Leicester Tigers - 2013/14 Thread

[LondonTiger]

First topic message reminder :

Senior Squad

Props - Ayerza, Balmain, Bristow, Cole, Mulipola, Schuster, Stankovich
Hookers - Briggs, Chuter, Hawkins, Youngs
Locks - Cain, Deacon. De Chaves, Kitchener, Parling, Price, Slater
Back Row - Crane, Croft, Gibson, Mafi, Salvi, Waldrom

Scrum Halves - Harrison, Mele, Steele, Youngs
Outside Half - Flood, Lamb, Williams
Centres - Allen, Bowden, Smith, Tuilagi
Wings - Benjamin, Camacho, Goneva, Morris, Thompstone
Full Back - Hamilton, Tait

Coaches - Cockerill (DoR & Forwards), Blaze (Asst Forwards), Burke (Backs), Murphy (Asst Backs)


Aviva Premiership Fixtures

Sun 8 Sep 14:00 Leicester Tigers   32         Worcester Warriors 15
Sat 14 Sep 15:15 Bath Rugby  27   Leicester Tigers 20
Sat 21 Sep 15:00 Leicester Tigers  33   Newcastle Falcons 6
Sun 29 Sep 14:00 Exeter Chiefs   9   Leicester Tigers  22
Sat 5 Oct 15:15 Leicester Tigers 19   Northampton Saints  19
Sun 27 Oct 14:00 London Wasps 22   Leicester Tigers 12
Sat 2 Nov 17:30 Leicester Tigers  16   Harlequins 23
Sat 23 Nov 15:00 Leicester Tigers 20   London Irish 11
Sat 30 Nov 15:00 Gloucester Rugby 17   Leicester Tigers 22
Sat 21 Dec 15:00 Saracens  49 v   Leicester Tigers 10
Sat 28 Dec 15:00 Leicester Tigers   v   Sale Sharks
Sat 4 Jan 15:00 Leicester Tigers 27  v   Bath Rugby 27
Fri 7 Feb 19:45 Worcester Warriors  22 v   Leicester Tigers 23
Sat 15 Feb 15:00 Leicester Tigers 11  v   Gloucester Rugby  8
Sun 23 Feb 15:00 London Irish  15 v   Leicester Tigers 20
Sun 2 Mar 15:00 Newcastle Falcons  18 v   Leicester Tigers 41
Sat 22 Mar 15:00 Leicester Tigers   45 v   Exeter Chiefs 15
Sat 29 Mar 15:00 Northampton Saints 16  v   Leicester Tigers 22
Sat 12 Apr 15:00 Leicester Tigers   v   London Wasps Welford Road
Sat 19 Apr 15:00 Harlequins   v   Leicester Tigers Twickenham Stoop
Fri 2 May 20:00 Sale Sharks   v   Leicester Tigers Salford City Stadium
Sat 10 May 15:00 Leicester Tigers   v   Saracens Welford Road



Heineken Cup Fixtures

Friday, October 11 8pm Ulster Rugby 22  Leicester Tigers 16
Friday, October 18 8pm Leicester Tigers 34  Benetton Treviso 3
Sunday, December 8 3pm Leicester Tigers 41 Montpellier Herault Rugby 32
Sunday, December 15 4pm (local time) Montpellier Herault Rugby 14  Leicester Tigers 15
10/11/12 January 2014 Benetton Treviso 19 v Leicester Tigers 34
17/18/19 January 2014 Leicester Tigers 19 v Ulster Rugby 22
Saturday, 5th April ASM Clermont Auvergne v Leicester Tigers

[maverickmak]

Ah right...good to see his recuperation has gone well. Him and many in the midfield with Goneva on the wing...ouch, some power and pace there.

 add I our young future winger Zach Kilbridge and life will be good

[Welly]

Bower rumoured to be off to Wuss no surprise there in that he is leaving behind the pecking order imho.

[formerly known as Sam]

He isn't up to scratch at scrum time. Thought he'd go to Notts personally. Not going to push out Balmain and seems to have been overtaken by Pasquali in the pecking order.

[Metal Tiger]

Sooo... the general discussion in my section of the Crumbie after the Chiefs game was that Tigers were finally starting to look like "Tigers of old"

Fast, Powerful & Clinical. Never took the foot off the gas for the full 80 and showed no mercy.... many other cliches were also mentioned.

I said that whilst I was very happy with the performance that I would reserve judgement on if "we're back!" until after the Saints game.

Well... are we back to top form?

