Rugby - Six Nations, S14, Lions, Can't Wait

[Havak]

Nice to see Wilko having a little Indian summer to his career. Hope it lasts.

Surprised by Jennings ban - very out of character stuff for him.

[LDiCesare]

I missed the end of Stade Français - Bath Pity, it looked like a good game. But they really should try to enlarge the field a bit. 3 meters or so of in-goal is pretty ridiculous at this level.
In otheer news, Brive president seems to be saying they'll try to find more soul next year, wiht players from Brive. It may not be a bad idea, since fielding only 3 French players on the field looks a bit ridiculous for a French club. All the more so when the team doesn't even win or perform well.

[kittenOFchaos]

I missed the end of Stade Français - Bath Pity, it looked like a good game. But they really should try to enlarge the field a bit. 3 meters or so of in-goal is pretty ridiculous at this level.
In otheer news, Brive president seems to be saying they'll try to find more soul next year, wiht players from Brive. It may not be a bad idea, since fielding only 3 French players on the field looks a bit ridiculous for a French club. All the more so when the team doesn't even win or perform well.

If you want to talk about tiny in-goal areas, then go to Sale's Edgeley Park, it is minute and there is next to no space on the sidelines too. Tbh, it isn't up to being a rugby ground...

Sale won against Cardiff Blues, in large part due to some very powerful running by Sheridan, Gaskell and Sisaro Koyamaibole and also due to a referee who made a number of decisions in our favour. Having Powell off for 10 minutes was a key factor in our win...it was a foul, but it wasn't worthy of a yellow card, not by a long chalk. That and Cohen being abit of a diver...then I've never liked Cohen as he has always had a poor attitude (as far as I can tell from his demeanour).

Losing Sheridan is a huge loss to Sale as he was playing really well and seemed to be taking his game up a level...typical really, at Sale our players seem to get injured very frequently.

[Havak]

It's the modern game. In essence we make them play far too much rugby through the year, the hits get ever harder and eventually something gives, normally on the body of a player. Ted is a loss to England as well as Sale because we lack depth at loose head.

Tigers game sounded fairly typical - Italian sides are improving and their packs provide ever stiffer tests but too many holes in the back lines still. Tigers never left first gear really and ran in six tries.

Now Mr Dupuy has had a renaissance in his career but doesn't he look shocking in pink?

[finbar]

Bath and SF were entertaining to the very end, LdiC. Bath, better overall than SF on the day, I thought, yet again managed to lose a match they should have won. In the end, poor discipline cost them. DuPuy had already missed a kickable penalty that would have sealed the match. But Bath's problem seems to be that they don't have any decent alternative to their policy of running the ball from anywhere on the field. They're terrible at shutting things down with pick and drives because they get turned over every time. As they were yesterday.

Banhan looked very good. He seems to have added some dimension to his game. Or, at least, someone has taught him to run with the ball in two hands - rather than tucked under one arm - causing even more nightmares for the defence. They're already scared of him, now they don't know which way he's going or passing, and some of his off-loading was sublime. His YC was ridiculous, an over-reaction from the officials. Nicky Little's shoulder charge - with a token tackling left arm trailing a long way behind - that took out Arias' ribs should certainly have been carded.

Leicester's scoreline, boosted by a handful of soft tries, flattered the performance, but that's always on the cards with fit professionals taking on what amounts to - by comparison - semi-professionals. Tigers did what they had to do, even if their discipline was, yet again, terrible. And I'll say it again - why they don't start Ben Youngs and stick with him is beyond me.

The positive for Italian rugby was that Viadana - as with Treviso against Munster - actually threatened the Big Boys with some fluent backline play.

[Havak]

I can shed some light on Youngs courtesy of Steve Johnson (ex Tigers skipper and Radio Leicester summariser - no relation). Apparently there are issues with his concentration beyond thirty minutes and they are working on it. Seriously.

He is an excellent prospect and one heck of an impact player. I stand by what I said about Grindal last time - he is like a scattergun with where he passes the ball to you.

