Leicester Tigers face an uphill battle to qualify for the quarter finals and the chance of glory (or another April exit), the odds seem stacked against us, but just how could we qualify? In a homage to the indisputable greatest film of the 20th Century, Wayne's World, The Ultra Submarines have been dreaming of their best alternate endings:
The Red Rose Ending:
Stuart Lancaster’s Red Rose Revolution continues as English Clubs back up their six wins in round 3, and five wins in round 5 with a perfect seven in round 6. Wasps and Quins start us off, with thumping wins over Leinster and Castres. Northampton thrash Racing at the Gardens. Steffon Armitage is to the fore with another hat-trick as Toulon run in a try bonus point at Scarlets and Tom Youngs and Geoff Parling get braces as Tigers stroll to the bonus point win at Ravenhill.
On Sunday, Ford inspires Bath to a bonus point win. England reject Toby Flood has a nightmare, justifying Lancaster’s decision to alienate him and Toulouse limp to a loss in Montpellier. With the Prem Rugby twitter account exploding in delight, Saracens top off the weekend winning 40-10 at the Stade Marcel Michelin and sneaking their London neighbours Quins through in the final best runner up spot. At the end of a breathless day, heavyweights Toulouse, Clermont and Leinster are out and 6 of the 8 quarter finalists are English.
Group Winners:
Saints 24 pts PD +150
Toulon 23 pts PD +81
Sarries 22pts PD +66
Wasps 21 pts PD +80
Bath 20pts PD +53
Second Places:
Racing 19 pts PD +45
Tigers 18 pts PD +29
Quins 18 pts PD +22
Clermont 18pts PD +18
Toulouse 17pts PD 0
Third Places:
Leinster 18 pts PD +17
Glasgow 14 pts PD +9
Quarter Finals:
Saints vs Quins
Toulon vs Tigers
Sarries vs Racing
Wasps vs Bath
The French Connection Ending:
“L’Espirit de Clocher”, In France, no matter what the competition, what the tables say, you play for the honour of your home town, for the church bells. Castres defeat Quins 17-9, at the same time Leinster out class Wasps leaving Pool one irrelevant in the battle for second places.
In Pool 5, Northampton thrash Racing at the Gardens taking them to 24 points. Tigers scrape the try bonus point on the final play and a 10 point victory. Seemingly, heading out still with Sarries and Bath favourites to be best runner ups. On the Sunday, the clock tower strikes again. Montpellier are inspired to victory over Toulouse, in a humdinger of a game Toulouse pick up both a losing and try bonus going down 35-32. Clermont inspired by a large crowd and stung by previous losses hurt Sarries hard with a 21 point victory.
Group Winners:
Saints 24 pts PD +150
Toulon 23 pts PD +81
Clermont 23 pts PD +69
Leinster 23 pts PD +67
Bath 20pts PD +53
Second:
Racing 19 pts PD +45
Tigers 18 pts PD +11
Toulouse 18pts PD 0
Sarries 17pts PD +15
Wasps 16 pts PD +30
Third:
Quins 13 pts PD 0
Glasgow 14 pts PD +9
Quarter Finals:
Saints vs Toulouse
Toulon vs Tigers
Clermont vs Racing
Leinster vs Bath
The Cream also rises Ending:
In Pool 2, Leinster beat Wasps and Quins beat Castres with 4 tries and a 21 point margin. Given a target, Tigers rise to the challenge, reaching 18 points and a points difference of 31. It is said that Mulipola in full flight is like watching the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Toulouse see Montpellier off with a bonus point win to top their pool and Bath brush Glasgow aside. Finally, Clermont beat Saracens by 6 in a low scoring match.
Group Winners:
Saints 24 pts PD +150
Toulon 23 pts PD +81
Leinster 23 pts PD +68
Clermont 22 pts PD +54
Toulouse 21 pts PD +23
Second:
Bath 20 pts PD +52
Racing 19 pts PD +45
Tigers 18 pts PD +31
Sarries 18 pts PD +30
Quins 18 pts PD +29
Third:
Wasps 16 pts PD +29
Glasgow 14 pts PD +10
Quarter Finals:
Saints vs Tigers
Toulon vs Racing
Leinster vs Bath
Clermont vs Toulouse
The Scooby Doo Ending:
Injuries and Warren Gatland force Llanelli to send a team of kids out against the might of Toulon. After 20 minutes Toulon are 21 points up and strolling to victory, however enter our hero. Referee Wayne Barnes keeps hearing things. Can they be saying what he thinks they are? Eventually he calls the captain over:
“Look, if you don’t stop swearing I’m going to have to use some cards”
“We’re Toulon, Mate, we swear when we want. Why have they put a load of %^$£!*% kids out anyway the disrespectful $%^”&”
10 minutes later the match is abandoned with Toulon down to 8 players. At the disciplinary hearing it emerges the Young Scarlets provoked matters, asking for autographs. Barnes is found to have acted entirely in order with the rulebook and Toulon are fined 10 points. Tigers win the group and Mourad Boudjellal is left saying "Et je aurais pris la fuite avec elle aussi, si ce ne était pas pour vous mêler enfants!".
Bath drown in a Ford Ending:
Possibly less likely than the Scooby Doo Ending...
Wasps beat Leinster with Leinster getting a losing bonus point. Quins therefore crash out in third place. Saints beat Racing. Toulon win easily, Tigers limp to a one point victory in an awful game and seemingly out, the offy crashes as the "Cockerill out NOW!!!" thread gets to 100 pages by 10pm.
Then on Sunday, Glasgow beat Bath convincingly and Montpellier beat Toulouse by 4 points in an awful game. Clermont avenge their loss to Sarries in last season’s semi-final with a 45-0 victory.
