Young Guns Secure Second Straight LV Victory

Tigers secured their second straight victory in the LV Cup on Friday night as they held off a late fight back by a determined Worcester to win 21-18 at Sixways.  

Tigers scored two tries through Michael Noone and a penalty try from a scrum, with the balance of the points coming from Welshman Owen Williams’s boot.  The Warriors in contrast were profligate with the boot missing 3 conversions and as many penalties, in such a close game it is hardly cutting edge insight to suggest this was this was the reason for the loss.

Tigers have a terrific record against Worcester with 18 wins out of 20 going into the game and the last loss being back in 2008.  The Warriors are the only current Premiership side to have never won at Welford Road and this win puts the streak back to 2008 at 10 games.

But the Worcester side looked set to break that streak after going 10-0 up after only 16 minutes.  First it was former Tigers centre Andy Symons with the long range penalty that dropped short.  I never saw Symons kick at goal for the Extras so this talent has been well hidden, or perhaps sensibly discouraged.  But the north London giant made up for it by finishing off Max Stelling’s break for the first try, then turning provider for Jake Abbott’s second.

The first was from a quality piece of centre play by Max Stelling.  Stelling beat the on rushing Purdy the grubbered through to keep the move alive.  Symons claimed the loose ball on the floor and the ball went through multiple phases before that man Symons popped up on the wing for the finish.

For the 2^nd try Henry Purdy simply failed to catch an up and under on halfway, Symons beat everyone to the bouncing ball, drew the last man and turned it inside to Abbott for the run in.

Owen Williams had struck the post with his first kick at goal but made amends as he guided Tigers back to 10-9 at half time.  His first penalty was for a ruck offence and the second when Worcester were offside. 

As in the Premiership fixture in September Sam Betty was given a ten minute rest by the referee, this time for killing the ball.  Tigers went for the scrum and were close to the try when Williams slotted the drop goal with clock past 40.  This was the first drop goal by a Tigers player for almost 2 years; the last?  Geordan Murphy’s match winner away to Saracens in February 2012.

Quickly after half time Worcester thought they had a 3^rd try but it was ruled out for a forward pass and it was Tigers who grabbed the next score through Michael Noone, scoring his 4^th in 5 games.  Noone went in at the corner after blindside work by Mele and quick hands from Jordan Crane.

Worcester’s Warwick was finally on the board with the boot in the 52nd minute but Tigers stretched their lead again with our old friend the penalty try making an appearance.  Outsized openside Jamie Gibson burst through a weak tackle from a Worcester replacement and charged to with a yard of the line.  A piled up ruck saw Tigers awarded the scrum; the pack turned the screw and the result was inevitable.

That was the winning score although Worcester was by no means done.  The last try was scored by Christian Scotland-Williamson sneaking into the corner after a lineout.  Former Tigers trialist Ignacio Mieres missed the quickly taken drop goal conversion.  There was time for one last attack but a cover tackle from debutant Pasqualle Dunn snuffed out any danger; in Worcester’s attempts to go wide the ball went to ground for Benjamin to hack into touch and end the game.

Tigers Roar Back into Form

A young and inexperienced Tigers side roared out of their recent slump in form with a revitalising 39-16 win.  The 4 try bonus point was only secured on the last play but a dominant second half saw Tigers retain almost 80% of possession and the Ospreys defence wilt under the constant pressure.  It was reminiscent of a Tigers game from the early 2000s as a game opposition kept it close for an hour before the Tigers inexorably pulled away.

Richard Cockerill had picked a balanced side with experienced players down the spine of loosehead prop, number 8, scrum half and full back given the structure and support for the young players around them to fulfill their potential.

The Ospreys meanwhile were slightly younger, an average age of 23 compared to 24 of Leicester, which will have an affect at this level.  Boasting Junior World Player of the Year Sam Davies in their ranks they were a side, though, which would take some beating.

Leicester started well with strong breaks by young centre pair Javiah Pohe and George Catchpole to set up a position in the 22, a few phases later and the Ospreys infringed to give Owen Williams the first 3 points of the match.  Almost straightaway the Welsh side were caught for their backs not being 10 meters behind the lineout and Williams had a 40 meter effort to make it 6-0 after 7 minutes.

