For most people at Damson Park last Sunday, the deflating 18-12 defeat by Ayr represented a step backwards from the previous week’s victory over Doncaster.
Yet for Ross Noonan, an otherwise exceedingly ordinary British & Irish Cup tie was a huge stride forward along what has been a long road to recovery.
The Irish utility forward completed his first full match of a season hitherto washed out by the ankle injury he picked up in pre-season training.
As pleasing as Adrian Griffiths’ progress has been in recent months, there have been times when Noonan’s no-nonsense straight-ahead style is what Bees have lacked.
And his return to fitness is presciently timed for both him and his club.
“I went up for a high ball in training and just came down on my ankle, I thought it was a small twist but as it turned out it was a bad ligament tear which required surgery,” the former Bedford back rower recalled.
“It’s been ridiculously frustrating. We had worked hard in pre-season and I was really looking forward to hitting the ground running.
“It was disappointing watching the boys every week and not being part of it. I was just glad to get out there against Ayr and get that 80 minutes under my belt.”
While he didn’t uproot any trees he was a key part of a Bees pack that, according to director of rugby Russell Earnshaw, gave an outstanding display of wet-weather rugby.
Unfortunately for both men, the endeavour up front was not matched with enterprise behind the pack and, while Ayr recognised it was an afternoon to play without the ball, Bees did not.
“We tried to play a little bit too much,” Noonan admitted. “We needed to control it and do the simple things but we put too much pressure on ourselves.”
As a result the momentum started against the Knights has largely been dissipated and Noonan and Bees must start afresh ahead of the biggest game of the season on January 29.
“Everything is focused towards that Moseley game, that’s massive for both teams. We need to get points on the board because every game counts.”
