Tigers Power to Local Win

Tigers title ambitions remain alive after a nerve jangling 26-21 win away to newly local rivals Wasps.  Tigers went into the game knowing that only a win would do and responded to the knock out rugby pressure with a fantastic performance bristling with power but married with the patience needed to break down modern defences. 

Tigers raced into a 10 nil lead in the first ten minutes and kept it the whole game with a Freddie Burns penalty followed up by the first try.  Tom Youngs and Graham Kitchener combined down the front of the line out, an old Wasps move we have been tricked by more than once, gaining good ground inside the 22 and skilfully keeping the ball in play.  Jordan Crane recycled possession and set an off side line before Mulipola and Tom Youngs trucked it up again.  Mat Tait and Adam Thompstone squirmed their way through tackles before Ben Youngs spotted Niall Morris one on one against Christian Wade.  Goneva drew the last man and Wade was powerless to prevent the Leicester full back shrugging off his challenge to score in the corner.

Goode got Wasps onto the score board after a soft offside 40m out by Seremaia Bai; Burns nibbled another three points after Wasps full back Andrea Masi was caught by a terrific Tigers kick chase only for Goode to score another 3 points following heavy pressure in the 22, Tigers lasting 14 phases before conceding the penalty to bring the score to 13-6 to Tigers.

Tigers’ second try came after 30 minutes, from a lineout Mulipola, Cole, Crane and Thorn smashed forward into the 22 before Seremaia Bai isolated Andy Goode on the fringe of the ruck and drove him back to within inches of the line.  Once again Ben Youngs was the architect of the score phase, a fast whipped pass cut out 5 Tigers and 4 Wasps to leave Burns and Goneva with a two on one against a hapless Wade.  The Wasps wing could do nothing as Burns drew him in before sending Goneva over for his first try since December.

Goode quickly reduced the arrears with a penalty for something in a ruck, Barnes explanation is cut off and BT never bother to show a replay.  Off feet against Gibson I think?

Tigers were playing with real intent, running the ball from within our own half and the forwards passing to each other just before or just after contact.  Go forward rugby.  Smashing the rucks to clear out the men, not relying on the officials to give us quick ball.

And then it all boiled over.  Just before half time Nathan Hughes was off his feet and killing the ball the penalty was due to us, but Barnes was not signalling and Seremaia Bai decided to ruck him out.  The contact looked jarring at full pace and Barnes produced a yellow card.  Then renowned Tigers fans Sean Davy made him watch again, with unclear camera angles in super slow motion, to wrongly decide Bai had made contact with Hughes’ head.  

On the replay he clearly smashes into Hughes shoulder, but Davy and BT show the angle from in front of Hughes many times where we cannot see the point of impact and only see Hughes head move only once showing the wider angle from above where you can see the impact is on the shoulder and the head only moves because of a glancing blow from Bai's arm.

Bai has a right to ruck Hughes out there and his technique whilst arguably illegal was no different to any other player on either side at any other ruck.  When Hughes kicked George North’s head and injured him out of the season BT commentator Laurence Dallaglio led the media campaign to clear him.  Does our own Austin Healey do the same for a piece of legitimate play that ends with no injury to Hughes?

No he does not.  Instead he bleats for a card prompting the replay on the big screen, it takes the BT Sports feed, which causes the red card.  Thanks Austin!

On half way what should have been a chance for Tigers to stretch their lead ended up with Goode reducing the deficit to only 6 points.

In the second half Tigers did not let the man missing affect their game.  Wasps had more of the territory and won scrum penalties where Tiger chose to pack only 7 men.  On our first entry to the Wasps 22 Mat Tait was pile drived head first into the turf by Alapati Leuia, though Barnes seemingly has no problem with this potential neck breaking tackle or the no arms tackles from Wasps’ hooker Festuccia, he does spot Ashley Johnson off his feet and Burns slots the penalty to stretch the lead back out to 9.

With the extra man and the impetus in their favour Wasps were slowing gaining more chances, Adam Thompstone winning the foot race to a ball kicked in goal, Burns being charged down then Wasps bursting through the left wing.

None came to much but Wasps dug into Tigers lead with two penalties, the first for holding on just outside our 22, the second for a harsh off feet call on Salvi when Haskell clearly enters the ruck from the side.

With the lead trimmed to 3 points Tigers knew they couldn’t just dig and hold on any more.  With Sam Harrison, Ed Slater and Christian Loamanu on Tigers took the game back to Wasps.

A lineout was won scrappily on half way but Tigers kept possession grinding out 18 phases, driving into the Wasps 22.  On the 18^th ruck Burns broke right towards the touchline, smashing Andy Goode in the tackle, on the front foot and with quick ball Loamanu times run to the line perfectly to slip between Johnson and Goode.  Stopped agonisingly inches short the ball again quickly recycled and flung wildly to the wing where Adam Thompstone was on hand to dot down in the corner.

Onto the TMO and whilst Loamanu may or may not have reached the line there was no question of a double movement so the try stood.  Tigers could question though why we were not awarded a penalty try, as there was a clear attempt to kick the ball out of Loamanu’s hands.  After recent events you’d have thought Wasps might know better than that.

With Burns pushing the kick wide Tigers had an 8 point advantage.  Wasps quickly cut the advantage to 5; Alex Lozowski slotting a long kick after a very tight call for an early tackle against Salvi.  On slow motion replay the decision is wrong but was so tight you cannot complain about the real time call.

That made the closing moments tight.  Tigers ran down the clock with a number of scrums and looked to earn the winning penalty at least 3 times, only for Barnes to blow the other way and keep the game alive.

