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[finbar]

Interesting contest this morning in wintry New Zealand. As much as could be gleaned in the terrible conditions, the AB forwards surprised me, the Irish line out was poor, Dan Carter was scratchy but improved as the match went on, and the Irish just didn't have the means of manufacturing a line break. And Chris White had a shocker.

This afternoon, the new Bock coach, for whatever reason, has declined to start his strongest team. Not sure why.

[finbar]

Mmmm. As of a moment ago, we're up to 16 pages of very unhappy Leicester supporters airing their feelings on the Tigers Forum on the club website. With moderators chiming in advising against defamation.

[finbar]

Mmmmmmmm. The Boks sure put the 6 Nations into perspective.

Oh, and is Shane Williams incapable of scoring a try without some childish bit of tomfoolery thrown in for good measure?

[MOBIUS]

Originally posted by finbar
Mmmmmmmm. The Boks sure put the 6 Nations into perspective.

Yaaay, normal service resumed and rose-tinted glasses well and truly off!

Oh, and is Shane Williams incapable of scoring a try without some childish bit of tomfoolery thrown in for good measure?

Works though...

[Joe Kick Ass]

Originally posted by finbar
Oh, and is Shane Williams incapable of scoring a try without some childish bit of tomfoolery thrown in for good measure?

What? You mean putting Bryan Habana on his arse?


Highlight has to be Stoddart's appearance at FB though. Wtf was that slap tackle on Montgomery?

[finbar]

Originally posted by MOBIUS
Yaaay, normal service resumed and rose-tinted glasses well and truly off!

The word "outclassed" sprang to mind as I watched the game.

Works though...

Not for me.

Highlight has to be Stoddart's appearance at FB though. Wtf was that slap tackle on Montgomery?

Who on earth is Stoddart and what the hell was he doing pretending to be a fullback?

In other news, the Argies made it a clean sweep for the SH against Frank Hadden's merry band of mediocrities.

In the only good news for the NH, Nick Easter has a broken hand and won't take the field in New Zealand. Thus opening the door to a potentially exciting England back row.

[Havak]

Chris White hasn’t had a good game since he first helmed a tri-nations match five years ago. It ruined him.

So Tigers pulled the trigger on Loffreda on Friday. Received wisdom amongst the fans is that it is particularly unfair because they think Jake White was lined up before Marcelo got sacked

I don’t disagree with you over Tigers – but we neither of us know the full story. And never will. The persistent message from the other coaches was that Marcelo was a nice guy but brought nothing to the coaching table. If that is true it did need a resolution. If it was done for the expediency of bringing in White then it would be hard for me to respect how Marcelo was treated.

What I will judge the club on now is how the side performs next season – anything less than silverware and the die is now cast that the coach gets sacked. Which would turn us into a Chelski like club. And that would not make me happy.

Thanks to LDiCesare for the background on Toulon. I have seen our media generally refering to them concisely as ‘free spending’ Toulon so it is nice to know a bit of background about them.
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The rugby over the weekend was interesting – O’Driscoll gets more deluded with age as he talks about his regrets at not closing the game out (a game they lost by ten points). Wales were shockingly rusty for Grand Slam winners – brilliant individual score from Shame Williams aside. So naturally I really enjoyed watching them get pushed aside. It’s also a shame their show boating fullback (Roberts)didn’t waste another micro second with his silly finger pointing as he might have blown his try if he did – I’m sure Gatland roasted him for it after the game.

Warren pulls no punches does he? He talked of being ‘ashamed’ and also said that some players looked like ‘rabbits in the headlights’. Can Wales salvage anything in Pretoria? I don’t think so – but perhaps they will prove me wrong. I’m not sure the Slams have done them any favours – much as I am sure they love to beat England they really need to beat us and France in a year where we are performing well. Then they have to take it on the road and beat an SH side. Then, and only then, I might concede they have the potential to be a world class side.

