Tigers win but Sale are Kings

Tigers concluded their pre-season with a bonus point win at home to Sale, but the away side still walked away with the crown “Kings of the North” as Tigers failed to beat their points difference.  Whilst Tigers would have preferred to claim the title the coaches will be satisfied with the performance.

Mike Williams and Peter Betham were particularly impressive as Betham, Croft, Bell and Odogwu crossed for tries.

Tigers were hunting a 35 point victory and started impressively.  Running with intent Betham slid between two tacklers and burst through to touch down in front of the Crumbie.  Burns was successful with the conversion and a penalty after Tigers had attacked from their own 22.

Sale were attacking themselves and went close in front of the Met RX stand twice.  On the second occasion Greg Bateman over threw his jumper and opposite number Tommy Taylor was on hand to collect the poor throw and pounce for the try.  Sale levelled after a penalty against Mulipola for being Samoan, when Courtney Lawes is penalised for tackles like these I believe it’s not bias against Islanders.

Anyway Tigers prioritised with win over chasing the points difference too aggressively and Burns nailed two more kicks.  The first though should not have been taken by him as he was off the field for a “Head Injury Assessment” when the penalty was awarded.

A second penalty was earned and the score 16-10 at half time.  Sale were on the attack early pushing for the victory but as a contest the game was over following Peter Betham’s goal-line intercept and break.  The Australian picked off Cipriani’s pass and raced away, unable to finish he smartly passed from the floor to find Adam Thompstone in deep support, Thompstone’s intelligent quick pass to Croft saw the flanker exhibit his pace and finish from the 22m.

Tigers now did chase the tries, bonus point and points difference kicking penalties to the corner but struggled to convert some excellent positions.  Eventually Tommy Bell was given a clear run in from Betham’s pass down the Crumbie touchline.

Sale were fortunate to see Harry Thacker binned when he thought he had pilfered a ball at the back of a ruck and ran clear.  Decisions like this from referee Craig Maxwell-Keys is why England do not produce world class 7s.  The ball was out, and if it was in it was marginal, but rather than settle for a penalty due to a difference in interpretation he must feed his ego by flashing the cards about.  A poor referee that I doubt we will see in the Premiership this season, he has learned nothing from his grilling after the Hughes affair.

The Sale try was hard earned as Tigers defended stoutly, Mark Jennings burgling himself over in a similar position to where Betham scored the Tigers first try.

With the title gone but the win secure Tigers relaxed slightly and played better.  Fonua carried prominently but his ball control requires work.  For the final try he was the decoy as it was spun wide with Odogwu the man on the end scoring.

Williams and Betham were the standout men with Fitzgerald also adding to his reputation.  Burns seems more settled, his first step was usually forward and there were two classic matador breaks from his own 22.  Odogwu and Fonua showed glimpses in their cameos while Tom Croft is looking back to his best.

With three bonus point wins in pre-season and the defence stiffening markedly since the reverse fixture Tigers will go to London Irish full of confidence for a decent start.

Kings of the North

Tigers have announced the games that will replace the LV Cup fixtures on Season Tickets for next year.  After Bath, Gloucester and Exeter announced a triangular West Country series mouths were watering that Tigers may be able to replicate that with derbies against Northampton and Wasps.  

Instead the club has arranged to play Newcastle and Sale.  Real pedigree fixtures to get the fans excited.  More than that they have titled this triangular tournament "Kings of the North", a nifty on-trend title nicely referencing both Game of Thrones and King Richard III, but unfortunately rather missing the fact that Leicester is not in the "north" of any thing.  Leicestershire perhaps, at a push.  

And that both these Kings were prematurely killed and not only defeated but their whole dynasty was routed.  Perhaps not the best title to contest?

It seems bizarre that given a free hand to arrange fixtures with any club that would have us we have sided with the two poorest clubs in the league, in both supporter numbers and financially, who we share little history and zero rivalry.  Neither club will bring many fans on the long trip down to Welford Road, neither side will entice many floating non-season ticket holding Tigers fans attentions away from the World Cup and surely TV companies will show no interest in broadcasting any of these matches.

I don't even care enough to Photoshop this image properly

For the traveling fan Kingston Park is the most remote trip in the league at 191 miles compared to 186 miles to Exeter's Sandy Park, Sale meanwhile is the fourth longest trip by driving time only beating Bath because of the lack of motorways to darkest North-East Somerset.  If these away games get moved to Friday night or Sunday it would be the icing on the cake.

So a decidedly dodgy name, unattractive fixtures unlikely to pack in the punters or attract a TV audience and extra-long away trips for our most dedicated away travelers.  I cannot think of a worse pair of clubs to arrange a triangular tournament with.