Wasps were game and played the ball wide getting to the edge of Tigers 22 but in a clash of Marcos Ayerza, fuming after the last penalty, and James Haskell it was the Argentine who came off better forcing the ball loose to end the game.

With the shock Exeter victory over Saracens on Sunday we know that a win, any win, over Northampton will confirm Tigers as third in the league and face a trip to Bath whilst a loss will almost certainly see us miss out on the play offs for the first time in over a decade.  Pressure brought out the best in us this week, can we really keep it up for another 3?

2014/15 Season Preview: Wasps

Wasps

Founded: 1867

Years in Top Tier: 27

Last Year: 7^th in Prem (49 points), Semi Finals of Amlin Challenge Cup, Group Stage Anglo-Welsh

Europe: Champions Cup

Director of Rugby: Dai Young

Transfers

In: Bradley Davies (Cardiff), James Gaskell (Sale), Rob Miller (Sale), Lorenzo Cittadini (Treviso), Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow), Alapati Leiua (Wellington Hurricanes), Ed Shervington (Worcester), Buster Lawrence (Moseley), Thomas Young (Gloucester), Alex Lozowski (Leeds), John Yapp (London Irish), Sailosi Tagicackibau (London Irish)

Out: Neil Cochrane (Edinburgh) James Short (Loan Ends-London Irish), Tom Palmer (Gloucester), Harry Williams (Jersey), Tommy Bell (Jersey), Matt Everard (Nottingham), Estaban Lozada (Unknown), Ricky Reeves (London Welsh), Taione Vea (London Welsh), Brett Sheehan (Narbonne), Andrew Suniula (Unknown), Liam O’Neil (Nottingham), Joe Carlisle (Treviso), Rory Pittman (Llanelli), Charlie Hayter (England 7s)

Ins: 12

Outs: 15

Wasps sealed their place in the Champions Cup with a 50-35 aggregate victory over Stade Francais after finishing 7^th in the Premiership.  Injuries took their main wing threats Wade and Varndell for practically all of last season, so with both now restored for full fitness surely the only way is up for the sensibly rechristened Wasps?

New signings Lorenzo Cittadini and Bradley Davies are top quality operators in the tight five adding to a unit with a growing reputation.  Last season Cooper-Woolley was a revelation in the front row after joining straight from university rugby whilst half Fijian half Samoan number 8 Nathan Hughes is mulling over which international ring to throw his hat in.

In the backline they have added the exciting Alapatu Leiua from Wellington and Rob Miller from Sale, with Varndell, Wade and Masi already in tow and Andy Goode to pull the strings they have a dangerous backline for the drier months with firmer pitches.

But Wasps have a habit of finding the problems.  With a vocal group of fans unhappy with Wycombe and wanting a return to London the powers that be are instead rumoured to be in talks with the Ricoh Arena of Coventry! 

Were this to come to pass, and journalist Neil Fissler is adamant it will, it would cause huge disruption to the team as surely there would be protests from fans and dissent from players who signed for a London club?  Whether they would re-brand again as Coventry Wasps, or perhaps Holbrooks Hornets, we will have to wait to find out.

No major leavers, a settled coaching team, key players returning to fitness and a sprinkling of top signings means that Wasps should be well placed to press onto the top 6, if not quite the play offs.  But I just can’t see it.

Prediction: 7^th

Two for Tuilagi as Goneva signs New Deal

Vereniki Goneva celebrated signing his new contract by grabbing a try as Leicester beat Wasps 27-15 at Welford Road.  The Flying Fijian was given a rapturous welcome by the Crumbie terrace as he came out to warm up and he showed why Tigers fought so hard to keep him; on the stroke of halftime he held off two tacklers to squeeze in at the corner for his 12^th try of the season.

Manu Tuilagi had an influential game and bagged a brace with two trademark powerful finishes.  He opened the scoring for Tigers in the 18th minute when he crashed through the Wasps defence from 5 yards following a powerful driving maul.

Not content with scoring tries he saved one at the other end.  He had the strength to wrap up Tongan international Will Helu and prevent him grounding the ball following good build up play from the Wasps forwards.

His second came in the second period where he brushed off the attentions of Italian international hooker Carlo Festuccia before a brutal hand off of James Short. 

In between Manu’s first score and Goneva’s on half time Wasps had taken the lead following a brilliantly taken try from Guy Thompson.  Flanker Thompson was the Jersey’s top try scorer last season and showed tremendous finishing ability after Tom Palmer’s borderline knock on in midfield was ruled a clean catch.

With Manu’s second try taking the score to 19-10 Tigers extended the lead again as Owen Williams slotted a long penalty following Festuccia’s ruck offence.  Williams struggled kicking in a stiff breeze hitting only 50% of his kicks at goal and often being wayward with his punts.

Wasps defence was spoiling Tigers ball, Fijian No.8 Nathan Hughes particularly to the fore, successfully utilising Andrew Small’s immediate call of maul rather than tackle.  Small’s assessors might like to remind him that once he calls maul both sides must enter from the back and it cannot be collapsed.

Tigers’ fans were starting to sweat when Elliot Daly’s delightfully angled kick rounded Mat Tait and found Tommy Bell perfectly in stride.  The Devonian got the score but Andy Goode could not find the conversion leaving Tigers 7 points ahead.

Tigers had switched their midfield around as Toby Flood replaced Matt Smith, with Manu shifting back to 13, and struggled for fluency in their new formation.  Ben Youngs was struggling to deal with the slow ball caused by Wasps and was replaced by David Mele.

