Tigers recorded a thoroughly unconvincing 11-8 win against Gloucester at Welford Road courtesy of a late late second half come back. Coming off the back of a 3 game winless streak at home Tigers were on the verge of slipping to their worst ever home run in competitive fixtures before Mat Tait slid over in the 68th minute to make it 8 all and Toby Flood slotted a 77th minute penalty to secure the win.
Before the match Tigers injury curse struck again; this time it was the fans stricken as I had to miss my first home game through illness or injury since Bristol in the 2002 Play Off Quarter Finals with what can only be described as a mashed up ankle.
The conditions were perfect for running rugby as blue skies shone over Leicestershire, in stark contrast to the howling winds we've had all week. Neither side was capable of playing the rugby the conditions deserved as Leicester bumbled their way through the vast majority of the match. Ed Slater will be disappointed with two notable knock ons but he was by no means alone as most of the pack had at least one fumble during the opening period.
Gloucester created two chances but were scuppered by knock ons as the line went begging. Tigers had reams of possession and decent territory but were singularly unable to retain either and play the pressure game that is the Tigers hallmark.
The scrum however was always a source of comfort. Just like last year Gloucester were unable to to cope with the Tigers power and technique as Marcos Ayerza had a field day against Sila Puafisi then Rupert Harden. The scrum provided the first penalty of the match. It took three re-sets but the Gloucester tight five simply couldn't take the pressure; second row Elliot Stooke was spat out the side before Dean Richards awarded the penalty.
6 minutes later Gloucester leveled; Mike Tindall isolated Julian Salvi after the Australian was forced onto the back foot clearing up Kitchener's poor attempt at a catch. Tindall was on his feet and Salvi was ruled to be holding on.
At half time Tigers just needed to be more precise; the territory was there and Gloucester's defence was fraying around the edges. The vast majority of wounds were self inflicted so could be easily rectified by better execution.
But that never really came.
Matt Smith made a fabulous break after a Tigers lineout but couldn't find the pass to keep the move alive. Flood was then caught in possession by Tongan tighthead Puafisi and knocked on in the tackle.
Tigers were incredibly unlucky to have a try ruled out in the 48th minute; it was Salvi and Tindall at the centre again as the Gloucester man's fumble let Salvi in under the posts. Referee Dean Richards had other ideas though as mysteriously the flanker was ruled off side. BT Sport did not deign to replay the incident even once so it is rather difficult to say whether this crucial 7 point swing was justified.
Just 3 minutes latter and the swing was amplified when Gloucester scored their loan try. A poor lineout win was followed by a poor box kick giving Gloucester possession. Unlike the Tigers they held on to it, eventually isolating Tom Youngs on the wing against Henry Trinder. Youngs will be disappointed with his attempted tackle but the try was made by a magic flick behind the back by Martyn Thomas that put Charlie Sharples over.
The pressure was really cranking up now as Tigers looked into the abyss of 4 games winless at home. Robson cleared the kick off into the 22 and Tigers were choke tackled into a turnover. The scrum was the saviour once again. If we could pass like we scrummage we would be favourites for the European Cup, but if we scrummaged like we passed we'd be looking at a relegation dog fight.
Gloucester were looking more dangerous now as Kalamafone then Sharples broke through the Tigers line, in contrast Tigers single foray into the 22 was snuffed out after Waldrom ran up a blind alley away from his support and was turned over.
Mike Tindall was pinged for a dangerous high tackle on Ben Youngs, and was lucky to not see a card, as the Tigers scrum half broke dangerously from a loose ball in midfield. From the penalty Tigers sent it deep into the Gloucester 22 and secured the lineout ball. Mulipola and Goneva came crashing through the middle going left towards the old Members side, Waldrom was the next wave of attacking coming back right drawing in the Gloucester defence as he ran across the posts. Flood and Tait switched round to the Crumbie side to create an overlap and the Cherry 'n' White defence was at sixes and sevens as Tom Youngs and Flood held their lines to put Tait scampering through for the try.
Relief was short lived. Flood skewed his conversion wide right.
Tigers were rampant now. Blaine Scully rose majestically to claim the restart and David Mele, on for Youngs after the try, flung it wide. Allen stepped inside his man to free Goneva and Tigers were racing into the Gloucester half. With Goneva, Tait and Thompstone frankly Tigers should have finished the score there and then but both Goneva and Tait passed too early allowing Ben Morgan to make the covering tackle.
Flood was through the defence this time but couldn't find Waldrom lurking on his inside shoulder. It went wide right but Goneva and Mulipola showed this rare burst of fluency and purpose was not going to last, butchering a great chance.
Goneva again was responsible for the knock on from Tigers next lineout move but I feel Richard Cockerill might not mind this one so much. Gloucester had the put in, with their scrum suffering heavy pressure and going backwards at a rate of knots Dan Robson panicked; there had not been a feeding given all day, what chance one now? "I'll just make extra sure and we can clear our lines" he must have thought.
But touchjudge Luke Pearce, responsible for an atrocious game between Quins and Wasps last week so relegated to the touchline, was vigilant and spotted the Gloucester 9's attempted skull duggery.
On TV afterwards Lawrence Dallaglio was scathing of this decision, seemingly on the grounds it was given to Tigers.
With the put in now in the Tigers favour the result felt inevitable but it still required some doing. The first scrum was given as a reset but at the second attempt Yann Thomas couldn't take the pressure and swung his hips out and around. Penalty Tigers. 3 Points Tigers.
Tigers had to hold out one last panicked attack from Gloucester but that was snuffed out when Blaine Scully claimed Ryan Mills's crossfield kick in heavy traffic, calling a mark and clearing his lines.
A win is a win they say but Tigers have been repeating that motto all too often this season. Another unconvincing win keeps us in the hunt but only just. With 3 home games, including Saracens who we haven't beaten at home in three attempts, and 5 away games left they will have to improve significantly to retain our title. This game perhaps had the seeds of that; had we got the early try we would have been confident and away from Gloucester. We certainly showed glimpses of what could be, especially once we get Manu Tuilagi back in the next fortnight, but glimpses aren't enough; we need full frontal exposure. Starting next Sunday at the Madejski.
Sunday, 16 February 2014
Friday, 14 February 2014
Tigers name team for Cherry 'n' White test
Tigers welcome old adversaries Gloucester to Welford Road this Sunday as both sides look to put a disappointing start to the season behind them. Gloucester sit in 9th place and need to win almost all of their remaining games if they are to feature in any European competition next season. Tigers sit in 5th place and need to seriously up their game if they want to retain the Premiership title they won so brilliantly back in May.
14 points behind Saracens with 9 to play a home semi final seems a long way off, even winning all our remaining games may not be enough.
Last week Tigers snuck the smallest of wins away to Worcester and Richard Cockerill makes 4 changes to that side. England benchman Tom Youngs returns at hooker; Graham Kitchener has recovered from an ankle knock against Ulster to feature at lock; Jordan Crane swaps with Thomas Waldrom and Adam Thompstone takes Blaine Scully's place on the wing.