The confidence was flooding into Williams now has he spotted the Ospreys defence of a 22 drop out asleep and went with a quick grubber to Michael Noone.  The former Ospreys age group player made it 9-0 after an eye catching break by Sebastian De Chaves the Portuguese-English-South African.

A poor box kick from Sam Harrison and lazy retreating from the Tigers pack gave the Ospreys their first points.  The kick off was out on the full but the Ospreys took the quick lineout, rather than waiting for the scrum, and were rewarded with a lineout on our 22.  They had kicked through and Williams had scrambled back to prevent any try threat.

They made it 9-6 after a glass jaw moment from their tighthead Joe Rees.  Boris Stankovich barely touched him and collapsed like a house of cards.  It was late so fair enough a penalty I suppose; but on watching the game back on Sky Scott "SQ" Quinnell and Johnny "Taffy lover" Hammond were calling for a red card!  If all they want are passionate one eyed idiots to commentate on the games then I am available.

Ospreys had a chance to level the scores on 23 minutes; but even after stealing a yard and a half wunderkind Sam Davies could only strike the bar.  Clearly goal kicking is not high on the IRB's priorities for World Player of Year after watching George Ford for 3 years.

But 4 minutes later it was Tigers who scored the game's first try through Thomas "the tank" Waldrom.  A smashed tackle from the Javiah Pohe on halfway got Tigers onto the front foot.  Williams on the half break feed Sam Harrison who took it up to the 22, good awareness from Harry Thacker saw him step into the scrum half position to keep the tempo up.  It was then 3 phases before Harrison found Waldrom on the tightline cutting back towards the ruck, the kiwi broke the first up tackle and powered through full back Ross Jones attempted tackle to claim the score making it 14-6.

A fairly harsh penalty on Irishman Michael Noone for failing to release the tackled player gave SAm Davies the easy 3 points to drag it back to 14-9 at half time. 

Tigers were straight back onto the attack after half time.  The possession was lost though and it took a cheeky break by Jamie Gibson through the middle of the maul to get us back into the Ospreys half.  Thacker made the meters after Gibson's show and go at the front of the lineout bamboozled the Welsh defenders.  More strong and straight running from Pohe, curing us of our drifting problem so evident against Wasps, took the play to the 10m line where the Ospreys again offended.  Poor officating from Rose saw Sam Harrison's quick tap pulled back but Williams slotted the goal for a 17-9 lead.

At this point the Ospreys just could retain the ball and Tigers attacks crashed down on them wave after wave.  Williams missed one penalty, after the Tigers' lineout jumpers were taken in the air, but made no mistake 3 minutes later.  From the 22 clearout of the last miss Tigers scorched through the middle.  Scott Hamilton made initial break, arcing away from the defence, he then turned the ball inside to Gibson who opened his legs and rushed through to 22.  Ospreys defended stoutly to prevent a try but the penalty was inevitable and converted by Williams for 20-9.  

It took 10 minutes for the next try to come but Tigers had an almost complete monopoly of possession and territory.  A midfield penalty was struck to the corner and when the Ospreys infringed again we got to 5m out.  The lineout was driven but not quite over so it was up to Sam Harrison to catch the tiring defence out and sneak over under the posts for the 2nd try, celebrating with his version of Bebeto's famous rocking the baby celebration.  There was 19 minutes left for Tigers to secure the bonus point.

Unfortunately Harrison's game was ended shortly afterwards by a tackle from Hanno Dirksen the American winger.  Dispite the similarities to Stankovich's in the first half I couldn't hear "SQ" calling for Dirksen to receive a red card, only yellow this time.  Clearly "SQ" has never quite got over Nottingham all those years ago.

Tigers didn't let that stop them though as the impressive Harry Wells dug, fought and burrowed his way under a pile of Ospreylian defenders to, just about, ground the ball.  It took the video ref 4 minutes to decide if it was a try or not.  Now I know we benefited from it this time but what view did he see after the first 60 seconds that was different?  Why does he have to take so long?  There are no clear views so you're going to have to make an educated guess either way.  Just make it and carry on.  For the fans at the ground, even with a one off video screen for this match, these delays are incredibly boring.

Either way it was almost all one way traffic now.  Sam Williams did grab a consolation for the visitors after pilfering the ball from the side of a maul then charging 40 meters for the try.  Mele's lack of reaction was not his best moment but in the grand scheme of things better to let them score a quick try than defend for 5 minutes and lose the chance at a 4th try for ourselves.