Group Winners:
Saints 24pts PD +130
Clermont 23 pts PD +93
Toulon 23pts PD +79
Wasps 20 pts PD + 50
Glasgow 18pts PD +39
Second:
Racing 19pts PD +65
Leinster 19pts PD +44
Tigers 17pts PD +2
Toulouse 17pts PD -1
Sarries 17 pts PD -9
Third:
Quins 18 pts PD +30
Bath 15 pts PD +23
Quarter Finals:
Saints v Tigers
Clermont v Leinster
Toulon v Racing
Wasps v Glasgow
Reality:
Ultimately, there are many weird and wonderful ways we could qualify, including some not discussed here, Bath and Glasgow could draw for example. In reality, it’s easier to look at what results would knock us out.
Pool 1 – Anything involving both teams getting 2 points or Sarries
winning and Clermont getting 1 point is curtains for us, but by the time
that game is on we will know exactly what the scenario is.
Pool 2 – A Wasps win with Leinster getting 1 or more bonus points is the only result which stops us having a shot at overtaking second place in this group. They play first so we will know what we have to do.
Pool 3 – We have to win, almost certainly with a bonus point.
Pool 4 – Any combination of results which involves 3 points or more for Toulouse and either 4 points for Bath or 5 for Glasgow puts them out of reach.
Pool 5 – We can’t catch them so we don’t care. Technically one
of Saints or Racing Metro could fail to qualify with very strange
results elsewhere, but they will both be above Tigers regardless.
Thursday, 22 January 2015
Sunday, 18 January 2015
6 try Tigers keep Euro dream alive
A dominant Tigers performance kept our slim European hopes alive with a 6 try thrashing of an injury stricken Llanelli side. Tries from Miles Benjamin, Jordan Crane, Adam Thompstone, Sam Harrison and a brace for Tom Youngs secured a 40-23 win for hosts. Llanelli's tries came from prop Rob Evans and two late scores for wing Harry Robinson.
Tigers knew they needed the full 5 points. I wish they needed 5 points every week. Early indications were given when Tigers turned down the chance for 3 points and kicked the opening penalty to touch instead. For the lineout Mulipola was withdrawn and fed for a rumble. After gaining good front foot ball it was whipped away, Adam Thompstone's tight pass was crucial as Benjamin used his strength and trickery to beat two men for the finish.
Just 5 minutes later and Tigers again kicked an attacking penalty to the corner. This time the pack kept the glory for themselves, rumbling forward for Jordan Crane to dot down.
Both tries were excellently converted by Freddie Burns.
Rhys Priestland had nibbled away at Tigers lead with two penalties to make it 14-6. Tiger never make it easy for themselves though and just after coughing up a certain try, Ben Youngs' firing a bullet at Mulipola who was just a couple of feet from him and would surely have crashed over with a sympathetic pass, they found themselves down to 14 men. Graham Kitchener was baffling yellow carded on the half way line and the Scarlets scored from their own maul, prop Rob Evans the beneficiary.
Into the second half and Tigers were still playing with ambition. Croft and Kitchener combined on turnover ball inside our 22 to break out to half way, with Kitchener adding a glorious dink chip on the end. Thompstone also made a strong break down the right and was rewarded on 46 minutes as he scored his first try since March 2014. It came from an attacking move from a scrum. Yes such things do still exist. Llanelli were probably so surprised to see a first phase attack they didn't know what to do.
The bonus point was secured after the introduction of Ayerza and Tom Youngs saw the scrum go from secure to totally dominant. A penalty at a scrum saw the ball kicked for the touchline. Like the first half Tigers drove and were unstoppable. This time Tom Youngs was sequestered at the back of the charging pack.
Youngs secured his first ever brace for the club 5 minutes later, picking a beautiful inside out line from his brother's snipe around the fringe of the ruck.
With the bonus point and match secure Tigers took their foot off the gas and allowed some excellent handling from Llanelli to slip Harry Robinson round the corner and in for a try. Points difference is the new tie breaker this season for European Rugby, these late tries may still be the death of us.
Tigers struck one back through substitute Sam Harrison feeding off Robert Barbieri's break and pass before Robinson finished the scoring with another effort for the west Walians.
Tigers were impressive with Bai & Crane particularly to the fore. If we can keep up the forward interplay of the last few weeks but combined with a more miserly defence we can still make a late season for the Premiership title. Europe is in hit and hope territory. Our best bets to better as second places all play after us next Sunday so we must simply win and win well. If we are knocked out on a tie break then so be it.
Tigers knew they needed the full 5 points. I wish they needed 5 points every week. Early indications were given when Tigers turned down the chance for 3 points and kicked the opening penalty to touch instead. For the lineout Mulipola was withdrawn and fed for a rumble. After gaining good front foot ball it was whipped away, Adam Thompstone's tight pass was crucial as Benjamin used his strength and trickery to beat two men for the finish.
Just 5 minutes later and Tigers again kicked an attacking penalty to the corner. This time the pack kept the glory for themselves, rumbling forward for Jordan Crane to dot down.
Both tries were excellently converted by Freddie Burns.
Rhys Priestland had nibbled away at Tigers lead with two penalties to make it 14-6. Tiger never make it easy for themselves though and just after coughing up a certain try, Ben Youngs' firing a bullet at Mulipola who was just a couple of feet from him and would surely have crashed over with a sympathetic pass, they found themselves down to 14 men. Graham Kitchener was baffling yellow carded on the half way line and the Scarlets scored from their own maul, prop Rob Evans the beneficiary.
Into the second half and Tigers were still playing with ambition. Croft and Kitchener combined on turnover ball inside our 22 to break out to half way, with Kitchener adding a glorious dink chip on the end. Thompstone also made a strong break down the right and was rewarded on 46 minutes as he scored his first try since March 2014. It came from an attacking move from a scrum. Yes such things do still exist. Llanelli were probably so surprised to see a first phase attack they didn't know what to do.
The bonus point was secured after the introduction of Ayerza and Tom Youngs saw the scrum go from secure to totally dominant. A penalty at a scrum saw the ball kicked for the touchline. Like the first half Tigers drove and were unstoppable. This time Tom Youngs was sequestered at the back of the charging pack.