Tigers munch Sharks

Tigers moved to within one point of second place with a comprehensive 28-8 victory at home to Sale, stretching their winning run against the Sharks to 12 games and almost 6 years.  After two tryless games Tigers fell just short of the bonus point despite a frantic final minute searching for the point that would have put us joint second.

Tigers opened the scoring after just 5 minutes with a Freddie Burns penalty; Seremaia Bai had made a telling break up the right touchline that set the tone for the performance.  Tigers will be disappointed that 10 minutes in the Sale half ended with the opponents leveling the score.  After a contentiously awarded Sale lineout the Sharks surged forward 10 meters in a driving maul before Neil Briggs collapsed it as it passed halfway.  Nick Macleod nailed the 50m kick for 3-3.

Tigers roared back through Laurence Pearce; breaking the long tryless spell.  First Parling made ground before Pearce squirmed and squeezed his way over.  Pearce twisted and turned his body, keeping the legs driving, so that despite Sale full back Mike Haley's tackle he slammed the ball down over the line as he landed on his back.

Sale were fortunate to avoid a yellow card just 3 minutes later; Tigers were rampant again inside Sale's 22, Jordan Crane burst through a gap and had options either side taken out early by the Sale defence.  Pearce was to his left and Ayerza to the right.  With only the full back to beat the early tackles surely warranted a penalty try and yellow card but Welford Road was left baffled as referee Greg Garner, from Coventry, refused to give more than a penalty.

To make matters more bizarre 2 minutes later Sale wing Tom Arscott was sin binned for a marginal deliberate knock on a full 50 metres out as Tigers were again breaking through.  Arscott was hard done by to concede a penalty let alone spend ten minutes thinking about his troubles.

During the sin bin period Tigers were held up over the line twice; first Neil Briggs seemed to have capitalised on mounting Tigers pressure to drive over under the posts, only for the TMO to deny him.  With no bodies under the ball and him clearly over the line it was a very harsh call, Northampton will be thankful the same logic was not applied last May at Twickenham.  Tigers tried again from the scrum and Pearce again forced his way over, this time cute to his ways Sale made sure to clamp over the ball and deny a grounding.

The move was not yet over though as Sale's Mancunian Viking Magnus Lund, replete with long hair and handle bar moustache, was caught off side at a prior ruck and sin binned.  Tigers went for the scrum and after initial inertia worked their magic and powered forward.  Crane was prevented from grounding the ball by an illegally unbound Sale flanker and this time Garner was in no doubt about awarding the amply deserved penalty try.

Tigers had one last bash at the Sale before half time, Bai and Goneva combining to see the latter clear to the full back, unfortunately he and Adam Thompstone did not quite read each other correctly and Goneva's pass went to ground.  Sale had the last chance of the half, forcing Tigers into their own 22 for the first time and a series of concerted efforts came to naught as Judas Gibson forced the penalty for holding on.

The second half was a different kettle of fish entirely.  Sale were much better, keeping the ball and playing patiently, Tigers much worse, fluffing lineouts and handling errors creeping back in and Garner was Garner, bizarrely sin binning Seremaia Bai for a very marginally early tackle a full 50 metres from the line, where earlier he had refused to sanction a Sale player just 5 yards out, and seemingly determined to make up for some perceived pro Tigers calls in the first half by making even more just to the other side this time.

After the Bai penalty Sale went to their trusty driving maul, once again the Northerners set about marching forward but some slackness at the back enabled Sam Harrison to insert himself and steal the ball.  With Harrison then being tackled by an offside man a Tigers penalty was surely coming but instead a scrum 5 to Sale, apparently there was no maul, no offside, simply good pressure.  From the scrum the ball was spun wide, Sale were seemingly in touch with the touch judge flagging Arscott before he put the ball down.

Garner though was not to be denied and awarded the try after consulting the TMO, to me his foot was clearly in touch before the grounding but it was a nip and tuck decision; how Mark Cueto must wish this TMO was in Paris in 2007!  Now I sincerely hope that in the rest of this season we have no players punished for playing on after the whistle, as clearly in the TMO age the referee can ignore his own officiating team's decisions if he fancies and see what happens.

With Sale now back within two converted tries, and having had a decent shot at a second try rebuffed by manful Tigers defence, Tigers took their next chance to extend the lead with both hands.  Burns converting a scrum penalty from 40m rather than kicking the corner as had been the early tactics.

Tigers had a third try ruled out as Burns interception and clear run the try line was pulled back for an earlier penalty, despite Sale having at least three phases and 30 yards of progress.  Sale retained possession well to take the time away from Tigers and dim hopes of a try bonus point.

With just three minutes left Tigers kicked a penalty to the corner, our chance was here, slim though it may be, to take the try.  They lost the line out.  But forced a knock on from Maxim Cobilas, brother of starting tighthead Vadim, from the scrum Bai was unleashed and breaking a tackle he crashed over.  With just 90 seconds left Burns quickly taken drop goal conversion was wide.