A bonus point required one more try and that extra point could be crucial in the fight for a home semi final.  Tigers were pressurising the Wasps line with a series of pick and goes but couldn’t make it count, Hawkins knocking on under heavy pressure.  

With just 4 minutes left Tigers got a penalty after Blaine Scully’s progress was stopped by a high tackle.  With Toby Flood walking away from the spot time was lost as Owen Williams ran across the field before kicking to touch.  It didn’t matter though.  Tigers drove the lineout and David Mele snuck in the side to secure the ball, secure the grounding and secure the bonus point.

Job very much done but Tigers will be worried by Logo Mulipola’s withdrawal, hopefully a precaution, and by the lack of fluency in the performance.  Wins away to Quins and Sale in the next two fixtures will require better than this.

Tigers Change 4 Wasps

Tigers are set to welcome their 5th 24,000 sell out crowd of the season as Wasps are the visitors at the revolutionary kick off time of 3:00PM Saturday.  

Richard Cockerill makes 4 changes from the side that started last week's Heineken Cup Quarter Final.  Manu Tuilagi will start his first match at 12 since 2011 as Matt Smith comes in at 13 for Anthony Allen.  In the pack Boris Stankovich & Fraser Balmain replace Marcos Ayerza & Logovi'i Mulipola at prop with Graham Kitchener replacing Louis Deacon at lock.

This fixture has gone with the home side in each of the last 5 seasons with Tigers triumphing 35-16 in last season match at Welford Road.  Earlier this year however Tigers struggled to a 22-12 defeat at Adams Park, on what was Owen Williams' Premiership debut.

Lions international lock Geoff Parling makes his long awaited return to fitness and is named on the bench.  Parling has not been seen in a Tigers shirt since the visit of Treviso in the middle of October after injuring his shoulder on England duty.  Also returning on the bench is Irish winger Niall Morris who has been out since January.

In the front row Tom Youngs makes his 50th start for the club and young prop Fraser Balmain will start for the 10th time.  In the backline Owen Williams earns his club tie for his 20th appearance; Manu Tuilagi makes his 60th start for the club.  Tuilagi has started 4 of those games at 12 winning 3 and only losing one; scoring 2 tries and famously setting up Lucas Amorosino's winner against South Africa in 2009.

Wasps make a slew of changes after their Amlin Challenge Cup Quarter Final win against Gloucester.  Only 6 players retain their shirts from Sunday night's game; wingers James Short and Will Helu, captain Chris Bell, Tigers legend Andy Goode, prop Matt Mullan and number 8 Nathan Hughes. 

In the front row Tom Lindsay and Phil Swainston join Mullan in a powerful trio.  In the engine room Gloucester bound Tom Palmer joins ex-Saint James Cannon, with Ed Jackson and Guy Thompson in the back row.  England international Joe Launchbury is named on the bench.

Captain Chris Bell is joined in the starting line up by brother Tommy Bell at full back.  Charlie Hayter who joined last season from Moseley opposes Tuilagi at 12.  At scrum half Wasps select Charlie Davies, originally from Nottingham and previously a member of Tigers wider academy, alongside Andy Goode veteran of 10 years and 8 trophies at Welford Road.

Saturday's referee is Andrew Small.  Small, originally from New Zealand, has referred Tigers 21 times in 8 seasons overseeing 13 wins and 8 losses.  He has refereed Tigers versus Wasps 3 times, with the home side winning on each occasion, including the reverse fixture in October this year.

Leicester
15 Mat Tait
14 Vereniki Goneva
13 Matt Smith
12 Manu Tuilagi
11 Blaine Scully
10 Owen Williams
9 Ben Youngs
1 Boris Stankovich
2 Tom Youngs
3 Fraser Balmain
4 Ed Slater (c)
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Jordan Crane
Replacements
16 Rob Hawkins
17 Marcos Ayerza
18 Logovi'i Mulipola
19 Geoff Parling
20 Pablo Matera
21 David Mele
22 Toby Flood
23 Niall Morris

Wasps: 
15 Tommy Bell
14 James Short
13 Chris Bell (c)
12 Charlie Hayter
11 Will Helu
10 Andy Goode
9 Charlie Davies
1 Matt Mullan
2 Tom Lindsay
3 Phil Swainston
4 James Cannon
5 Tom Palmer
6 Ed Jackson
7 Guy Thompson
8 Nathan Hughes
Replacements: 
16 Carlo Festuccia
17 Simon McIntyre
18 Ricky Reeves
19 Joe Launchbury
20 Sam Jones
21 Brett Sheehan
22 Joe Carlisle
23 Elliot Daly

Referee: Andrew Small 
Touch Judges: Ross Campbell & Kelvin Stewart. 
TMO: David Grashoff.

Wasps Too Goode for Tigers

A sublime game from former Tigers hero Andy Goode gave Wasps a 22-12 victory today at Adams Park.  In wet and windy conditions Goode's judicious use of the boot gave Wasps great territory but it was two long range drop goals when the hosts were down to 14 men that made the difference.

Tigers were poor and a pale shadow of the side that won the title last May.  The forwards were largely ineffectual; their carrying was often static and the scrum, despite early successes, was neutered by Wasps tactics of stepping out and pushing across.  The half backs failed to shape the game, in stark contrast to master tactician Goode, as they couldn't seem to decide between playing a wide game or a tight forward one.