Youngs secured his first ever brace for the club 5 minutes later, picking a beautiful inside out line from his brother's snipe around the fringe of the ruck.
With the bonus point and match secure Tigers took their foot off the gas and allowed some excellent handling from Llanelli to slip Harry Robinson round the corner and in for a try. Points difference is the new tie breaker this season for European Rugby, these late tries may still be the death of us.
Tigers struck one back through substitute Sam Harrison feeding off Robert Barbieri's break and pass before Robinson finished the scoring with another effort for the west Walians.
Tigers were impressive with Bai & Crane particularly to the fore. If we can keep up the forward interplay of the last few weeks but combined with a more miserly defence we can still make a late season for the Premiership title. Europe is in hit and hope territory. Our best bets to better as second places all play after us next Sunday so we must simply win and win well. If we are knocked out on a tie break then so be it.
Thursday, 8 January 2015
Tigers pull the plug on Bath
Tigers avenged their record defeat to Bath earlier this year with a comprehensive 17-8 victory at the weekend that has put them level on points with Wasps in 4th and only 7 points short of Bath in second. Tigers won the game thanks to a ferocious first half where they will be disappointed to have only managed one try.
The Tigers intentions were revealed from the off; rather than kick the opening kick off clear they ran the ball from their 22. This aggressive mind set led to Tigers turning down 3 kickable penalties before claiming the try, a rolling maul with Tom Youngs burrowing his way over.
Bath's dirty play was in danger of spoiling the match as inexperienced referee Matt Carley refused to deal with the persistent off the ball thuggery of the Bath front row. Rob Webber's punch to Geoff Parling's face was baffling not given a red, or even yellow, card but Leicester did gain the penalty. When Bath offended from the subsequent lineout Owen Williams stepped up to nail the tricky kick from just inside the half way line to make it 11-3.
This was how it stayed until half time after some heroic try-line Bath defenc held Tigers attack for 21 phases in their own 22. Tigers were impatient, trying to force the ball wide, when the same kind of dogged rugby that secured the win against Sale would surely have been more effective. Tigers did have a penalty from this pressure but again were aggressive and attacking kicking it to the corner but this time Dave Attwood spotted his chance and stole the lineout.
Even with ball cleared Tigers had ample opportunity to create a score, Goneva making a notable midfield burst to within 10 metres of the line, but Bath's defence forced a knock on from Crane and this time the chance was truly lost.
Bath looked to have scored a try before half time but unlike last year the blatant forward pass was spotted and media darling Sam Burgess was denied his first score in Rugby.
During half time the fog descended and the second half was more of a slog fest. Tigers first score of the half came just 4 minutes after the resumption. Quick and aggressive Tigers defence pounced on a succession of poor Bath offloads, the final one from media darling Sam Burgess forcing Anthony Watson backwards with no support. Whilst in league he would be able to go again in Rugby Watson is penalised for holding on.
Williams slotted the 3 points from the Bath 10m line for the 11 point lead.
It was Tigers defence that then earned them their final 3 points as well. After a probing scuttling kick from Tait pushed Bath back into their own half Bath won clean ball from the line out; Ben Youngs was last in the line and rushed forwards to pressure Ford, unsettling the fly half and forcing the weak pass to Devoto. Devoto was not expecting it was was held up by the Tigers backrow of Gibson and Crane. From the scrum the inevitable penalty. And from the penalty the inevitable 3 points for Williams.
The final 20 minutes were all Bath, the west country men were asking questions but Tigers defence had most of the answers. Probably our front row were replaced 5 minutes too late, perhaps all of our subs. Bath turned down kickable penalties, whether because they really wanted the tries or have no faith in George Ford's kicking it is difficult to say.
When the 20 minutes were up Bath finally managed to score. Apparently. From the TMO pictures it appeared to be grounded well short but referee Carley awarded the try none the less. Ross Batty the second hooker to score from a driven maul.
With the clock dead and a kick for a perhaps valuable bonus point George Ford pulled the kick horribly wide, a not unusual sight for seasoned Tigers observers.
The good win was followed up with news that Owen Williams, Graham Kitchener & Fraser Balmain have all signed new contracts and the club has submitted planning documents to re-build the Aylestone Road end of the ground this summer. The club is really going somewhere at the moment, hopefully to Twickenham in May.
The Tigers intentions were revealed from the off; rather than kick the opening kick off clear they ran the ball from their 22. This aggressive mind set led to Tigers turning down 3 kickable penalties before claiming the try, a rolling maul with Tom Youngs burrowing his way over.
Bath's dirty play was in danger of spoiling the match as inexperienced referee Matt Carley refused to deal with the persistent off the ball thuggery of the Bath front row. Rob Webber's punch to Geoff Parling's face was baffling not given a red, or even yellow, card but Leicester did gain the penalty. When Bath offended from the subsequent lineout Owen Williams stepped up to nail the tricky kick from just inside the half way line to make it 11-3.
This was how it stayed until half time after some heroic try-line Bath defenc held Tigers attack for 21 phases in their own 22. Tigers were impatient, trying to force the ball wide, when the same kind of dogged rugby that secured the win against Sale would surely have been more effective. Tigers did have a penalty from this pressure but again were aggressive and attacking kicking it to the corner but this time Dave Attwood spotted his chance and stole the lineout.
Even with ball cleared Tigers had ample opportunity to create a score, Goneva making a notable midfield burst to within 10 metres of the line, but Bath's defence forced a knock on from Crane and this time the chance was truly lost.
Bath looked to have scored a try before half time but unlike last year the blatant forward pass was spotted and media darling Sam Burgess was denied his first score in Rugby.
