The Leicester Tigers thread

by Portnoy Tue 17 Jul 2012, 5:00 pm

First topic message reminder :

2012/3 may well prove to be a memorable one.

For once, there seems to be (albeit not unplumbable) strength in depth, a fairly healthy squad and a straightforward, uncomplicated international season.

by formerly known as Sam Fri 23 Nov 2012, 8:01 pm

Could do with Logo in the front row this weekend though.

Leicester Tigers (vs London Wasps, Adams Park, Sunday 2.30pm) 15 Mathew Tait 14 Niall Morris 13 Matt Smith 12 Anthony Allen 11 Adam Thompstone 10 George Ford 9 Sam Harrison 1 Jonny Harris 2 George Chuter 3 Fraser Balmain 4 Louis Deacon (c) 5 Graham Kitchener 6 Jordan Crane 7 Julian Salvi 8 Thomas Waldrom

Replacements 16 Rob Hawkins 17 Michael Holford 18 Kieran Brookes 19 Ed Slater 20 Richard Thorpe 21 Patrick Phibbs 22 Dan Bowden 23 Geordan Murphy

No Lewington sadly but good to see Harris get a chance to show what he can do, he's looked rock solid in the set piece but slow and undynamic in the loose when I used to get to the A league games. He is a bit old school in that respect but against Wasps if he can deliver in the scrum, hit his rucks and maul as well as the big names he'll win some fans in the Tigers faithful.

by **LondonTiger** Fri 23 Nov 2012, 8:50 pm

It certainly looks as though they are trying to convert Balmain to a Tight head - shame in a way as it would be fantastic to have a young EQ loosehead around the first team squad.

by formerly known as Sam Fri 23 Nov 2012, 9:04 pm

I've heard he was a tighthead in his school days and only started playing loose at Tigers. Perhaps Cockers likes to see his props in both sides before deciding where they are best. Certainly an all English front row of Balmain, Youngs, Cole has a certain appeal. All Tigers academy as well.

by Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler Sat 24 Nov 2012, 8:07 am

formerly known as Sam wrote:Could do with Logo in the front row this weekend though.

Leicester Tigers (vs London Wasps, Adams Park, Sunday 2.30pm) 15 Mathew Tait 14 Niall Morris 13 Matt Smith 12 Anthony Allen 11 Adam Thompstone 10 George Ford 9 Sam Harrison 1 Jonny Harris 2 George Chuter 3 Fraser Balmain 4 Louis Deacon (c) 5 Graham Kitchener 6 Jordan Crane 7 Julian Salvi 8 Thomas Waldrom

Replacements 16 Rob Hawkins 17 Michael Holford 18 Kieran Brookes 19 Ed Slater 20 Richard Thorpe 21 Patrick Phibbs 22 Dan Bowden 23 Geordan Murphy

No Lewington sadly but good to see Harris get a chance to show what he can do, he's looked rock solid in the set piece but slow and undynamic in the loose when I used to get to the A league games. He is a bit old school in that respect but against Wasps if he can deliver in the scrum, hit his rucks and maul as well as the big names he'll win some fans in the Tigers faithful.

Its not the most mobile of packs is it

And wowzers....Tait in starting a proper game shock. Its only his 5th start for Tigers in any competition. Credit to the guy for having the application to keep getting himslef back in shape after these injuries, it must be mentally crushing.

by **LondonTiger** Sun 25 Nov 2012, 2:37 pm

Poor start with morriss allowing himself to get sucked in on Daly, despite there being inside cover. Good finish by Varndell.

by **LondonTiger** Sun 25 Nov 2012, 2:38 pm

Oh dear. Wade decides to make every Tigers player look silly.

by Hood83 Sun 25 Nov 2012, 2:55 pm

LondonTiger wrote:Oh dear. Wade decides to make every Tigers player look silly.

Was it Tait i saw him scorch as well. Blimey!

by **LondonTiger** Sun 25 Nov 2012, 3:16 pm

Hood83 wrote:
LondonTiger wrote:Oh dear. Wade decides to make every Tigers player look silly.

Was it Tait i saw him scorch as well. Blimey!

aye

by Hood83 Sun 25 Nov 2012, 3:27 pm

LondonTiger wrote:
Hood83 wrote:
LondonTiger wrote:Oh dear. Wade decides to make every Tigers player look silly.

