Matthew Tait completes Leicester move.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/14150991.stm

I reckon everybody has known that Tait is linking up with the Tigers for ages, now it has been confirmed. I think this could be an excellent move for Leicester if he can stay fit. One of the things Leicester have been really missing in the very top end games is pace and Tait has this in spades.

Any thoughts about this?

It's a great signing for both parties. What'll be interesting is where he settles, centres or back three. I guess with Twelvetrees and Allen both likely to be available for the start of the season, he'll be needed to play either wing or full back initially.

He's still pretty young and has bags of caps already. Great signing.

I don't see him as a 15. Will he get a start at either 13 or on the wing? Given this I see it as a great signing for Leicester, but not as you state "for both parties." Leicester as ever are building a pretty formidable bench.

Pretty sure cockerill has gone on record to say he had been signed as a 15, as a long term replacement for Geordan Murphy.

tooboredtowork wrote:I don't see him as a 15. Will he get a start at either 13 or on the wing? Given this I see it as a great signing for Leicester, but not as you state "for both parties." Leicester as ever are building a pretty formidable bench.

Tait was doing nothing and going nowhere at Sale, he needed a move to one of the title challenging teams and he needs HC exposure. Personally I think the environment at Leicester, and the fact he'll have to work his socks off to make the side, will make him a better player. The fact the WC is this year is perfect for Tait. It'll allow him to bed down and play with Twelvetrees, Allen, Hamilton and possibly Murphy. If he shines, I wouldn't be surprised if he was accommodated in the Leicester 1st XV. Look at how Allen and Tuilagi became the 1st choice pairing. Cockerill if nothing else is a coach that judges and selects players on merit. The opportunity is there for Tait, and I think it's the challenge he needs.

I'm sure he could have gone somewhere cosier where he'd be guaranteed to play, but I don't think that would have done him much good as a player. Clearly his long-term goal must be to win back an England jersey, and there are worse places to do that than Leicester.

funnyExiledScot wrote:
Clearly his long-term goal must be to win back an England jersey, and there are worse places to do that than Leicester.

There is nowhere EASIER to win an England jersey!

Bathite wrote:Pretty sure cockerill has gone on record to say he had been signed as a 15, as a long term replacement for Geordan Murphy.

I'm sure I read somewhere that he was signed to cover all of the back three positions. For the life of me I can't remember where though.

Bathite wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:
Clearly his long-term goal must be to win back an England jersey, and there are worse places to do that than Leicester.

There is nowhere EASIER to win an England jersey!

Naughty

Bathite wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:
Clearly his long-term goal must be to win back an England jersey, and there are worse places to do that than Leicester.

There is nowhere EASIER to win an England jersey!

You should talk to Anthony Allen and Jordan Crane!

Bathite wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:
Clearly his long-term goal must be to win back an England jersey, and there are worse places to do that than Leicester.

There is nowhere EASIER to win an England jersey!

Yes, it's just a shame that good old Jack Rowell isn't in charge eh?

Allen is hard done by, I'd have him at 12 ahead of Hape, Barritt and the others, oh wait, there is no one else.

Crane, just no chance, behind Easter Haskell Narraway and justifiably so and would prefer to see someone like Guest and Fearns ahead of him as well to be honest.

Always been a big fan of Tait, I'm really happy to see him at Tigers. He hasn't had to work hard to make his club side before now and hasn't had the opportunity to play for a side with real forward power before either. It's a make or break move for him and quite brave, but if it works he could become very very good! I think he will play 15 and has the talent to be able to challenge Foden for his place in the future.

Good move for Tait, he'll add some real attacking spark to the Tigers back three, he should work as a good foil to Tuilagi's power game and will love the fact that Tigers are really trying to embrace running rugby.

I did read that Cockerill was looking at him as Murphy's successor, which is some pretty big boots to fill!

Bathite wrote:Allen is hard done by, I'd have him at 12 ahead of Hape, Barritt and the others, oh wait, there is no one else.

Crane, just no chance, behind Easter Haskell Narraway and justifiably so and would prefer to see someone like Guest and Fearns ahead of him as well to be honest.

Guest and Fearns? They may one day end up being better players, but until they win the jersey at their respective clubs, no chance.

He has not had a good couple of seasons but hes always been capable of doing something special. I really hope he makes an impact at club and international level

funnyExiledScot wrote:

Bathite wrote:Allen is hard done by, I'd have him at 12 ahead of Hape, Barritt and the others, oh wait, there is no one else.

Crane, just no chance, behind Easter Haskell Narraway and justifiably so and would prefer to see someone like Guest and Fearns ahead of him as well to be honest.

Guest and Fearns? They may one day end up being better players, but until they win the jersey at their respective clubs, no chance.