During half time the fog descended and the second half was more of a slog fest. Tigers first score of the half came just 4 minutes after the resumption. Quick and aggressive Tigers defence pounced on a succession of poor Bath offloads, the final one from media darling Sam Burgess forcing Anthony Watson backwards with no support. Whilst in league he would be able to go again in Rugby Watson is penalised for holding on.
Williams slotted the 3 points from the Bath 10m line for the 11 point lead.
It was Tigers defence that then earned them their final 3 points as well. After a probing scuttling kick from Tait pushed Bath back into their own half Bath won clean ball from the line out; Ben Youngs was last in the line and rushed forwards to pressure Ford, unsettling the fly half and forcing the weak pass to Devoto. Devoto was not expecting it was was held up by the Tigers backrow of Gibson and Crane. From the scrum the inevitable penalty. And from the penalty the inevitable 3 points for Williams.
The final 20 minutes were all Bath, the west country men were asking questions but Tigers defence had most of the answers. Probably our front row were replaced 5 minutes too late, perhaps all of our subs. Bath turned down kickable penalties, whether because they really wanted the tries or have no faith in George Ford's kicking it is difficult to say.
When the 20 minutes were up Bath finally managed to score. Apparently. From the TMO pictures it appeared to be grounded well short but referee Carley awarded the try none the less. Ross Batty the second hooker to score from a driven maul.
With the clock dead and a kick for a perhaps valuable bonus point George Ford pulled the kick horribly wide, a not unusual sight for seasoned Tigers observers.
The good win was followed up with news that Owen Williams, Graham Kitchener & Fraser Balmain have all signed new contracts and the club has submitted planning documents to re-build the Aylestone Road end of the ground this summer. The club is really going somewhere at the moment, hopefully to Twickenham in May.
Sunday, 28 December 2014
Tiger the Comeback Kings as Sale jump the Shark
Phew. What a game. Tigers inept and inspired within the same 80 minutes as this roller coaster hit the heights and plumbed the depths. Tigers produced the second biggest comeback in club history to secure a vital 5 points and keep our dreams of a home semi final on life support for a few more weeks.
Tigers spent a grand total of 3 minutes in the lead. But like was said last week it doesn't matter. We could have won and this time we did. Julian Salvi was credited with the winning try; a huge heaving effort from forwards and backs alike saw Ayerza and Bai clamp on to the Australian and drive him home. Fantastic composure from all involved, as not only did the forwards grind it over but Benjamin & the other backs remained alive drawing men away from the breakdown, perhaps creating that small gap.
To the match itself Sale were much the better side during the opening 50 minutes, our wide defence was cut to ribbons by a fast and vivid Sharks attack, only heroic goal line defending kept the score to 30 points.
The first try was scored down Sale's right wing. Sam Tuitupou took the ball deep from Cipriani on our 22m line, shrugged off Freddie Burns then Tommy Bell's pretty ineffectual tackles to storm to the 5m line, dragged down by Crane and Benjamin. Sale then battered the line. Will Addison took out Miles Benjamin off the ball to open up a gap which Chris Cusiter spotted to dive over for the opening score.
Tigers attack by contrast was more leaden but did eventually get over the line. A fantastic trademark stepping burst from Goneva freed Benjamin to stride deep into the Sale 22, it seemed to take an age going side to side and the chance looked lost when Ghiraldini was being driven backwards. But Burns' quick thinking ripped the ball free and floated a short pass over a Sale man to Crane. Crane did the simple pass well to Bai who stormed over to level the score.
A Cipriani penalty for a rare Leicester infringement gave the lead back to Sale and Tigers could have been further behind but for Jamie Gibson forcing a knock on from Mike Haley as the full back tried to ground the ball for a try.
Tigers however took back the lead after an aggressive decision to kick a penalty to touch rather than at goal. A quick maul was, perhaps, inching forward when Youngs spotted the gap. For my money he was in himself but chose to feed Tait on the wing who just nipped in. After consultation with the TMO the try was awarded and Burns nailed the difficult touchline conversion.
This sparked Sale into a spell of sustained pressure and excellence as they scored 22 points in 15 minutes. Will Addison scored almost immediately after Tait; taking advantage of Tommy Bell being caught ball watching he slid wide of the full back for the easy score. With the first try as well it really was not Bell's day on his return to his former club.
Tigers were reeling at this point, Sale cutting loose in front of their biggest ever crowd. Thankfully one move was ended as Eiffion Lewis-Roberts the gargantuan prop was the man free on the over lap and Tait could lasso the big man at the knees.
Sale joined Tigers in turning down a stream of kickable penalties as they went for the kill. Eventually Gibson was sent to the sin bin, harshly as he was pinned at the bottom of the ruck, and Sale again went for the drive. Tigers withstood the pressure for a time but Nathan Hines was soon enough driven over for a 25-15 half time lead.
Quickly into the second half Sale extended their lead and secured the try bonus point to boot. Burns kicked from the shadow of his posts just barely finding touch allowing Sale to go quickly. The Sale winger's boot was clearly in the field of play when he took it and the lineout should have been brought back but referee Wigglesworth was at the mercy of his linesman who did not make the call.
Haley shimmied his way to the 22m tight to the touchline, Tait and Bell miscommunicated as the small blindside was clearly theirs to defend and that wily old fox Tuitupou took advantage ambling over for what seemed like the knock out score.
15 points down and Tigers were lost, down beat and out for the count. Only once before in the 134 year history of England's most storied club had "The Death or Glory Boys" dug themselves out of a hole bigger than 14 points.
But as Rocky Balboa rises bloodied and battered from the canvas asking for more the Tigers never gave up. On 50 minutes Gibson was re-introduced with Ayerza, Tom Youngs and Balmain, giving Tigers fresh impetus. Shortly after Thompstone replaced Bell, with Tait back at home at full back.
Tigers kicked again to the corner. Again it seemed to take an age of going left to right but eventually the half chance was created; Burns to Tait, the half jink and on to Benjamin with no room to manoeuvre but the Birmingham born winger dazzled the defence with a stop and go. He slighted to the right, then blasted past them on the left beating four men to squeeze into the corner with only millimetres to spare.
