UltraSubMarines Awards 2015

Later than usual this year we once again dive it my mind and discover its many, varied and often conflicting opinions about Tigers and our year.

Off the bat it’s fair to say this has been our annus horribilis on just about all fronts.  Playing wise it was the worst for a decade, Paul Burke became the first coach sacked by the club since 2007, bookended by the most dispiriting and devastating defeats I can honestly remember.  Off the field we’ve had a star player convicted of assaulting women police officers and a coach found to have made a profit betting on us to lose and banned.

We also said goodbye to Louis Deacon a truly iconic player of the club, after Martin Johnson Deacon is Leicester’s finest home grown lock, and Anthony Allen a stalwart of the club’s success between 2010 and 2014.

But let’s not wallow in it.  Let’s crack on with the awards! Same order as last two years:

Signing of the season

2013: Vereniki Goneva

2014: Owen Williams

Tigers were as busy as ever in the transfer market last summer securing Freddie Burns, Seremaia Bai, Brad Thorn, Christian Loamanu and Italian international trio Michele Rizzo, Leonardo Ghiraldini and Robert Barbieri.

Much was expected of Burns but he struggled for form in the early half of the season.  Once Owen Williams was ruled out with injury and his place secure he did grow into the role and was exceptional against Wasps at the Ricoh.

Brad Thorn arrived gave his all and had a real presence about the field but age had slowed him down to a glacial pace at times.

Loamanu showed glimpses of his potential against Wasps and in the late season but a niggling injury meant we never saw the best of him consistently.  Seremaia Bai was a steadying hand for much of the season and a canny addition.

My signing of the season though has to be the aggressive and rambunctious Italian hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini.  I’ve long admired his performances in the Six Nations and he did not disappoint upon closer inspection.  Accurate in the lineout and daring around the field Ghiraldini is the perfect foil for Tom Youngs.

Try of the season

2013: Adam Thompstone v Treviso (A)

2014: Vereniki Goneva v Newcastle (A)

Slim pickings for this award this season.  Normally I peruse the list of matches and the scorers, come up a quick shortlist and google the tries to refresh my memory and make a decision.  Some years it’s easy, this year not so much.  Not a single winner of the Premiership’s Try of the Week and it seems just one nomination.

In the end though we did score some crackers and my favourite was Vereniki Goneva’s second score away to Northampton in December.

Inside his own half and only recently introduced Miles Benjamin receives the ball after Mat Tait had regathered his own up and under.  Going inside then out Benjamin scorched past 4 men and into the 22, a superb cover tackle stops him short but Ben Youngs is on had to quickly clear the ball.

Tait again is involved shipping the ball onto Ghiraldini who draws the last man and finds Goneva lurking on the wing to apply the finish.

Game of the season

2013: Premiership Final v Northampton

2014: Montpellier away

Despite the season several games still standout as really memorable performances.  Wasps at the Ricoh and Sale at home were glimpses to what we can achieve when we pass the ball whilst the game in December again Toulon was a classic backs against the wall true grit performance.  The performance against Ulster at home in October also hinted that this team could do it on the biggest stage.

But one game stood out for me.

Comebacks are surprisingly rare in Tigers history, certainly not from 15 points down and with only 30 minutes to go.

Sale away, December 27th.  Tigers were in the lead for a grand total of 3 minutes.  The locals were not best pleased as we left the ground.

Sale had torn us apart in the first half, genuinely exciting attacking rugby cut us to ribbons and we did well to keep the score respectable, stopping two tries over the line.  When they crossed for the bonus point try in the 45^th minute it looked grim.

But Ayerza, Tom Youngs, Balmain, Thompstone came off the bench and changed the game.  Miles Bejamin scored in the corner to make the game one score then Julian Salvi was driven over by Seremaia Bai with just those 3 precious minutes remaining.

Crazy.

Academy Player of the Season

2013: Henry Purdy

2014: Owen Hills

A quick re-cap here, to qualify for this award you must have played in the Premiership U-18s league.

Tigers U-18s finished second to Northampton in the northern section and beat Bath to claim third place overall.  Last year’s winner Owen Hills had another strong year with 6 tries in 6 starts including a hat trick against Leeds and a first start for the A side.

Four players featured for the U-18s and made first team appearances.  Charlie Beckett started the first game of the U-18s season against Gloucester and made his First XV debut away to London Irish in the LV Cup making a further start at home to Sale and a bench appearance against the Barbarians.  Charlie Thacker featured from the bench in the games against London Irish and Sale whilst Stone Priestley-Nangle featured in the Sale game too.  George Nairn played 3 games for the U-18s and came off the bench against the Barbarians and Cardiff.

Hills and Beckett also appeared for England Under 20s.

My academy player of the year is Charlie Beckett, strongly built with a terrific work ethic this Liverpudlian has already featured for the First XV and impressed.  With a long line of players in front of him he will have to learn from each of them to overtake them but he certainly has the potential to push ahead.

U23 Player of the Season

2013: Manu Tuilagi & Ben Youngs

2014: Manu Tuilagi

With Manu Tuilagi “graduating” from this age bracket there is no defending champion here; qualifying players include Fraser Balmain, Owen Williams, George Catchpole and Harry Thacker. 

Catchpole over took Matt Smith to become a feature of the match day squad post-Christmas, whilst Harry Thacker was trusted with two starts in November where he excelled.

Really though the award is a toss up between Fraser Balmain and Owen Williams.  Balmain become a fixture in the side last season almost by default but this season he was rightly rewarded with being preferred in the match day squad to Italian test prop Michele Rizzo who was in good form himself.

Williams was shunted to 12 early in the season to cover the injuries to Anthony Allen and Seremaia Bai but once the injuries slightly abated he re-claimed his starting 10 jersey from England fly half Freddie Burns.  According to goalkickers.co.za Williams was the best kicker in the Premiership last season and without his cool head many of the tight games before Christmas would have gone the other way.

Therefore my Under 23 player of the Season has to be the Welsh wizard Owen Williams.

Player of the Season

2013: Tom Youngs

2014: Vereniki Goneva

2013’s winner makes a strong case for the award again as his industry and attitude were priceless in many of this season’s lower moments.  Also worthy of a mention in dispatches is Graham Kitchener.  The lock forward came of age as a leader this season, his no nonsense side coming to the fore in the trench warfare of winter whilst his pace and fitness is invaluable in the later season.  How Stuart Lancaster can ignore him is beyond me.