With the bench now cleared Tigers were hunting the bonus point try.  A series of driving mauls resulted in the try scorer Sam Williams seeing yellow and Tigers kicking to the corner with only 55 seconds remaining.  Before Sam Williams could even reach the bench though Tigers had scored as the power came through and Michael Noone could sheer off the side of the maul and dot down for his 3rd try in 4 games.

Harry Thacker was the offical Man of the Match and it is difficult to argue against that selection.  The hooker was the smallest player on the pitch but thanks to his aggression into contact he rarely, if ever, went backwards and often could scrambled forward for extra yards.  

This match was a long way from the physicality of a Premiership match though so expectations should not get too high too soon.  He is unlikely to play a Premiership match this season, and rightly so as he develops physically for the rigours of the Premiership on the neck and shoulders.  

Others to impress were Jamie Gibson, seemingly more comfortable in the 7 shirt than any other; Javiah Pohe is a solidly built young man, the Cornish-Kiwi could certainly stand up to the strength of the Premiership and his ability to straighten the line and attract defenders is invaluable.  He takes some stopping at any level.  Owen Williams was 7/10 with the boot and I would say the same mark for his game over all.  We saw glimpses of his potential but fly half is such a confidence position that requires regular game time it will be difficult to see more of it once Flood is back from England.

Hopefully the same side will play against Worcester and continue to impress and hopefully this will instil some more confidence into Cockerill to blood one or two of these youngsters into the full blooded games more often.

7 Hells, Tigers give cubs baptism of Fire

Tigers name another team of cubs for J.P. Morgan 7s as the search goes on for the Tigers first ever win in the competition.  Coming in with an average age of only 19 Tigers have certainly once again given youth its head in what will be the club's first appearance on the new BT Sport channel.

Captaining the side is Scotland Under 20s scrum half Scott Steele, who first played for the club in the 2011 7s at Stockport.  Steele is an old head in the squad having celebrated his 20th birthday last week.  Joining him in the "experienced" bracket is 23 year old Irishman Michael Noone, who made a huge impression in last seasons A League and LV Cup, and 22 year old French flanker Lucas Guillaume.  

The only truly experienced player in the squad is also the only unusual name to Tigers fans ears.  Blaine Scully is a 25 year old winger-cum-full back whose trial with the club was exclusively revealed by the UltraSubMarines on our twitter account two weeks ago.  Scully took up rugby whilst at UCLA and has represented the USA at both 7s and the full fat version, including playing for the Eagles at the 2011 World Cup.

Forward Harry Wells and back Henry Purdy were both part of England Under 20s squad which won the World Cup for the first time this summer; both also made their first team debuts in last seasons LV Cup and were impressive for the A team.  

George Catchpole and Pasqualle Dunn are both centres who can play on the wing, Catchpole is originally from Norfolk whilst Dunn is originally from New Zealand and has a background in Rugby League.

Jake Farnworth, George Tresidder, Oliver Bryant and Perry Humphreys were all part of the Academy's Under 18s side which won 6 out of 6, all with try bonus points, in the inaugural Academy League.  Farnworth is a flanker/#8 fro Staffordshire who scored 5 tries in that league campaign from 2 starts and 4 appearances from the bench.  Bryant was the team's captain, fly half and goal kicker so unsurprisingly top scored the side; Bryant is originally from Redruth in Cornwall.  Perry Humphreys is a full back from Lincoln and George Tresidder spent much of last year out with injury but returned to play for England Under 19s and made the final game of the Under 18s league, he is from Derby.

As a fan who likes to remember that we are still called Leicester Football Club there is a part of me that is sad that none of this squad is from our fair city, or even the county. 

Leicester Tigers (JP Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby Sevens, Friday, August 2, Franklin's Gardens, kick-off 7.15pm)
1 Michael Noone
2 Jake Farnworth
3 Lucas Guillaume
4 Harry Wells
5 Blaine Scully
6 George Catchpole
7 Pasqualle Dunn
8 Henry Purdy
9 George Tresidder
10 Oliver Bryant
11 Scott Steele (c)
12 Perry Humphreys

Northampton name Russian test winger Vasily Artemyev in their squad alongside long serving club man Paul Diggin.   Alex Day was part of the World Champion Under 20s this summer.  Older fans will recognise the name of Olver, fly half Sam is the son of long time Saints hooker John Olver.  Saints also pick Andy Robinson's son Andy who is playing as a "guest" from Moseley along with Buster Lawrence.