A cracking Saxons game to cap my day off – USA have fallen away over the last decade as the big countries became fully Pro and it shows. I hadn’t realised Scott “Aussiest Aussie Bloke in the world” Johnson had taken the head coach role with the Eagles either. He said he had wanted the game “to show him where they stood, and it certainly did so”.

Crane recorded a man of the match performance, the coach described Chuter and Hodgson (the scrummy Hodgson not Clueless Charlie) as outstanding, Ugo Monye scored a beautiful solo try and Banahan got a hat trick. The opposition was what it was – but it was a damn enjoyable game to watch never the less.

One player I had not payed much attention to before was the young lock Skivington from Wasps – my mistake that as he is clearly a hugely talented player. He was a rampaging menace in the loose and superb in the line out – he outshone our lad Blaze (who did nothing wrong).

With Nick Easter out of the NZ tour I look forward to that young dynamic back row after all.

[SuperSneak]

Hey Finbar! It's been awhile...how's life?

[finbar]

Life in Italy is extremely good, thanks, Sneak. I hope never to have to set foot in Australia again.

The persistent message from the other coaches was that Marcelo was a nice guy but brought nothing to the coaching table. If that is true it did need a resolution. If it was done for the expediency of bringing in White then it would be hard for me to respect how Marcelo was treated.

I find it difficult to believe that he brought nothing to the table. A coaching nong doesn't take a a bunch of disparate characters with differing levels of talent, weld them into a unit, and devise a game plan that takes them to third in the World Cup. I suspect it's more that Cockerill and Co weren't interested. Cockerill, in particular, given that he enjoyed his time as head coach during the World Cup and found it difficult to relinquish the reins. Particularly to (a) an outsider; and (b) a foreigner. Tigers culture can have its positives; equally it can be a very unpleasant negative. This is the only explanation for Cockerill's public disloyalty to the coach and his despicable public badmouthing of the players in the lead up to the finals.

It also explains why Pat Howard rode out a season or so of less than successful performances without being shafted. He was a Tigers boy.

Loffreda was basically powerless. He inherited a squad with big deficiencies. Regardless of the trophies last season. Other clubs stepped up a couple of notches, playing powerful, skillful 15-man rugby. Leicester couldn't. No coach on earth could wave a wand over Andy Goode and turn him into an inspiring half back. And, as I've said before, Aaron Mauger was wasting his time within a structure and a mindset that couldn't be less suited to his talents.

Anyway, regardless, the board decided they'd made a mistake with Loffreda. Presumably an expensive mistake - fiscally, not to mention the face they've lost. So who holds the board accountable? If they're right in their decision, it seems to suggest an appalling lack of due diligence prior to making the appointment. I would also argue that the Aaron Mauger purchase was equally ignorant for the above reasons. The pattern is that the board buys names without due diligence.

Paul Ackford is saying that Darryl Gibson is the front-runner. Presumably that's rubbish. If it is Jake White, I'd be mightily surprised if - like Loffreda - he were to be stuck with support staff not of his choosing. Richard Cockerill might find himself back in the swamp from which he crawled.

I'm also quite sure the board has someone else lined up. Unlike the Waratahs, who sacked Ewen McKenzie without a replacement in sight, I'd me very surprised if the Tigers board were as stupid. Though they do have a track record.

The Saxons match wasn't shown here unfortunately. I still want to know what George Chuter's doing in a development squad. Scott Johnson had signed to coach the USA before the Waratahs coaching fiasco happened. At one point, there was talk of him trying to combine the two jobs, but he ultimately settled on the USA job. Being paid a sh*tload, apparently. And he will earn it.

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No massive surprises in Robbie Deans' first Wallaby team to face the Irish. Luke Burgess is the new #9, he who transformed the Waratahs from mid-season when he was finally selected. Quick, exuberant, aggressive, good hands, probably sometimes guilty of trying too hard, but at least he tries. Matt Giteau and Berrick Barnes are at #10 and #12, swapping their World Cup roles (post-Stephen Larkham's injury exit). So no shortage of speed or ideas. It's probably the most creative 9-10-12 Wallaby set up in a decade. Peter Hynes on the wing is probably the closest thing to a surprise. He's an out and out speedster. James Horvill, the new lock - Dan Vickerman is out through injury - is promising, even more so is his bench back-up Dean Mumm who can play both lock and on the side of the scrum. As always, the dead weight in the team is the front row.