Was it Tait i saw him scorch as well. Blimey!

aye

That said, and feel free to shoot me down...but even at Newcastle I never thought Tait's strength was his acceleration. it was his top line speed, which is very, very good. Always seemed to have another gear.

Just saw the highlight of Vunipola bouncing off Crane as well. I really don;t think there is a better carrier in the Prem at the moment. Even when he gets his body angles wrong (and he needs to sharpen this up) he seems to make ground.

Anyway, are you pleased with Balmain? Looks a find. Ford's tactical kicking looks excellent as well.

by formerly known as Sam Sun 25 Nov 2012, 4:36 pm

Ford had a really good game and probably kept us in it. Sean Davies really allowed Wasps to slow the game down and wheel the scrum when they lost the hit. Very frustrating. Tait had a good game other than being stepped by a speeding Wade.

Just saw the highlight of Vunipola bouncing off Crane as well. I really don;t think there is a better carrier in the Prem at the moment.

He carried very well but looked iffy under the high ball and gave away a few sloppy penalties. May need another season of experience before England call.

by DaveM Sun 25 Nov 2012, 4:56 pm

Some strange decisions at the start of the second half in the scrum, but Wasps were vastly superior and actually look a decent side. I think Vunipola, Wade and possibly Daly (who's definitely improving) may be joining Launchbury in the England squad in the next 12 months. Given how comfortable he is on the left wing even Varndell has a chance. Loads of yoingsters on the bench too - I believe their young SH is highly rated.

Have Tiger's lost faith in Brookes?

by formerly known as Sam Sun 25 Nov 2012, 7:17 pm

I think his big injury last year hit him hard. Balmain is better at the scrum (and controlled his side if the scrum today) and so I think edges it in Cockers mind.

Losing Allen was a big loss today, Bowden didn't bring the same organisation to the backline and that effected us in defence. Good to see Ford controlling things and keeping us in the game. There might well be quite a few English players on that field who get caps in the next 12 months. Wade being high on that list.

by **LondonTiger** Sun 25 Nov 2012, 7:44 pm

I was half watching on mute while at work. Have to say felt we were lucky to get an LBP.

by DaveM Sun 25 Nov 2012, 8:41 pm

Balmain does look good (along with Sinkler and Knight there is some serious TH talent emerging in the AP), but I had high hopes for Brookes. Maybe just a move that hasn't worked out - I wonder if Newcastle would like him back? If there's one position where Tigers are definitely not light it's TH.

by Hound_of_Harrow Sun 25 Nov 2012, 9:36 pm

I didn't make the game, but am delighted with the Wasps win.

Commisserations Tigers - always I team (and club) I respect.

by yappysnap Sun 25 Nov 2012, 10:14 pm

Salvi had another critical game, one of the reasons Wasps only got 3 points from 65% possession in the second half was his constant niggly work on the deck. He's nailed that get into the breakdown and twist 180 move.

by **LondonTiger** Mon 26 Nov 2012, 8:09 am

From what I saw, Davey was a tad generous to us at the breakdown. Flip side you could argue Johnson and Vunipola were a bit naive.

by beshocked Mon 26 Nov 2012, 10:17 am

I thought the much weakened Leicester side did very well vs a mostly full strength Wasps away from home.

Can't really argue with the result as Wasps clearly deserved to win but for Leicester to be in the game till the final whistle - plenty of kudos for that.

Wouldn't have surprised many if Leicester had pinched it at the death and could have if Ford had his kicking boots on.

I think the Tigers can take a lot of positives from that. Particularly defensively. Obviously you want to win but this period is always tough for those losing the most amount of players to international duty. I have a lot more sympathy than in previous seasons unsurprisingly!

by **LondonTiger** Mon 26 Nov 2012, 12:35 pm

It is crazy that we were just one late missed penalty away from going top of the table.

Return of Ayerza, Castro and Mafi (was he cited for tip tackle he got YC for against Scotland) should make a difference up front and give Ford some front foot ball to play with.

by Jimpy Mon 26 Nov 2012, 1:18 pm

LondonTiger wrote:It is crazy that we were just one late missed penalty away from going top of the table.
Return of Ayerza, Castro and Mafi (was he cited for tip tackle he got YC for against Scotland) should make a difference up front and give Ford some front foot ball to play with.