Belief was building now. But Sale were not quite in their shells just yet; they burst through the middle for the clinching score. Mat Tait as ever is Tigers weather vane, where his form goes so does the team, and his form was bubbling to brilliance as he ran the channel and blocked down the final pass in a surely try scoring Sale move, only to then pounce on the loose ball to eradicate the danger.
With Freddie Burns pulled after yet another midfield chip and chase horror ball, the calming presence of Owen Williams was introduced. The Welshman steered the Tigers around the park noticeably running the ball from deeper and kicking less frequently and more importantly less aimlessly. With the game now being firmly played in the Sale half and the home side leaking penalties it was inevitable that Williams would eventually be given a chance to cut the deficit to five. Belief was now coursing through the Tigers veins.
Sam Harrison was introduced at around the same time as Williams and added spark and pace to Tigers attack at just the time that Sale were tiring and perhaps starting to think about their first victory over Tigers in 11 games and over five and a half years.
The clock was beginning to run dangerously low and Tigers had to decide between aiming for 2 more penalties or going for the try.
In the end the decision was made for us as Sale did not infringe again until only four minutes were remaining; Will Addison again taking liberties with off the ball contact, this time taking out our support man and forcing Harrison into the ruck to secure the ball, thus losing crucial quick ball in a great position. Wigglesworth spotted the offence and showed no hesitation in brandishing the yellow card for the second time in the match.
To the corner they went, with new man Peterson brought into the fray, De Chaves won the lineout and was driven. Tigers broke off the side and towards the posts. Gibson, Barbieri, Bai. Peterson, Barbieri, Balmain. They all tried and were repulsed. Then Salvi lead a charge featuring Bai and Ayerza as his lieutenants, with Gibson adding his weight too. Standing behind the posts we could just see Bai's mocha head pop through the ruck and several orange shirts belly flop over the line.
Delight, relief, joy! It was given! The vociferous and partisan Sale crowd were appalled and Owen Williams did not exactly help matters milking every last one of his allotted 90 seconds, and then some, to kill as much of the clock as possible.
It was not yet over though as Tigers muffed the kick off and had to defend their lead for two agonising minutes until Leota knocked on to end a topsy turvey , a glorious, a memorable match.
Tigers spent a grand total of 3 minutes in the lead. But like was said last week it doesn't matter. We could have won and this time we did. Julian Salvi was credited with the winning try; a huge heaving effort from forwards and backs alike saw Ayerza and Bai clamp on to the Australian and drive him home. Fantastic composure from all involved, as not only did the forwards grind it over but Benjamin & the other backs remained alive drawing men away from the breakdown, perhaps creating that small gap.
To the match itself Sale were much the better side during the opening 50 minutes, our wide defence was cut to ribbons by a fast and vivid Sharks attack, only heroic goal line defending kept the score to 30 points.
The first try was scored down Sale's right wing. Sam Tuitupou took the ball deep from Cipriani on our 22m line, shrugged off Freddie Burns then Tommy Bell's pretty ineffectual tackles to storm to the 5m line, dragged down by Crane and Benjamin. Sale then battered the line. Will Addison took out Miles Benjamin off the ball to open up a gap which Chris Cusiter spotted to dive over for the opening score.
Tigers attack by contrast was more leaden but did eventually get over the line. A fantastic trademark stepping burst from Goneva freed Benjamin to stride deep into the Sale 22, it seemed to take an age going side to side and the chance looked lost when Ghiraldini was being driven backwards. But Burns' quick thinking ripped the ball free and floated a short pass over a Sale man to Crane. Crane did the simple pass well to Bai who stormed over to level the score.
A Cipriani penalty for a rare Leicester infringement gave the lead back to Sale and Tigers could have been further behind but for Jamie Gibson forcing a knock on from Mike Haley as the full back tried to ground the ball for a try.
Tigers however took back the lead after an aggressive decision to kick a penalty to touch rather than at goal. A quick maul was, perhaps, inching forward when Youngs spotted the gap. For my money he was in himself but chose to feed Tait on the wing who just nipped in. After consultation with the TMO the try was awarded and Burns nailed the difficult touchline conversion.
This sparked Sale into a spell of sustained pressure and excellence as they scored 22 points in 15 minutes. Will Addison scored almost immediately after Tait; taking advantage of Tommy Bell being caught ball watching he slid wide of the full back for the easy score. With the first try as well it really was not Bell's day on his return to his former club.
Tigers were reeling at this point, Sale cutting loose in front of their biggest ever crowd. Thankfully one move was ended as Eiffion Lewis-Roberts the gargantuan prop was the man free on the over lap and Tait could lasso the big man at the knees.
Sale joined Tigers in turning down a stream of kickable penalties as they went for the kill. Eventually Gibson was sent to the sin bin, harshly as he was pinned at the bottom of the ruck, and Sale again went for the drive. Tigers withstood the pressure for a time but Nathan Hines was soon enough driven over for a 25-15 half time lead.
Quickly into the second half Sale extended their lead and secured the try bonus point to boot. Burns kicked from the shadow of his posts just barely finding touch allowing Sale to go quickly. The Sale winger's boot was clearly in the field of play when he took it and the lineout should have been brought back but referee Wigglesworth was at the mercy of his linesman who did not make the call.
Haley shimmied his way to the 22m tight to the touchline, Tait and Bell miscommunicated as the small blindside was clearly theirs to defend and that wily old fox Tuitupou took advantage ambling over for what seemed like the knock out score.
15 points down and Tigers were lost, down beat and out for the count. Only once before in the 134 year history of England's most storied club had "The Death or Glory Boys" dug themselves out of a hole bigger than 14 points.
But as Rocky Balboa rises bloodied and battered from the canvas asking for more the Tigers never gave up. On 50 minutes Gibson was re-introduced with Ayerza, Tom Youngs and Balmain, giving Tigers fresh impetus. Shortly after Thompstone replaced Bell, with Tait back at home at full back.