The conditions certainly contributed to handling errors from both sides but Mele's slow and loopy delivery put constant pressure on debutant Williams.  Without a strong carrier in the backline it was often up to Bowden or Hepetema to take the crash ball; it is not their strength.  The backline was in some way cobbling together what we had left and was unbalanced and not reflecting the tactics we were trying to play, but we have an academy bursting with strong physical ball carriers who can punch a gap.  Dunn, Pohe or Purdy can carry all day and despite their tender years take some stopping.

The match started fairly well for Leicester.  Williams missed an early penalty from wide right then another from well within his own half as Tigers played with the wind.  Tigers had all the possession and territory.

The Wasps try came from a scrum on our own put in.  Andrew Small, feeling the pressure from what few Wasps fans had bothered to turn up, whistled David Mele for feeding.  With Jamie Gibson taking a wander to roll around on the floor with Ashley Johnson the Tigers back row was bent out of shape.  Neither Mele nor Waldrom prevented the quick tap nor got back into position.  

It was star man Goode who spotted the gaping hole in the tigers pack and went quickly.  Tigers held out on the first phase but when play came back towards the left hand touchline Adam Thompstone went A.W.O.L. from the defensive line to give Christian Wade an easy run in.  So poor from a first choice player.

Tigers attack was often rushed and where it could find fluency Wasps were quick to kill the ball and stop the flow dead.  Before half time Williams nailed 3 penalties to Goode's 2 making the score 13-9.  Wasps second penalty deserves greater analysis as it was simply bizarre refereeing.  

First Simpson kicks the ball out of the scrum, then he runs into Mele.  How this sequence of events ended with a Wasps penalty is completely beyond me.  Small was being badly influenced by the home fans at this point.  He may as well have given the whistle to Frank Adams Stand as they seemed to be the sole arbiters of whether a throw was straight or not.

Tigers started the second half with renewed resolve.  A surging maul gained some 20 yards before Wasps opted to cheat and pull it to ground.  Williams seemed to be deliberately slicing his touch kicks, the main effect of which was taking a good 10 meters off the distance.  With the lineout between the 22m and 10m line, it was an interesting position to attack from but Tom Palmer's challenge in the air was ruled excessive.

Small refused to speak to the multi-capped England lock and insisted on only speaking to the captain.  This kind of high handed arrogance from referees is so disrespectful to the players it amazes me they have the cheek to demand respect in return.  What he could possibly be saying?  "Don't do it again" is the jist, just say it the player!  He is an adult for god's sake!

Not wanting to get dragged into a tit for tat penalty battle Tigers opted to again kick for touch.  From the lineout Mulipola wrapped around the front but lost the ball in the tackle.  A poor lineout from Wasps resulted in a turnover though and Tigers continued to charge for the line.

After the 5th penalty inside the home 22 Small finally lost patience and Carlo Festuccia was sent to the bin after not releasing his man after the tackle.  Again Tigers spurned the chance for three and went for a scrum.  It squirted out after a lack of control from Waldrom and Mele.  Tigers retained the possesion and went left then went right.  

They went up, they went down they went every way but forward.  Panicked and rushed passes drew no defenders, forwards getting the ball standing still were driven back until eventually Joe Simpson stripped the ball and cleared his lines.

This was for me the defining spell of the game as Tigers seemed to slip from going for the win to simply keeping in touch.  Wasps snuck into the Tigers half and Goodey stepped up to welly the drop goal.  He had missed every single one of his attempts in the warm up but made no mistake with his second attempt either.  Just a few moments after his first drop goal, this time from further out on the angle, after Tigers had failed to deal with Elliot Daly's high ball.

Clive Woodward used to talk about T-CUP, Thinking Clearly Under Pressure.  Body on fire, mind in the fridge.  Maybe our Director should dust off the power point and get down to Oval Park next Tuesday.  He could start with David Mele.  As regularly readers will know I'm never one to shy away from a cliche and Mele certainly seems desperate to show his latin temperament.  More like body in the fridge and mind on fire.

After flapping his arms about and a cathartic bit of stamping he decided to try and get in on the drop goal act.  Why?  Good question.  We have plenty of time.  We need a try at some point to win the game.

It missed.  It wasn't even close.

Eventually we did trouble the scorers as Williams slotted his 4th penalty.  A smart break from Mele had finally got Tigers running forwards at some pace and into the broken field.  With the Wasps defence stepping in man after man the gap would surely appear on the end of the line.  But before it got there Tom Lindsay stuck his arm out to halt the ball's progress and paid with a penalty.

It looked like we would at least escape with the losing bonus point, but Small intervened once again.  Mele's box kick was inch perfect and Blaine Scully showed his trademark effort to get under it.  He and Goode rose to contest the catch, both clearly went for the ball but it was the Wasps man who won it.  

Small gave the most dreadful of decisions.  It's not tiddlywinks.  What was Scully's option?  This is a competitive game.  He is allowed to try and catch the ball.  It cost us the point when Goode's long range effort sailed through the posts but we were so poor I can't say we were robbed.

Tigers attack was constipated for much of the match, with Mele particularly struggling to energise the forwards.  Yet, again, Cockerill kept most of his subs unused.  We've seen what impact a fresh scrum half can have on a game, so why not let Harrison have a run out?  The forwards aren't making an impact and are struggling in the scrum, why not try Balmain or Stankovich?  Balmain would give absolutely everything.  Look at Slater to see what sheer effort can bring you.  It energises the other players too.

For next week we need a coherent team and tactics.  Playing a physical game is fine, but you have to pick physical centres to make it work.  Trust the young players to start and keep a guy like Mulipola back to smash their resolve on 50 minutes.