[nathan]

Sooo... the general discussion in my section of the Crumbie after the Chiefs game was that Tigers were finally starting to look like "Tigers of old"

Fast, Powerful & Clinical. Never took the foot off the gas for the full 80 and showed no mercy.... many other cliches were also mentioned.

I said that whilst I was very happy with the performance that I would reserve judgement on if "we're back!" until after the Saints game.

Well... are we back to top form?

i wouldn't say top form yet, we showing some form but lets not forget this was Saints who were missing Myler - they seem to not play well when he's not around.

[formerly known as Sam]

Myler would not have made the tackles Hooley made. He would have kicked the goals though.

We aren't in top form but we are starting to show that we might actually get there this season.

[nathan]

Myler would not have made the tackles Hooley made. He would have kicked the goals though.

We aren't in top form but we are starting to show that we might actually get there this season.

Possibly, but with those converted kicks we would of lost. But thats all ifs and buts.

[Metal Tiger]

The big question is then can we catch Saints up if we continue in our current form?

If the table stays as it is we get Saints in the semi... if we get 2nd and overtake Saints we still get Saints.

Honestly I would prefer a home fixture but we have shown we can win the big games away. Realistically I see the table remaining pretty much as it is now.

[Jimpy]

I can honestly see Tigers overhauling Saints for second spot. But actually, as it stands would be fine, since Saints simply cannot win against Tigers of late, home or away.

[The Bachelor]

Apologies for butting in, but is Owen Williams set to start next weekend?

[gregortree]

Tom Youngs allegedly got nibbled, but insufficient evidence to cite.

[LondonTiger]

Apologies for butting in, but is Owen Williams set to start next weekend?

I suspect so.

[maverickmak]

I would assume Owen would start. He has started the last 4, in some pretty important games. I think if Flood was going to start against Clermont, he would have started against Saints. Have to show some faith in the lad, but also expose him to that kind of situation if he is to be our first choice next season.

[LondonTiger]

Tom Youngs allegedly got nibbled, but insufficient evidence to cite.

He says he felt something that he thought was a bite. As thee was no TV evidence, and no official complaint, the matter will go no further.

Well officially that is.

Lord knows what allegations will fly on forums etc.

[gregortree]

stuck his hand in the 'Jam' ?

[Portnoy's Complaint]

Apologies for butting in, but is Owen Williams set to start next weekend?

I suspect so.

I sincerely hope so. He's fitting in so well with the Tigers' ethos.

[BlueNote]

Going to Leicester seems to have been the best thing that could have happened to OW, working out better than he could have hoped.

[Welly]

Going to Leicester seems to have been the best thing that could have happened to OW, working out better than he could have hoped.

 Yep how when is the last time a Welsh 10 was in a Heineken cup 1/4 final (potentially starting don't see why he would be benched).

 He came not knowing what Flood would do but he wanted to learn over took Lamb (not hard) but he fought for his place and with a mix of bad Flood performances and solid display when he did play brought it to a 50/50 call and Cockers gave him the nod due to flood leaving next season.

 It shows that waiting can pay off.

[ChequeredJersey]

Good luck against ASM guys. Obviously I hope you lose every remaining game in the League but to make up for it we'll support you to win the HEC!

[Welly]

Well it would be nice not to be No75 on they unbeaten home record tally.

 I feel better about the game than I did 3 months ago.

[Portnoy's Complaint]

Leicester Tigers (v ASM Clermont Auvergne, away, Saturday 5pm local time)
15 Mathew Tait
14 Blaine Scully
13 Manusamoa Tuilagi
12 Anthony Allen
11 Vereniki Goneva
10 Owen Williams
9 Ben Youngs
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Tom Youngs
3 Logovi'i Mulipola
4 Louis Deacon
5 Ed Slater (c)
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Jordan Crane

Replacements
16 Rob Hawkins
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Graham Kitchener
20 Thomas Waldrom
21 David Mele
22 Toby Flood
23 Scott Hamilton

ASM Clermont Auvergne
15 Jean-Marcellin Buttin
14 Noa Nakaitaci
13 Aurélien Rougerie (c)
12 Wesley Fofana
11 Naipolioni Nalaga
10 Brock James
9 Morgan Parra
1 Thomas Domingo
2 Benjamin Kayser
3 Davit Zirakashvili
4 Jamie Cudmore
5 Nathan Hines
6 Julien Bonnaire
7 Damien Chouly
8 Fritz Lee

Replacements
16 Ti'i Paulo
17 Vincent Debaty
18 Clément Ric
19 Julien Pierre
20 Alexandre Lapandry
21 Thierry Lacrampe
22 Mike Delany
23 Benson Stanley

Scully on the wing?