Youngs and Kitchener's returns are no brainers whilst Jordan Crane and Thomas Waldrom have rotated heavily this year. But Thompstone's return I find surprising, or rather that Scully makes way. Scully had another top game against Worcester providing the assist for Goneva's 2nd try but he misses out whilst Matt Smith, who failed to make a single pass all match, is retained.
Smith is an admirable man, a good defender and hard worker but his offensive capabilities pails in comparison to Goneva, who is a dynamic ball carrier with the ability to unlock any defence. Goneva is an experienced centre having spent most of his career pre-Tigers there and is a sound defender. At the end of the day should an heir to Woodward and Dodge really be able to get away with a whole match without passing?
The other surprise is that no place has been found for Steve Mafi in the matchday 23. The fan favourite has an undeniable quality and steps up well to the big occasion, surely he should be allowed to play himself into form in the same way that paid such dividends for Mat Tait last season?
Tigers posses a powerful tight five which is practically at full strength; Gloucester's in contrast has not fared well this year and will need to step up to avoid a repeat of last season's game when Tigers demolished a Gloucester scrum, Shaun Knight was sin binned in the first half after refusing to scrummage legally.
Gloucester have stiffened their pack since then by singing Tongan tighthead Sila Puafisi and the emergence of young lock Elliot Stooke, very much of the Jim Hamilton mould in the second row.
The back row is strong with ex-Nottingham man Sione Kalamafone particularly impressive. Another man with midlands pedigree is Rob Cook, he developed his unique kicking style during a stint at Nuneaton, who joins Charlie Sharples, Henry Trinder, Mike Tindall and Martyn Thomas in an exciting back line.
Sunday's referee will be Dean Richards. Not that one. This one is originally from Henley and it will be his 8th time refereeing the Tigers; his 7 games so far has yielded 6 wins since a debut defeat away to Bristol in 2005.
Leicester
15 Mat Tait
14 Vereniki Goneva
13 Matt Smith
12 Anthony Allen
11 Adam Thompstone
10 Toby Flood (c)
9 Ben Youngs
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Tom Youngs
3 Logovi'i Mulipola
4 Ed Slater
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Jordan Crane
Replacements
16 Rob Hawkins
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Louis Deacon
20 Thomas Waldrom
21 David Mele
22 Owen Williams
23 Blaine Scully
Gloucester:
15 Rob Cook
14 Charlie Sharples
13 Henry Trinder
12 Mike Tindall (c)
11 Martyn Thomas
10 Ryan Mills
9 Dan Robson
1 Nick Wood
2 Darren Dawidiuk
3 Sila Puafisi
4 Elliott Stooke
5 Will James
6 Sione Kalamafoni
7 Matt Kvesic
8 Ben Morgan
Replacements:
16 Huia Edmonds
17 Yann Thomas
18 Rupert Harden
19 James Hudson
20 Matt Cox
21 Jimmy Cowan
22 Freddie Burns
23 Shane Monahan
14 points behind Saracens with 9 to play a home semi final seems a long way off, even winning all our remaining games may not be enough.
Last week Tigers snuck the smallest of wins away to Worcester and Richard Cockerill makes 4 changes to that side. England benchman Tom Youngs returns at hooker; Graham Kitchener has recovered from an ankle knock against Ulster to feature at lock; Jordan Crane swaps with Thomas Waldrom and Adam Thompstone takes Blaine Scully's place on the wing.
Youngs and Kitchener's returns are no brainers whilst Jordan Crane and Thomas Waldrom have rotated heavily this year. But Thompstone's return I find surprising, or rather that Scully makes way. Scully had another top game against Worcester providing the assist for Goneva's 2nd try but he misses out whilst Matt Smith, who failed to make a single pass all match, is retained.
Smith is an admirable man, a good defender and hard worker but his offensive capabilities pails in comparison to Goneva, who is a dynamic ball carrier with the ability to unlock any defence. Goneva is an experienced centre having spent most of his career pre-Tigers there and is a sound defender. At the end of the day should an heir to Woodward and Dodge really be able to get away with a whole match without passing?
The other surprise is that no place has been found for Steve Mafi in the matchday 23. The fan favourite has an undeniable quality and steps up well to the big occasion, surely he should be allowed to play himself into form in the same way that paid such dividends for Mat Tait last season?
Tigers posses a powerful tight five which is practically at full strength; Gloucester's in contrast has not fared well this year and will need to step up to avoid a repeat of last season's game when Tigers demolished a Gloucester scrum, Shaun Knight was sin binned in the first half after refusing to scrummage legally.
Gloucester have stiffened their pack since then by singing Tongan tighthead Sila Puafisi and the emergence of young lock Elliot Stooke, very much of the Jim Hamilton mould in the second row.
The back row is strong with ex-Nottingham man Sione Kalamafone particularly impressive. Another man with midlands pedigree is Rob Cook, he developed his unique kicking style during a stint at Nuneaton, who joins Charlie Sharples, Henry Trinder, Mike Tindall and Martyn Thomas in an exciting back line.
Sunday's referee will be Dean Richards. Not that one. This one is originally from Henley and it will be his 8th time refereeing the Tigers; his 7 games so far has yielded 6 wins since a debut defeat away to Bristol in 2005.
Leicester
15 Mat Tait
14 Vereniki Goneva
13 Matt Smith
12 Anthony Allen
11 Adam Thompstone
10 Toby Flood (c)
9 Ben Youngs
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Tom Youngs
3 Logovi'i Mulipola
4 Ed Slater
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Jordan Crane
Replacements
16 Rob Hawkins
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Louis Deacon
20 Thomas Waldrom
21 David Mele
22 Owen Williams
23 Blaine Scully
Gloucester:
15 Rob Cook
14 Charlie Sharples
13 Henry Trinder
12 Mike Tindall (c)
11 Martyn Thomas
10 Ryan Mills
9 Dan Robson
1 Nick Wood
2 Darren Dawidiuk
3 Sila Puafisi
4 Elliott Stooke
5 Will James
6 Sione Kalamafoni
7 Matt Kvesic
8 Ben Morgan
Replacements:
16 Huia Edmonds
17 Yann Thomas
18 Rupert Harden
19 James Hudson
20 Matt Cox
21 Jimmy Cowan
22 Freddie Burns
23 Shane Monahan
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Muddy Hell: Tigers scrap past Worcester
Tigers got their first win in almost a month on Friday as
they snuck a 23-22 win away to basement boys Worcester. The Tigers did not so much roar as whimper as
they were unable to break free from a dogged Worcester side.
Two tries from Flying Fijian Vereniki Goneva and 5 kicks from Toby Flood were enough to see the Champions home despite 5 penalties from Chris Pennell and a conversion of Josh Drauniniu’s try.
The Tigers started the match very well. Goneva stole a march on the Worcester attack when he flew in from miles back to pick off Paul Warwick’s loopy pass and storm under the posts. It was only 5 minutes later when a lovely short pass from Flood freed Goneva through the middle again. This time he linked with Allen and Waldrom. Tigers were now only 6m out but a thoughtless wide pass from Flood, when a single miss cut out pass to Slater would have put him in, gave David Lemi time to step in and disrupt the move.