Tigers would have had to have won by 11 points or more to have achieved that.

by **LondonTiger** Mon 26 Nov 2012, 1:38 pm

For some weird reason, I thought Quins were level on points with Sarries and Glaws.

by formerly known as Sam Mon 26 Nov 2012, 1:45 pm

There's a lot of players to come back but what worried me is that the lineout was rubbish. That won't change for the Bath game. Castro and Marcos will sort out the scrum but Chutes has got to be hitting his marks and in Kitchener and Deacon we aren't lacking lineout nous.

Bowden really missed out on a chance to stake a claim.

by **LondonTiger** Mon 26 Nov 2012, 2:09 pm

Chutes throwing has been wonky for a few years now. Mafi (if not cited) will increase the options.

by formerly known as Sam Mon 26 Nov 2012, 5:29 pm

Chutes had 4 options to aim for. I'd have liked us to use Hawkins off the bench to add some go forward in the second half. Mafi will be a welcome addition and add some mobility to the pack. Our forwards didn't support the backs as well as normal against the Pests.

by Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler Tue 27 Nov 2012, 9:10 am

Lets face it Chuter shouldve retired last season (and arguably before that). Its only with Youngs getting sniffed by England and Hawkins being brutalised that hes still soldiering on. The guys been a great servant and his experience alongside two raw props made him a sensible choice but hes not the player he was by a long shot. Hes done remarkably well to keep his fitness up but I hope he gets filtered out rather than becoming an embaressment

by **LondonTiger** Tue 04 Dec 2012, 10:28 pm

Graham Kitchener has signed a new contract. Rare for us to announce these so early - wonder if other teams were sniffing around?

http://www.leicestertigers.com/news/15440.php#.UL55EoaojKc

by Driver Wed 05 Dec 2012, 12:06 am

Quick question for you Tigers.

Falcons have been linked with Joe Duffrey of late the Nottingham hooker who had a spell with yous. Any thoughts on him , especially his lineout work as Vickers and Thomos is gash.

by **LondonTiger** Wed 05 Dec 2012, 9:06 am

Duffey rarely appeared for us - came to us from Nottingham with the reputation as a solid championship hooker. He is unlikely to set the world on fire but is experienced and should do the basics well.

by Portnoy's Complaint Fri 07 Dec 2012, 1:42 pm

A right royal thumping for Benetton is the minimum requirement for Tigers on Sunday.

It's not just the table points, its the try count overall, final game points difference and everything.

Our pool can be decided on fine margins.

by **LondonTiger** Fri 07 Dec 2012, 2:13 pm

A touch disappointed that Scotty has been selected on the wing:

http://www.leicestertigers.com/news/15482.php#.UMH5YncgiKI

by Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler Fri 07 Dec 2012, 2:36 pm

It seems they are determined to give Tait a good run in the side to prove himself.

by **LondonTiger** Fri 07 Dec 2012, 3:37 pm

I thought he looked good last week ball in hand. Would have been annoyed to be wrong footed by Donald - but the important tackle was missed earlier.

It probably did not show up on tv, but Tait was finding a lot of space and just needed someone on his shoulder before the cover tackle came across.

by formerly known as Sam Fri 07 Dec 2012, 9:45 pm

Tait looks a bit rusty but is coming back nicely. Give him another game or two and I expect to see him open a team up.

by Portnoy's Complaint Sat 08 Dec 2012, 8:43 am

Considering the investment in Tait, he's bound to be worked hard.

Let's hope he pays some debt back soon as it'll be a day or two before he'll be in credit.

by formerly known as Sam Sat 08 Dec 2012, 9:38 pm

It might take a while but Tait could be a great acquisition, medium term at any rate. We need a 15 and he is a classy player who could do well. We got him cheap as well.

by nathan Sun 09 Dec 2012, 3:52 pm

Can anyone give us an update on the match?

by Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler Sun 09 Dec 2012, 4:01 pm

Well Cockerill does seem to be giving him the chance to prove himslef. This is a relatively easy game in which youd expect him to be put in space at some point.
If he cant produce something in this or the next then it really may be time to start considering him damaged goods.