But this season’s stand out player has been the stand in captain Ben Youngs.  Quickly promoted to an unnatural leadership role due injury Youngs thrived on the responsibility and Tigers never looked better than when he took more of the play making responsibilities onto his on shoulders.

A quick and accurate pass is a pre-requisite for a scrum half so it is the game management where Youngs excels, his box kick is world class whilst this season we saw the return of his trade mark breaks around the base.

On a personal note he secured the starting jersey for England ahead of Richard Wigglesworth and long-time adversary Danny Care and seems certain, injuries permitting, to play for England in this autumn’s World Cup.

Guess Who's Back?

Tigers got their European Champions Cup campaign back on track this Sunday after dispatching double Euro & defending French Champions Toulon 25-21.  Welsh wizard Owen Williams was the star of the show slotting a sumptuous 20 points from the boot, as well as providing Toulon with their first try courtesy of a gift wrapped interception for Springbok Bryan Habana.

Tigers raced in a 13-0 lead after only 20 minutes as the Tigers ferocious defence forced key errors from a harried Toulon team.  Fast defence forced Bakkies Botha into a poor pass hacked on by Anthony Allen, Toulon recovered possession but from the ruck Owen Williams charged down Drew Mitchell’s attempted clearance to force a 5m scrum; the reunion between Marcos Ayerza and Martin Castrogiovanni was won conclusively by the Argentinean Ayerza forcing a penalty which Williams simply slotted.  Tigers lead was doubled quickly; Castro’s late entry to a ruck forcing the referee to reverse the penalty previously awarded to Toulon.

Similarly the first try was born from Toulon errors.  A series of areal ping pong seemed to have been won with Delon Armitage’s excellent clearance but Mat Tait’s hard chase of his own kick forced Sebastian Tilous-Borde into a sloppy pass to a shell shocked Mitchell.  The Australian simply went M.I.A. allowing Tom Youngs to sweep onto the ball and set Brad Thorn up for his first try in Tigers colours.

The 13-0 lead was short lived however, directly from the kick off Tigers were held up in a maul forcing a scrum and this time it was Toulon with the penalty which Nicolas Sanchez comfortably slotted.  Tigers were now the ones making errors, Jordan Crane’s pass and Mat Tait’s fumble gave Toulon terrific ball under the posts.  Were it not for Tait’s magnificent tackle a try was sure to be scored.  As it was an inevitable penalty was conceded as Toulon battered at the Tigers line with Sanchez again on the mark.

The scores were levelled when Williams flung his fateful pass, over the head of Salvi, too short for Kitchener it was just right for Habana to pounce.

Williams had also missed a tricky kick from right in front of the Crumbie just previously and missed a further testing penalty on the stroke of half time but made amends early in the second half.  Mat Tait’s scudding low kick found touch deep inside the 22, after forcing a knock on in the lineout the Tigers pack roared, marching Toulon backwards at a rate of knots to earn a simple three points for Williams to slot.

The next scrum was not to be so successful.  Tigers failed to hook the ball cleanly, the ball ricocheting off the front row’s shins into the Toulon side, Tilous-Borde caught Jamie Gibson unawares leaving Goneva with an impossible two on one to defend.  Ironically it was serial offender Mitchell who had the run in for the five.

Facing a tricky touchline conversion on Welford Road’s boggy side Sanchez went under the ball, floating the kick, just, short and wide.  This left Tigers within a score and was to prove crucial in the final reckoning.

Tigers were resilient.  And ambitious.  On loose turnover ball Tigers gained a fortuitous penalty for a high tackle on Ben Youngs.  The captain seeing the gap went quickly only a few yards from his line, the momentum gained another penalty and this one could be kicked deep into Toulon territory.  Some sure possession rugby was perhaps not so inspired but drew the necessary penalty and Williams made no mistake to ease Tigers back into the lead they had previously held for 40 minutes.

Tigers were really on song now, pinning Tilous-Borde into the corner and gaining the 5m attacking lineout.  Tigers’ forwards drove the ball over the line but never fully having it controlled failed to ground it, instead letting themselves be shunted to touch in goal and a relieving 22m drop out.

Toulon then wasted a golden chance inside the Tigers own 22 when they conceded the penalty for sealing off; Williams’ mighty boot bypassed the midfield and gave Tigers a lineout at the other end of the pitch.  Tigers were more patient than their opponents, again forcing the clumsy error from the Toulon defence.  This time it was Georgian goliath Mamuka Gorgodze getting pinned on the wrong side of a ruck.

Toulon though are not European & Top 14 champions for nothing.  Breaking through a quick tap from Ali Williams they played quickly and fluently moving into the Tigers 22 with ease, the move was only halted by a soft offside error from sub Robert Barbieri.  The Canadian-Italian flanker was offside after making an earlier tackle giving Sanchez the easiest opportunity to cut the arrears to a single point.

Tigers were calm though, Williams’ low slung kick again pinning Toulon deep into their own half before his up and under was claimed by Scully.  The kicking game may not be to everyone’s taste but was executed well enough so that when Bryan Habana risked an early charge at Ben Youngs the penalty was inches within the Welshman’s range.

The drama carried well over the 80 minutes; not only did Tigers make a meal of finishing off the game, requiring a Toulon knock on with 10 seconds left and again after losing that scrum, but also Martin Castrogiovanni’s expletive ridden tirade at Richard Cockerill’s behaviour over his transfer between the two clubs and Delon Armitage’s excursions which seem both many and varied at this point in time.

The off field stuff can wait for another day, the important points from Sunday were the four that Tigers bagged and perhaps the casual one that Toulon took with them too.

3 Star Tigers Take Ulster Scalp

A breath taking 20 minutes which saw Tigers score three tries was just enough to seal a crucial 25-18 European win against Ulster at Welford Road.

Tigers coped with losing talisman Manu Tuilagi on 14 minutes brilliantly by scoring tries from Owen Williams, Graham Kitchener and Freddie Burns in the next 20 minutes whilst Ulster crumbled from a solid 3-0 lead to trail 19-3 at the break.

And it could have been more had Tigers not started the day with the indifferent Burns attempting the kicks to the posts.

Ulster opened the scoring with a Paddy Jackson penalty on 8 minutes after Tigers had infringed at the ruck, and Tigers were lucky that the red haired Irishman was off target with an earlier kick or it could have been 6-0 down in almost as many minutes.