Richard Cockerill returns from his RFU imposed match day exile and will be seeking to inspire his side to their first win at Adams Park since 2007.  Also returning to the Tigers fold is loosehead prop Marcos Ayerza who will make a fleeting 2 week return home before rejoining the Argentinean test squad for the Autumn internationals.

Ayerza is one of 7 changes from the side that gained the bonus point at home to Treviso by the skin of its teeth.  Most of those are forced rest thanks to the EPS agreement.

Owen Williams will make his full Tigers debut after Toby Flood was retained in the England squad by Stuart Lancaster.  Williams is a 21 year old fly half originally from Ystradgynlais near Neath in the Valleys.  He is no novice despite his age; he has started a Rabo Pro12 semi final, away to Ulster, and a Welsh Premiership Final away to Pontypridd.  Williams played 13 games for the Scarlets and a further 48 for Llanelli in the Principality Premiership.

In the centres injury has now robbed Cockerill of 4 of his 5 first choice options.  Manu Tuilagi (chest), Anthony Allen (thigh), Matt Smith (Hand) and Vereniki Goneva (Calf) are all on the treatment table.  This means Dan Bowden and Terrence Hepetema will start in the midfield.

Niall Morris has spent the week training with the Ireland squad but will continue at 15 in the absence of Mat Tait.  The wings tasked with keeping Christian Wade locked up are two of last week’s try scoring heroes Adam Thompstone and Eagles international Blaine Scully.

In the front row Ayerza starts at loosehead with Neil Briggs replacing the rested Tom Youngs,  Logovi’i Mulipola moves from 1 to 3.  Geoff Parling and Graham Kitchener both miss out as Louis Deacon captains the side from the middle row.  Ed Slater takes Kitchener’s jumper as Jamie Gibson starts in his place at blindside.

Impressive Argentinean flanker Pablo Matera is one of 6 forwards on the bench and will make his Tigers debut if required.  Also  bench warming as Boris Stankovich, George Chuter, Fraser Balmain, Sebastian De Chaves, Jordan Crane, Miles Benjamin and Sam Harrison.

Tigers travel to Adams Park with a poor recent record at the ground.  Tigers have lost on each of their past 5 visits with the most recent victory coming back in 2007.  Last season’s game was scarred by Sean Davey’s “refereeing” but the year before, played during the World Cup, was an all time classic as 29 points from Billy Twelvetrees were bettered by a Christian Wade hat trick in a 35-29 defeat. 

Sunday’s referee will be Andrew Small, the man who held the whistle in that classic match.  The New Zealander has refereed the Tigers 18 times, with Leicester winning 12 and losing 6.  The most recent of which saw Richard Cockerill condemn Small as “uneducated” on scrums after his woeful handling of last December’s Leicester-Gloucester match. 

This will also be the first match day of the season that Cockerill will be allowed to have contact with the team.  The unprecedented 7 game ban for swearing whilst talking to a 4^th offical has taken its toll on the great man and his team but now he is back to provide his inimitable brand of motivation and tactical advice.

Cockerill has vowed to not change his approach despite the persecution he has suffered from officialdom.  Haters going to hate.

Leicester Tigers
15 Niall Morris
14 Blaine Scully
13 Terrence Hepetema
12 Dan Bowden
11 Adam Thompstone
10 Owen Williams
9 David Mélé
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Neil Briggs
3 Logovi'i Mulipola
4 Louis Deacon (c)
5 Ed Slater
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Thomas Waldrom
Replacements
16 George Chuter
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Sebastian de Chaves
20 Jordan Crane
21 Pablo Matera
22 Miles Benjamin
23 Sam Harrison

Referee: Andrew Small

TV: BT Sports 1HD, Sunday 1:00pm (KO 2:00pm).  This game will be free to view on all platforms and remember the clocks go back on Saturday night, so don’t be late!

Season's Preview: Wasps

Wasps

Founded: 1867

Years in Top Tier: 26

Last Year: 8^th in Prem (48 points), Quarter Finals of Amlin Challenge Cup, Group Stage Anglo-Welsh

Europe: Amlin Challenge Cup

Director of Rugby: Dai Young

Transfers:

In: Andy Goode (Worcester), Matt Mullan (Worcester), Kearnan Myall (Sale), Joe Carlisle (Worcester), Nathan Hughes (Auckland), Ed Jackson (London Welsh), Jack Moates (London Irish),  Rory Pittman (Rotherham), Jake Cooper-Woolley (Cardiff), Josh Bassett (Bedford), Neil Cochrane (Bedford), Guy Thompson (Jersey), Ricky Reeves (Bedford), Taione Vea (North Harbour), Will Helu (Timisoara), Ben Jacobs (Melbourne Rebels), Esteban Lozada (Agen)

Out: Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Nicky Robinson (Bristol), Zak Taulafo (Stade Francais), Stephen Jones (Retiring), T. Rhys Thomas (Newport), Alex Rae (Jersey), Tinus Du Plessis (Unknown), Chris Mayor (Unknown), Jonathan Poff (Unknown), Lewis Thiede (London Scottish), Lorenzo Romano (Unknown), Stuart Commins (Ealing), Jack Wallace (Bristol), Will Robinson (London Welsh), Marco Wentzel (Unknown-SA), Tim Payne (Retiring), Lee Thomas (Retiring)

Ins: 17

Outs: 16

Another summer at Wasps and another huge amount of flux and churn.  Out are Billy Vunipola, Zak Taulafo, Nicky Robinson, Stephen Jones, Marco Wentzel, Tim Payne and Jonathan Poff; in are Andy Goode, Matt Mullan, Kearnan Myall, Ben Jacobs and Ed Jackson.

