Yorkshire Carnegie: Lucock targeting one-win turnaround

After four games on the injury list, Lucock was man of the match in last Friday’s 17-5 home loss to London Scottish.

That individual accolade was little compensation after another poor team performance and outcome and, as a ‘Leeds lad’, Lucock is feeling the pain as much as anyone.

Even so, he remains adamant Carnegie’s squad is good enough to climb the table.

“It was a really disappointing result,” Lucock conceded of Carnegie’s seventh defeat in eight Championship fixtures.

“We are doing it tough at the minute, we are finding losing is a bit of a habit, but we have full confidence in the group we’ve got.

“We will turn it around, it is just a matter of doing the small things really well.”

Though Carnegie are three points adrift at the foot of the table, Lucock insisted their form will improve.

“It will come,” he predicted.

“The bunch we’ve got are trying their hardest and I don’t think anyone can doubt that.

“We just can’t get the win at the minute.”

Scottish scored two tries in the opening 13 minutes, but only one after that.

Carnegie’s defensive effort was a vast improvement on the previous week’s 70-5 hiding at London Irish, but Lucock feels they are capable of much better.

“It is the little things that put us in awkward positions,” he said.

“For 40 per cent of the game we defended where we didn’t have to. It was all off the back of our mistakes.

“Once we tidy that up and we are playing in the right areas we will get the result.”

Flashes of good play are making overall performances even more frustrating, according to Lucock. He added: “We put phases together, then we let teams off the hook just when they’re about to crack.

“It is going to be a tough week in training, but we have got to look forward to Coventry now because we need that result. It is all on us. We know what we have to do, it is just putting it into practice.”

Despite the poor results so far this season, Lucock feels there is nothing wrong that can’t be fixed.

“The spirit in the squad’s good,” he stressed.

“We know the wins are going to come.

“What’s happening behind the scenes with new signings is only going to benefit us.

“With more people at training that’s going to create more competition which ultimately will bring a performance.

“That’s what we want.

“We are a bit light in numbers at the minute, but once that gets sorted we’ll be fine.”

After Saturday, Carnegie will take a break from league action for six successive matches in the Championship Cup.

Lucock reckons that is an opportunity to turn things around.

He said: “We’ve got some new players coming in and it’s a chance to get some combinations going.

“It is just the one per centers that’s killing us at the minute, but we’re a team that’s trying.

“We just can’t get that win, but I’m sure it will come.”