Northampton Saints: Vasily Artemyev, Tom Collins, Alex Day, Ryan Glynn (c), Will Hooley, Sam Olver, Tom Stephenson, Harry Bett, Paul Diggin, Sam Harry, Buster Lawrence, Olly Robinson
  
Dean Richards names previous Falcon's coach Alan Tait's son Michael in his squad alongside Milky Bar Kid look-a-like Joel Hodgson and schoolboy wing sensation Zack Kibirige.  First teamer Kiwi back row Richard Mayhew captains the squad.

Newcastle Falcons: Harrison Collins, Ben Morris, Richard Mayhew (c), Glen Young, Michael Tait, Tom Catterick, Zach Kibirige, Chris Harris, Andy Davies, Joel Hodgson, Sean Brown, Tom Penny

Sale Sharks select one time Tiger James Doyle in their squad alongside Canadian international Phil Mackenzie, a summer singing from London Welsh, and experienced Premiership campaigners Will Cliff, Tom Brady (not that one) and Nathan Fowles.  Doyle came off the bench in the win against Harlequins in the 2012 LV Cup group stage.

Sale Sharks: Cameron Neild, James Doyle, Jason Hill, Jack Allcock, Luke Wishnowsky, Will Cliff, Nathan Fowles, Tom Brady, Phil MacKenzie, James Mitchell, Josh Fowles, John O’Donnell

Extras! Extras! Read all about it!

The latest rumours are that two of Tigers younger fringe players in Jonny Harris and Alex Lewington are to leave the club in the summer and join London Irish.  Whilst it is disappointing to lose young players especially ones who haven’t really had a chance this post isn’t really about that. 

It’s about the chance to earn those opportunities through good form in the Extras.

The A league has been emasculated and is now a joke.  There are only 5 games and they were finished by October 15^th.  What sort of competition is only 5 games and over barely 7 weeks into a 40 week season?  Last year the competition was shifted to its current format because of the World Cup’s impact on squad depth, the original idea was for it to shift back to the 10 game season it had previously enjoyed but this was blocked by clubs like London Wasps and London Irish who don’t run large enough squads to fulfil these fixtures properly. 

The first question is do we even need an A league?  The answer is surely yes as second team rugby is still the best way to bring through younger players and keep your more senior reserves match fit.  Loan spells in the second division are also crucial for player’s development as they are full on serious rugby with winning the only aim, but second team rugby where players can almost embarrass the coach into giving them a chance with their form is the best way to make that final step from junior player into first team player.

So what form of second team competition should we have?  We can’t just disregard the Wasps and Irish worries of small squads as we can’t force anyone to give us a game.  Also the sort of 80-5 thrashings when Leeds sent their U-19s doesn’t really help anyone.  Instead we can recognise that England is actually a small country, the furthest game would be Newcastle to Exeter which is only 6 hours travel, and get rid of these geographic conferences that means Tigers have to travel to Sale and Newcastle every year but never face Bath or Harlequins.  If we had two divisions based on talent rather than geography the quality would rise as the best sides would face each other more often than once a year in the play offs.  Or even better than that the clubs that don’t wish to participate don’t and the rest of us (perhaps Harlequins, Saracens, Northampton, Gloucester, Bath, Exeter, Newcastle and Leicester) play a single-pool double round-robin i.e. a straight league of 14 games.

Those 14 games would give the fringe players like Harris or Lewington the chance to push their claims for the first team in front of their won fans and with their own team mates all year round.  It would aid club togetherness as young players aren’t being harried from pillar to post to fulfil dual registration commitments.  It would also give clubs more fixtures to play at their grounds and attract fans to.  When the A league was worth its salt we were pulling in crowds of 5 thousand with 12 thousand coming to the final. 

But getting PRL to agree to anything that might cost any money is an ambitious proposition so the chances of any change coming about are slim to none.  However we can still help ourselves by arranging more Extras fixtures outside the A league.  I’m sure that Saints and Gloucester would like return fixtures, and surely we could get friendlies at this level against Exeter, Quins and Sarries?  Those sides all have biggish squads and academies that have similar needs to ours.  This is before we get to the Welsh regions.  Llanelli is furthest away and only 4 hours on the road, Newport just over 2 hours, these sides all have academies and large squads with their Welsh Premiership feeder clubs; we could arrange games with these sides just as we did in the amateur era.