This was butchery of the highest order from our experienced 10 and he will be disappointed with it in the review.
Worcester got on the score board after a penalty for failing to roll away then doubled their tally after Ed Slater was caught marginally in front of the kicker. Both were sloppy penalties to concede. The second was a confidence booster for the impressive Pennell. Worcester’s captain is a strong leader from the back.
The third Worcester penalty was more controversial as it was not a penalty offence. Closing the gap is clearly stated in the IRB laws to be a free kick offence but Small in his wisdom disregarded the rules of the game. You have to feel enormous sympathy for the players when referees make howlers like this. How are they supposed to play the game when the man with the whistle demonstrably doesn’t know the rules?
This penalty but Worcester ahead for the first time.
It didn’t last long. From another controversial Small decision, this time against Mariano Galarza for in at the side, Tigers had gained good line out ball in the Worcester half between the 22 and 10 meter line.
Slater claimed the lineout cleanly and popped to Youngs as he was hitting the ground. Passing from the ground rather than air is key; the dummy drive holds the Worcester back row in for a second longer. Youngs finds Mulipola on the rampage through the middle attracting both Betty the openside and Creevy the hooker. A fast ruck gives Toby Flood the ball with plenty of time and space.
With dummy lines from Mat Tait and Matt Smith attracting attention it is US Eagle Blaine Scully who receives posseion. He soars past Alex Grove and dummies past Drauniniu, fixing Pennell his pass to Goneva is inch perfect and the Fijian is in for his second score. This was our backs moving like clockwork and as every piece was perfectly in time.
This was the last time it worked like that.
A Pennell penalty closed the gap to 14-12 after Ayerza was caught offside making two quick tackles.
Two penalties inside the Worcester half were kicked to touch as Tigers looked for the third try. A strong maul and carry from Ayerza was backed up by a lovely pass out of contact by Ed Slater, Flood flicked it quickly through the back of his hand but Allen chose to truck it up back into the forwards rather than get it one wider into what looked like a 3 on 1 with Scully also wrapping round.
Worcester’s forwards were back inside too though and Allen was driven backwards losing Tigers' momentum. Thankfully Worcester were caught offside at the next phase and Tigers gained some reward for their endeavour.
A quick tap from Ben Youngs got the Tigers onto the front foot, being highly critical he has to hold onto the pass longer, either beat the wing himself or make him commit to the tackle. Goneva muffed his kick and Worcester had good turnover ball that they turned into attacking ball in the 22. As the clock turned red Pennell made his one and only miss, hitting the post before the half time whistle blew.
The second half was a more turgid affair as Tigers couldn’t break free from the Worcester stranglehold. An early penalty from half way was skewed wide by Flood. Worcester then got their try. The initial break was by the eventual scorer as Drauniniu spotted Jamie Gibson being lazy in the defensive line and cut through.
Tigers will be disappointed with the try as Anthony Allen did at one stage get a rare Andrew Small approved turnover, but it was spilled in the ruck and Worcester had possession again. As the ball went wide Drauniniu simply stepped countryman Goneva who had left himself too much to do to cover the last man. Pennell got the touchline conversion as Worcester edged back ahead.
A penalty quickly restored the lead but Tigers had now been dragged into a close tit for tat game and decided they had to secure the win rather than look for tries for the bonus point. This is a tough call for the coaches and senior players to make but I think trying to break Worcester’s spirit with another try would have been the way to go. The penalty just kept them in touch.
This was compounded with our kicking strategy. It is worth thinking on the fact that both halves were won by the side playing into the stiffish breeze. With the wind at our backs our kicks were all drifting too far from the chase in the second half, whilst Worcester’s were holding up allowing the defenders to put real pressure on the receiver.
When you have the wind there is a temptation to kick too often and we fell into that that trap, which is disappointing when we have such experience at the two half back positions. We did not dominate territory like we should with such an advantage in conditions.
Worcester set up a tense finale with a 68th minute penalty from Pennell. A harsh penalty against Waldrom for not rolling away was smack bang in front of the posts and Pennell put Worcester in the box seat for a first win of the season.
Again it did not last long as Argentinean test flanker Leonardo Senatore gave away the penalty for hands on the floor. I have great sympathy for the great man, simply put that penalty would not be given in any other league in the world.
Flood nailed the penalty just 2 minutes after Pennell had given Worcester the lead. Worcester had one final chance to win after an Alex Grove break but David Mele was back to force the holding on penalty from Sam Betty and kill off any danger.
Some people have been disappointed with this result, bemoaning the lack of try bonus point. After the opening stages Tigers will be frustrated to have got drawn into a battle but historically we have only twice won at Sixways with the bonus point. I struggle to see justification in the claim of point lost.
Tigers lacked intensity and the stodginess of the backline is best emphasised with the stat that Matt Smith did not make a single pass in the match. The only other player to do that was Logovi’i Mulipola, the tighthead prop. A quick word at the end for debutant hooker Harry Thacker, covering Rob Hawkins for 4 minutes whilst a cut was dealt with, he made 6 tackles in his brief cameo almost as many as the back three managed in the whole match.
Thursday, 6 February 2014
Prem Action Returns: Tigers Team for Worcester Named
Leicester return to Premiership action this Friday as we travel to face relegation threatened Worcester at Sixways.
Worcester are winless in the Premiership this season as Dean Ryan's appointment has failed to live up to pre-season expectations. Tigers go into this game on the back of a poor run of form that has seen us win only 2 out of the last 7 games, our worst run of form since the 2011 World Cup when were missing 11 players and only managed a single win in 8 games.
Richard Cockerill used the LV break to rotate and rest his squad so makes 11 changes to his starting XV. Blaine Scully is rewarded for his try in last week's mauling by Bath with a spot on the wing whilst Matt Smith continues at centre and Rob Hawkins and Thomas Waldrom retain their places in the pack
Headline returnee is Logovi'i Mulipola after almost 3 months out after a 13cm tear in his calf. Mulipola suffered the injury on international duty with Samoa much to Cockerill's chagrin. He is joined by Hawkins and Argentinian international Marcos Ayerza in the front row.
England have deemed Ed Slater and Ben Youngs surplus to their requirements despite the disastrous start and finish to the France game last week. Youngs forms a mid-field triumvirate with regular partner Toby Flood and inside centre Anthony Allen. Slater partners Louis Deacon in the second row.
Other star players recalled are Mat Tait and Vereniki Goneva in the backs with Julian Salvi at openside. Jamie Gibson retains his place at blindside ahead of Steve Mafi. Mafi will be looking to make a characteristic big impact from the bench to regain his starting place.
The bench has a youthful feel as Harry Thacker, in line to make his Premiership debut, is joined by Fraser Balmain, Pablo Matera and Owen Williams. Experience is provided by Stankovich and Scott Hamilton.