Half time Tigers already have the BP in the bag so really can afford to muck about and see if he still has it. Tigers dominating all over, Treviso have already had to change most of their front 5.
Tigers forwards domintaing, backs exploiting that.

by Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler Sun 09 Dec 2012, 4:58 pm

Well the second half wasintersting. Tigers bought on the chuckle brothers to reorganise their defense whilst Ben Youngs had a nap, and it nearly ended up a 5-2 points split.
Not proper rugby but a jolly good wheeze for all invloved.

by formerly known as Sam Sun 09 Dec 2012, 5:05 pm

Tigers internationals looked knackered in the second half and Treviso's early use of fresh legs got them back into the game. Gori and McLean were excellent for the Italians. Ford, Tait and Salvi (who got man of the match) stood out for Tigers. The boys need a bollocking and then a couple of days rest because so many of them look shattered.

Tries for Tuilagi, Smith, Salvi x2 and a penalty try from a massive scrum driven from over 15 metres out.

by yappysnap Sun 09 Dec 2012, 8:34 pm

Mullipola looked massively uninterested, has he played over the AI's?

Tait mixed the bad with the very good but generally came out of the game in a good light, needs the rest of the backs to start tracking him though when he makes his breaks.

Tuilagi wowed me, passed better then either Ford or Youngs and looked a bit more dynamic, has he lost a little bulk as well?

by **LondonTiger** Sun 09 Dec 2012, 9:19 pm

Mulipola badly damaged his knee just before AIs - really is not fit yet.

I thought Tait was really good, looked like a great tackle tracking back in the second half.

I honestly cannot remember Manu passing - even turned to the people with me and suggested that he had used up his allocation of passes for the month last week.

Ben Youngs was poor in the second half - the whole team were poor, especially at the break down after Salvi went off. Treviso showed a lot of skill, and will not be a walkover next week.

by nathan Sun 09 Dec 2012, 9:33 pm

thought Treviso should of been pinged more for not rolling away in the second half. But on the whole they did well to come back, will be an interesting game on the return leg.

by yappysnap Sun 09 Dec 2012, 9:40 pm

Fair enough,that explains a lot about Mulipola.

That tackle by Tait was excellent, especially when you look at where he started from.

Manu threw a few short ranges off loads and pop passes as well as at least two beautifully weighted 30m+ bullets one of which was a try scorer.

by **LondonTiger** Sun 09 Dec 2012, 10:01 pm

Sadly as it was on red button was unable to record the game. I guess the passes must have been in the first half - when the play was at the opposite end to us - or I was so cold I just did not notice.

by mbernz Sun 09 Dec 2012, 10:09 pm

Tuilagi's fizzing pass across a third of the pitch for Smith's try in the 2nd half was a beauty.

by maestegmafia Sun 09 Dec 2012, 11:25 pm

nathan wrote:thought Treviso should of been pinged more for not rolling away in the second half. But on the whole they did well to come back, will be an interesting game on the return leg.

Just watched the game and to be fair that try should not have been disallowed for Treviso. They are a tough team at home, tigers might get caught out next week.

by **LondonTiger** Mon 10 Dec 2012, 7:04 am

mbernz wrote:Tuilagi's fizzing pass across a third of the pitch for Smith's try in the 2nd half was a beauty.

For some reason I thought it was Bowden. Also I have to say I was not overly impressed as with a 3 man overlap it almost made the try a touch difficult - though why clancy went to the TMO I have no idea.

by VinceWLB Mon 10 Dec 2012, 10:54 am

I see Castro is not happy about what happenned at the end of the 1st half.
Indeed it was very hard for captain Pavanello and the front row but Franco Smith is what he is, he would do anything for his team to do the best even if that means replacing the skipper with 30 s to play which is very degrading.

That said, Roux was the problem so replacing him only would have been enough IMO

by **LondonTiger** Mon 10 Dec 2012, 11:11 am

As the ref reset the original scrum - taking it back to the original mark, were Treviso allowed to replace numbers 1-4 on bloc, or were they meant to wait till the scrum was complete?

by Portnoy's Complaint Mon 10 Dec 2012, 11:15 am

maestegmafia wrote:
nathan wrote:thought Treviso should of been pinged more for not rolling away in the second half. But on the whole they did well to come back, will be an interesting game on the return leg.

Just watched the game and to be fair that try should not have been disallowed for Treviso. They are a tough team at home, tigers might get caught out next week.

Clancy was clearly informed by the TMO that a Tigers' try should have been disallowed but wasn't within the ERC brief on the grounding. Is there anything on your recording that helps?

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