be.”