Tigers kicked again to the corner. Again it seemed to take an age of going left to right but eventually the half chance was created; Burns to Tait, the half jink and on to Benjamin with no room to manoeuvre but the Birmingham born winger dazzled the defence with a stop and go. He slighted to the right, then blasted past them on the left beating four men to squeeze into the corner with only millimetres to spare.
Belief was building now. But Sale were not quite in their shells just yet; they burst through the middle for the clinching score. Mat Tait as ever is Tigers weather vane, where his form goes so does the team, and his form was bubbling to brilliance as he ran the channel and blocked down the final pass in a surely try scoring Sale move, only to then pounce on the loose ball to eradicate the danger.
With Freddie Burns pulled after yet another midfield chip and chase horror ball, the calming presence of Owen Williams was introduced. The Welshman steered the Tigers around the park noticeably running the ball from deeper and kicking less frequently and more importantly less aimlessly. With the game now being firmly played in the Sale half and the home side leaking penalties it was inevitable that Williams would eventually be given a chance to cut the deficit to five. Belief was now coursing through the Tigers veins.
Sam Harrison was introduced at around the same time as Williams and added spark and pace to Tigers attack at just the time that Sale were tiring and perhaps starting to think about their first victory over Tigers in 11 games and over five and a half years.
The clock was beginning to run dangerously low and Tigers had to decide between aiming for 2 more penalties or going for the try.
In the end the decision was made for us as Sale did not infringe again until only four minutes were remaining; Will Addison again taking liberties with off the ball contact, this time taking out our support man and forcing Harrison into the ruck to secure the ball, thus losing crucial quick ball in a great position. Wigglesworth spotted the offence and showed no hesitation in brandishing the yellow card for the second time in the match.
To the corner they went, with new man Peterson brought into the fray, De Chaves won the lineout and was driven. Tigers broke off the side and towards the posts. Gibson, Barbieri, Bai. Peterson, Barbieri, Balmain. They all tried and were repulsed. Then Salvi lead a charge featuring Bai and Ayerza as his lieutenants, with Gibson adding his weight too. Standing behind the posts we could just see Bai's mocha head pop through the ruck and several orange shirts belly flop over the line.
Delight, relief, joy! It was given! The vociferous and partisan Sale crowd were appalled and Owen Williams did not exactly help matters milking every last one of his allotted 90 seconds, and then some, to kill as much of the clock as possible.
It was not yet over though as Tigers muffed the kick off and had to defend their lead for two agonising minutes until Leota knocked on to end a topsy turvey , a glorious, a memorable match.
Wednesday, 24 December 2014
A visit from St Johan, The Night Before Christmas
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The wage slips were hung by the ledgers with care,
In the hopes that St Johan soon would be there.
The players were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Kruger-Rands danced in their heads.
And Mark in his ‘Kerchief and Edd in his salary cap,
Had just settled their accounts for a long winter’s nap.
When out in the press there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the boardroom to see what was the matter.
Away to Microsoft Windows I flew like a flash,
And wrote a stinging press release in a dash.
The moon on the breast of the new fallen dough
Gave the lustre of lucre to the objects below.
What, to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature South African, and thirteen tiny reindeer.
With a little old driver, so lively, quick as a swan,
I knew in a moment it must be St Johan!
More rapid than Ashton his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and Mexican Waved, and called them by name!
Now Morne! Now, Caroline! Now, Stephen & Dominic! Now, Nicholas, Now Nigel! Come On, see you all!
On Francois, On Clement, On Faffa & Lucas, On Mitesh, on Eddie & On Stephen Hall!
To the top of the Prem! To the top of the wall!
Now stash away! Stash Away! Stash away all!
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with regulations, salaries to the sky!
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With a sleigh full of South African bank accounts, and St Johan too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Johan came with some pounds.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to foot,
And his trophies were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of pound notes he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a spiv, just opening his pack.
His coins-how they twinkled! His pennies how merry!
His cheques were like roses, his notes like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the crunch of his tenners as crisp as the snow.
The stump of his pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old Boer,
And I asked for some players , I just wanted more!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the player's South African bank accounts, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Something special is happening at Saracens, and to all a good-night!"
Sunday, 21 December 2014
Derby Day Defeat
Tigers suffered a derby day defeat despite Northampton spending 56 minutes with a man less following Dylan Hartley's dismissal for an ugly elbow to Matt Smith's face. Tigers and Saints scored three tries each but Stephen Myler was more effective with the boot slotting 8 points to Williams & Burns combined effort of 4 points.
But to lay the blame solely on the kickers would be wrong. Tigers defence was shocking in the second half, with a man advantage Saints created overlaps at will, and the home side dominated both possesion and territory. ESPN's "Match Stats" records Saints having 76% of territory in the second half (what that exactly means I couldn't tell you but its not likely to be good.).
The kicking strategy from hand was simply not good enough. With a man advantage you should be able to kick to land not hand, as the old saying goes. If the kick is not on then there must be space somewhere in the defensive line. Instead Williams' kicks were almost always fielded by Ken Pisi, George North or James Wilson; not a trio you want running back at you.
Both times we got the ball into their 22 we scored tries relatively easily. But we barely had the ball inside their half let alone their 22.
The first 20 minutes was Tigers best spell, dominating the scrum but giving away very soft line out penalties that only J.P. Doyle will know what for. From a terrific Salvi turnover Tigers spread the ball wide left with Goneva making inroads to the 5m line. Northampton did well to bring him down but cynically infringed to slow the ball down. On the advantage play Smith drove Hartley out with a text book ruck clearance, the Saints captain took exception to this and after the whistle slammed the point of his elbow up Smith's nose.