Worcester's side is strengthened by the return to fitness of Pumas hooker Agustin Creevy. The pack features a physical back row as South African lock Mike Williams wears 6 alongside Bristolian Sam Betty at openside. Betty was yellow carded for a high tackle in the reverse fixture this September. They are joined by 67 cap Wales international Jonathan Thomas.
The bench provides further experienced depth as Leonardo Senatore provides 20 Argentina caps in the back row.
The backline provides a Pacific Island flavour as Samoan David Lemi is joined by Fijians Josh Drauniniu and Ravai Fatiaki, with Josh Matavesi covering from the bench.
Friday's referee will be New Zealand's Andrew Small. Small has been refereeing in England for many years; it is 8 years since his first encounter with the Tigers, a 10 point loss to the Barbarians in March 2006. That was the last First XV match played against the Barbarians as well as Pat Howard's final start for the club. Since then Small has taken charge of the club on 28 occasions with Tigers winning 71.43% of those games (or 20/28 in boring whole number stats). His last appointment was the disappointing defeat away to Wasps in October.
With the recent weather in the west country I shudder to think what state the pitch will be in, with a storm predicted to come near the end of the match if Tigers can't get out into a lead Worcester's forward power and psyched up home crowd may be enough to win an arm wrestle. Tigers slim chances of a home semi final are resting on wins in all the upcoming games away to the bottom three.
Leicester
15 Mat Tait
14 Blaine Scully
13 Matt Smith
12 Anthony Allen
11 Vereniki Goneva
10 Toby Flood (c)
9 Ben Youngs
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Rob Hawkins
3 Logovi'i Mulipola
4 Louis Deacon
5 Ed Slater
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Thomas Waldrom
Replacements
16 Harry Thacker
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Steve Mafi
20 Pablo Matera
21 David Mélé
22 Owen Williams
23 Scott Hamilton
Worcester
15 Chris Pennell
14 Josh Drauniniu
13 Alex Grove
12 Ravai Fatiaki
11 David Lemi
10 Paul Warwick
9 Jonny Arr
1 Ofa Fainga'anuku
2 Agustin Creevy
3 John Andress
4 James Percival
5 Mariano Galarza
6 Mike Williams
7 Sam Betty
8 Jonathan Thomas (c) Replacements
16 Ed Shervington
17 George Porter
18 Rob O'Donnell
19 Dean Schofield
20 Leonardo Senatore
21 Paul Hodgson
22 Ignacio Mieres
23 Josh Matavesi
Worcester are winless in the Premiership this season as Dean Ryan's appointment has failed to live up to pre-season expectations. Tigers go into this game on the back of a poor run of form that has seen us win only 2 out of the last 7 games, our worst run of form since the 2011 World Cup when were missing 11 players and only managed a single win in 8 games.
Richard Cockerill used the LV break to rotate and rest his squad so makes 11 changes to his starting XV. Blaine Scully is rewarded for his try in last week's mauling by Bath with a spot on the wing whilst Matt Smith continues at centre and Rob Hawkins and Thomas Waldrom retain their places in the pack
Headline returnee is Logovi'i Mulipola after almost 3 months out after a 13cm tear in his calf. Mulipola suffered the injury on international duty with Samoa much to Cockerill's chagrin. He is joined by Hawkins and Argentinian international Marcos Ayerza in the front row.
England have deemed Ed Slater and Ben Youngs surplus to their requirements despite the disastrous start and finish to the France game last week. Youngs forms a mid-field triumvirate with regular partner Toby Flood and inside centre Anthony Allen. Slater partners Louis Deacon in the second row.
Other star players recalled are Mat Tait and Vereniki Goneva in the backs with Julian Salvi at openside. Jamie Gibson retains his place at blindside ahead of Steve Mafi. Mafi will be looking to make a characteristic big impact from the bench to regain his starting place.
The bench has a youthful feel as Harry Thacker, in line to make his Premiership debut, is joined by Fraser Balmain, Pablo Matera and Owen Williams. Experience is provided by Stankovich and Scott Hamilton.
Worcester's side is strengthened by the return to fitness of Pumas hooker Agustin Creevy. The pack features a physical back row as South African lock Mike Williams wears 6 alongside Bristolian Sam Betty at openside. Betty was yellow carded for a high tackle in the reverse fixture this September. They are joined by 67 cap Wales international Jonathan Thomas.
The bench provides further experienced depth as Leonardo Senatore provides 20 Argentina caps in the back row.
The backline provides a Pacific Island flavour as Samoan David Lemi is joined by Fijians Josh Drauniniu and Ravai Fatiaki, with Josh Matavesi covering from the bench.
Friday's referee will be New Zealand's Andrew Small. Small has been refereeing in England for many years; it is 8 years since his first encounter with the Tigers, a 10 point loss to the Barbarians in March 2006. That was the last First XV match played against the Barbarians as well as Pat Howard's final start for the club. Since then Small has taken charge of the club on 28 occasions with Tigers winning 71.43% of those games (or 20/28 in boring whole number stats). His last appointment was the disappointing defeat away to Wasps in October.
With the recent weather in the west country I shudder to think what state the pitch will be in, with a storm predicted to come near the end of the match if Tigers can't get out into a lead Worcester's forward power and psyched up home crowd may be enough to win an arm wrestle. Tigers slim chances of a home semi final are resting on wins in all the upcoming games away to the bottom three.
Leicester
15 Mat Tait
14 Blaine Scully
13 Matt Smith
12 Anthony Allen
11 Vereniki Goneva
10 Toby Flood (c)
9 Ben Youngs
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Rob Hawkins
3 Logovi'i Mulipola
4 Louis Deacon
5 Ed Slater
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Thomas Waldrom
Replacements
16 Harry Thacker
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Steve Mafi
20 Pablo Matera
21 David Mélé
22 Owen Williams
23 Scott Hamilton
Worcester
15 Chris Pennell
14 Josh Drauniniu
13 Alex Grove
12 Ravai Fatiaki
11 David Lemi
10 Paul Warwick
9 Jonny Arr
1 Ofa Fainga'anuku
2 Agustin Creevy
3 John Andress
4 James Percival
5 Mariano Galarza
6 Mike Williams
7 Sam Betty
8 Jonathan Thomas (c) Replacements
16 Ed Shervington
17 George Porter
18 Rob O'Donnell
19 Dean Schofield
20 Leonardo Senatore
21 Paul Hodgson
22 Ignacio Mieres
23 Josh Matavesi
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Three in a Row: Tigers winless home run goes on
Tigers were knocked out of the LV Cup on Friday night after conceding
the try bonus point to a rampant Bath side at Welford Road. Coming swiftly on the back of the defeat to
Ulster and the Premiership draw with Bath Tigers are yet to register a home win
in 2014. Three games winless at home
ties Tigers worst home record in competitive fixtures.
Not wanting to sensationalise the loss but those are the bare facts of the current run of form.