Tigers attacked from the deep kick off, Burns looked for a cross field kick but it was blocked, deflected.  Straight into the arms of Thacker!  He fed Rizzo, the prop generating roars from the Crumbie as he dummied outside and stepped inside.  Running free he was looking for the pass, Whetton was on his outside and Goneva coming up the middle, but the Sale defence was blocking the passing lanes and he rightly took the tackle.

A penalty advantage gave Tigers room for an error, which they took, but promptly found another as Thacker knocked on trying to take a pass at full pace just inches from the defence.  He had already broken the line when he dropped it, such was the flatness of the ball.

Still 4 points was a good reward and the style it came in will have lifted the hearts of many Tigers fans.  It might seem as bizarre as a Greg Garner decision after some of the games this season but Tigers really are still in with a shot at an 11th English Championship!

Tiger the Comeback Kings as Sale jump the Shark

Phew.  What a game.  Tigers inept and inspired within the same 80 minutes as this roller coaster hit the heights and plumbed the depths.  Tigers produced the second biggest comeback in club history to secure a vital 5 points and keep our dreams of a home semi final on life support for a few more weeks.

Tigers spent a grand total of 3 minutes in the lead.  But like was said last week it doesn't matter.  We could have won and this time we did.  Julian Salvi was credited with the winning try; a huge heaving effort from forwards and backs alike saw Ayerza and Bai clamp on to the Australian and drive him home.  Fantastic composure from all involved, as not only did the forwards grind it over but Benjamin & the other backs remained alive drawing men away from the breakdown, perhaps creating that small gap.

To the match itself Sale were much the better side during the opening 50 minutes, our wide defence was cut to ribbons by a fast and vivid Sharks attack, only heroic goal line defending kept the score to 30 points.  

The first try was scored down Sale's right wing.  Sam Tuitupou took the ball deep from Cipriani on our 22m line, shrugged off Freddie Burns then Tommy Bell's pretty ineffectual tackles to storm to the 5m line, dragged down by Crane and Benjamin.  Sale then battered the line.  Will Addison took out Miles Benjamin off the ball to open up a gap which Chris Cusiter spotted to dive over for the opening score.

Tigers attack by contrast was more leaden but did eventually get over the line.  A fantastic trademark stepping burst from Goneva freed Benjamin to stride deep into the Sale 22, it seemed to take an age going side to side and the chance looked lost when Ghiraldini was being driven backwards.  But Burns' quick thinking ripped the ball free and floated a short pass over a Sale man to Crane.  Crane did the simple pass well to Bai who stormed over to level the score.

A Cipriani penalty for a rare Leicester infringement gave the lead back to Sale and Tigers could have been further behind but for Jamie Gibson forcing a knock on from Mike Haley as the full back tried to ground the ball for a try.

Tigers however took back the lead after an aggressive decision to kick a penalty to touch rather than at goal.  A quick maul was, perhaps, inching forward when Youngs spotted the gap.  For my money he was in himself but chose to feed Tait on the wing who just nipped in.  After consultation with the TMO the try was awarded and Burns nailed the difficult touchline conversion.

This sparked Sale into a spell of sustained pressure and excellence as they scored 22 points in 15 minutes.  Will Addison scored almost immediately after Tait; taking advantage of Tommy Bell being caught ball watching he slid wide of the full back for the easy score.  With the first try as well it really was not Bell's day on his return to his former club.

Tigers were reeling at this point, Sale cutting loose in front of their biggest ever crowd.  Thankfully one move was ended as Eiffion Lewis-Roberts the gargantuan prop was the man free on the over lap and Tait could lasso the big man at the knees.

Sale joined Tigers in turning down a stream of kickable penalties as they went for the kill.  Eventually Gibson was sent to the sin bin, harshly as he was pinned at the bottom of the ruck, and Sale again went for the drive.  Tigers withstood the pressure for a time but Nathan Hines was soon enough driven over for a 25-15 half time lead.

Quickly into the second half Sale extended their lead and secured the try bonus point to boot.  Burns kicked from the shadow of his posts just barely finding touch allowing Sale to go quickly.  The Sale winger's boot was clearly in the field of play when he took it and the lineout should have been brought back but referee Wigglesworth was at the mercy of his linesman who did not make the call.

Haley shimmied his way to the 22m tight to the touchline, Tait and Bell miscommunicated as the small blindside was clearly theirs to defend and that wily old fox Tuitupou took advantage ambling over for what seemed like the knock out score.

15 points down and Tigers were lost, down beat and out for the count.  Only once before in the 134 year history of England's most storied club had "The Death or Glory Boys" dug themselves out of a hole bigger than 14 points.