Youngs is a potential world class player - and Croft is already one. Moody has his moments - he is certainly along with Ellis one of the bravest players in the game (and not as routinely dangerous as Harry with it) But I cannot remember any other time when Tigers had so few. Most of our players are simply 'good' and we are used to more than that. Spoilt in fact.

Apparently Blaze has the potential to be (Steve Johnson again) but a run of injuries has held him back.

[finbar]

Well, I was hardly aware that Grindal was on the pitch. I quite agree that there's a shortage of top quality. Crane, to me, remains a very hard worker with skills but who still lacks the pace to take him to another level. I think it's lack of pace that will always hold him back. His discipline also remains a huge problem. The Newbys, Hamiltons, Murphys, etc, are all capable of being very good but not top quality. I was interested to see Twelvetrees. Anonymous, I thought, till he finished up at 10, where, a few bungles aside, he showed very good vision and terrific hands.

[Havak]

He counts as 'promising' only at this stage though.

I wish you had seen (Geordan) Murphy as a young man before the first metal plate went into his legs. Better then than Kearney is now IMO. Still a fine player and a very loyal clubman - did you know he was broght to Tigers by Bob Dwyer from under the very noses of Leinster?

It's a shame Cockerill couldn't cope with Varndell. He has faults but the boy will score given good ball. Maybe that is where we went wrong in that we gave him none.

According to Corry Crane is one of the strongest players he has ever teamed with - but you are spot on that lack of pace will scupper him. A shame because as you say he has skill.

Amorosino showed at the weekend that he cannot handle high ball btw - watch Premiership sides target that ruthlessly now. And with Smith and the other Murphy struggling for form the Varndell thing may keep biting us yet.

[finbar]

I forgot to mention Amorosino. Quick, lovely hands to set up one of the tries on the weekend, but a definite potential turnstile in the defence department. Viadana ran straight past him on their way to their try.

I've always had the highest regard for G. Murphy. Never thought he was given fair opportunity with Ireland, too often picked on the wing. Yet I also think Stuart Barnes once made an interesting point in relation to Murphy and Ireland and Leicester - he performs at a higher level for Leicester because he knows he belongs and is wanted there.

Varndell wouldn't have suited Leicester's style in the glory years, didn't while he was there, and wouldn't have in the future unless the club underwent a fundamental change in their approach to rugby. Which they never will. Let him go.

[Havak]

It's not easy.

One other thing from the Viadana game - our unused sub was Tom Youngs (brother of Ben). I mentioned him earlier in the thread - he has been on loan at Nottingham where they have been playing him at hooker. He has been recalled, he is in our HC nominated squad and he is back at centre. Strange stuff.

[Havak]

Crikey - with Sheridan, Mears and Vickery all out injured it really should force Jonno to look towards youth for the autumn series. It should.

[kittenOFchaos]

Crikey - with Sheridan, Mears and Vickery all out injured it really should force Jonno to look towards youth for the autumn series. It should.

Front-rows improve with age...

Bring back Jason Leonard

[finbar]

our unused sub was Tom Youngs (brother of Ben). I mentioned him earlier in the thread - he has been on loan at Nottingham where they have been playing him at hooker. He has been recalled, he is in our HC nominated squad and he is back at centre. Strange stuff.

Isn't he that lump of a kid who came off the bench a couple of times last season?

Crikey - with Sheridan, Mears and Vickery all out injured it really should force Jonno to look towards youth for the autumn series. It should.

Al Baxter's available.

[Havak]

It actually might be that desperate unless he does promote the Saxons lads - including Tigers Dan Cole. Seriously he has to go for youth, surely?

Yes T.Youngs is very powerfully built. 'Lump' fits him quite well.

Jason - what a player he was. Won the world cup for us by not scrummaging at a point when the ref was pinging us every time the Wallaby front row collapsed. You might recall it differently of course?

[Havak]

Tough game for Tigers on Saturday - away at Reading Exiles.

Any points from that one will be hard earned.