It's not that black and white though is it? Guest is being stopped by the current England international 8, but is good enough to always play when not injured and is deemed by many as a better player but not as good a leader. Much like Cole at Leicester who hasn't won the shirt but is stuck behind a current international and is nearly on a par with him.

Yappysnap - that's fair, although Cole certainly plays a bigger role at Leicester as an impact player than Guest plays at Quins.

I personally think Guest should leave Quins at the end of next season if he isn't starting at 8 in the big games. He's too good a player to be on the bench.

I do hope that Tait has been signed as a 15 for Tigers. I've always thought that he would be more suited to that position.

When he runs with ball he drifts, but when in the center he is actually cutting down the space for others to operate in (unless someone picks a decent line off him). 15 should give him a bit more time to think.

Hopefully Tigers can work on his defence a bit (I know there are some that say he isnt that bad - but I refer you to that England v Maori game last season (Strettle was shocking in defence too)). And he probably needs to develop a better kicking game if he's going to try and nail down the 15 shirt.

Good luck tait - we need some decent competition for Foden or he will get complacent.

funnyExiledScot wrote:Yappysnap - that's fair, although Cole certainly plays a bigger role at Leicester as an impact player than Guest plays at Quins.

I personally think Guest should leave Quins at the end of next season if he isn't starting at 8 in the big games. He's too good a player to be on the bench.

Hasnt Guest signed another 2yr contract extension?
2 seasons ago Skinner was ousted from back row to try and accomodate Guest and Easter in the same back row. There have also been experiments with moving Easter into the 2nd row (not sure if that was a request of MJ or not though).
Last season Guest has been hampered by injury, and there was also the arrival of Mauri Faasavalou to compete with in the later part of the year. I'm looking forward to seeing good competition in the back row - can only be good.

Wow, when you put it like that, Quins have an incredibly good back row on paper!

propdavid_london wrote:I do hope that Tait has been signed as a 15 for Tigers. I've always thought that he would be more suited to that position.

When he runs with ball he drifts, but when in the center he is actually cutting down the space for others to operate in (unless someone picks a decent line off him). 15 should give him a bit more time to think.

Hopefully Tigers can work on his defence a bit (I know there are some that say he isnt that bad - but I refer you to that England v Maori game last season (Strettle was shocking in defence too)). And he probably needs to develop a better kicking game if he's going to try and nail down the 15 shirt.

Good luck tait - we need some decent competition for Foden or he will get complacent.

Yes that Hosea Gear try must have had the teams defence coach in tears, especially the love taps from Tait and Strettle.

propdavid_london wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:Yappysnap - that's fair, although Cole certainly plays a bigger role at Leicester as an impact player than Guest plays at Quins.

I personally think Guest should leave Quins at the end of next season if he isn't starting at 8 in the big games. He's too good a player to be on the bench.

Hasnt Guest signed another 2yr contract extension?
2 seasons ago Skinner was ousted from back row to try and accomodate Guest and Easter in the same back row. There have also been experiments with moving Easter into the 2nd row (not sure if that was a request of MJ or not though).
Last season Guest has been hampered by injury, and there was also the arrival of Mauri Faasavalou to compete with in the later part of the year. I'm looking forward to seeing good competition in the back row - can only be good.

I think MJ asked for the move by Easter but can't really remember.

From Oct-Jan Guest was a starter in the team either at 6 or 8, much like a lot of backrowers. It was only a thumb injury that kept him out and as Dave say's let Maurie in tot he team. Guest will have a big task getting his starting spot back but i think he's up to it, Maurie is a brilliant impact sub to have.

He is signed till the end of the 12/13 season i think and by then i can't see him not being the starting 8. We then have possibly an even better 8 coming through after him in Chris York so the production line is going nicely.

Glad it has gone through, hopefully this means he's over his injury.

Good player and I hope Tigers are going to give him a decent run as a back three player if that is where his future is seen for the club - he's got the ability to be competing for a regular place in the England squad ( as his past record shows), hopefully Tigers will be able to iron out the weak spots in his game.

Also good for Tigers's all English team when that comes up in discussion...

if i remember rightly didnt brian ashton get the best out of tait at 13 for england? Thought he really shined there during the 2007 WC, and was England best attacking option. Sadly for him things haven't worked out for him since then. Hopefully this move will reignite his career.

yappysnap wrote:

propdavid_london wrote:I do hope that Tait has been signed as a 15 for Tigers. I've always thought that he would be more suited to that position.

When he runs with ball he drifts, but when in the center he is actually cutting down the space for others to operate in (unless someone picks a decent line off him). 15 should give him a bit more time to think.

