Rugby - New Year, New Coaches, New Laws

[Havak]

And that I think is called tempting fate. Tigers next game is away at Falcons.

Quins opened the door for us slightly on Sat - then Sale and Wasps pushed it almost back fully closed yesterday.

Our last game is Quins at home and if we beat them and Newcastle we will finish fifth. We need another side above us to drop points in order to sneak fourth. A fifth place finish would be our worst since 2004 and would pile the pressure on our Puma-in-chief.

We should never have reached this position - and have only ourselves to blame.

Now can someone give me back the two hours I wasted watching my taping of Irish v Quins? 6-3 on 75 mins and only caffeine kept me awake. I see what you meant earlier in the season about Irish flattering to deceive Finbar - what they do can look great to the uninitiated. But so much of it is done at the wrong times or in the wrong place and there is no cutting edge to it. In particular their back line spends most of it time running laterally across the field as far as I can see?

[finbar]

Well spotted, sir. Irish do their best work behind the advantage line, which makes things like the possession and territory stats look good, but not much else. Getting over the advantage line is their problem. Their usual last resort is for Catt or Peter Hewatt to hoof it. The match was on replay here. I already knew the score but watched the second half anyway. Dire dire stuff. Quins did defend well, but Irish were very poor. Quins are another outfit riding high beyond their abilities. Though they've improved a lot since I saw them early in the season when they were inept.

Unless Wasps implode, I can't see anyone stopping them.

[Havak]

Unfortunately I agree. They really have mastered the play off system and the art of when to peak. And they still haven't won the league since 1997 in my book.

Quins were skippered on Saturday by Will Skinner - one time apprentice to Neil Back. I still think we were wrong to release him.

[finbar]

Wasps seem to be the only other team, apart from Leicester, with a bona fide culture that lifts and drives them. Leicester's is AWOL at the moment.

Skinner is a good player. It was a mistake.

[Havak]

Talking of our AWOL culture Tigers are today denying that Loffreda is going to be sacked after the executive meets on Wednesday.

That is rather like the dreaded vote of confidence?

[finbar]

I doubt they'll sack him, particularly with the Argie #10 on the way. He hasn't had a full season anyway. I suspect they'll tell him next year had better be a vast improvement. Or else.

But I've been wrong before ...

[Havak]

Surely not.

[finbar]

Irish's only hope was for Toulouse to have a terrible day. They only had a very poor day. Not poor enough for Irish to win. Chalk up two of Irish's tries to Haymans, add two tries to the Toulouse score for Pelous' absolute butchery of two certainties.

[Havak]

At least the Exiles coach is taking it well though eh?

Apparently they won the game - except for Alun Lewis disagreeing. There could be a disrepute charge coming for Mr Smith.

[finbar]

What a dill. He even compared Irish's injury list to Toulouse's. Small difference in quality between the two injury lists, I'd've thought. He also forgot to mention the crooked Irish line out throws that the officials missed. Pity he had to undermine what was a good Irish effort. The bottom line was that Toulouse won by playing about ten minutes - absolute maximum - of quality rugby.

Sarries were brave in the extreme. Amazing how the two matches mirrored each other.

[Havak]

Yes - I really thought they might sneak that drop goal at the end.

Toulouse v Munster should be a good final (I hope).

[Joe Kick Ass]

f*ck.

What's the point of lineouts now then? Might as well restart with taps...

[finbar]

Interesting times I've missed. Everyone's fleeing Newcastle. The reasons are spurious - losing players to the national team interrupts selection and team continuity, therefore opt for foreign players of lesser ability - and there are obviously still big problems behind the scenes. Toby Flood to Leicester, apparently. To play where? Ahead of Aaron Mauger? Certainly not ahead of the Argie #10.

And David Lyons, Waratahs and Wallaby #8, is off to the Scarlets. A bit of a shame is David Lyons. Still only relatively young, he always had enormous potential. Huge man, very mobile, a bit injury prone. But he has never been able to come to grips with the off load. Too often he would hit the ball up, only for all momentum to stop when the ball went to ground with him.

Bath were again dazzling in the first half last night. A re-run of their effort against Leicester. In fact, even better than that effort. Against Leicester, they lost their way in the second half. And, to a much lesser extent, last night, too. A better team than Sarries would have done more damage to Bath in the second half, just as Leicester did. Bath are front-runners. They can be scintillating. When they have things their own way. I don't think a team like Wasps will let them have things their own way.

[finbar]

FREE TO GOOD HOME - One Argentinian rugby coach, shop soiled, bare trace of East Midlands accent.

[LDiCesare]

I read the dreaded "let's collapse mauls freely" alongside with free kicks when mauls have become unplayable (instead of scrums) are going to be tried worldwide for the first and "in a northern hemisphere competition" for the second.
Brrr...