With that amount of change, especially to senior leaders like Marco Wentzel and Tim Payne and important positions like fly half Wasps will have another year of false hope and knocking around outside the Heineken Cup qualification places.

With wingers like Christian Wade and Tom Varndell Wasps are capable of beating anyone; no defence can be certain of holding them.  But they seem to lazily rely on the outstanding individual contributions from those two and players like Elliot Daly instead of working on scoring consistently from earned field positions.  Last year their defence was as leaky as a sieve, a far cry from the Dallaglio led glory days.

In coming are a lot of highly rated players from the Championship, Bedford winger Josh Basset was top try scorer in 2012, Jersey openside Guy Thompson was rated the best player in the division last year and Scottish hooker Neil Cochrane scored 10 tries last season for Bedford.  

From the Premiership Andy Goode and Matt Mullan are joining from Worcester and Ed Jackson has built himself a big reputation with London Welsh.  From Auckland comes Fijian number 8 Nathan Hughes.

Without some stability in their squad Wasps will always remain in a state of transition.

Prediction: 9^th

Could this be LV Cup Draw?

The 2013/14 LV Cup draw has not formally been announced however being the ever interesting chap I am, and this being the off season with not much on, I can reveal that the LV Cup groups aren't really drawn at all.

Possible 2013/14 Draw

Or rather it is a structured draw.  Since the competition moved to its current format in 2009/10 the draw has always seen the English and Welsh sides distributed in the same way.  

The English sides are distributed in a strict pattern depending on their finishing position in the previous year's Premiership.

The Premiership Champions joined in Pool 1 by the sides that finished 5th and 9th in the Premiership; this year that means Tigers are joined by Gloucester and London Irish. 

The Premiership Finalist is seeded in Pool 2 alongside the clubs that finished 6th and 10th, namely Northampton joined by Exeter and Sale. 

Pool 3 is made up of the highest placed losing Premiership semi-finalist, this year that is table toppers Saracens, and the sides that came 7th and 11th, Bath and Worcester respectively.

Pool 4 contains the lowest placed Play Off Semi finalist, Harlequins, alongside the promoted club, Newcastle, and the side that finished the Premiership in 8th which was Wasps.

The Welsh sides aren't quite drawn in such a proscriptive manner, as repeats of any Heineken or Amlin Cup fixtures are avoided.  This means that Pool 3 won't contain Cardiff or the Ospreys as they are due to play Heineken Cup games with Exeter and Northampton; Pool 2 won't contain Newport as they face Bath in the Amlin Cup whilst Pool 1 won't contain Llanelli who are in Harlequins' Heineken Cup group.  

Where possible the top Welsh side from the previous year's RaboDirect Pro12 faces the side which finished lowest, whilst the middle two sides will usually play off.  The only time this was not the draw was in 2010/11.

In the LV Cup, of course, you don't actually play the sides in your own pool you play all 4 sides in another, and much like the composition of the pools this is also always structured the same way.  Pool 1 always plays Pool 4 and Pool 2 always plays Pool 3.

So using a little bit of guesswork we can  see that the Tigers are likely to face Newport Gwent-Dragons alongside Quins, Wasps and Newcastle in the 2013/14 LV Cup group stages.

5 Star Tigers Secure Play Off Spot

Tigers secured their 9^th successive Premiership semi final courtesy of a 5 try bonus point trashing of a lacklustre Wasps side that slide out of the Heineken Cup qualification places.  Tigers tries came from a Ben Youngs brace, Graham Kitchener, Rob Hawkins and Adam Thompstone.  Wasps try was a consolation solo effort from Elliot Daly when the match as a contest was already over.

Tigers made three “late” changes, definitely not pre planned early in the week, as Steve Mafi, Graham Kitchener and Rob Hawkins replaced Tom Croft, Geoff Parling and Tom Youngs.  This made four changes from the side defeated in Toulon and a nice amount of rotation.

Billy Vunipola continued where he left off in the last Tigers Wasps game giving away the first kickable penalty after 8 minutes as he lazily flopped over the ball.  Luckily for the Saracens bound bruiser the strong wind coming over the Crumbie blew it off course with a mighty gust.  The wind was playing havoc with the kickers in the warm up and caught Flood more than once today.

Vunipola was again the culprit as Flood pushed Tigers to 3-0 on 13 minutes.  The number 8 dummied and went from a defensive ruck with no support and the Milton Keynes Mountain swallowed him whole, referee Doyle judging Vunipola to be holding on under pressure from Ed Slater.  The wind tried its trickery again but this time Flood was wise to it and snuck the ball inside the right hand post.

Flood’s second penalty came from a very harsh call from referee Doyle; Nicky Robinson was ruled to have deliberately knocked the ball on when his attempted interception was unsuccessful.  The ball barely went forward at all and Robinson’s only contact with it was to tip it up to try and make a juggling catch.  Quite who has told referees that interceptions are to be penalised out of the game is beyond me as all we are left with is players getting cards for doing little more than having eyes bigger than their bellies whilst wanton thuggery goes unpunished. 

Tigers’ first try came from a lucky break as Ben Youngs’s clearing box gained the thinnest of touches from a Wasps hand gaining Tigers a line out well within their enemy’s territory.   Tony Allen made yet another yard gaining carry through the midfield traffic before Mat Tait switched the play from left to right freeing Steve Mafi; the Tongan Octopuss used his flowing limbs to off load to Niall Morris coming like a steam train on his left.  Morris took the ball to the 5 metre line and Mafi took the ball up a further few metres before Flood put Hawkins to a yard out in the corner of the CAT stand.  Scrum half Charlie Davies had taken up his position guarding the left hand flank of the ruck but the merest hint of a look to the blindside made him shift round to the other side; that opened the hole for his opposite number Ben Youngs to dive through the gap and claim the first try of the match. 