Needing a bonus point win to stand any hope of progression Tigers started pretty well. Young Argentine flanker Pablo Matera, on his home debut, did well to stretch out and score the try under heavy pressure. Matera made a proper nuisance at the breakdown and carried well all night. Surely he has earned himself a place in the Premiership match day squad.
Bath’s first try had more than a bit of luck about it. Thomas Waldrom lost his footing in the wet conditions giving Nick Abendanon room to run. The ball spilled loose from a solid Tigers tackle and was quickly passed to flanker Alafoti Faosiliva, he chipped the covering defence of Sam Harrison then won the foot race for the grounding. Courtesy of our new big screen we could all see that the Bath man had his foot in touch before he kicked it, as the boos rang round the ground Wayne Barnes ignored the evidence and awarded the try.
The rain had now started, both teams’ tactics changed and the kicking game was to the fore. Tigers’ second score was directly from a good old fashioned Up ‘n’ Under. Owen Williams displayed his Rugby League background with a booming Garryowen, terrific height and just enough length; it looked like Tigers had over chased it; Hepetema and Abendanon waited underneath for the ball to land. But they hadn’t counted on US Eagle Blaine Scully. Showing great hustle he challenged Abendanon for possession, grabbed the loose bouncing ball and raced away under the posts for the try.
It was the kind of try that anyone could score but only a few ever actually do. That bravery, work rate and willingness to do something a bit odd is a product of his less than usual career path. After Adam Thompstone’s less than stellar game for England ‘A’ perhaps the American is another who has enhanced his First XV prospects in this disappointing loss.
This was about as good as it got for Tigers.
Williams and Henson traded penalties for a 17-11 lead but Bath struck back before half time.
The West Country side attacked with good precision, Scully got sucked in too tight on his inside man which let Banahan round the outside. A cracking side step from Leroy Houston on Owen Williams put Bath inside the 5 metre line. A try saving tackle from Tom Price was all for nought as Scott Hamilton could not deny Banahan who went in at the corner. Suspicions of his back leg being in touch were not investigated as Barnes awarded the try without going to the TMO.
Tigers were kept scoreless in the second half.
George Chuter, after no warning, only one penalty and outside the 22 was sin binned for coming in from the side after 51 minutes.
Those ten minutes were crucial. Bath brought on their big guns, like Francois “Elbow” Louw and Carl Fearns and gained 10 points. The third try was scored by Ollie Devoto after smash runs off the back of a scrum by the Bath back row. A scrum Bath only had because Boris Stankovich was throwing in.
A bonus point try came for Bath from another driving maul. Tigers just couldn’t defend this tactic on the night. The usual tactics of driving them back, using physical players to disrupt the opposition wasn’t working when Barnes refused to call a maul stationary.
Going early and risking the in the air penalty was the obvious next tactic but we never tried it; catching the ball carrier and dragging him straight to ground was another unexplored option. We seem very poor at adapting when referees won’t enforce the laws properly; we rarely take advantage of a blind spot and continue when they give penalties against our legal tactics.
There have been the usual excuses of a more experienced opponent, injuries and players missing but we need to worry about the players we did pick playing badly. If we had played well and Bath bettered us then those factors could be in play.
A light at the end of the tunnel is that next week away to Worcester we should have a full team out. Ayerza, Mulipola, Deacon, Kitchener, possibly Slater, Mafi, Salvi, Matera, Crane, Youngs, Flood, Allen and Tait should all be available. Only Cole and Tom Youngs should be missing. We’ll either improve and win or the excuses will have to go out of the window for some forthright honesty.
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Where have all the young players gone?
Most of the headlines focused on the wind and the scaffolding. This was the first Tigers game to be abandoned that I can remember, and at 70 minutes extremely close to the finish; the lack of bonus point has seemingly condemned us to be knocked out from the competition. With 10 minutes to go a win was surely too far but a simple seven point try, and Tigers were attacking a disorganized Quins defence when the whistle blew, would have secured that point.
It seems that Quins will escape without an RFU or PRL penalty for their unsafe ground but that was not what caught my eye. What I spotted was the lack of young players in the team. Using an old fashioned definition of a young player as an "under 23" we started with only 4 (Terrence Hepetema, Tom Bristow, Fraser Balmain and Pablo Matera) players born after September 1st 1990.
This got me thinking "How often do we actually play young players, and how often does everyone else?"
So I looked it up. Using the number of minutes played from www.itsrugby.co.uk/ I divided them into the total minutes played over the various different tournaments.
Obviously Perry Humphreys does have a Date of Birth but I couldn't find it. Any help from readers is much appreciated.
In isolation that doesn't show us much. We play youngsters much more in the LV Cup than the other tournaments (even with fewer against Quins) and in the Heineken Cup we make no pretenses and pick the best players only.
So what does everyone else do? I have the above set up for every club but reproducing it would take up far too much room, so instead lets look at just the raw totals for the three main leagues:
Suddenly it doesn't look so good. With only the 4 French sides below us the argument that we don't play youngsters is clearly solid. Compared to our peers we don't. The Heineken Cup numbers are starker still.
Even if Manu Tuilagi had been fit and played every minute of the European campaign the numbers would only improve to 8.81%, again the case that compared to our peers youngsters don't play is sound.
Noticeably the 3 sides directly above us are 3 of the sides with a home quarter final. If we'd have won against Ulster the 4 sides with the fewest young players would have all been the most succesful. This does lead us to the point that we're in this to win not give youth a chance. If we were top of the league and had a home semi-final then this wouldn't be an issue.
But we aren't top of league, we don't have a home quarter final, so this is an issue.
Economics play a part. Llanelli don't make almost 40% of their team under 23 purely by choice, the fact that they can't afford to sign in many experienced pros forces them to play their younger players.
Similarly two of France's best sides for playing young players are Stade Francais and Perpignan. Both have suffered from relative financial collapses in recent times and have been forced to blood more youth. In Stade's case this has worked fantastically as they go into the 6 Nations break top of the Top 14.
By the same measure Bath have managed to attract talents like George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson. All were signed as first team players and they make up over 82% of minutes given to under 23s. They aren't doing it because of some "give youth a chance" initiative but because their good players they've signed happen to be young.
At a recent open forum Cockerill declared that he wants to bring through players as much as anyone else, but only when they deserve it. He put it more succinctly when he said "I'm not anti-young players, I'm anti-crap players".
There is an idea that Cockerill doesn't "blood" players, he picks the best ones. That means that when Manu Tuilagi was our best centre at 19 he played every week, when George Ford was our second best fly half at 18 he covered for Flood and when Ben Youngs was our best scrum half at 19 he played too, but that he won't give players a chance if he doesn't rate them.
The numbers show that in all competitions Tigers have used 17 players under 23, only Gloucester (20) and Quins (18) have more. But only 6 of those have made it into a matchday squad in the Premiership and those 6 have only played 761 minutes compared to the European average of almost 2,500 minutes.