But as Rocky Balboa rises bloodied and battered from the canvas asking for more the Tigers never gave up.  On 50 minutes Gibson was re-introduced with Ayerza, Tom Youngs and Balmain, giving Tigers fresh impetus.  Shortly after Thompstone replaced Bell, with Tait back at home at full back.  

Tigers kicked again to the corner.  Again it seemed to take an age of going left to right but eventually the half chance was created; Burns to Tait, the half jink and on to Benjamin with no room to manoeuvre but the Birmingham born winger dazzled the defence with a stop and go.  He slighted to the right, then blasted past them on the left beating four men to squeeze into the corner with only millimetres to spare.

Belief was building now.  But Sale were not quite in their shells just yet; they burst through the middle for the clinching score.  Mat Tait as ever is Tigers weather vane, where his form goes so does the team, and his form was bubbling to brilliance as he ran the channel and blocked down the final pass in a surely try scoring Sale move, only to then pounce on the loose ball to eradicate the danger.

With Freddie Burns pulled after yet another midfield chip and chase horror ball, the calming presence of Owen Williams was introduced.  The Welshman steered the Tigers around the park noticeably running the ball from deeper and kicking less frequently and more importantly less aimlessly.  With the game now being firmly played in the Sale half and the home side leaking penalties it was inevitable that Williams would eventually be given a chance to cut the deficit to five.  Belief was now coursing through the Tigers veins.

Sam Harrison was introduced at around the same time as Williams and added spark and pace to Tigers attack at just the time that Sale were tiring and perhaps starting to think about their first victory over Tigers in 11 games and over five and a half years.

The clock was beginning to run dangerously low and Tigers had to decide between aiming for 2 more penalties or going for the try.

In the end the decision was made for us as Sale did not infringe again until only four minutes were remaining; Will Addison again taking liberties with off the ball contact, this time taking out our support man and forcing Harrison into the ruck to secure the ball, thus losing crucial quick ball in a great position.  Wigglesworth spotted the offence and showed no hesitation in brandishing the yellow card for the second time in the match.

To the corner they went, with new man Peterson brought into the fray, De Chaves won the lineout and was driven.  Tigers broke off the side and towards the posts.  Gibson, Barbieri, Bai.  Peterson, Barbieri, Balmain.  They all tried and were repulsed. Then Salvi lead a charge featuring Bai and Ayerza as his lieutenants, with Gibson adding his weight too.  Standing behind the posts we could just see Bai's mocha head pop through the ruck and several orange shirts belly flop over the line.

Delight, relief, joy!  It was given!  The vociferous and partisan Sale crowd were appalled and Owen Williams did not exactly help matters milking every last one of his allotted 90 seconds, and then some, to kill as much of the clock as possible.

It was not yet over though as Tigers muffed the kick off and had to defend their lead for two agonising minutes until Leota knocked on to end a topsy turvey , a glorious, a memorable match.

2014/15 Season Preview: Sale

Sale

Nickname: Sharks

Founded: 1861

Years in Top Tier: 21

Last Year: 6^th in Prem (57 points), Amlin Challenge Cup Quarter Finals, Anglo Welsh Cup Group Stage

Europe: Champions Cup

Director of Rugby: Steve Diamond

Transfers:

In: Nathan Hines (Clermont), Chris Cuisiter (Glasgow), Alberto De Marchi (Treviso), Darren Fearn (Bedford), Luke McLean (Treviso), Magnus Lund (Biarritz), Shalva Mamukashvili (Armia-Georgia)

Out: Dwayne Peel (Bristol), Henry Thomas (Bath), James Gaskell (Wasps), Rob Miller (Wasps), Tom Holmes (Rotherham), Aston Croall (Blackheath), Tony Buckley (Kanturk), Krill Kulemin (Perpignan)

Ins: 7

Outs: 8

Sale were the surprise of last season finishing 6^th after barely avoiding relegation the season before.  The big news coming from Salford this season is a move to Saturday kick offs, in a the slightly odd 2pm slot rather than 3pm, which is great news for people who like their rugby in the day light and on the weekend.

Transfer wise Sale have been busy snaring 6 internationals plus Bedford’s highly regarded former Newcastle prop Darren Fearn.  Alberto De Marchi arrives from Treviso which will presumably signal Eifion Lewis-Roberts spending greater time on the tighthead side of the scrum.  In the engine room the quietly power Russian workhorse Kril Kulemin has been replaced by Wagga Wagga’s favourite Scotsman Nathan Hines. 

Magnus Lund returns from a 6 year spell at Biarritz, and if he can avoid the injuries that spoiled his final year he may well be the pick of the bunch.  Shalva Mamukashvili becomes the Premiership’s first Georgian following in footsteps of Moldovan Vadim Cobilas, Romanian Paulica Ion and a handful of Russian players in crossing the old Iron Curtain.