Tigers responded immediately as Blaine Scully leaped like a salmon to claim Burns' restart and power into the heart of the Ulster defence.  Eventually scragged down Ulster's last man looked to have deliberately knocked on in the following move but referee Poite was unmoved, not the only time Ulster were lucky to escape censure from the Frenchman.

Ben Youngs wasted two good opportunities in the 22 through a chip to no one and a floated pass that was intercepted but Tigers were not to be denied.  Julian Salvi broke down the right hand side before play was switched to Tuilagi rampaging down the left, drawing a penalty from Ulster on the 5m line; Manu re-injured his groin in the move though and was swiftly withdrawn as Tigers kicked for the corner.

From the lineout Tigers drove and were denied, the pack heaved again and were denied, before Owen Williams, warming to his role as a crash ball centre, took the ball at pace and with intent.  The Welshman slammed into three Ulster bodies and fought to successfully ground the ball.

There was no mistake with the conversion but Burns was off target with a later penalty skewing it badly wide right.  Again Ulster rode their luck with Mr Poite as Tommy Bowe's ugly challenge on Miles Benjamin in the air was punished with only a penalty.

Ulster challenged again but were unable to convert any possession to points; Tigers slowly won the kicking battle to gain good territory in the Ulster 22.  The conservative kicking strategy was vindicated when Youngs picked off an innocuous pass from the base of an Ulster maul setting Graham Kitchener up for the second try before the half hour mark.

Tigers extended the lead just 5 minutes later when Burns, now relieved of the goal kicking duties, dummied his way over bamboozaling four Ulster defenders in the process.  

Ulster were down to 14 men at this point following a yellow card to Craig Gilroy for yet another tackle on the man in the air.  Ulster were very fortunate that referee Poite did not produce a red card.  With these two incidents and the one last year against Saracens you have to ask is this a deliberate tactic from Ulster designed to intimidate opposition players?

Tigers looked to have taken full advantage from the extra man and the wave of momentum when Leonardo Ghiraldini twisted, worked, wrestled and squirmed his way over in the Crumbie corner on the stroke of half time but he was correctly denied by the TV ref; Ben Youngs foot just barely grazing the line before the final pass was completed.

Tigers won the lineout but were unable to finish the job off, forgetting how effective running hard, straight and flat to the gainline had been for Owen Williams' try instead we went wide and deep attempting to take advantage of the missing winger.  It did not work.

With the break for half time the momentum Tigers had built was lost and never to be regained.  The second half was almost all Ulsters.  The kicking game that was so effective in the first half was not so much over done as done much much worse.  Playing territory and forcing another mistake was a good strategy but badly employed.

For me much of the blame must go to Burns.  His kicking for territory was poor and when he did successfully earn us possession in their half he flippantly wasted it with his selfish and immature chips to nowhere and no one.  It was a real slap in the face when this alleged England contender was replaced by scrum half David Mele to see out the match.

But Tigers did start the half well extending their lead to 22-3 when Owen Williams converted a straight forward scrum penalty.  Ulster were a totally different team in the second half running the ball with vigour and verve, causing us all sorts of problems to our defence.  First they cut the gap with a penalty following Tigers collapsing an attacking maul.

Then they scored the try of the day, the first of two outstanding efforts; Ulster won 30 yards from a kicking duel between the back threes ending with a lineout on half way.  Sweeping a rare clean catching off the top they went through the hands, taking advantage of Miles Benjamin's poor decision to step in they raced into the 22 and smart running lines and sharp passing helped them evade the Tigers scramble defence for the try.

The score rattled Tigers.  They looked panicked.  Trying random 50m drop goals and retreating further into our shell.  A scrum penalty successfully converted by Williams helped calm the nerves, and of course eventually was the match winning score.

Ulster's second score had two parts, first was the delicious inside ball to British Lion Tommy Bowe who scythed his way forward, only stopped by a crunching Blaine Scully tackle.  Second was the finish by Franco van der Merwe, a huge swinging dummy was bought by all before the lumbering 6'6" beast dove over the ruck like an NFL running back diving over a pile of bodies.  In this game of course you've got to get back to ground the ball and the South African just about did despite the attentions of Ben Youngs.

Crucially Paddy Jackson was unsuccessful from the simple conversion.  Did the young man get a case of the yips and skew his kick you wonder?  No, the growing force of Jamie Gibson was sharp on the uptake and using all of his 6'5" frame, all of his wingspan and all of his vertical leap he managed to charge down the conversion!  I can't remember ever seeing that in a top level game before.

That left the gap at 7 points and Tigers in a bit of a quandary when a chance for 3 points came.  Are we battling with Ulster or Toulon in this group?  Do we take 3 points and deny Ulster the losing bonus, or are we challenging Toulon, do we go for the try and damn the risk of Ulster's point or possible draw?

We went for the ambitious.  We went for the try.  We went for Toulon.

We messed it up.  Twice.  Then again sort of a third time.  Well, you can't fault the ambition.   First line out was taken cleanly and the maul set up, but Ulster resisted and emboldened by Tigers spurning the kick infringed again.  This time we tried a trick line out.  Why?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Ulster cleared but only to the 22.  We tried another trick line out.  Why?  According to ESPN's stats these were 2 of only 3 line outs we lost all game, the other was a not straight call.

Ulster tried for the draw but Tigers defence was stout and held out.  Before the match I'd have taken a win, any win, 2 weeks ago I'd probably have taken a close defeat; but today and last night I'm gutted we didn't kill them off with the 4th try.

Tigers battle to vital win

A gritty, a battling, a brilliant performance from Tigers ended the 3 game losing run and restored some pride with a 6 point win over equally troubled Harlequins.  17 points from the boot of Welshman Owen Williams and a try of rare quality from Californian Blaine Scully was enough to see off the Londoners who responded with a 3 penalties from Kiwi Nick Evans and a sniping try from Karl Dickson.

This was an old fashioned match with both teams attempting to win the arm wrestle up front, both teams decidedly only playing when it was clearly on and neither team making a rash of substitutes; Tigers made 2 subs and Quins only 3.

Tigers made a fast start; Fraser Balmain and Leonardo Ghiraldini sweeping a loose ball in midfield away to Ben Youngs.  The ball was quickly shifted through Mat Tait and Manu Tuilagi for Jamie Gibson to roam into some open space.  The blindside did well to hold the ball for long enough to commit last man Luke Wallace just enough to let Blaine Scully squeeze by for the American's fifth try for the club.