Players like Michael Noone need to play and if the A league isn’t going to provide the games we have to go out and sort them ourselves rather than rely on PRL to solve our problems for us.

10 to watch in 2013

As Christmas and the New Year approaches we here at the UltraSubmarines are being constantly asked "Who do you think are the Top 10 to watch during 2013"?  In the supermarket people are stopping us beside the fish counter, in the pub people are jostling to the bar to talk our ears off and Christmas shopping has become a nightmare as shoppers from Fenwicks to John Lewis are desperate to talk Tigers.  So to save us the bother and give us 5 minutes of respite from the onslaught of queries our panel of experts have come up with the definitive list of 10 players to watch during 2013.

1. George Ford

An obvious one, after all what self respecting pundit isn’t proclaiming him the best thing since sliced bread?  We’d temper expectations just a bit by saying he reminds us more of a young Andy Goode than Dan Carter or Jonny Wilkinson; capable of moments of sumptuous genius that have a Houdini like ability to unlock the tightest of defences but also capable of the downright stinking.  Still a young man at 19 it is 4 seasons since he made his debut away to Leeds in the LV cup, which made him the youngest player in Leicester’s history and that of professional rugby, he has come so far but still has a long way to go.  People keep saying next year will be his year; well 2013 will be his year!

2. Fraser Balmain

The Geordie prop has come from nowhere to make a big impact jumping ahead of Ryan Bower and Kieran Brookes in the young prop stakes.  Balmain made his league debut in the recent game away to Wasps and acquitted himself well, but the game that really announced him to the Rugby world was the Maori match 12 days earlier where he was part of a dominant scrum.  Last year he wasn’t even getting starts in the A team but a 2 month spell on loan to Clermont seems to have made a man of him and he has been a different beast ever since.  Signed at 18 after Newcastle passed on him the Newcastle Royal Grammer School graduate chose Tigers over our rivals the Saints and in 2013 we are just about to see the benefits. 

3. Jimmy Stevens

Cornish hooker Jimmy Stevens joined the academy at 17 from Redruth and hasn’t looked back.  Terrific in the loose and accomplished at the set pieces Stevens has earned comparisons with his veteran club mate George Chuter.  Stevens has made 6 first team appearances since his debut against Aironi in the Heineken Cup last January and has looked comfortable in them all.  He has made 4 appearances this season including his first two Premiership appearances; against Exeter at home and then away to Sale the next week.  Originally from St.Ives Stevens will look to oust Rob Hawkins from third choice at hooker and also look at over taking George Chuter to become Tom Youngs understudy by the end of 2013.

4. Michael Noone

Nicknamed Perfect (as in No one’s perfect) and capable of playing both 6 & 8 Noone made an immediate impression after joining the club from Doncaster over the summer.  Man of the Match in his first game for the Extras he scored 3 tries in 4 games at that level before grabbing another try on his first team debut away to Saracens and setting one up at home to London Irish, both in the LV Cup.  An Irish international throughout the age groups the Killiney man played for Leinster A but never cracked the main side which prompted the move to Doncaster.  Standing well over 6 foot he carries like a wrecking ball and looks like another great bit of scouting by the club.

5. Joe Cain

20 year old Joe “Co” Cain is a second row with a burgeoning reputation.  He grabbed a try on his first team debut in the LV Cup, like so many in this list away to Saracens, to go along with 4 starts for the Extras this year and 3 the year before.  From just across the county border into Derbyshire, the Burton boy is a nephew of football manager Phil Brown and came through Melbourne’s junior system.  A great reader of the game he always seems to be in the right place at the right time.  2013 might be a bit early for him as he finds his way in the game but he is sure to go far.

6. Scott Steele

Scottish Under 20s scrum half Steele made a big impact last season after a successful summer trial.  The Dumfries man had been over looked by Glasgow when Tigers stepped into the breach to sweep him up.  A typically physical Scottish scrum half Steele has an accurate pass and a boot that could kick the chaps off a cowboy.  He came off the bench in last year’s LV Cup semi final against Bath and also made his Premiership debut against Newcastle during the 6 Nations.  Son of an international referee his immediate aim will be to make the Under 20 World Cup after missing last years with a cruel leg break; after that he will have his eyes firmly set on taking Sam Harrison’s spot in the match day 23 and also getting full Scotland caps.