Sale’s season will mainly rest on the form of Danny Cipriani.  He is the sole play maker in the squad, were he to be injured Sale would have to rely on the more prosaic stylings of Nick Macleod.  Last year Cipriani was mostly excellent and a backs against the wall win at Bath pointed to the great team spirit, and sly scrum tactics, they posses.

Tuitupou & Leota provide plenty of impetus in the back line but not a huge amount of nous, whilst Viliami Fihaki impressed in patches last season and will look to replace Wasps bound James Gaskill at 8.

If Sale can win 4 out of their opening 6 league games they look set for European Champions Cup action once again, but a European pool containing Clermont, Munster and Saracens will drain the batteries of a small squad.

Prediction: 8^th

Tiger Cubs roar into 7s Finals

Tigers secured their place in a second consecutive Premiership Rugby 7s Finals day with a second place in finish in Group D on Saturday night.  A reported crowd of 7,057 were on hand to see Tigers secure victories over London Welsh & Sale.

Tigers opened the proceedings by facing hosts Newcastle.  The Falcons’ new artificial pitch is being installed at Kingston Park which forced the change of venue to the Darlington arena.

Sevens specialists Tomi Jones, Andy Bulumakau & Dan Rundle joined academy prospects George Catchpole, George Tresidder, Oli Bryant and Rhys Williams in the starting line up; Falcons had Premiership experience in Tom Catterick and former Super League Grand Final Man of the Match Lee Smith.

Tigers opened the scoring after only 27 seconds.  Bulumakau broke free through the middle and had the pace to scorch in from his own half.  Falcons claimed a messy ball from the restart and played patience possession rugby until Chris Harris found a gap sniping up the side of a ruck to break free and score.  Newcastle struck again as Tom Catterick seemed to have added another but it was ruled out; Tresidder's tackle forced a knock on. 

George Catchpole claimed Tigers second try of the night; Coventry winger Dan Rundle, guesting for the Tigers, stretched the Falcons' defence running from his own 22, his off load found Tomi Jones who weaved his way through 3 tackles before giving Catchpole a simple run in to the line. 

Newcastle’s second try was fortuitous, the field opened up after a blocked kick, but Tigers will be disappointed with the lost scrum just before.  The try meant Tigers went into half time with a 14-12 lead.

Catterick showed his skills to add another try just after half time, cutting back inside Rhys Williams to expose Tigers inside defence, giving Newcastle the lead for the first time.  Bryant & Tresidder were wasteful in the Newcastle 22 but a quick turnover by Will Owen gave Tigers good ball and Tresidder went under the posts unmolested to quickly restore Tigers’ 2 point advantage.

Catterick claimed his hat trick with under a minute left.  Tigers were ruled to have held on; the try was inevitable, 3 men still on the floor from the ruck, a tap and go exposed the gaps.  A home town decision in the final ruck gave Newcastle possession to run down the clock and secure a 5 point win.

Next Tigers faced Welsh, the Exiles had only 10 minutes rest from the end of their win against Sale.  Academy hooker Jake Farnworth joined specialists Josh Fowles and Phil Woodhead in the starting line up as Rundle, Rhys Williams and Bryant made way.  Bulumakau again showed his footwork and pace, beating his man in his own half and having the speed to race away to the line.  Welsh responded when Chris Levesley raced past Phil Woodhead like he wasn’t there to score under the posts.

Tomi Jones’ neat grubber looked to have unlocked the Welsh defence but his second touch was too strong, booting it out the back of the in goal area.  Bulumakau set Catchpole through but the centre lacked the pace or support to finish, the Fijian then had to leave the field with a head knock ruling him out for the rest of the night.  Former Tigers academy man Will Hurrell looked to have scored on the final play of the first half but could not shake the attentions of Josh Fowles who prevented the grounding.

Fowles got the next try after half time, his pace seeing off Hurrell in his own 22, before some great footwork on half way beat the last man.  Hurrell got his own back with a try off the back of some clever passes from Welsh, manipulating the Tigers defence and giving him an easy run in.

With less than a minute left it looked like Tigers had returned to form of previous years and were going to crash out after 2 rounds.  But this is sevens after all and anything can happen.  Straight from the kick off David Williams tapped the ball down to namesake but no relation Rhys Williams.  He spread it wide to Bryant who gave Rundle the ball with clear ground in front of him.  The former Tynedale winger went inside one man, outside another and raced away with his ears pinned back for the winning score.

The final game was against Sale, also on 10 minutes rest, with Tigers knowing a bonus point win would see them through to Finals day next Friday at the Stoop.  Tigers started with Will Owen, Catchpole, Tresidder and David Williams joined by the specialists Jones, Fowles and Woodhead.

Sale took advantage of a slip in the Tigers line to pile on some early pressure but good work rate and discipline meant the Tigers got back just in time; a goal line stand forced Sale into the error but they were still first to score minutes later when George Beal went over in the corner following nice work from Nathan Fowles.