Some Quins fans have been suggesting the final pass was forward.  All I can say is that after last year the irony is delicious.

Tigers will feel hard done by Wigglesworth's first penalty against them, even on multiple viewings I can't find an offence.  No help from BT sport who seem to view actually discussing why penalties were given as completely beneath them.  Rizzo's drive is directly over the ball and Gibson's release and roll speedy.  Either way Evans made a good 3 points.

The next spell saw three penalties in as many minutes.  First a scrum penalty against Quins was converted from 43m out by Williams; Quins dragged one back after Ghiraldini collapsed the maul he set up with a stand up tackle on Tikoirotuma; Tigers rounded off the period with another 3 points from long range after Will Collier's lazy attempt to slow play down at a ruck.

Tigers had a great chance to go further ahead before half time; Quins failed to deal with a fairly standard garryown and Goneva was first to the bouncing ball, only a try saving tackle from Matt Hopper forcing the Fijian into touch stopped a certain 5 pointer.  

Owen Williams' usually reliable radar was then faulty at two more long range attempts but in my view both should have been re-taken. 

The reason was rule of the game 21.5 (c) :

If the kicker indicates to the referee the intent to kick at goal, the opposing team must stand still with their hands by their sides from the time the kicker starts to approach to kick until the ball is kicked.

The Londoners seemed to think they were at Piccadilly circus such was the movement at Williams' kick, following a bit of sealing off from replacement hooker Dave Ward.  Lock forward George Robson was the chief offender both times.

Tigers did get another 3 points in the first half after a tough penalty against Chris Robshaw for what seemed to be a good disruption attempt.  This time the kick was from the 22 rather than half way and the tireless Quins managed to keep themselves still for a moment.

After half time it was much the same, trading penalties, Tigers eeking out a territorial advantage with a better executed kicking game.  Evans opened the scoring 5 minutes in; Balmain simply lost his footing at a Quins scrum and such are the rules of the game a good kicker like Evans takes 3 points.

Williams canceled the slip immediately, Scully's hustle from the kick off was rewarded with a dominant man-and-ball tackle on Tikoirotuma forcing the Fijian to hold on for the penalty.  Williams gained the 3 points and had a chance to extend the lead 5 minutes later.

Salvi poached an over throw, Tigers were rampant in the Quins 22 surging forwards and left.  Going right against the grain Williams on an outside arc could have gone himself but instead forced the pass in front of Scully who was unable to take it.

Williams was treated for a blow to face, which he took clearing out a ruck.  After the game Williams could be seen vomiting profusely on the side of the pitch, a common symptom of the current zeitgeist injury concussion.

Whether it was the head knock, the now torrential down pour or simply the difficulty Williams was unsuccessful with another 40m+ long range kick a few minutes later.

A fairly simple 3 points was offered almost 20 minutes after the last disturbance to the score board, Charlie Mathews getting on the wrong side of a tackle. Williams took the 3 and Tigers must have felt the game was won.

Harlequins to their credit responded immediately; claiming the re-start, upping the tempo and gaining possession inside Tigers 22 for the first time in the match.  The sealing off was blatant even by modern standards but unpunished as Quins recycled possession probing for a gap.  Eventually they manufactured one as Karl Dickson took advantage of Manu Tuilagi being unaware of his surroundings on the fringe defence.

I thought Quins would keep going with the style that reaped them immediate rewards but instead they were content to play kick tennis and hoof the ball off the field with the clock dead.  Shows that Tigers aren't the only side in the league that might be lacking a bit of confidence.

The UltraSubMarines Awards 2014

It’s that time of year again when the rugby is over, earlier than usual for us, and we must make do with that pale substitute: arguing about our opinions on rugby instead.  This year hasn’t been a classic for Tigers; scarred by injuries that seemed to come in debilitating bunches; always fighting an uphill battle in the league following bright starts from Saracens and Saints; Our captain deserting ship mid campaign.

But no season is complete doom and gloom.  The high points were still there.  The win in Montpellier, out singing the home fans in the process, will live forever in the memory.  The record tying win against the Saints.

So let us crack on, the same categories as last year in the same order.

Singing of the season

Last Year: Vereniki Goneva

Won last year by our Flying Fijian we have some strong contenders this year.

Pablo Matera is a quality operator but young and often naive to the whims of English referees, whilst David Mele could not shift Ben Youngs from his perch.  So they miss out.  Jamie Gibson benefitted from injuries to Mafi and Croft to cement his claim on the 6 shirt making 24 starts.  An honest worker to the end he seems to lack that bit of magic we require from our flankers. 

If work rate is what you require Blaine Scully will provide it in spades.  The Californian has made chasing lost causes a speciality.

The winner though has to be Owen Williams.  Arriving unheralded from Llanelli his calm demeanour and pin point kicking quickly saw him over take Lamb in the pecking order.  Following the fallout from Flood’s move to Toulouse he steered the ship to 7 league wins and a draw in 2014.  Scoring 187 points, including Tigers first drop goal for almost 2 years, he was the real find of the season.

An RFU injustice has robbed him of the chance to wear a Wales test jersey but on this season’s form another chance will surely come before the Rugby World Cup.

Try of the season

Last Season: Adam Thompstone v Treviso (A)

Tigers score a lot of tries.  Despite what the critics say we’ve scored 86 tries this season, a fantastic return.  You’d need a better memory than me to remember them all, but some stick out as classics.

Logo Mulipola’s 25 yard rampage against Exeter; Goneva’s weaving run versus Worcester on the opening day of the season; his “fumble and go” against London Irish will be replayed on rugby’s equivalent of “Own Goals and Gaffes” forever.  In the biggest games we scored some attractive tries too, Jordan Crane finishing Owen Williams cross field kick in Clermont lives long in the memory. 

But this year’s winner has to be Vereniki Goneva’s try away to Newcastle.  It starts with an Ed Slater break, spotting the referee in the defensive line he uses him and break the line swotting the Falcons away like flies.  After the ruck Ben Youngs speeds the ball away and Dan Bowden’s floated pass finds Goneva well marked.

Or is he?  He beats one man in a phone box, his footwork bamboozling, hands off another and is free.  Only the full back to beat, he goes for the chip.  And chases.  He out strips the defence to win the race and put us back in the lead after a difficult half when it looked like our play off dreams were fading.