7. Andy Symons

Originally a Saracens minis player during a stint in New Zealand with Christchurch’s High School Old Boys he came on to Tigers radar thanks to his coach in New Zealand, one Aaron Mauger!  He made a strong early impression and earned a debut away to Llanelli in the LV Cup, only to break his leg and miss the rest of the season.  A huge specimen he stands over 6 foot and weighs in at 16 and a half stone, with that obviously comes strong ball carrying but the polish applied to his game in Christchurch is evident with his wide range of passes.  Defensively sound, he has a tough job to get ahead of Dan Bowden and Anthony Allen but he has all the skills and just requires some game time.

8. Javiah Pohe

Born in New Zealand to a Cornish mother the family moved back to the Duchy when Pohe was 11.  Like Stevens he played for Redruth before making the move up to the Midlands at 15.  His father now coaches Melton’s first team and is a Tigers community coach.  Pohe impressed in England colours during last year’s FIRA-AER Under 18 championship with his swashbuckling runs which he has also shown during his limited game time in the second team.  A strong centre reminiscent of a young Manu Tuilagi he has all the attributes of a modern centre and could be a bolter in 2013 as physically he is already up to the man’s game, not surprising given he was a prop when playing Rugby League in New Zealand.

9. Henry Purdy

A summer signing from Wasps 18 year old Purdy made an immediate impact for the second team as he bagged 6 tries in 4 starts from the right wing.  Purdy is equally comfortable at centre where last season he played for England U-18s against Leicester and combines devastating pace with impressive physicality in contact.  As his stats bear out his best attribute is his nose for a try, he has the knack of finding his way to the line is like a pig has for finding truffles.  A former schoolboy at Cokethorpe, near Oxford, he made his first team debut in the LV Cup away to Saracens and will be looking to push on to England U-20 honours and more first team games in 2013.

10.Niall Morris

2013 could be Morris’s year to establish him in the Tigers first choice back three.  Injuries to his rivals and Geordan Murphy’s presumed impending retirement have given him the chance and he has taken it with both hands.  He has pace to burn as he showed on his debut against Exeter, where he bagged a brace, and is also comfortable on the wing.  As befits an Irish full back he is secure under the high ball and posses a raking kick.  At Leinster he found it hard to break through due to the quality ahead of him despite scoring 3 tries in 3 starts but since the move to Leicester he has blossomed under countryman Geordan Murphy’s expert eye and 2013 looks set to be his year.

Champions name 4 debutants

LV Cup Champions Leicester Tigers name 4 debutantes as they kick off their defence of the trophy against Saracens on the neutral territory of Bedford's Goldington Road.  Summer signings Henry Purdy, Lucas Guillame and Michael Noone make their debuts for the first XV whilst Academy graduate Joe "Co" Cain makes his first competitive appearance after featuring in this years pre-season.  Every single one of the XV named has featured for the Extras in the A league at some point this season and Matt Cornwell steps up from his role as captain of that side to captain this side too.

Andy Symons will be particularly pleased to play in this game, not just because it is a year since he broke his leg in the equivalent fixture last season, because he started his rugby life playing for Saracens amateur minis section in London.

Micky Young is set to make only his third start for the club, his previous two have resulted in a long ban and a bad injury respectively, and will hopefully have more luck this time round.

On the bench Harry Thacker, George Oliver and Tom Price are all academy forwards in line for a debut should they feature.

Matthew Tait is also in line to make his return to the first team roughly 13 months after tearing his groin against Harlequins.  He covers the outside backs from the bench, whilst Sam Harrison and George Ford cover the half back berths in preparation for the Maori game on Tuesday.