[LondonTiger]

Scully is more solid defensively that Thompstone.

That is a grizzly pack for Clermont - Cudmore and Hines a good test for Slater. Should the tigers skipper shine tomorrow, I may have to revise my opinion on his international potential.

Shame that we will not see Sivivatu

[Portnoy's Complaint]

I'm relishing this one.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Tigers are hitting their straps and look as though they mean business.

Having Manu back helps of course, but the return to form of the backs in particular makes me feel confident.

Such a shame that Croft and Parling remain on the injured list though. They were titanic last year at this stage.

[formerly known as Sam]

LT considering how he left Lawes firmly in his shadow last weekend I think Slater is likely to have an international career sooner rather than later.

If he can go toe to toe with Cudmore and Hines and come out looking good then England simply must cap him this summer.

That Clermont team is pretty fearsome we'll need to show a more substantial defence than in recent times and really play to our best if we want to win.

[B91212]

I agree that Slater is going well and that he deserves recognition this summer, think Attwood will be nervously looking over his shoulder although after the 6N it will take some effort to break into the England engine room at the moment for reasons other than injury or availability. By the way I thought the whole Tigers pack outplayed the Saints pack last week by challenging for just about every single breakdown, even when defending on their own line meaning Saints forwards were always sucked in trying to secure ball. Lawes & Alex Waller, usually two of Saints more noticeable forwards spent most of the game unsuccessfully trying to clear our Salvi, Crane & T. Youngs before they secured the turnover. Brave tactics and very well executed. Big change from a couple of years ago where Tigers were told not to challenge any ball in their own half in case they conceded pens.

Based on both his and the teams performances since taking over as captain Slater has to become the official club captain from next season, he really seems to have given the team focus and drive since he was handed the job, as well as the added bonus of it upping his own game.

Good luck for tomorrow Tigers. Real mountain to climb and I hope you can pull it off. Will be interesting see how Munipola goes against Domingo after Cole's struggles in the past. Saw 40 minutes of a Clemont game the other week and he seemed to be under some pressure at the scrum, went backwards a few times and gave away a few pens before being hauled off. Hopefully Tait can take his place in the starting line up this week too after pulling out just before kick off in the previous 2 games, there may be some space for him with Clemont watching Manu & Goneva closely.

[killer938]

Slater continued his form against Clermont despite the defeat, surely must be in the running to tour now.

In other good news, it seems Parling may be available for selection this weekend.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-union/26946858

[Welly]

All the second rows have been playing well so far.

 Scully and Camacho are staying for next season,

 Great news as Scully is looking an amazing player. both players provide depth in other areas and reckon they will be cheap compared to others around.

 Camacho and Ayerza can also hopefully help Matera decide to take the lesser money and stay here

[Portnoy's Complaint]

At least Cockers can reasonably afford not to play Parling at all (although it would likely be from the bench if he did) on Saturday if there's any risk of Geoff not being fully ready.

[formerly known as Sam]

Good to hear that Morris is set for an imminent return. He was awesome for us last season and has been blighted by injuries so far this year. Would be good to have him back in as he adds an extra dimension to the back three.

Good time to have some high quality players coming back in.

[broadlandboy]

True Sam but who would you drop from Tait Niki or Scully , a place on the bench would be harsh on Hamilton.

[Welly]

Thing is morris can also cover 13

 so with mele flood and morris on the bench you have all the back positions covered.

[broadlandboy]

Doesn't Niki cover 13?

[formerly known as Sam]

I'd have Morris in over Hamilton no worries. If he comes off the bench and shows he's fit and has some form I'd then have him over Scully the following week. Morris is Scully with extra height, a better step and a more accurate boot.

The controversial decision will be who to drop in order to give Camacho a game.

[Welly]

Wouldn't have Morris over Scully after that Clermont game.

 Morris was looking poor earlier in the season (mind you who was) but Scully I think has always looked good.

 Mind you al these selection headaches are a welcomed thing.

[formerly known as Sam]

I know awful isn't It. Which quality wing/fullback style player do we want opposite Goneva it's Ok we've got three to choose from.

[broadlandboy]

Goneva signed for 2 more years

[formerly known as Sam]

Great bit of news that. He's really added an explosive dimension to our back line this season. Hoping we see a Manu/Goneva midfield in the second half.

[king_carlos]

Agreed excellent news on Goneva. He's stepped up incredibly well when Manu has been absent, at times offering a lone threat in an impotent back line when the likes of Manu, Allen, Tait and Benjamin were injured and Youngs/Flood were out of sorts.