Game of the season

Last Season: Northampton (Premiership Final)

One candidate stands head and shoulders above the others for me.  Montpellier away became a sort of bench mark for the side.  We hadn’t won in France for 7 long years and the monkey on the back was in danger of turning into a Gorilla. 

The only match I can ever remember that ended nil all at half time it was thoroughly absorbing none the less.  Both teams had chances in that half but Tigers broke the deadlock early in the second period.  Tom Youngs devastating side step taking him past the close defence.  Montpellier struck back with a strike against the head and a breakaway try from half way by fly half Selponi.

The advantage was extended by Lucas Delpoint after Gorgodze’s break.

We were 9 points down with 9 minutes to go.  Away in France and winless in 7 years across La Manche.  Ryan Lamb’s spell in Leicester was brief but he’ll be forever remembered for what came next.  A scrum won a penalty 45m out, Lamb nailed it to reduce the arrears to 6.  Then a frenzied final attack, a master break from Miles Benjamin set us up in the 22 before the ball went wide.  Well executed simple hands from Morris, Slater and Ayerza put Goneva in at the corner.

The Fijian maestro kept the ball off the floor in goal to make the conversion more central and Lamb stepped forward once more to nail the kick and send the travelling supporters into raptures.  This one lives long in the memory. 

Academy player of the season

Last Season: Henry Purdy

To be eligible this player must have featured in the Premiership Under 18s Academy League this season.

It was another strong year for the Academy in the league, a single loss away to Gloucester cost Tigers the chance to claim the inaugural national title but the rest of the Northern Conference was dispatched with try bonus points secured in all games.  Overall 38 tries were scored in 7 matches and 41 players were used.

Strong players this year were number 8 Charlie Beckett, centre Charlie Thacker, brother of Harry, and David Williams, who scored a great try in the Premiership 7s series. 

The one player to break through from this level into the first team was Wrexham winger Rhys Williams, who featured from the bench in the LV Cup against Bath.

My player of the year is loosehead prop Owen Hills.  The Market Bosworth native has had a terrific season with 7 tries in 7 starts in the league, squat and powerfully built he has the stature to go further in the game.

U23 Player of the season

Last Season: Ben Youngs & Manu Tuilagi

Last year I said in the rush to claim new blood every year we didn’t want to forget who was actually the best player.  This award would go to the best players, not the newest passing fancy.

So really it’s obviously Manu Tuilagi.  He is clearly the best qualifying player.  But let’s at least pretend to look at the other options.  In terms of serious minutes the other eligible players are Fraser Balmain, Owen Williams and Pablo Matera.

Balmain has grown this year, being involved in all but one match day squad, and is now a solid set piece option that carries industriously.  Williams has been discussed above and really came into his own once given the reigns.  Matera came with big expectations and hasn’t hit them, still so young and plenty of time to overtake Salvi.

So having looked at the options its still Manu.  His return from injuries ignited our back play almost instantaneously.  It’s not been his best year but it’s the mark of the man that it is still the best.

Player of the season

Last Season: Tom Youngs

There have been many individual highlights for our players this season, Blaine Scully qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup with his US Eagles, whilst Vereniki Goneva was honoured by his fellow players to become Players’ Player of the Season.  Ed Slater celebrated his first call up to the England squad and was also chosen to lead the club as captain. 

Ed Slater had a remarkable year coming from a bench place last year to leading the club as captain in 2014.  His industrious carrying has been coupled with some beautifully soft hands that really make him the modern lock.

Others to have had strong seasons were Logo Mulipola.  Covering Marcos Ayerza as a loosehead early season he switched sides to tighthead once Dan Cole injured his neck.  The 20 stone Samoan has proved almost impossible to tackle and often damages those who try.  Jack Nowell’s still yet to come back from that shoulder injury. 

Ben Youngs was also back to his best.  Cruelly ignored by Stuart Lancaster in favour of his Leeds prodigy Danny Care the British Lion was immovable from the number 9 shirt for Leicester.  The consistency of not being faffed about by England paid dividend for Tigers as he was constantly challenging and asking questions of forwards around the ruck. 

But really there can only be one winner.  Vereniki Goneva.  The Flying Fijian joined us last season from Tarbes in ProD2 and finished last season as a try scorer at Twickenham.  This season he was has carried our attack scoring 14 tries in 25 games.  When an injury crisis crippled our centre reserves he stepped into the breach and proved his genius on many occasions, genuinely carrying the attacking threat of our team singlehandedly on many occasions.

Long rumoured to be leaving the club to join Castres he squashed those rumours to sign on for at least 2 more years.  He has power, pace and sublime footwork.  If he hasn’t beaten you with his trickery then he can just run over you instead.  Voted by his fellow professionals as the best player this season who am I to argue?

Tigers Flood with Confidence

Tigers secured their 9^th straight playoff semi final with a thumping 6 try 42-22 victory away to Sale.  First half tries from Vereniki Goneva and Toby Flood gave Tigers a 14-3 half time lead to which Tigers quickly added, racing to a 35-3 lead before falling off and allowing 3 consolation scores to Sale.

Previous trips to Sale have required sterling second half comebacks but this one was a more comfortable affair as Tigers squeezed Sale in defence whilst finishing our own chances relatively clinically.

Sale had the early territory and possession but could not make it count, a knock from Tom Brady spoiling a 7 phase spell inside the Tigers 22.  Sale varied their game well, keeping the Tigers defence on their toes with a mix of pick and goes with distributing to the wider channels. 

Tigers opened the scoring on their first real attack.  It was a classic multi-phase Tigers score.  Anthony Allen kept the defence honest, straightening from a strong Tigers scrum.   Tait went wide and we recycled through Slater.  Sale’s defence was up fast and twice was on Youngs before he passed.  Allen though swept up the loose ball and straightened, silkily off loading to Ayerza whose back hand flip set Morris through the middle.

Quickly it went right and a hint of an overlap was extinguished, but not before Mulipola rumbled to within 5.  This caught full back Tom Arscott in the ruck.  With inexperienced wingers Tom Brady and Charlie Ingall unaware it was Owen Williams who exploited the gap with a delicious Andy Goode-esque chip off the outside of his right boot.  Tuilagi and Goneva were first to it with the Fijian claiming his 14 score of the campaign.