Doyle's initial reaction was, baffling, only a yellow card; claiming it was a forearm to the jaw. Sean Davey, the TMO, insisted that it be upgraded to a red. When Sean Davey is having to tell the referee to stop being anti-Tigers you know its going to be a bad day.
Dorian West stormed down to the touchline to harangue the fourth official, I await with bated breath the e-mail campaign from the Saints fans offended by his behaviour.
Saints sacrificed centre Stephenson rather than a forward but it made no difference as Tigers mercilessly drove the home side over for a penalty try. Unfortunately that was where the mercilessness ended. Some weak refereeing in the face of a home crowd gave Myler the chance to nibble into the lead and Doyle evened the numbers up for ten minutes after the softest high tackle call I have ever seen on Tom Croft.
Tigers lead 7-6 at the break and were surely confident of the win. But in the second half we were out psyched, out muscled, out thought and out fought. Northampton wanted this and the triffling matter of missing Hartley was not going to stop them.
Tigers lost Blaine Scully to injury at half time and with him went a lot of defensive solidness and our energy. He is not the perfect winger, I could not see him making the kind of break Benjamin did for the third try, but he energises those around him. It was down Benjamin's wing that Northampton scored all three of their tries.
The first was whilst Croft was still off; North took the ball at first receiver and cut out 4 Tigers defenders with a beautiful pass, Ma'afu fed Waller who dummied his way past Benjamin and over the line. For me Benjamin has to smash Waller and see if the prop can make the testing final pass.
Wilson missed the conversion and the game settled down for 15 minutes. Freddie Burns was on for Matt Smith, booed from the field by the Saints fans for his crime of being assaulted, and made a delightful shimmying break through the midfield to the 5m line. Tigers recycled quickly and Goneva burst through two ineffectual tackles to give Tigers the lead 12-11 on 60 minutes. Williams missed the testing wide conversion.
Saints struck back with a piece of clinical finishing. Myler spotted the blindside overlap; drew in Benjamin as the last man and manufactured a cheeky off load that I'd doubt you'd see in a text book. Foden raced away using the supporting North as a decoy to create confusion in Tait's mind before having the strength to hold off Ben Youngs.
At this point it looked like Saints were going to race away to a big winning margin. But Tigers dug in. And kept kicking. And kept kicking. It was baffling, frustrating and stupid. And it worked.
Mat Tait chased his own up and under. The lithe full back tackled Foden and in the ruck slipped the ball on our side. Crane fumbled, but backwards, I think, I'm sure, in clearing the ball wide but it mattered not. It went to Benjamin on half way. He went inside. He went outside. He scorched past Phil Dowson and curved into the 22 beating more men. He couldn't quite make it but Youngs was there quickly and whipped it away to Burns and through Ghiraldini onto Goneva. Burns nailed the conversion from the same spot Williams missed the first and Tigers had the 3 point lead with ten minutes to go.
Northampton huffed and the they puffed. Could we do it? We were holding, just barely but we were holding them. We couldn't get the ball and they were steaming forwards, their big beasts of Manoa, Lawes, Dickinson and Burrell were coming to the fore.
They got a penalty and kicked for the corner. If we could hold the maul we could win the match. But the Saints were confident. You could see it in them. Flowing from us folding in the semi, they fancied it. I fancied us but there was just a niggle. Just a random thread hanging loose.
We smashed back the maul. Yes. They came left. We held. They came left. We didn't. Burrell took three men to tackle him. We were sucked in. Again. And they scored through Elliott.
We didn't deserve to win, but that's not the point. We could have won with 3 minutes of better defending, or better kicking.
Tigers are now 11 points off second place with 12 games to go. The comeback has to start now.
But to lay the blame solely on the kickers would be wrong. Tigers defence was shocking in the second half, with a man advantage Saints created overlaps at will, and the home side dominated both possesion and territory. ESPN's "Match Stats" records Saints having 76% of territory in the second half (what that exactly means I couldn't tell you but its not likely to be good.).
The kicking strategy from hand was simply not good enough. With a man advantage you should be able to kick to land not hand, as the old saying goes. If the kick is not on then there must be space somewhere in the defensive line. Instead Williams' kicks were almost always fielded by Ken Pisi, George North or James Wilson; not a trio you want running back at you.
Both times we got the ball into their 22 we scored tries relatively easily. But we barely had the ball inside their half let alone their 22.
The first 20 minutes was Tigers best spell, dominating the scrum but giving away very soft line out penalties that only J.P. Doyle will know what for. From a terrific Salvi turnover Tigers spread the ball wide left with Goneva making inroads to the 5m line. Northampton did well to bring him down but cynically infringed to slow the ball down. On the advantage play Smith drove Hartley out with a text book ruck clearance, the Saints captain took exception to this and after the whistle slammed the point of his elbow up Smith's nose.
Doyle's initial reaction was, baffling, only a yellow card; claiming it was a forearm to the jaw. Sean Davey, the TMO, insisted that it be upgraded to a red. When Sean Davey is having to tell the referee to stop being anti-Tigers you know its going to be a bad day.
Dorian West stormed down to the touchline to harangue the fourth official, I await with bated breath the e-mail campaign from the Saints fans offended by his behaviour.
Saints sacrificed centre Stephenson rather than a forward but it made no difference as Tigers mercilessly drove the home side over for a penalty try. Unfortunately that was where the mercilessness ended. Some weak refereeing in the face of a home crowd gave Myler the chance to nibble into the lead and Doyle evened the numbers up for ten minutes after the softest high tackle call I have ever seen on Tom Croft.
Tigers lead 7-6 at the break and were surely confident of the win. But in the second half we were out psyched, out muscled, out thought and out fought. Northampton wanted this and the triffling matter of missing Hartley was not going to stop them.
Tigers lost Blaine Scully to injury at half time and with him went a lot of defensive solidness and our energy. He is not the perfect winger, I could not see him making the kind of break Benjamin did for the third try, but he energises those around him. It was down Benjamin's wing that Northampton scored all three of their tries.