Tigers struck straight back with a try of good quality from George Tresidder.  Lazy defending on the inside was ruthlessly exposed by Tresidder who simply ran straight and ran hard, bamboozling two defenders.  In a see saw game Fowles put Sale straight back into the lead with a solo try, brushing off Phil Woodhead’s attentions.

With 7 minutes up it was good to see both sides continue to play the game, rather than seeking half time with touch, and it was Tigers who profited; considered build up saw the ball through all 7 pairs of hands before George Catchpole pirouetted his way through the Sale defence and strode in under the posts for the go ahead score.

The second half was more of a procession for Tigers; first Josh Fowles simply outpaced his man one on one to score on the outside, then David Williams jagged back towards the posts after good work by Tresidder to secure the bonus point.  Finally Dan Rundle had a short jog into the corner following a sniping break by Woodhead.

That result meant Tigers were through unless a bizarre game between Newcastle and London Welsh resulted in an 18 point or greater win for the Exiles with Newcastle scoring at least 4 tries.  Needless to say that odd result was not achieved and Tigers can look forward to a trip to the Stoop next Friday.

Sevens specialists Josh Fowles and Andy Bulumakau impressed for Tigers whilst George Catchpole and George Tresidder top scored with 14 points each.  Oli Bryant was an effective cog in many of the moves whilst Will Owen showed his ability in the ruck, earning a crucial turn over in the first game.

With no friendly lined up for next week hopefully Tigers will be able to name an even stronger squad.

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.

Win Needed or Play Off Hopes Will Sale Away

Leicester head to Sale knowing that only a win will do as they still strive for an unlikely home semi final.  It requires a choke of Devon Loch proportions from Northampton but Tigers will still keep fighting until the final bell.  With a semi final berth not secure and Quins on our tail a win is vital before heading to the final round and a meeting with a rampant Saracens.

Richard Cockerill makes4 changes to the side that slipped to defeat at the Stoop.  In the forwards Lions internationals Tom Youngs and Geoff Parling return whilst Owen Williams and Niall Morris start in the back line.

On the bench Louis Deacon returns to the match day 23 at the expense of Graham Kitchener, Deacon is presumably included to try and provide some dominance in the scrum and to reward him for his good for leading into the Heineken Cup Quarter Final.

Thomas Waldrom is also recalled to the bench following his disastrous appearance in that same game.

Marcos Ayerza will make his 160th appearance for the club alongside fit again Tom Youngs.  The hooker missed out against Quins with a calf injure.  In the engine room Geoff Parling replaces Graham Kitchener for his first start since the October encounter with Treviso.

Niall Morris makes his 50th start in Tigers colours since joining from Leinster in 2011.  Morris made an instant impact in his debut, scoring 2 tries against Exeter.  US Eagle Blaine Scully makes way to the bench.  Scully is pure effort and determination but Morris might just posses a greater spark in attack.

Tigers travel to Sale defending some impressive recent results between the two sides.  The last time Sale beat the Tigers was 4 seasons ago, when Jordan Crane’s last minute try was ruled out by referee David Rose for offside.  But those wins since have been hard fought requiring second half fight backs.

In 2012 Sale lead 8-6 after a dour first half but Ben Youngs clinical finish and George Ford’s boot eeked Leicester to a 20-8 victory.  The year before Tigers were in disarray, the World Cup had denied us so many players, and we were 13-3 adrift at half time.  Tigers roared back, inspired by substitute Martin Castrogiovanni we scored 4 tries in 12 minutes, keeping Sale scoreless to secure the bonus point win and kick start the season.

The first meeting this season was scarred with controversy after Sale’s deliberate cheating at scrum time wasted almost a quarter of the game as rookie referee Mathew Carly refused to take action.  After the match Cockerill blasted opposite number Steve Diamond but Sale employed the same tactics away to Bath two months ago.

Sale are missing inspirational Kiwi captain Dan Braid who this week underwent knee surgery.  His place in the back row is taken by Tongan Number 8 Vilaimi Fahiki as James Gaskell, departing this summer to Wasps, slides over the number 6. 

In the back line Danny Cipriani has been in brilliant form of late and will look to use this TV fixture as a showcase for his talents before Stuart Lancaster names his England touring squad. 

Saturday’s referee is John Paul Doyle, originally from Dublin he went to St. Mary’s college in Twickenham and stayed.  Since refereeing Tigers at home to Leeds in September 2009 Doyle has officiated 16 Leicester matches; on his watch we have a record of 12 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses.  This season he has refereed us 3 times, the draws at home to Northampton and Bath as well as the win away to London Irish.