For Wasps tomorrow Morris has returned to the bench at the expense of Hamilton and Parling joins the bench with Kitchener starting and Deacon dropping out. Elsewhere the props have switched around with Boris and Balmain starting. Big opportunity for Balmain to show what he's capable of there!

1.Stankovich
2.Youngs
3.Balmain
4.Slater
5.Kitchener
6.Gibson
7.Salvi
8.Crane

9.Youngs
10.Williams

11.Scully
12.Allen
13.Tuilagi
14.Goneva
15.Tait

16.Hawkins
17.Ayerza
18.Mulipola
19.Parling
20.Matera
21.Mele
22.Flood
23.Morris

[broadlandboy]

Simon Cohen just said Loamanu will be here next season

[LondonTiger]

We were pants.

Logo lasted about 5 minutes before going down with the calf problem that has been bothering him a while. Owen Williams had his worst performance for ages, Goneva had an off day. Forwards kept coughing up ball. Was not good, needs to be better next week.

[lostinwales]

8000 posts LT   

[formerly known as Sam]

We weren't quite that bad. We should have had another try before half time but Small missed the Wasps open side tackling the man at the back of the rolling maul.

We did lack experience in the back line with Smith looking miles away from being fully fit. Give it a week and I think we'll look a little more rounded. End of the day job done and 5 points. A lot of that down to Manu mind.

[Jimpy]

We were pants.

Logo lasted about 5 minutes before going down with the calf problem that has been bothering him a while. Owen Williams had his worst performance for ages, Goneva had an off day. Forwards kept coughing up ball. Was not good, needs to be better next week.

 
Oh Jesus Christ, take some of your anti-pessimism pills will you, it's like reading the diary of Marvin the Paranoid Android.
 
Another win. 5 Points. Team building momentum. 2nd place a distinct possibility.
 
I'll take that.

[LondonTiger]

Did you watch the game?

I am pleased with the result, but not the performance. We have to play better than that on Friday. Not pessimism suggesting the performance was worse than the result, Cockerill pretty much said the same thing.

[Jimpy]

Did you watch the game?

I am pleased with the result, but not the performance. We have to play better than that on Friday. Not pessimism suggesting the performance was worse than the result, Cockerill pretty much said the same thing.

No, he said it was a bit of a 'non event', but that he was happy with the result (obviously). Both sides made mistakes (I watched the highlights). He didn't suggest that Tigers played badly (or well).

Let's be honest, you are, and always have been, a 'glass half empty' type.

[LondonTiger]

Until you have watched the full match - no point discussing it.

If you do start counting all the silly mistakes - you may well need to take your socks off.

Wasps were, in the main, exceedingly limited. We kept them in the game by messing up kick-offs, dropping lineouts under no pressure, being stripped of the ball in the tackle, missing tackles, dropping easy passes and passing way over peoples heads.


I am really pleased with a TBP win - it was the minimum expected. It was though in playing terms our worst performance of 2014. We have played much better than that in recent weeks - and I hope we improve for Friday. Cockers suggested that the boys were emotionally tired following the Clermont game - lets hope that is now out of the system.

[Jimpy]

Until you have watched the full match - no point discussing it.

If you do start counting all the silly mistakes - you may well need to take your socks off.

Wasps were, in the main, exceedingly limited. We kept them in the game by messing up kick-offs, dropping lineouts under no pressure, being stripped of the ball in the tackle, missing tackles, dropping easy passes and passing way over peoples heads.


I am really pleased with a TBP win - it was the minimum expected. It was though in playing terms our worst performance of 2014. We have played much better than that in recent weeks - and I hope we improve for Friday. Cockers suggested that the boys were emotionally tired following the Clermont game - lets hope that is now out of the system.

Oh really? I beg to differ.

Do lighten up old boy, it perhaps wasn't a stellar performance, but hardly cause for your particular brand of doom and gloom.... Another 5 points at The Stoop on Friday, you'll see.

[killer938]

I haven't seen the game but from the reports it wasn't a great performance to say the least. However, I am not one bit surprised there was a drop off after the Clermont game, they gave everything in the most demanding situation possible and just came up short so to expect them to pull out a big performance this weekend just wasn't realistic. They got the job done, 5 points and that is the main thing. Now, onwards and upwards, bad game out the way, carry on winning and put pressure on Northampton.

[LondonTiger]

Bye Chutes.

Enjoy your retirement.

[Welly]

seconded great tiger with a great personality.

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