The problem seems to be hanging on to the players as they get older. Tigers have given 6 players born in 1994 (plus probably Humphreys) a run in the First XV this season, the most in Europe, but we have none from 1990 and only 3 from 1991. Quins on the other hand have picked more "under 23s" but 10 of their 19 were born in either 1990 or 1991.
This missing generation is Andy Forsyth, Jimmy Stevens and Matt Everard. Everard was released as not good enough; his slowly eroding game time at Wasps suggests this was the correct call, as unpopular as it was at the time. But Forsyth and Stevens were rumoured to have been offered contracts and declined them.
This might seem counter intuitive but does the Academy work too well? It generates stacks of 18 year olds that can play first team rugby to the point that often we forget how young our players are and expect them to be further along as they slowly progress from promising 18 year old to 23 year old ready to play a serious part in the campaign.
During those 5 years the players become frustrated and too many of them are leaving. Forsyth was a case in point, at the same age Dan Hipkiss and Matt Smith had played significantly less first team rugby than him, so it seems wrong to blame his leaving on Cockerill for not picking him, but clearly he was frustrated and wanted to play regularly.
So what can be done to change that? The long term trends are towards players breaking through at younger ages. Whilst in the past there were outliers such as Paul Dodge (who if he made his debut today would have been born in 1997) since professionalism there has been a march towards younger players.
This runs counter to ideas espoused by Cockerill at the recent open forum that as physicality increases players need longer to come through, especially in the tight 5. Certainly in the front row there is growing evidence that the human body cannot stand the forces involved until it is 22 or 23 without succumbing to injury. Anecdotal comparisons of Dan Cole with Alex Corbiseiro suggest this has some basis.
This season Tigers have made much greater use of the loan market than in previous years. We have seen the top prospects go to Nottingham as usual, for a final polish and high quality game time, but we have also seen three young forwards go to Doncaster to learn the pressures of competitive rugby in what is a red hot title race, we have two forwards go to Coventry (so far for a single game) and seen three young players feature for Loughborough Students all in the increasingly professional National League One.
Quins have used loans to sides like Esher, Ealing, Richmond and London Scottish to great effect as players get to play and the coaches get to see them in the competitive and often hostile environments they will face in the First XV.
There has been much anxiousness on some forums that players such as Catchpole or Purdy have barely featured and that they might be the next out of the door. Any sane analysis of young players across Europe sees that attitude as exactly the problem of placing too much pressure on players too soon. Both the two cited were born in 1994, Europe wide only 15 players born in 1994 have featured for their clubs in League action.
Gael Fickou and Hallam Amos have already won international caps and Anthony Watson will surely join them soon. The vast majority of players make their debuts in their first year out of the Under 20 set up, which means that the likes of Catchpole and Purdy should be in no rush.
No one can argue that Tigers are using young players in any great numbers. The lack of examples in the difficult 20-23 age bracket produces a lack of confidence of fans in the system, increasing the fears that another generation of talent will have to fail to make it before changes are made. Whether it is Cockerill as selector or the academy and scouting network not producing the players somewhere the production line has stalled.
Some changes have been made already, but do they go far enough?
It seems that Quins will escape without an RFU or PRL penalty for their unsafe ground but that was not what caught my eye. What I spotted was the lack of young players in the team. Using an old fashioned definition of a young player as an "under 23" we started with only 4 (Terrence Hepetema, Tom Bristow, Fraser Balmain and Pablo Matera) players born after September 1st 1990.
This got me thinking "How often do we actually play young players, and how often does everyone else?"
So I looked it up. Using the number of minutes played from www.itsrugby.co.uk/ I divided them into the total minutes played over the various different tournaments.
Obviously Perry Humphreys does have a Date of Birth but I couldn't find it. Any help from readers is much appreciated.
In isolation that doesn't show us much. We play youngsters much more in the LV Cup than the other tournaments (even with fewer against Quins) and in the Heineken Cup we make no pretenses and pick the best players only.
So what does everyone else do? I have the above set up for every club but reproducing it would take up far too much room, so instead lets look at just the raw totals for the three main leagues:
| Team | U23 Mins % League | |
| 1 | Llanelli | 32.41% |
| 2 | Ospreys | 31.97% |
| 3 | Newport | 31.28% |
| 4 | Cardiff | 28.96% |
| 5 | Connacht | 28.61% |
| 6 | Wasps | 25.24% |
| 7 | Toulouse | 24.55% |
| 8 | Ulster | 23.55% |
| 9 | Bath | 21.32% |
| 10 | Perpignan | 20.23% |
| 11 | Edinburgh | 19.77% |
| 12 | Harlequins | 19.74% |
| 13 | Saracens | 19.49% |
| 14 | Sale | 18.70% |
| 15 | Leinster | 17.10% |
| 16 | Northampton | 16.61% |
| 17 | Bordeaux-Begles | 16.44% |
| 18 | Biarritz | 15.60% |
| 19 | Glasgow | 15.48% |
| 20 | Gloucester | 14.82% |
| 21 | Stade Francais | 14.62% |
| 22 | Zebre | 14.49% |
| 23 | Exeter | 14.14% |
| 24 | Worcester | 12.51% |
| 25 | Bayonne | 12.14% |
| 26 | Munster | 11.77% |
| 27 | London Irish | 11.53% |
| 28 | Treviso | 10.52% |
| 29 | Newcastle | 9.67% |
| 30 | Grenoble | 9.03% |
| 31 | Montpellier | 8.47% |
| 32 | Clermont | 6.83% |
| 33 | Brive | 6.52% |
| 34 | Leicester | 5.28% |
| 35 | Toulon | 4.83% |
| 36 | Racing | 4.62% |
| 37 | Castres | 2.90% |
| 38 | Oyonnax | 0.03% |
Suddenly it doesn't look so good. With only the 4 French sides below us the argument that we don't play youngsters is clearly solid. Compared to our peers we don't. The Heineken Cup numbers are starker still.
| Team | U23 Mins % HC | |
| 1 | Llanelli | 38.85% |
| 2 | Connacht | 31.06% |
| 3 | Ospreys | 27.83% |
| 4 | Perpignan | 23.47% |
| 5 | Cardiff | 22.33% |
| 6 | Saracens | 21.08% |
| 7 | Ulster | 19.71% |
| 8 | Harlequins | 19.44% |
| 9 | Gloucester | 19.09% |
| 10 | Edinburgh | 18.88% |
| 11 | Exeter | 17.33% |
| 12 | Toulouse | 16.64% |
| 13 | Northampton | 15.91% |
| 14 | Treviso | 14.18% |
| 15 | Zebre | 13.54% |
| 16 | Montpellier | 13.10% |
| 17 | Leinster | 10.21% |
| 18 | Glasgow | 9.15% |
| 19 | Castres | 5.29% |
| 20 | Racing | 4.90% |
| 21 | Toulon | 4.89% |
| 22 | Munster | 4.51% |
| 23 | Clermont | 2.50% |
| 24 | Leicester | 2.14% |
Even if Manu Tuilagi had been fit and played every minute of the European campaign the numbers would only improve to 8.81%, again the case that compared to our peers youngsters don't play is sound.