Leicester:
15 Mat Tait
14 Niall Morris
13 Manu Tuilagi
12 Anthony Allen
11 Vereniki Goneva
10 Owen Williams
9 Ben Youngs
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Tom Youngs
3 Logovi’i Mulipola
4 Ed Slater (Capt.)
5 Geoff Parling
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Jordan Crane.
Replacements : 
16 Neil Briggs
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Louis Deacon
20 Thomas Waldrom
21 David Mele
22 Toby Flood
23 Blaine Scully.

Sale: Tom Arscott ; Tom Brady, Jonny Leota, Sammy Tuitupou, Charlie Ingall ; Danny Cipriani, Dwayne Peel ; Eifion Lewis Roberts, Marc Jones, Vadim Cobilas ; Andrei Ostrikov, Michael Paterson; James Gaskell, David Seymour (Capt.), Vilaimi Fahiki.
Replacements   Tommy Taylor, Ross Harrison, Henry Thomas, Kirill Kulemin, Mark Easter, Will Cliff, Joe Ford, Mark Jennings.

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.

It's rugby Jim, but not as we know it

It looked a bit rugby, at times it seemed to share some of the rules and was certainly played with an oval ball by mostly 15 players but it definitely was not rugby.

With no recognised fly half fit for action Tigers first had teenage scum half George Tressider fill the gap, then after half time decided to play no fly half at all.  George Catchpole seemed the nominal fly half but all the backs took turns looking clueless at 10.

If any spectator was in any doubt about the importance of the maestro at 10 they surely aren't now.  Without any threat of a the kick or chip Sale could play 15 men flat in a line and out flank anything Tigers threw at them.

Tigers played almost the entire game in the Sale 22.  They had the ball for at least three quarters of the match.  They were kept scoreless for 72 minutes.

Tigers knew that to get a semi final place they needed 4 tries, they seemed to forget that they also needed the win.

Sale had two chances and took them.  The first try was from a smart break by Nathan Fowles the England Under 20s half back.  Fowles made the snip around the fringes of the ruck before passing to hooker Cameron Neild to finish off for a 7-0 lead after only 3 minutes.

Tigers then proceed to chart the course of the rest of the match by gaining territory, earning a penalty, kicking it to the corner and messing it up.

It was another 20 minutes until Sale's second chance came but they took it smartly.  Sam Harrison was charged down giving the Tigers a lineout around the 22.  The lineout was overthrown and the wily Aston Croall pounced on the ball surging through the attempted tackle before turning and passing inside to lock Tom Sanders for the try.  12-0.

Tigers again took the play to Sale but with no one fixing the defence it merely went side to side with no cutting edge.

The scrum was simply a mess with uncountable resets.  Tigers had the forward shove but Sale number 8 Juan Crous dealt with it superbly simply by picking and going.  Our Flankers were caught flat footed near enough every time.  Despite the power clearly being on our side the first two penalties were awarded to the Cheshire side. 

The second, for standing up in the scrum, was kicked to within 5 meters of the line.  Quick ball off the top was swept to former Huddersfield and Fylde fly half Chris Johnson for the snap drop goal.  15-0.

Just 4 minutes later and Sale had a penalty.  This time the scrum had gone down but referee Craig Maxwell-Keys gave the penalty in favour of Tom Bristow.  If only that was the end.  The Sale pack flatly refused to give the ball to the Harrison, then attempted to drag him into a fight.  Bristow being the nearest player to this cynicism reacted.

So the result of this Sale penalty then Sale deny the ball to the team offended against?  Yes obviously it was a reversal and a yellow card for Bristow.  Given it took neigh on 20 penalties inside the Sale 22 for the visitors to see yellow it must have been some punch.

As an aside I googled Maxwell-Keys to see just how old he is and the first page of results contained 3 match reports all complaining of his handling of matches.  Now I know "good ref" isn't a headline but that tells its own tale.

Deserved or not it made the score 18-0.  The half was cut short by a nasty looking injury to the impressive Fowles.  The injury cased play to stop.  Now the way I understand the rules is that the ball has to go dead to end the half, an injury break is not a dead ball so the game should continue.  40 minutes were up but the way the half was only halted once the injury looks serious suggests to me the full time had not been played on the referee's watch.

The second half was largely one large blur of mediocrity.  No one really stepped forward and took control.  Tigers just re-cycled the ball over and over again with no real shape or direction.  The penalty count rocketed as Sale pushed their luck. 

Tigers were so concerned about the try count they took their eye off winning the game.  With no penalties kicked at goal Sale's only concern at the breakdown was a yellow card.  Even after a warning it took another 4 penalties for one to be produced for try scorer Neild.

Laughably from the very next lineout Aston Croall entered the maul from completely the wrong side, literally walking around the back and stopping our scrum half taking the ball.  The referee saw it.  He gave the penalty.  But no card?  You've just binned a man for cheating in the maul, it clearly hasn't deterred them so bin another one.