Hopefully Tigers can work on his defence a bit (I know there are some that say he isnt that bad - but I refer you to that England v Maori game last season (Strettle was shocking in defence too)). And he probably needs to develop a better kicking game if he's going to try and nail down the 15 shirt.

Good luck tait - we need some decent competition for Foden or he will get complacent.

Yes that Hosea Gear try must have had the teams defence coach in tears, especially the love taps from Tait and Strettle.

Yes, there was that pathetic bounce off Strettle and then just a simple fend off on Tait - not good.
I think there were several times when Tait came out of the defensive line and left space behind, think that was Gears 2nd try.

Its still a quality game to watch though -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HtVivhwYQM
Just a shame the clip didnt have the whole game.

To be fair to Tait though, there were defensively frail players all over that England side - Hodgeson, Tait, Strettle, Armitage out of position in centers.

pioden gorllewin wrote:if i remember rightly didnt brian ashton get the best out of tait at 13 for england? Thought he really shined there during the 2007 WC, and was England best attacking option. Sadly for him things haven't worked out for him since then. Hopefully this move will reignite his career.

I actually think Tait's performances at 13 throughout the course of the 2007 tournament have been slightly exaggerated. He was decent in the final, but before that was nothing more than solid, and he got a lot of help in defence from Sackey's superb rush.

pioden gorllewin wrote:if i remember rightly didnt brian ashton get the best out of tait at 13 for england? Thought he really shined there during the 2007 WC, and was England best attacking option. Sadly for him things haven't worked out for him since then. Hopefully this move will reignite his career.

In 2007 the center partnerships were Noon and Farrell! I think a skoda (old model) would have more attacking options than those 2!
Did Mike Catt go to the '07 WC?

Yeah, Catt went to 07, i had the (dis)pleasure of seeing him and farrell lined up in the centres in an awful game against the USA

propdavid - thought catt and tait were the centre pairing, but might be completely wrong.

funnyexiledscot - only got a vague memory of england's group games. just remember tait looking dangerous the games i watched.

Catt was there and was the 12 for the Australia game. Tait came on as a replacement at 15 a lot in 2007 I think.

I can't believe his only 25, it seems although his been around for years I guess he could play until his mid thirties so I hope Leicester can turn him into a quality player for England, Maybe another Will Greenwood!

http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/player/14700.html?class=1;template=results;type=player;view=match

There you can see all of his appearances and at what position. If memory serves me well, someone came on in the centres and he went to fb quite a lot.

Hes most likely winger fullback cover for Tigers if you look at the squad they have. With Murphy injured for the start of the season, Amarisono gone, Agulla really not up to the job (going to the world cup anyway?), and A Tuilagi going to the world cup, they are desperatly short of support for Hamilton in that role.
If mini Tuilagi goes to the world cup that leaves not much beyond Smith as a senior specialist 13 (also means he cant cover wing ) so I Tait could get a chance there too.
Early season form could be everything for Tait. If he proves himself he could be hard to shift from the 15, and will be very useful on the bench.

Longer term his fullback future may depend on Hamilton staying or going, currently hes heir to Murphys throne, but Tait could establish himself as the replacement 15 or just continue being a utility player.

I think Tait is more likely to feature in the back three, the Tigers midfield follows a certain make up and the Tigers OC needs to be able to crash the ball in every now and then. Billy and Smith are both bigger than Tait he is about 2 stone lighter and just doesn't have the same physical presence. His ability to counter attack from deep and come into the line make him ideal for the attacking Tigers backline.

I expect to see something like:

9.Young
10.Staunton
11.Morris/Smith
12.Allen
13.Smith/Twelvetrees
14.Hamilton
15.Tait

I think Noon was first choice OC in 2007 but then he got injured. We called Hipkiss into the squad and Tait was brought into the first team. Catt and Farrell were the options at 12.

I've always said that Tait looked to me a better bet at 15 than in the centres, his skill set lends itself to being a good counter attacking fullback, and if I remember rightly, he's got quite a long punt on him. With Tuilagi clearly emerging as the next big thing at 13, and Tait being in the same squad, the natural vacancy would seem to be at 15 rather than 13, although I guess Tuilagi could end up on the opposite wing to his brother.

Is Tait really two stone lighter than Twelvetrees and Smith? I wouldn't have thought it as much as that.

Tait can be a very useful option in an England squad, similar type of player to Earls with Ireland. A great counter-attacking runner in the back 3 with the potential to play 13. Could displace Armitage if he impresses at Leicester, hopefully he can hit the ground running.

Smith and Twelvetrees are both big lumps. Tait was bigger than Noon a few years ago when they were both in the England squad so I wouldn't pay too much attention to weights? (unless we're talking 9st)

Matthew Tait is a good acquisition for Leicester. As yappysnap says he is a nice contrast to the Tuliagi power. Can Leicester sort out his defence though?