Tigers struck again just 4 minutes later as Graham Kitchener brushed off Christian Wade’s poor attempt at a tackle to finish off a stunning phase of play.  Tigers had controlled the ball from a line out well enough gaining yards slowly and surely before Ben Youngs span the ball out to that man again Tony Allen who ghosted between Jon Poff and Charlie Hayter before finding Niall Morris with a beauty of a pass of his left hand.  Morris bounced back inside link a pin ball before popping the ball out of the tackle back to Ben Youngs.  Youngs threw a perhaps ill advised floated pass back 15 yards to Julian Salvi who fed his back row partners Jordan Crane and Steve Mafi.  Mafi’s pass to Kitchener was a stunner fizzing off his right hand cutting out two defenders before the burley lock trampled over the ineffectual Wade and ignored the attempts of Tommy Bell to force him into touch.

Wasps’ first points came from a soft penalty given away by Kitchener around the half way.  It was a tight call to say he was in the side but Tommy Bell made light of the wind to punish the try scorer’s mistake and raise the flags with little fuss.

Tigers could have had a third try in the 30^th minute as a glorious move was snuffed out right at the end as Adam Thompstone was forced into touch as he grounded the ball; the referee went to the TMO but that was fairly inconclusive.  One angle ruled his legs were in play but who could tell whether the ball hit the line of his arm was in touch first?  The TMO ruled simultaneous and no try.

It didn’t matter though as the third try was quick in coming.  Rob Hawkins was forced into touch just short and managed to slip the ball to Tom Varndell as he was dragged out to touch so Tigers threw in.  Wasps blitzed the lineout drive and rocked Tigers but the pack held firm and the Wasps onslaught washed around our sides.  As the last of them slipped harmlessly by the drive was set and Tigers charged for the line.  Referee Doyle had no hesitation in awarding the try as Rob Hawkins was cast in the Neil Back role and let his mates work his try for him.

Charlie Hayter was lucky to stay on the field at the end of the half as the referee missed his ugly rake across Toby Flood’s face in a ruck.  When you sign players to the big boy league they have to expect big boy scrutiny, Hayter isn’t playing in a muddy park anymore and that kind of thing might be okay for Moseley but it isn’t in the big leagues.  He can count his lucky stars that he isn’t a Frenchman in the Heineken Cup.  Predictably the referee did see Flood’s reaction to the interference though so Wasps gained another 3 points as the final act of the half.

At half time Thomas Waldrom replaced Steve Mafi who played superbly on his comeback but was clearly still uncomfortable with his hamstrings and Martin Castrogiovanni replaced Dan Cole in a simple swap.

Another deliberate knock on from Wasps another penalty, though this one did go forwards and was much closer to being deliberate again though the referee dealt with him harshly as Tom Bell was sent to the sin bin for his indiscretion.  Tigers as is their wont took a scrum and after a quick attempt at the drive used Crane off the base.  The majestic Jordan help flanker Jon Poff for just a second before releasing Ben Youngs but a second was all he needed as he put on the after-burners and sprinted between Poff and Tom’s brother Chris Bell.

Job done as Ben Youngs was replaced by Sam Harrison and Matt Smith took the place of Anthony Allen.

Billy Vunipola was lucky not see red for his vicious hack down of Manu Tuilagi.  No arms were anywhere near the tackle as Vunipola targeted Tuilagi’s knees, both the NFL and rugby league have clamped down on this most dangerous of tackles and Rugby has the wrapping of the arm rule already in place to ban it; but Doyle was blind to the thuggery and dangerous play of the Wasps man and shockingly not even a penalty was given.  Later in the match Joe Simpson was to target Tuilagi too, perhaps a tactic to try and incite the Hinckley man’s volcanic temper? 

The Wasps pack was on top for a spell earning their side a penalty at a scrum then from a maul.  Elliot Daly was on hand, with Tom Bell in the bin, to slot the penalty over from more than 40 yards.

Tigers were back in the ascendency though as Waldrom saw the Wasps defence part around him as he charged through the midfield.  The ball was kept alive through Salvi and Mulipola but the move fizzled out as Flood’s hopeful chip through ran into touch.

Ed Slater though was having none of that and his mighty mitt pawed the ball back onto the Leicester side in the lineout.  Crane then Tuilagi took the ball into contact left and right of the posts before a midfield fumble from Castro went backwards and was swept up by Sam Harrison and went through Flood’s then Slater’s hands before Mat Tait popped up on the left wing to fix the final defender and send Adam Thompstone clear to the line.

A bit of ballet dancing down the dead ball line meant the try was referred to the TMO but all was in order and Tigers had their 5^th try of the match and 74^th try of the season.

All that was left was a consolation try for Elliot Daly as he danced inside Adam Thompstone as Sam Harrison was a touch too close to his inside man and a touch too far from Thompstone on his outside.  It was a cracking try but it was symptomatic of the low intensity of the second half as Tigers just stood watching without it really mattering. 

Wasps had a few more ineffectual attacks as they were arguably their own worst enemy with inaccurate attacking and sloppy unforced knock ons.  Charlie Hayter showed why he is probably better suited to the Championship as he dillied and dallied and let the inside defence tackle him rather than float a ball out to Varndell in acres of space.  When you have the man only a handful short of the league’s scoring record I would suggest giving him the ball 10 meters from the line might be a bit of an idea.

