Tigers v Sale Sharks Match Review
By JK
December 28 2010
Tigers 54 Barbarians Sale Sharks 21 Here was a game to demonstrate much that is wrong with the structure of top-level English rugby today. Tigers at home shorn of first-choice hooker, loose-head and scrum-half due to EPS player agreement with Sale away looking like a team (of bed-blockers as referenced on other threads) who, without Sheridan and Hodgson, frankly just didn’t fancy it mis-matched against far stronger opposition.
So really only one thing left to do on the day after Boxing Day in Leicester... turn back the clock and play it like a Barbarians fixture! Welcome the away team with some promising up-and-coming youngsters (Fearns, Imiolek), the odd Leicester connection (Tuilagi) and a few stellar names (Cueto; Peel, Cohen and Tait even if their stars are not shining as brightly as in former times), get a few youngsters on of our own (Tuilagi, Harrison), don’t bother with kicks at goal – kick for the corner or take the scrum, run everything with plenty of fancy passing, don’t bother tackling too hard and everyone should have a jolly afternoon. And so it proved with the game effectively over as a contest after ten minutes and the bonus point secured before half-time.
The Tuilagi brothers each showed us what they can do in the first period with Alex’s strength taking him over despite the close attentions of the Sharks’ defence. Good muscular breaks from Manu allowed him to score one try (assisted by an incredible flick pass from his big brother) and create another. One of our party reckoned that Alex might have received a slightly forward pass for his try but the ref was yards back and the rest of the CAT stand didn’t see it in Wenger-esque fashion. Looked pretty flat to me! The video ref was called in to adjudicate on a Rob Hawkins effort in the corner near us but from our handy one-eyed CAT stand vantage point, it didn’t really look as if it was ever in any doubt.
Special mention to Jeremy Staunton who showed much more invention and intention to run than usual and set up the first try with a sharp offload then kicked all four first-half conversions. His otherwise perfect kicking afternoon was only spoiled in the second half by the width of a post which denied him eight from eight. At three converted tries up, Leicester looked likely to rack up a cricket score (odds were shortening that they could at least overhaul Australia’s Boxing Day first innings total), but they seemed to go off the boil a little midway through the first half and following a lineout deep in Tiger country, Sale managed an Asaeli Boko try from a five metre scrum which won’t have pleased the Tigers’ coaching staff at all.
Leicester’s response was Manu Tuilagi’s try shortly before half time which prompted the start of the CAT stand beer queues – a few drinkers missed the game’s only penalty attempt which fell sadly short and wide from Sale’s Nick MacLeod but you felt they were more interested in running the clock out and getting off for a half-time cuppa than worrying about three points.
The second half followed much the same pattern as the first with, if anything, slightly more Barbarian-style play. A beautiful dummy and behind-the-back pass from Geordan Murphy, increasingly coming in at fly-half, put Scott Hamilton through. Manu Tuilagi’s second try was a gem, breaking tackles and handing off to power his way over before some seasonal generosity and Barbarian style (lack of) tackling from the Tigers allowed the visitors their second try from Dwayne Peel in a move involving Mark Cueto started from their own 22. Again, the Tigers’ defence coaching staff will not be amused. The riposte was good though with two classic backs tries in the same left-hand corner, Scott Hamilton getting his second and substitute Matt Smith getting on the score sheet.
The final word of the game went to the visitors with Kristian Ormsby getting over to remind Leicester that conceding three tries to such weak opposition really isn’t going to cut it for the rest of the campaign when the seasonal largesse on offer today runs out. Ultimately, the Sale scrum was constantly under pressure giving the Leicester backs time and space to turn on the style. Sheridan may have made some difference? The next home game is going to be a completely different kettle of fish and Messrs Ashton and Foden will definitely be up for it against what they might perceive to be a leaky defence.
Anyone who underestimates Exeter (as Tigers clearly did earlier this season) also does so at their peril, especially at Sandy Park. This was a mismatch and it can be no surprise that our squaline friends would love to lower the salary cap and try to drag us down to the level of the also-ran-relegation-dodgers. We haven’t got any more mis-matches left this season having already played all six of the Premiership’s bottom teams at home now so with every home game looking more competitive from now on... thanks for the festive entertainment, back down to serious business.
All of the Tigers looked good but against mediocre opposition and behind a dominant pack, it's relatively easy to do so. Those with a more refined outlook on the game may find reason to think otherwise but I can’t not consider Manu Tuilagi as Man-of-the-Match. When he has the ball, it always looks as though something is going to happen and today, albeit against weak opposition, it invariably did: breaks, tries and at least one shudderingly big hit. Surely he needs to be thought of as a first team fixture now. Special mention also to the ref who didn’t seem to do too much wrong for once so other refs please take note: it can be done.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:01:04:18:48:16 by Stephen Bath.
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