It took the full 10 minutes of playing against 14 for Tigers to batter the Sale defence down and score the try.  Irish number 8 and captain for the day Michael Noone squeezed over after every man and his dog had a crack at the line.

The simple art of drawing your man and passing seems beyond all our players at every level at the moment.

To be fair Harry Thacker did it a few times.  Maybe play him at 12 on Saturday?

Tigers up turn in fortune was basically a result of trying harder.  Harry Wells broke a tackle, Pasquali smashed a ruck and suddenly the team had energy where before it was lacking.  The crowd got stuck into the ref a bit more and suddenly we were in the ascendency.  

But still the Sale defence stood firm and the penalties kept coming.  Miles Benjamin eventually sneaked through the middle of the ruck to score again but it was too little too late.  The referee indicated 6 minutes left and Tigers tried to the end but a Thacker knock on after a fantastic break was the last chance.

With every first team shirt up for grabbs this was a poor show from the team.  No leaders really stood out and none of the backs took control in the way a Matt Smith or Matt Cornwell would.  On that show I can see why Cockerill is reluctant to pick these guys, they are hardly making an unanswerable case.

U 18s League Fixtures released

Tigers Academy Under 18s will open the defence of their Northern Conference Title  with a trip to the north west to face their Sale counter parts on Saturday October 26th.

Last season Tigers' cubs romped to a 100% record of 6 bonus point wins from 6 and this year's age group will look to emulate the 2012/13 team and go one better as Leicester Tigers UltraSubMarines understands that there will be a final with the Southern Conference Champions to crown inaugural national U 18s champions.

After the trip to Sale Tigers welcome Worcester and Northampton to Oval Park in consecutive weekends in December before traveling to Gloucester then Leeds in January.  They round off the league by playing Newcastle in February.

Unfortunately last year's double header of the Gloucester U-18 game with the Wasps LV Cup game can not be repeated as there are away games on the 21 December and the 8 February, whilst Montpellier has already been confirmed for Sunday 15 December.

To be eligible for the league games players must be born no earlier than September 1995; 3 "over age" players are also allowed so long as they are still 18 years old.

26 October Sale (A)
14 December Worcester (H)
21 December Northampton (H)
4 January Gloucester (A)
18 January Leeds (A)
8 February Newcastle (H)

Season's Preview: Sale

Sale

Nickname: Sharks

Founded: 1861

Years in Top Tier: 20

Last Year: 10^th in Prem (35 points), Finalists Anglo-Welsh Cup, Group Stage Heineken Cup

Europe: Amlin Challenge Cup

Director of Rugby: Steve Diamond

Transfers:

In: Tom Arscott (London Welsh), Kirill Kulemin (London Welsh), Michael Paterson (Cardiff), Andy Forsyth (Leicester), Phil Mackenzie (London Welsh), Dan Baines (Rotherham), Joe Ford (Leeds), Jonathan Mills (London Welsh)

Out: Kearnan Myall (Wasps), Ritchie Vernon (Glasgow), Charlie Amesbury (Bristol), Andy Powell (Wigan RL), Fraser McKenzie (Newcastle), Ritchie Gray (Castres), Jordan Davies (Salford City RL), Tom Cruse (Rotherham), Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh), Cameron Shepherd (Honda Heat), Corne Uys (Aix-en-Provence), Lee Imiolek (Leeds)

Ins: 8

Outs: 12

Last year Sale looked odds on for relegation until they were saved by the RFU’s unbelievably draconian sentence handed down to London Welsh, and sacking Bryan Redpath who was replaced by then CEO Steve Diamond.

Now the suit has become the track suit Diamond seems more at home, and with owner Brian Kennedy placing his son as a sort of troubleshooting roving executive rather than wasting money on another CEO Sale seems a slimmer operation with fewer clashes of responsibility.

Diamond’s rough and ready approach seems more suited to coaching and motivating players than staff and whilst other issues will stymie much progress I can’t see them involved in a relegation scrap this year.

Those issues are primarily Danny Cipriani, Nick Mcleod and the centres.  Cipriani seems incapable of knuckling down and being a reliable top 4 Premiership fly half, so Sale have to use Mcleod too often.  McLeod is an honest pro but he makes Jeremy Staunton look like Dan Carter.  He’s just not very good.  Last year’s centres were Johnny Leota and Sione Tuitupou, go forward from centres is a fine tactic; but only when you have an on form Cipriani and some creativity in the back three to utilise that ball. 

With Mcleod then Cueto and Shepherd in the back three the backs were just too one paced.

Last year the pack had too many show ponies but with Ritchie Gray going to Castres and Andy Powell moving to League they have been shown the door and replaced with Russian strongman Krill Kulemin and teak tough kiwi Michael Paterson.   That problem seems to have been solved. 

There is still more to do at Sale but much of what was wrong has been fixed.

Prediction: 10^th