Just a thought.

The match ended on a bit of a sour note as Wasps, sore from the beating they had just taken, decided that the old maxim of “If we can’t win the match win the fight” needed a new airing.  Tigers played into their hands somewhat by not kicking the ball out and not taking a backwards step.  Simon McIntyre threw two punches at Fraser Balmain after being tackled legally yet the Wasps man somehow got the penalty.  McIntyre’s response was grossly disproportionate; quite what the TMO was watching is beyond me to miss those punches.   Joe Simpson then stamps on Manu Tuilagi’s head and continues his fight after the final whistle.

Tigers were simply the better team in almost every facet and will be glad that they didn’t rise to the Wasps bait late on in the game.  Ed Slater and Graham Kitchener were magnificent in the second row as was Jordan Crane at 8.  Anthony Allen took the Wasps midfield to school and taught them a lesson and whilst Toby Flood might have had an off day with his boot he was the leader throughout and superb in open play.

Tigers move on to Bath next week and London Irish two weeks after requiring only 3 points from the two games to secure an 8^th Welford Road Premiership Semi final; on this form that should be achieved with something to spare.

Logo slots in for Tigers

Tigers and Wasps return to domestic action after their European adventures last week.  Tigers of course were away to Toulon in the main event Heineken Cup on Sunday whilst Wasps hosted Leinster in the second tier Amlin on Friday night.  

Tigers make one enforced changed for the side that lost 21-15 in Toulon as Logovi'i Mulipola replaces the injured Marcos Ayerza at loosehead, Fraser Balmain moving onto the bench.  Cockerill was furious at the challenge from Bakkies Botha that resulted in Ayerza's broken collarbone but ERC, and myself it must be said, didn't see a red card challenge just a man going for the line.

Otherwise Tigers are unchanged from the side that defeated Northampton and Exeter in their last two league games as Dan Cole is preferred to the apparently departing Martin Castrogiovanni and Jordan Crane presides over the base of the scrum ahead of Thomas "the Tank" Waldrom as Crane makes his 150th appearance for the first team since his 2006 debut against Gloucester.

At hooker Tom Youngs makes his 50th appearance for the first team since his December 2006 debut at outside centre away to Northampton and Julian Salvi makes his 50th start in his second season at the club.

Wasps in contrast make 7 changes from their 48-28 demolition from Leinster.  5 changes come in the pack as Tom Lindsay, Will Taylor, James Cannon, son of Saints legend Vince, Jonathan Poff and Billy Vunipola replace T. Rhys Thomas, Phil Swainston, ex-Tiger Marco Wentzel, Sam Jones and England 6 Nations ace Joe Launchbury.  Launchbury and Italy centre Andrea Masi are apparently rested because of heavy work loads!  I don't think they'll be getting any sympathy from Tom Youngs or Geoff Parling on that front!

In the backs in-season-signing from Moseley Charlie Hayter takes Masi's place at 12 whilst former Nottingham and Stade Francais half back Charlie Davies takes over from Joe Simpson in the 9 jersey. 

Wasps are 7th one point behind Bath in 6th and one ahead of Exeter in 8th.  It seems to me they are resting players in anticipation of their 8 pointer at home to the Chiefs next week and hoping that Bath's tough run in (Quins Away, Tigers Home, Saracens Away) knackers their hopes.  That is a risky game should Bath overcome Quins today and Wasps lose at Welford Road as then Tigers and Sarries would be secure in their home semi finals before they play Bath.

On the play off front; after Gloucester's loss last night Tigers need one point to secure a play off place for the 9th year in a row and require 8 points from the remaining games in the season to secure an 8th Welford Raod semi if Quins achieve a perfect 15/15.  A Quins loss to any of Bath, Worcester or Northampton will see Tigers at home with a single victory.

Tomorrow's referee is London based Dubliner JP Doyle.  Tigers have a terrific record with Doyle in charge winning 10 of the 12 games he has blown although we did lose the most recent of those 12 when he was in charge of Saracen's most recent victory at Welford Road.

The game is live on Sky Sports 2, programme starts at 3.30 and the kick off is at 3.45.  This will be the last time Tigers play in the "bib" effect design as they will be wearing the new kit in the final game of the season at home to London Irish.
 
Leicester Tigers
15 Mathew Tait
14 Niall Morris
13 Manu Tuilagi
12 Anthony Allen
11 Adam Thompstone
10 Toby Flood (c)
9 Ben Youngs
1 Logovi'i Mulipola
2 Tom Youngs
3 Dan Cole
4 Ed Slater
5 Geoff Parling
6 Tom Croft
7 Julian Salvi
8 Jordan Crane
Replacements
16 Rob Hawkins
17 Fraser Balmain
18 Martin Castrogiovanni
19 Graham Kitchener
20 Thomas Waldrom
21 Sam Harrison
22 George Ford
23 Matt Smith

London Wasps
15 Elliot Daly
14 Christian Wade
13 Chris Bell (c)
12 Charlie Hayter
11 Tom Varndell
10 Nick Robinson
9 Charlie Davies
1 Zak Taulafo
2 Tom Lindsay
3 Will Taylor
4 James Cannon
5 Tom Palmer
6 Ashley Johnson
7 Jonathan Poff
8 Billy Vunipola
Replacements
16 Nathan Morris
17 Simon McIntyre
18 Lorenzo Romano
19 Alex Rae
20 Matt Everard
21 Joe Simpson
22 Tommy Bell
23 Jack Wallace