Noticeably the 3 sides directly above us are 3 of the sides with a home quarter final. If we'd have won against Ulster the 4 sides with the fewest young players would have all been the most succesful. This does lead us to the point that we're in this to win not give youth a chance. If we were top of the league and had a home semi-final then this wouldn't be an issue.
But we aren't top of league, we don't have a home quarter final, so this is an issue.
Economics play a part. Llanelli don't make almost 40% of their team under 23 purely by choice, the fact that they can't afford to sign in many experienced pros forces them to play their younger players.
Similarly two of France's best sides for playing young players are Stade Francais and Perpignan. Both have suffered from relative financial collapses in recent times and have been forced to blood more youth. In Stade's case this has worked fantastically as they go into the 6 Nations break top of the Top 14.
By the same measure Bath have managed to attract talents like George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson. All were signed as first team players and they make up over 82% of minutes given to under 23s. They aren't doing it because of some "give youth a chance" initiative but because their good players they've signed happen to be young.
At a recent open forum Cockerill declared that he wants to bring through players as much as anyone else, but only when they deserve it. He put it more succinctly when he said "I'm not anti-young players, I'm anti-crap players".
There is an idea that Cockerill doesn't "blood" players, he picks the best ones. That means that when Manu Tuilagi was our best centre at 19 he played every week, when George Ford was our second best fly half at 18 he covered for Flood and when Ben Youngs was our best scrum half at 19 he played too, but that he won't give players a chance if he doesn't rate them.
The numbers show that in all competitions Tigers have used 17 players under 23, only Gloucester (20) and Quins (18) have more. But only 6 of those have made it into a matchday squad in the Premiership and those 6 have only played 761 minutes compared to the European average of almost 2,500 minutes.
The problem seems to be hanging on to the players as they get older. Tigers have given 6 players born in 1994 (plus probably Humphreys) a run in the First XV this season, the most in Europe, but we have none from 1990 and only 3 from 1991. Quins on the other hand have picked more "under 23s" but 10 of their 19 were born in either 1990 or 1991.
This missing generation is Andy Forsyth, Jimmy Stevens and Matt Everard. Everard was released as not good enough; his slowly eroding game time at Wasps suggests this was the correct call, as unpopular as it was at the time. But Forsyth and Stevens were rumoured to have been offered contracts and declined them.
This might seem counter intuitive but does the Academy work too well? It generates stacks of 18 year olds that can play first team rugby to the point that often we forget how young our players are and expect them to be further along as they slowly progress from promising 18 year old to 23 year old ready to play a serious part in the campaign.
During those 5 years the players become frustrated and too many of them are leaving. Forsyth was a case in point, at the same age Dan Hipkiss and Matt Smith had played significantly less first team rugby than him, so it seems wrong to blame his leaving on Cockerill for not picking him, but clearly he was frustrated and wanted to play regularly.
So what can be done to change that? The long term trends are towards players breaking through at younger ages. Whilst in the past there were outliers such as Paul Dodge (who if he made his debut today would have been born in 1997) since professionalism there has been a march towards younger players.
This runs counter to ideas espoused by Cockerill at the recent open forum that as physicality increases players need longer to come through, especially in the tight 5. Certainly in the front row there is growing evidence that the human body cannot stand the forces involved until it is 22 or 23 without succumbing to injury. Anecdotal comparisons of Dan Cole with Alex Corbiseiro suggest this has some basis.
This season Tigers have made much greater use of the loan market than in previous years. We have seen the top prospects go to Nottingham as usual, for a final polish and high quality game time, but we have also seen three young forwards go to Doncaster to learn the pressures of competitive rugby in what is a red hot title race, we have two forwards go to Coventry (so far for a single game) and seen three young players feature for Loughborough Students all in the increasingly professional National League One.
Quins have used loans to sides like Esher, Ealing, Richmond and London Scottish to great effect as players get to play and the coaches get to see them in the competitive and often hostile environments they will face in the First XV.
There has been much anxiousness on some forums that players such as Catchpole or Purdy have barely featured and that they might be the next out of the door. Any sane analysis of young players across Europe sees that attitude as exactly the problem of placing too much pressure on players too soon. Both the two cited were born in 1994, Europe wide only 15 players born in 1994 have featured for their clubs in League action.
Gael Fickou and Hallam Amos have already won international caps and Anthony Watson will surely join them soon. The vast majority of players make their debuts in their first year out of the Under 20 set up, which means that the likes of Catchpole and Purdy should be in no rush.
No one can argue that Tigers are using young players in any great numbers. The lack of examples in the difficult 20-23 age bracket produces a lack of confidence of fans in the system, increasing the fears that another generation of talent will have to fail to make it before changes are made. Whether it is Cockerill as selector or the academy and scouting network not producing the players somewhere the production line has stalled.
Some changes have been made already, but do they go far enough?
Friday, 24 January 2014
Champion v Champion in Cup Battle
After the intensity and disappointment of last week's match Tigers take a step down this weekend as they travel to the Stoop to face Harlequins. Last year Harlequins won the LV Cup with Tigers taking the Premiership, the year before it was vice versa with Harlequins winning a first Premiership and Tigers taking the Cup.
Since league rugby began in 1987 Tigers have taken on Quins 28 times in competitive games at the Stoop, winning 20, losing 8 and drawing 1. We have a mirror image at home with 20 wins and 9 losses. The recent form has not been so good as Quins have 4 of the last 5 meetings. The only Tigers win? Last season's Premiership semi final.
Tigers make 14 changes from the defeat to Ulster as they seek to rest the wounded, give chances to the fringe players and judiciously blood a small amount of youth. Frenchman David Mele cements his burgeoning reputation at the club by having the honour of the captaincy.
Tom Bristow a summer signing from London Welsh makes his first start for the club as he is joined by Rob Hawkins, a first start this season, and Fraser Balmain in the front row. Harry Thacker, so impressive in the first tranche of games, misses out with an injured ankle. 19 year old Italian Tiziano Pasquali backs up tighthead with experienced duo George Chuter and Boris Stankovich cover the other two.
Steve Mafi returns to the starting line up at the relatively unfamiliar position of lock. With Joe Cain and Tom Price out with injuries he is joined by Sebastian De Chaves in the First XV and Harry Wells on the bench.
The back row sees impressive Argentinean flanker Pablo Matera make his second start for the club. Matera has struggled for fluency since his arrival being unavailable for 7 of the 13 games since his October arrival due to international commitments and registration issues in Europe. From now on he is available for every game, injuries willing, so hopefully will use the next two weeks to make an unanswerable case for inclusion in the Premiership games next month.
Thomas Waldrom, in his first appearance since announcing his summer departure to Exeter, starts at 8 with Michael Noone on the blindside. On the bench there is a potential debut for openside flanker Will Owen, an England U-18 international.
Joining captain Mele at half back is Ryan Lamb. The "mercurial" fly half has fallen down the pecking order in recent times and I am surprised to see him here in place of Owen Williams. The backs cannot be said to be blooding any youth as Scott Hamilton, Matt Smith, Adam Thompstone, Terrence Hepetema join Blaine Scully.