He will add another notch to the Leicester attack. Bit of a gamble but Leicester are good at improving on players who fallen in form.

Hammer Smith and Twelvetrees are pushing 16 stone and are both very physical players (Tigers don't really bring any other sort), Tait however, is just over 14 stone (according to wiki anyway) and certainly isn't a physical player. It's not just size I'm talking about it's also the mentality both Smith and Twelvetrees really go for it in defence and you won't see anyone go through them even though neither are reknowned big hitters. The same cannot be said for Tait. However, it wasn't so long ago Allen joined the club with a reputation for falling off tackles. He now has the reputation for not only not missing them but also organising the entire defensive line.

Tait seem to be having his feet on the ground hope he does well for Leicester Tigers. See him more of a bench player as he able to cover centre along with back 3 cant see him taking the place of Anthony Allen, Billy Twelvetrees and Tuilagi.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/14159697.stm

Theer si anothert thraed on this topic but I can't be bothered looking for it (I found it at work but there are firewalls to stop you contributing.
I think Tait is a great player but, as you say, don't understand this move as Allen and Tuiolagi will keep him out the team. I think there is a ridiculous amount of unwarranetd hype about Twlevetrees and won't bring him into the equation.
I don't see too many games in the Aviva but how is his confidence? It took a knock after his first international and set him back a long, long way.

InjuredYetAgain wrote:
I don't see too many games in the Aviva but how is his confidence? It took a knock after his first international and set him back a long, long way.

He had a bad shoulder injury which kept him out the majority of last seasion not sure if he left sale or got realised if he been realised that not going to help sound nurvourse in this interview.

Sorry if this is been done all ready getting use to 606v2

Don't worry, mate. You will catch on. Just be careful who you use as a role model as some posters adopt the philosophy of just putting down a totally bizarre sequence of words together that bear no resemblance to the topic and which normally are aimed at winding up the English guys.
PS Your key board seems to have developed a stutter!!

I think he's been brought in to push for full back rather than centre. Murphey is spending a lot of time injured and who knows how he'll be playing. If nothing else he'll push other players for places and have to improve himself.

EDIT: BTW don't worry about posting the odd repeat article by accident. If the moderators feel it's a problem they can merge the articles.

As I put on another article (but I'll happily repeat) I disagree with the OP and think this is the best move Tait could've made. He has to back himself and work hard and it's a risk, but he is being brought in as a long term replacement to Geordan Murphy at full back. To have Murphy as your "tutor" will be awesome for him and I think he easily has the talent to make the 15 shirt his in time. Yes, next season he might sit on the bench a lot, but in the long term I can see him competing with Foden for the England 15 shirt. He was going no where at Sale and the last thing he should've done was either stay there or move somewhere else where he was nearly guaranteed a start. It could all go wrong, but I think he has the natural talent to really make the most of the move.

The thing is..if you look his pace, etc he has the attributes to really excell at FB...and i think Martin Johnson thought this aswell.

If the Tigers can work their magic on him, it could be a very shrewd move....

He needs lots of games though...will he get this at Leicester...

I think tait has the skills to play FB...and i hope Leicester can work their magic.

RE No.8's
Leicester are soon to sign the next long term England 8...in Alex Gray.
Our Falcons accademy is certainly doing really well for leciester!!

GeordieFalcon wrote:The thing is..if you look his pace, etc he has the attributes to really excell at FB...and i think Martin Johnson thought this aswell.

If the Tigers can work their magic on him, it could be a very shrewd move....

He needs lots of games though...will he get this at Leicester...

If he's good enough then yes. Leicester is renowned as a club that will play a player if they are playing the best, regardless of their name or anything like that. Probably as I said not this season, but next season and the season after... Murphy's not getting any younger.... Is Murphy away with Ireland for the world cup? If so then Tait will get a look in early doors assuming he's fit.

GeordieFalcon wrote:I think tait has the skills to play FB...and i hope Leicester can work their magic.

RE No.8's
Leicester are soon to sign the next long term England 8...in Alex Gray.
Our Falcons accademy is certainly doing really well for leciester!!

Just quoted you on the other Tait thread and all!

The whole Falcons is Leicester academy must be getting annoying. I lived in the toon for 7 years and so Falcons are my 2nd team (brought up with Leicester as my local club) and so I end up with mixed feelings about it. It seems that Falcons are great at developing talent to premiership level, but they need to be at a bigger club to reach true international standard (JW excluded obviously!). Flood has become so much better since the move and I think Tait will do the same.

What could Ncl do to help retain these types of guys (Rory Clegg being another that's gone and got better elsewhere)