Sale quickly claimed their first points following a terrific break from kiwi Michael Paterson, Jamie Gibson was harshly ruled to have not released the man and media darling Danny Cipriani nailed the 3 points from in front.

Tigers lead should have been more but for 3 uncharacteristic penalty misses by Owen Williams.  The first when the score was nil all went wide right and the next two skewed left.  6 from 9 in total though can hardly be considered a poor return.

A try was also inexplicably ruled out in the 22^nd minute.  Ed Slater made a lovely inside break from Williams’ pass; Niall Morris executed a dead eye grubber which Anthony Allen pounced on to finish strongly.  Referee JP Doyle however chose to go back and check the midfield pass he had ruled fair in the build up.  Quite how the hands were ruled to be going forwards I’ll never know.  Compare that try to Jonathan Joseph’s given in the home game against Bath by the same referee.

Compare also to the try in Toulouse v Clermont where the man running on the angle throws the ball on the inside, clearly travels 3 yards forward but is allowed as the hands were going backwards. 

Tigers were quickly in the ascendency again; Goneva steaming in but unable to hold Ben Youngs’ delayed pass.  Sale adventurously countered from behind their own posts.  Leota’s inside pass to Fihaki sent the number 8 on a gallop from one 22 to the other.  Anthony Allen made a superb try saving cover tackle on Tom Brady, injuring himself out of the game in the process.  In the after match analysis Sale will be disappointed with the option chosen by Fihaki, Allen’s hips were turned and an inside pass available.

It was his replacement Toby Flood who grabbed the next try.  Owen Williams made a good break, handing off Moldovan prop Codilas and out pacing flanker Gaskell, before Ben Youngs and Jordan Crane found Flood against Cobilas and his propping partner Lewis-Roberts.  The props had 4 defenders to mark in far too much space and Flood easily ran between them.

The second half saw Tigers continue in the same rich vein of form.  Niall Morris, returning after 3 months of injury, capped his 50^th start with a try.  The Irishman was on hand with a terrific supporting line to take Williams’ pass from contact following a nice break from the Youngs brothers combining down the blindside.

A fourth try and the bonus point to secure a semi final was quick in coming just 8 minutes later.  A midfield obstruction by Henry Thomas gave Leicester good ball inside the Sale 22.  Tigers were finding the Sale defence much tougher this time being driven backwards and forced wide, the key to unlocking it came from a glorious off load from Jordan Crane.  A little diamond of skill the number 8 slipped the pass behind his back, attracting the defence and allowing Gibson to slip up the inside.

With the Sale defence now stretched it took one more phase before Toby Flood, running his trademark fast and tight line from Ben Youngs, went over for his 2^nd try.  Danny Cipriani sportingly patted Flood on the back rather than try and tackle him.  What a nice chap.

Flood was almost in for his hat trick moments later.  Tigers had gained possession in the Sale 22 from a weaving Ben Youngs break and a Sale offside.  Goneva’s dummy line attracted the Sale defence as Morris swept behind him; the Irishman straightened and found Flood but good defence, and perhaps an early tackle, from Tom Brady prevented the grounding.

It hardly mattered though as Tigers scrum marched the Sale pack at a rate of knots to earn the penalty try.

With the game secured in the 60^th minute there was a marked drop in Tigers' intensity and the bench was emptied.  Sale grabbed three tries but never really looked like getting the most unlikeliest of comebacks. 

First it was Michael Paterson exploiting Toby Flood’s poor decision to blitz and racing in at the corner, then Henry Thomas scored following a line out front peel.  David Mele and Vereniki Goneva looked completely uninterested in tackling the 20 stone of Bath bound beef on the hoof and really can you blame them when winning by such a margin?

There can be no complaints on Johnny Leota’s score though as the Samoan raced in from half way with a lovely swerve to beat Niall Morris.  Tigers though will be disappointed with Waldrom’s first up tackle and Mele’s miss in open field.

The diminutive Frenchman made amends though with the final score.  Niall Morris had a good chance for a second score of his own but fumbled the grounding, with Sale now running everything Tigers were able to turnover an ambitious cross field kick before gaining a penalty.  With the scrum taken but not marching forwards like the previous one Waldrom picked up and backed into the halfback, off loading to Mele for the easy dive in.

A stonking scoreline and 9^th successive Play Off semi final, all in all a good day at the office in anyone’s book.  Tigers though will not be happy with the spurned chances.  Tom Croft is rumoured to be fit again and what a boost in the search for an 11^th Championship that would be.

Perfect 10

A try from Anthony Allen and 17 points from the boot of Owen Williams secured Leicester the victory over Northampton in the 230^th meeting between the sides.  The win made Tigers undefeated in 10 games against their southerly neighbours, tying the record set between 1983 and 1990.
 

Northampton has a mental block about playing Leicester.  In the whole of 2013 they only failed to win 5 domestic games and 3 of them were Leicester.  They haven’t beaten us since September 2010 and even with a 2 man advantage at the end let it slip through their grasp.  Northampton’s kickers missed 10 points whilst Owen Williams was a perfect 6/6. 

The first half was when Tigers gouged their advantage.  Dominating not so much possession as territory it meant that when the Saints erred it was within Williams’ scope to eek the lead out further.  The second half was scrappy with Saints unable to harness their passion and drive.

Tigers were fast out of the blocks.  The first half hour was a pitched battle of bloody intensity as Tigers’ forward carriers battered at the Northampton gates.  Hooley opened the scoring after Goneva failed to roll away.

Tigers were hammering away at the Northampton line.  The temperature was rising.  Tom Wood’s deliberate knock on was deemed only accidental by referee Wayne Barnes and Tigers had a 5m scrum. 

And what a scrum.  The packs were fired up, straining at the leash like murderous dogs waiting for the call of “set”.  The first one is reset.  The second one stands up.  Then Northampton pile through.  As the bodies come up Tom Youngs’ face is covered in blood.  He’s seething.  He says his been bitten.

No evidence is forthcoming and they go again.  Straining every muscle and every sinew it’s a dead heat.

Tigers play.  It goes left three phases then back right through Tuilagi and Crane.  Ed Slater runs a powerful line from Ben Youngs’ shoulder, ripping through three tacklers to within an inch of the line.  Northampton sense the danger; Phil Dowson attempts to kill the ball.  He can’t.  There’s an overlap.  George North is tempted out of the line by Ben Youngs’ magnificent 25 yard floated pass and Anthony Allen is over unmolested in the corner.