The first was whilst Croft was still off; North took the ball at first receiver and cut out 4 Tigers defenders with a beautiful pass, Ma'afu fed Waller who dummied his way past Benjamin and over the line. For me Benjamin has to smash Waller and see if the prop can make the testing final pass.
Wilson missed the conversion and the game settled down for 15 minutes. Freddie Burns was on for Matt Smith, booed from the field by the Saints fans for his crime of being assaulted, and made a delightful shimmying break through the midfield to the 5m line. Tigers recycled quickly and Goneva burst through two ineffectual tackles to give Tigers the lead 12-11 on 60 minutes. Williams missed the testing wide conversion.
Saints struck back with a piece of clinical finishing. Myler spotted the blindside overlap; drew in Benjamin as the last man and manufactured a cheeky off load that I'd doubt you'd see in a text book. Foden raced away using the supporting North as a decoy to create confusion in Tait's mind before having the strength to hold off Ben Youngs.
At this point it looked like Saints were going to race away to a big winning margin. But Tigers dug in. And kept kicking. And kept kicking. It was baffling, frustrating and stupid. And it worked.
Mat Tait chased his own up and under. The lithe full back tackled Foden and in the ruck slipped the ball on our side. Crane fumbled, but backwards, I think, I'm sure, in clearing the ball wide but it mattered not. It went to Benjamin on half way. He went inside. He went outside. He scorched past Phil Dowson and curved into the 22 beating more men. He couldn't quite make it but Youngs was there quickly and whipped it away to Burns and through Ghiraldini onto Goneva. Burns nailed the conversion from the same spot Williams missed the first and Tigers had the 3 point lead with ten minutes to go.
Northampton huffed and the they puffed. Could we do it? We were holding, just barely but we were holding them. We couldn't get the ball and they were steaming forwards, their big beasts of Manoa, Lawes, Dickinson and Burrell were coming to the fore.
They got a penalty and kicked for the corner. If we could hold the maul we could win the match. But the Saints were confident. You could see it in them. Flowing from us folding in the semi, they fancied it. I fancied us but there was just a niggle. Just a random thread hanging loose.
We smashed back the maul. Yes. They came left. We held. They came left. We didn't. Burrell took three men to tackle him. We were sucked in. Again. And they scored through Elliott.
We didn't deserve to win, but that's not the point. We could have won with 3 minutes of better defending, or better kicking.
Tigers are now 11 points off second place with 12 games to go. The comeback has to start now.
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Tigers tamed in Toulon
Tigers unbeaten streak of 6 competitive games came crashing to a halt with a dispiriting defeat in Toulon. The defending double European Champions avenged their loss at Welford Road 6 days previous with a blistering opening 20 minutes where they romped to a 16-0 lead. Tigers held the Red and Blacks from then onwards with the final 60 odd minutes yielding only seven more points, the game finished 23-8.
This was Tigers worst defeat since October's calamity at Kingsholm; and bore similar hallmarks. A trip to a famously partisan atmosphere, a poor start snowballing into a unassailable lead before a gritty second half keeping the score respectable.
Tigers were simply out muscled for the first try. A succession of negative tackles that halted the man but only after he gained ground eventually led to Ali Williams crashing over to the right hand side of a goal line ruck. Some commentators have claimed there were "no missed tackles" in this move. Bollocks. If your tackle from 2 metres out hasn't stopped him grounding the ball then to me it's pretty obviously missed.
Whilst Toulon never got that momentum rolling again they were constantly knocking Tigers back in both attack and defence. Tigers forwards were unable to gain ground and referee George Clancy's more classical (read lax) interpretation of tackler's release and Tigers inability to ruck them clear contributed to a stream of slow ball and penalties for holding on as Basteraud in particular wreaked havoc.
The lack of a forward platform was exacerbated by a poor day with the boot from Owen Williams. The usually reliable Welshman was off target with two of three kicks, costing the Tigers 5 points in the first half. Were he successful with those kicks the half time score would have been 16-10 and if still a slim chance of the win then definitely the chance of the losing bonus point. Williams punting was also askew with several kicks straight into touch and one penalty kicked dead. The Welsh wizard did spark Tigers sole try, with a powerful burst up the middle setting up Jamie Gibson to put Blaine Scully away to the corner.
With Ulster losing away to Llanelli second place in the group is achievable but no bonus points in four games has left us behind in the race for one of three best runners up spots.
This was Tigers worst defeat since October's calamity at Kingsholm; and bore similar hallmarks. A trip to a famously partisan atmosphere, a poor start snowballing into a unassailable lead before a gritty second half keeping the score respectable.
Tigers were simply out muscled for the first try. A succession of negative tackles that halted the man but only after he gained ground eventually led to Ali Williams crashing over to the right hand side of a goal line ruck. Some commentators have claimed there were "no missed tackles" in this move. Bollocks. If your tackle from 2 metres out hasn't stopped him grounding the ball then to me it's pretty obviously missed.
Whilst Toulon never got that momentum rolling again they were constantly knocking Tigers back in both attack and defence. Tigers forwards were unable to gain ground and referee George Clancy's more classical (read lax) interpretation of tackler's release and Tigers inability to ruck them clear contributed to a stream of slow ball and penalties for holding on as Basteraud in particular wreaked havoc.
The lack of a forward platform was exacerbated by a poor day with the boot from Owen Williams. The usually reliable Welshman was off target with two of three kicks, costing the Tigers 5 points in the first half. Were he successful with those kicks the half time score would have been 16-10 and if still a slim chance of the win then definitely the chance of the losing bonus point. Williams punting was also askew with several kicks straight into touch and one penalty kicked dead. The Welsh wizard did spark Tigers sole try, with a powerful burst up the middle setting up Jamie Gibson to put Blaine Scully away to the corner.
With Ulster losing away to Llanelli second place in the group is achievable but no bonus points in four games has left us behind in the race for one of three best runners up spots.
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