Shame to see Joe Worsley on the bench in place of Tom Croft. I assume it's for experience. The AB back row is pretty big and very aggressive.

The ARU is talking up the French tour, claiming it's not a French B squad. Fact is, it is, but everyone knew it had to be because the tour stupidly clashes with the French club final series, hence the four best clubs contribute no one to the tour.

[Havak]

Apologies - been busy.

Gibson is in the running but Jake White remains favourite by a long way.

With Chuter the rumour is there have been attitude problems and he has been booted to the Saxons to sort himself out. As with all rumours take with a healthy pinch of salt.

However big and aggressive the AB back row is leaving Tom Croft out for Narraway and Worseley is an act of wanton stupidity. I guess the coach was afraid to try Haskell at 8 in NZ. Worseley failed to hold down a starting spot for Wasps in the run in so that is inexplicable. So Rob Andrew must indeed be picking the side.

If Borthwick and Palmer are the best locks we can field then we must have a bakers dozen of injuries in that area. And the bench is poor in the backs (excepting Tait). Paice (London Irish hooker) and Care (Quins scrummy) are exciting talents though - and Kay never let anyone down for effort.

So a Tigers-lite England side - and after this season that is no surprise I guess. Narraway had better perform after Crane's MoM showing in Canada though?

Don't see the Irish troubling the Wallabies too much - the Irish front row is no longer anything to write home about and whilst their locks are certainly formidable the back row isn't and I also think they are outclassed in the backs from what you say. BOD is living solely on reputation these days sadly.

[LDiCesare]

The French team is indeed sub optimal.
Rmove the 4 best French clubs.
Then, remove some under 20 players who are playing the U20 World Cup but would otherwise qualify for France (namely Parra and David from Bourgoin).
Players you'd expect to see in the team are:

Faure (Sale),
Nallet (Castres),
Chabal (Sale),
Picamoles (Montpellier),
Ouedraogo (Montpellier),
Harinordoquy (Biarritz),
Yachvili (Biarritz),
Boyet (Bourgoin),
Trinh-Duc (Montpellier),
Traille (Biarritz).

Of these 10, all could be expected to be among the 26 even if Toulouse, Paris, Perpignan, Clermont players were available, but that's not even likely all would be there, particularly the back row and Yachvili.
The front row is not great (some possible props are hurt which didn't help the selection), but it'll be against Australia, so that should be ok. Locks should be all right too.
The back row is a mix of unexperienced Montpellierains and an past-his-best Biarrot.
Scrum halves are third choice but Yachvili can still be good.
Fly halves are ok although Boyet lacks international experience, it's good to finally have him on a tour
Among the backs, only Traille has the quality to be there. All other players are there because the better players are busy elsewhere.

Considering the Aussie backs, I think the French will be cut to pieces, but I've been wrong before.

[finbar]

When?

And did I see you posting in the Technology forum? Be aware that's a yellow card offence around here!

[Havak]

sub optimal is a terrific expression

Finbar - you can judge our chairman for yourself. His interview with local TV is on the BBC Sport site under the heading "Tom stands by Loffreda dismissal".

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
sub optimal is a terrific expression

And that legitimises posting in the Technology forum?

Finbar - you can judge our chairman for yourself. His interview with local TV is on the BBC Sport site under the heading "Tom stands by Loffreda dismissal".

I saw it. Don't get me re-started! Sacking a coach for the way the team lost? After seven months in charge of a squad over which he had no say? Players - professionals! - aren't responsible when they play like rank amateurs? Spare me. Please. It was a classic knee-jerk reaction driven by internal Tigers culture and politics.