Owen Williams starts his perfect day with his most challenging kick, from the right hand touchline he starts it wide right and draws it just inside the right-hand upright.

Burrell is caught holding on in his own half then Kahn Fotuali’i fails to release the man in tackle, Williams slots the 40m penalty each time to stretch the lead to 13-3.

Northampton lost captain Hartley and prop Ma’afu before halftime, Hartley injuring his shoulder attempting to ruck Jamie Gibson.

At the same time as Hartley was leaving the field Hooley spooned a penalty kick wide right.

Northampton denuded of their captain came back into the match strongly.  Ben Youngs failed to deal with a chip through and Louis Deacon did magnificently to track back and hold Calum Clark just short.  When the ball went wide Dowson looked like he had the easiest of run ins, only to falter, that mental block again, and check his run inside.

The pressure was not relieved though; Northampton had a 5m line out.  2 minutes left before halftime and with the drive being repelled Kahn Fotuali’i took the ball and ran.  Using referee Barnes as a shield he escaped Owen Williams and ran through Anthony Allen for the score.

The second half was a cagier, scrappy affair.  The first 20 minutes of the second quarter especially.  Tigers often gained good territory but through mistakes and Northampton’s excellent defence always came up empty.  Kicks were to the fore as both teams only wanted the ball in the opposition half.

Hooley had a kick at goal following a high tackle, but again he pushed it wide.  Williams in contrast slotted his attempt from a similar spot following a scrum penalty.

With Hooley hooked James Wilson was tried at fly half.  He had no troubles slotting a penalty, after Marcos Ayerza made no effort to release a tackled man, to get within a try of the lead with 20 minutes remaining.

And Northampton went for it.  Perhaps too much.  With confidence flowing through their veins and memories of a vivid counter attack to score in last year’s final they played from their own 22.  And for a while it looked like working.  Stretching the Tigers defence.

But they counted not for Ed Slater.  The Milton Keynes Mammoth had other ideas.  Tackling George Pisi he slammed him to the floor, rising and releasing his man like a swimmer gasping for air he dove again to go for the ball.  Pisi hung on.  Barnes blew his whistle.  Williams slotted his kick plum centre.

Panic suddenly set in.  From the kick off there was no one home to claim Ben Youngs’ box kick; Dowson eventually capturing it on the rebound before the Saints were driven back into touch in their own half.  Nervous and itching to get in a good hit their entire backline was caught offside at the lineout.

Williams again.  Lead stretched to 11 points.  2 tries were not longer enough; the Saints would have to find their kicking boots too.

Tigers made their subs with 10 minutes left.  Trying to save fuel for the decisive trip to Clermont this weekend.  Northampton’s own sub Lee Dickson raised the pace to run the Tigers defence ragged.

But still they could not crack the defence.  It took two yellow cards gifted from Wayne Barnes before they could break down the epic defence. 

The first was for Ben Youngs.  Youngs kicks through, Tigers muff the catch and North breaks.  To my eye he gets back to his feet and competes fairly for the ball, arguably winning a penalty for holding on.  But Barnes saw no release of the man and also saw fit to put Youngs in the bin.

Buoyed by the man advantage the Saints played wide.  Tigers thought they had the choke tackle and piled men into the maul, but Dickson showed ferocity to dig the ball out.  With 7 Tigers men in the tackle plus the man in the bin Tigers were severely underhanded and the Saints scented blood.

Fotuali’i, now at fly half, throws the miss pass to Samoan test winger Ken Pisi, 10 yards out and the line at his mercy.  Surely he’s in at the corner?  Surely?  But no!  Adam Thompstone is flying in like a man possessed to knock him off balance and Scott Hamilton sweeping round a full 30 meters from behind the ruck is there to bundle him into touch a matter of millimetres from the line.

Just 2 minutes after the first card and Barnes is reaching for another.  Goneva, the mild mannered Fijian, is fingered this time for, of all things, a dangerous tackle. 

Goneva attempts to dislodge the ball with a swinging arm, and gets a good piece of the ball.  A lesser player than George North would have fumbled it.  But he holds on.  With that penalty given Dickson taps it quickly and goes again.  Goneva leaves him go the ten meters then seeing the pass already gone dives over him.

As Fotuali’i's cross kick comes to nothing Goneva is binned.  Madness.  And the Saints fans have the audacity to claim Barnes favours Leicester.

With the two man advantage the try was inevitable.  Tigers simply could not cover all the bases.  They manfully dealt with the driving maul but as play went centrally then back towards the touchline Tigers were a man short and Ethan Waller dove in for the score.

Crucially Wilson missed the conversion and Saints still needed the full fat 7 points for victory.

Tigers will be disappointed they let Saints get as close as they did.  Locked into the Saints half and with the ball Tigers should have seen it out.  But with 30 seconds of the game remaining and for the first time all match Barnes decided that Kitchener had gone off his feet to win a ruck.

I do not for one minute contest that Kitchener was off his feet.  He clearly was.  But so was every player for at least half the rucks all match.  Rugby is a hard game for players at the best of times, there is no need for refereeing inconsistencies to make it harder.

So less than 30 seconds left and the Saints had the ball on the 22.  They needed a try and a conversion to secure victory.  Off the top they run a wrap around off the inside centre, Burrell fumbles the ball, backwards according to Barnes, North sweeping behind gathers and chips in one motion.  Pisi is at full pelt whilst Manu and Hamilton have to turn.  The after burners come on for Tuilagi.  He storms past Hamilton to take the ball in front of Pisi.

The ball slips out of his grasp into touch.  10 seconds left.  The Saints are too slow to form the lineout and to the relief of the Tigers full time is called.

Wizard Williams Steals the Show against Sale

Tigers responded from their record defeat 7 days ago with a patchy display but one that importantly got the win 30-23.  Let us get it right straight from the off this was not a classic Tigers display.  The second half was especially poor.  But a defeat would have left us 8^th at best and now we are 5^th.

2 points off the play offs but 13 back from Northampton in 2^nd.  It will take an almighty collapse from either Saints or Saracens for Tigers to sneak another home semi final.

This game raised more questions than answers: has Dan Bowden quietly become our midfields vital cog?  Why is drawing a man so difficult?  Why do you give such a big crowd and big occasion such a poor referee?