Tigers:
15 Niall Morris
14 Henry Purdy
13 Andy Forsyth
12 Andrew Symons
11 Alex Lewington
10 Matt Cornwell (c)
9 Micky Young
1 Jonny Harris
2 Jimmy Stevens
3 Kieran Brookes
4 Rob Andrew
5 Joe Cain
6 Lucas Guillaume
7 Richard Thorpe
8 Michael Noone
Replacements
16 Harry Thacker
17 Fraser Balmain
18 Ryan Bower
19 George Oliver
20 Tom Price
21 Sam Harrison
22 George Ford
23 Mathew Tait


Saracens also rack up the changes for the fixture.  Some players will be more familiar with the surroundings than others as Ben Ransom and Duncan Taylor have both been Bedford regulars over the past two years.  Saracens have a much stronger team named than the Tigers so will be looking for a big win, but have still found room to include two players involved in the recent academy match between the sides in Nathan Earle and Nick Tompkins.
 
Saracens:
15 Ben Ransom
14 Joe Maddock
13 Duncan Taylor
12 Sam Stanley
11 James Short
10 Nils Mordt (c)
9 Ben Spencer
1 Nick Auterac
2 Jamie George
3 Petrus du Plessis
4 George Kruis
5 Alistair Hargreaves
6 Nick Fenton-Wells
7 Andy Saull
8 Jono Ross
Replacements
16 Max Crumpton
17 John Smit
18 Lorenzo Romano
19 Eoin Sheriff
20 Matt Hankin
21 Luke Baldwin
22 Nick Tompkins
23 Nathan Earle

A League seasons ends with victory

The official Aviva A League season is already over, just 7 weeks into the season, as Tigers Extras have failed to progress to the semi finals stage.  Gloucester beat Northampton to ensure both sides progressed at Kingsholm on Monday night.

In the last round of fixtures Tigers traveled to Sale with a strong side featuring both Deacon brothers and Matt Tait.  They romped to a 10 try 61-20 victory with a hat trick from burgeoning winger Alex Lewington and a brace from the impressive Irishman Michael Noone.  Other scores came from Andy Forsyth, Henry Purdy, Micky Young, Matt Tait and Pat Phibbs.  Matt Cornwell added 11 points with the boot.

Over the course of the 5 game season Tigers used 43 players, with 31 different starter, 9 have been involved in all 5 games but only 3 players (Matt Cornwell, Fraser Balmain and Alex Lewington) have started every game.  11 players have featured a single time, from Louis Deacon and George Chuter at one end of the spectrum to Tom Bellak and George Oliver at the other.

Top try scorer has been summer signing from Wasps Henry Purdy who has touched down 6 times in only 4 starts.  Alex Lewington scored 4 and Michael Noone scored 3.  Matt Cornwell notched 20 conversions from 31 attempts and was also succesful with 2 penalties for a grand total of 46 points.  Overall 17 players a scored a try and a penalty try was also scored when Alex Lewington was taken out with the line begging.

Tigers outscored their opponents 201 to 142 points over the 5 games, including winning the try battle 31 to 17.

This has been a mixed season for Tigers Extras.  They lost against the only 2 decent sides they faced but romped to massive victories against the weaklings in the group.  They looked pretty handy in the two home games I saw but the standard of the competition has collapsed from a high point of the mid noughties.  It used to be a better standard than the Championship but now resides somewhere around National League 1's mid table.  So it is very difficult where to place even the standout players like Henry Purdy, Alex Lewington or the two young props Fraser Balmain or Kieran Brookes.  Are they ready for the first team or not?  Who knows and with Cockerill's less than progressive use of the academy we may never find out.  It's definitely a grim life for the ones that struggle at this level.

Really the A league has evolved into a joke tournament.  England is a small country and a regional competition is unnecessary and makes the competition weaker.  It is frankly a shame that Tigers can't play the likes of Harlequins, Saracens or Exeter on a regular basis and instead have to schlep to Sale to put 61 points on a side that isn't fit for competition.  Last year we put 80 points on Leeds.  We could get games as uncompetitive as that by playing Nottingham, Moseley and Bedford and save a lot of money on diesel for the team bus.  Instead the A league should move to two national divisions of 6 with promotion and relegation between the divisions, and playing a full 10 game double round robin fixture list.  This could be supplemented with friendlies and local derbies as desired by the individual clubs.  What ever happens it can't, surely, stagger on with this ridicules micro schedule for much longer.

Noone signs up for Season

Tigers have today announced the signing of Michael Noone, the former Doncaster number 8, after his man of the match performance in his second team debut last Monday night at home to Newcastle.  Noone scored a scorching try from the half way line and that was clearly enough to earn a season long deal with the 9 times English champions.

High Noone as Tigers tame flustered Falcons.