Scully was looking in great nick before missing November with the USA and could well force his way back into the First XV after the news that Miles Benjamin is back on the long term missing list.
Young backs Scott Steele, Owen Williams and Henry Purdy cover from the bench.
Harlequins are winless in this season's LV Cup and are out to change that after naming a very strong side. Big money summer signings Paul Sackey and Nick Kennedy both start along dual code international Maurice Fa'asalavu and international tighthead and filmographer Paul Doran-Jones. Lions winger Ugo Monye is on the bench should the fire power in the first line run short.
Saturday's referee will be Gwyn Morris from Cardiff. Morris was due to referee Tigers last LV Cup game, away to Worcester, but was replaced at the last minute with Neil Hennessy. Morris's claim to fame is that he was Sam Warburton and Gareth Bale's P.E. teacher whilst they attended school in Cardiff.
Looking at the sides I would expect Tigers to play a wide game, with good tempo. There is precious little biff in the pack so the mobile game must be to the fore. It wouldn't surprise me if it comes down to the goal kicking of Lamb and Botica.
Leicester
15 Scott Hamilton
14 Blaine Scully
13 Matt Smith
12 Terrence Hepetema
11 Adam Thompstone
10 Ryan Lamb
9 David Mele (c)
1 Tom Bristow
2 Rob Hawkins
3 Fraser Balmain
4 Steve Mafi
5 Sebastian De Chaves
6 Michael Noone
7 Pablo Matera
8 Thomas Waldrom
Replacements
16 George Chuter
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Tiziano Pasquali
19 Harry Wells
20 Will Owen
21 Scott Steele
22 Owen Williams
23 Henry Purdy
Harlequin
15. Ollie Lindsay-Hague
14. Paul Sackey
13. Harry Sloan
12. Jordan Turner-Hall
11. Tom Williams
10. Ben Botica
9. Karl Dickson (C)
1. Mark Lambert
2. Joe Gray
3. Paul Doran Jones
4. George Merrick
5. Nick Kennedy
6. Joe Trayfoot
7. Maurie Fa'asavalu
8. Tom Guest
Replacements:
16. Nic Mayhew
17. Darryl Marfo
18. Kyle Sinckler
19. Kieran Treadwell
20. James Chisholm
21. Sam Stuart
22. Louis Grimoldby
23. Ugo Monye
Referee: Gwyn Morris (Wales)
Touch Judges: Roy Maybank (England), Nigel Carrick (England)
Since league rugby began in 1987 Tigers have taken on Quins 28 times in competitive games at the Stoop, winning 20, losing 8 and drawing 1. We have a mirror image at home with 20 wins and 9 losses. The recent form has not been so good as Quins have 4 of the last 5 meetings. The only Tigers win? Last season's Premiership semi final.
Tigers make 14 changes from the defeat to Ulster as they seek to rest the wounded, give chances to the fringe players and judiciously blood a small amount of youth. Frenchman David Mele cements his burgeoning reputation at the club by having the honour of the captaincy.
Tom Bristow a summer signing from London Welsh makes his first start for the club as he is joined by Rob Hawkins, a first start this season, and Fraser Balmain in the front row. Harry Thacker, so impressive in the first tranche of games, misses out with an injured ankle. 19 year old Italian Tiziano Pasquali backs up tighthead with experienced duo George Chuter and Boris Stankovich cover the other two.
Steve Mafi returns to the starting line up at the relatively unfamiliar position of lock. With Joe Cain and Tom Price out with injuries he is joined by Sebastian De Chaves in the First XV and Harry Wells on the bench.
The back row sees impressive Argentinean flanker Pablo Matera make his second start for the club. Matera has struggled for fluency since his arrival being unavailable for 7 of the 13 games since his October arrival due to international commitments and registration issues in Europe. From now on he is available for every game, injuries willing, so hopefully will use the next two weeks to make an unanswerable case for inclusion in the Premiership games next month.
Thomas Waldrom, in his first appearance since announcing his summer departure to Exeter, starts at 8 with Michael Noone on the blindside. On the bench there is a potential debut for openside flanker Will Owen, an England U-18 international.
Joining captain Mele at half back is Ryan Lamb. The "mercurial" fly half has fallen down the pecking order in recent times and I am surprised to see him here in place of Owen Williams. The backs cannot be said to be blooding any youth as Scott Hamilton, Matt Smith, Adam Thompstone, Terrence Hepetema join Blaine Scully.
Scully was looking in great nick before missing November with the USA and could well force his way back into the First XV after the news that Miles Benjamin is back on the long term missing list.
Young backs Scott Steele, Owen Williams and Henry Purdy cover from the bench.
Harlequins are winless in this season's LV Cup and are out to change that after naming a very strong side. Big money summer signings Paul Sackey and Nick Kennedy both start along dual code international Maurice Fa'asalavu and international tighthead and filmographer Paul Doran-Jones. Lions winger Ugo Monye is on the bench should the fire power in the first line run short.
Saturday's referee will be Gwyn Morris from Cardiff. Morris was due to referee Tigers last LV Cup game, away to Worcester, but was replaced at the last minute with Neil Hennessy. Morris's claim to fame is that he was Sam Warburton and Gareth Bale's P.E. teacher whilst they attended school in Cardiff.
Looking at the sides I would expect Tigers to play a wide game, with good tempo. There is precious little biff in the pack so the mobile game must be to the fore. It wouldn't surprise me if it comes down to the goal kicking of Lamb and Botica.
Leicester
15 Scott Hamilton
14 Blaine Scully
13 Matt Smith
12 Terrence Hepetema
11 Adam Thompstone
10 Ryan Lamb
9 David Mele (c)
1 Tom Bristow
2 Rob Hawkins
3 Fraser Balmain
4 Steve Mafi
5 Sebastian De Chaves
6 Michael Noone
7 Pablo Matera
8 Thomas Waldrom
Replacements
16 George Chuter
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Tiziano Pasquali
19 Harry Wells
20 Will Owen
21 Scott Steele
22 Owen Williams
23 Henry Purdy
Harlequin
15. Ollie Lindsay-Hague
14. Paul Sackey
13. Harry Sloan
12. Jordan Turner-Hall
11. Tom Williams
10. Ben Botica
9. Karl Dickson (C)
1. Mark Lambert
2. Joe Gray
3. Paul Doran Jones
4. George Merrick
5. Nick Kennedy
6. Joe Trayfoot
7. Maurie Fa'asavalu
8. Tom Guest
Replacements:
16. Nic Mayhew
17. Darryl Marfo
18. Kyle Sinckler
19. Kieran Treadwell
20. James Chisholm
21. Sam Stuart
22. Louis Grimoldby
23. Ugo Monye
 |
| Quins Kit |
 |
| Tigers Kit |
Referee: Gwyn Morris (Wales)
Touch Judges: Roy Maybank (England), Nigel Carrick (England)
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