In the first half Tigers were pretty good.  We dominated possession and territory.  The first try came from some genius play by the Welsh wizard Williams at fly half.  His sharp footwork cut the Sale line and his smart off load let Ed Slater power over.

A Sale offside let Williams put the Tigers 10-0 up before Adam Thompstone made it 17-0.  Sam Tuitupou had been sin binned for an off the ball incident with Owen Williams and the man advantage told quickly.

Marcos Ayerza made good yards up the middle before Dan Bowden had looked to have butchered it with a miss pass when simple hands should have done.  But Thompstone squeezed into the corner, and after a lengthy review, the try was given by the TMO.  Bowden’s blushes were completely spared when Williams stepped up to nail the touchline conversion.

17-0 up after 23 minutes; it is frankly unacceptable to not only fail to gain a try bonus point but also allow what is a close rival, at this stage of the season, a losing bonus point too. 

Tigers were still rampant at this point but the passes stopped sticking.  Thompstone and Waldrom contrived to butcher a brilliant chance down the left hand touchline after more exciting build up play.  Williams then put Thompstone clear to the line again.  In what is essentially a 3 way audition for the two wing spots Thompstone did not cover himself in glory with these two muffed chances.  I can’t be sure if Benjamin would have got them but the second one I really think he would have.

The old school Sale cynicism was to rear its head from here on in.  Taking advantage of what was a very naive and very inexperienced referee Sale pulled every trick in Steve Diamond’s well thumb copy of “Practical Cheating for the Modern Player”.   

Carley in only his 6^th Premiership game was taken in hook line and sinker when Sale’s front row stepped back on engagement from a 5m scrum earning them the clearing free kick.  Tigers were sniffing blood after forcing Sale over their own line and this was a big momentum swing.

When they tried it again in the second half he was wise to it this time and threatened Henry Thomas, on as a replacement for the slightly better Moldovan Vadim Cobilas, with a yellow card.  I would be tempted to sin bin the entire front row for shenanigans like that.  It is not like a positive penalty where you have tried to push them back but ultimately failed, or tried to steal the ball but been knocked off your feet, it is just trying to mug off the referee with no risk to yourself.

Before half time Williams and Macleod swapped penalties to leave the score 20-6.

After the break Dan Cole showed an often uncredited side of his game with a lovely inside line and powerful carry.  It was somewhat spoiled when Williams spilled Ben Youngs ankle high pass.  Youngs was his usual mixed bag of sheer brilliance, menace and occasional move stalling horrific passing. 

It sort of worked out as Tigers work in the scrum gained a 3 point reward for dead eye goal kicker Williams to slot. 

But Sale know how to win at Welford Road, ride your luck and take your chances in attack whilst cynically cheat and slow down play in your own half.  It is always the same script and always very frustrating to watch when they get it “right”. 

In the second half they did just that scoring brilliant break away tries, often with a hint of controversy in the initial break, then managing to play one or two phases in defence before giving away a penalty then killing momentum with a nicely timed injury.

The two tries were very similar in that they came from around half way starting down the left then switching to be scored in the right.  First it was Mark Cueto then it was Charlie Ingall after a nice break by James Gaskell.  Much like the referee I will be surprised if any of the TV pundits bother to see the massive block thrown by Tommy Taylor in the build up to the second try.

In between it was typical Tigers imprecision, referee inaction and Sale stalling.  Tigers could and should have put the game to bed with a push over try from a line out but mystifyingly it fell short a yard from the line.  Amazing that isn’t it?  Almost as if a Sale player had ran right round the side and tackled the man whilst his mate dragged the maul down. 

But Mr. Carley saw nothing and Tigers compounded the referee’s mistake with a weak knock on in contact by Jamie Gibson. 

With Ingall’s try then bringing the score to 23-20 all thoughts of bonus points had gone from our minds.  It was just win baby. 

At this point Williams, after his bright start, was showing signs of a lack of patience.  It can be frustrating when we get out of sorts, noticeably when Bowden was removed with a concussion (worryingly the 2^nd of his season so far), but patience and making the opposition make tackles works.  It is our standard tactic and eventually, like a dam blocking a river, the defence bursts and we can flow through for the try.

It was hardly the worst fault for a 21 year old to have but certainly it shows room for improvement.

With 12 minutes to go, and after one of Williams kicks lacking patience, Tigers again forced a 5m scrum.  As mentioned above Sale tried every trick in the book to clear their lines.  Reset at least 8 times the series of scrums took 6 minutes off the clock and much much longer in real time as Carley allowed Sale to conference with their water boy after every scrum.  Usually under the pretence of an injury but as he matures the referee has to be firmer on time wasting like this.

Eventually he got bored and gave the penalty try.  For the life of me I cannot see the difference between the final scrum of the series and the very first one.  If a man was tackled without the ball and the try line begging you wouldn’t need to wait 8 times to give the penalty try so why for scrums?

Once we got into the sequence there were plenty of ups, downs and turning arounds but the first scrum was just monstered back.  It was déjà vu all over again with Martin Fox and the London Irish game.

Williams’s conversion made it 30-20 and was his final act before Ryan Lamb replaced him.  If this is the form Williams can produce after 6 weeks out of the side what will he be like playing every week?  Do we actually need a mentally fragile and similarly aged Freddie Burns?

Mr. Carley had one final show of naivety in what will be a disappointing day for him.  After a relatively fair penalty to Sale, after all it was against us so I’m not wholly convinced of it, he didn’t watch the clock as Sale sub Joe “George Ford’s brother” Ford lined up his penalty.

There was only 4.30 left on the clock when the tee was brought on.  From that moment he has 60 seconds.  Not 61 seconds, though no ref would spot that.  Not 70 seconds, though many miss that small over run.  Certainly not the 100 seconds (almost twice his allotted minute) he actually took to attempt his penalty.

The crowd had spotted it and Welford Road’s usual silence was broken as he frankly cheated and took the piss.  He knew it was important to run down the clock and deliberately broke the rules to gain an advantage.  Carley will need to keep his wits more about him as he comes up against cunning players who play to your whistle not the rules.  I don’t blame Sale for this it is up to the referee to enforce the rules not the fans or the players.

Tigers had one last blast at getting the 4 tries but Ryan Lamb knocked on after good work from Tait and Goneva had got us into the Sale half.  And so ended a fairly frustrating but relatively successful afternoon.