Michael Noone made a dream start to his Tigers career as he scored a scorching breakaway try on debut. After smart work from Scott Steele turned ball over from a Newcastle scrum Noone showed the Geordie pack a clean pair of heels as he outpaced the cover defence to touch down in the left hand corner.  As the saying goes No-one is perfect!

Tigers raced away to a 7 try win securing the bonus point after only 22 minutes, as a scintillating first half hour put the Tigers way beyond the grasp of the Newcastle side.

After the first try established the lead it was never lost, on 13 minutes after heavy pressure from the forwards the otherwise unimpressive Bowden danced through the Newcastle defence to touch down under the posts.   Cornwell added the extras to make it 12-3.

Newcastle did claw a try back and it was the least they deserved for a concerted if blunt forward effort eventually relented to allow the backs the ball. It was shifted right to left and Michael Tait scored in the corner.

The next try was scored by Adam Thompstone after very strong running from the impressive Alex Lewington.  His strength through contact is reminiscant of great wingers of the past like Dave Lougheed or Horacio Agulla. 

Lewington was creator again as opposite winger Henry Purdy barged over for the bonus point try.  On the wrap around Lewington barged past 5 defenders before releasing Purdy, who still had work to do himself beating the Newcastle hooker to the line.

Purdy bagged his brace just 5 minutes later as a solid scrum fronted up by former Newcastle Royal Grammar School-Boy Fraser Balmain and former Falcon Kieran Brookes allowed Tigers an attacking platform to work from.  Morris took the ball to the line before releasing Purdy, a summer signing from Wasps academy, who beat his man on the outside possibly benefitting from no TMO as he was rapidly approaching the touchline.

Milky Bar Kid look alike Joel Hodgson slotted a penalty to round off the half.

The start of the second half has been a good time for Leicester this season with the first team bagging tries in both games so far.  The A team didn’t want to be outdone and duly had their own fast start in front of most of the first team squad, plus Tigers legends John Wells, sitting next to Geordan Murphy, and Freddie Tuilagi in deep conversation with Dean Richards.  If a stack of Samoans turn up to Newcastle in the coming weeks we will know why!  Scott Steele took the ball from a quick ruck, shifting on the Dan Bowden.  Bowden threw a trademark wide miss pass, whether he is capable of passing under 15 metres is yet to be established, to Morris who drew in more defenders before Thompstone, playing 13, had a strong finish from 20 yards.  He was brought down on the line and it wasn’t immediately clear whether he or debutant Noone had got the score.  Thompstone was awarded it and thus sealed his brace for the night.

Newcastle then laid siege to the Tigers line thanks to some refereeing that wouldn’t have been out of place in an under 14s match, fittingly as the touch judge Rob Debney was my old school teacher!  Eventually the Geordies tired of trying to force a try over and settled for another Milky Bar Kid penalty.

Tigers 7^th and final try came after a lovely weighted chip from Syston’s Matt Cornwell, fresh from his spell in Mogliano, set up a Falcons line out 5 metres out.  The Geordie line out misfired all game, less so after the introduction of kiwi first team hooker Mike Mayhew but he suffered just the same this time as Tigers poached the line out.  Relentless drives resulted in Fraser Balmain being awarded a try.  Surely a good repost to the club that didn’t think him good enough at 18.

Ironically Falcons hooker George McGuigan was to profit from an over thrown lineout as he got a consolation try right at the death.  A good run from Falcon’s England group prospect Zack Kilbridge was snuffed out by a strong Matt Cornwell cover tackle, however Jimmy Stevens couldn’t find his man and the ball dropped into McGuigan’s thankful hands. 

Impressive performances:

Alex Lewington: strong carries made the difference early doors must be in line for a Premiership start soon.

 Fraser Balmain & Kieran Brookes: solid all day in the set piece and a real nuisance in the breakdown.  Responded well to a poor return last week and Balmian took his try well.

Needs to improve:

Dan Bowden: Needs to cut out the silly miss passes and focus on getting the ball through the hands.  If Allen went down today I’d rather have Matt Cornwell play 12 at Wembley.  Looked much more effective when he was more direct and using the short passes.

Man of the Match:

Has to go to Michael Noone, fantastic try to start the night off and was a real terrier the whole night.  Hopefully will sign on full time and could start pushing Waldrom and Crane for starts if this performance was anything to go by.