Tigers v London Irish Match Preview
By ChrisC
November 18 2013
So Anyway...... There we were sitting in the pub thinking what to do with ourselves when this bald headed bloke comes in. We’d had a few pints, as you do on a Saturday afternoon, so when this bloke asked if we fancied another round we said “OK”. He asked how many of us were there and we said a couple of dozen – “ideal” he said. So he got ‘em in, we all said “cheers” and set to.
“What you lads doing now?” our new pal asked us as he fetched another round. “Nothing much” we replied.
“Fancy a bit of kick about?” he said. We looked at each other and thought it didn’t seem a bad idea although apart from working in the same factory and messing about in the park on a Sunday morning we didn’t really know each other that well. “Yeah OK” we said, “Where we going for it, cos it’s nearly dark?”
He said he’d got a field down the road which had lights and we could walk to, so we didn’t have to drive and there were a couple of dozen other lads, who were up from London for the day, already there.
We told him we didn’t have any kit and he said he’d fix us up, so off we went and he said there’d be a curry and a few pints afterwards – his shout. We looked at each other, shrugged and followed him out of the pub.
It was a smashing field, really green with big stands round it and a few people watching. I think they were waiting for their buses.
He showed us where we could change and gave us some boots and green shirts with matching shorts – very smart we looked too.
Anyhow out we went, there were a few more people watching and they even clapped us – which was nice although music was on now and was really loud, mind I like “Smoke on the Water” and the people waiting for their buses were clapping along even though they were having to stamp their feet in time to the music to keep warm, so it was a bit of a laugh.
Then some Irish geezer chucked us a ball, “there y’ go” he said. We were a bit surprised cos the ball was an egg shape. “How we gonna kick this?” we asked. “Watch the other lads” he said. This other lot had fancy chequered shirts, we thought they looked a bit girly to be honest but anyway they start throwing the ball to each other and then a couple of them kicked it to each other as well. Seemed easy enough and definitely easier than footie but how you’d get away with all the handball was a bit of mystery.
We thought it was all a bit weird but we were a bit oiled up to be truthful and with curry and more beer on offer we thought we might as well have a go.
These blokes in the fancy shirts looked as if they all knew each other and were really good and when we stopped for a break the little bald bloke really laid into us – could he swear! We said “Oi, we’ve never played this game before, so don’t start”. Fair play to him he did say he was sorry for going off on one but he thought we’d be better at it than we turned out to be and was a bit disappointed.
We said “yeah well those other blokes in the girly shirts wouldn’t let us have the ball thing and the bloke who kept blowing that bloomin’ whistle took no notice but as soon as we got a turn he made us give it back to ‘em”
At the end we were a bit knocked about to be honest and a couple of the smaller blokes didn’t fancy the curry and went home in a bit of a mood I reckon.
Anyway we had a good night. The bald bloke was really nice and wedged up for everything so when he said he’d got some lads coming up from Reading with a mate of his called Brian in a couple of weeks and did we fancy it, it seemed rude to say no. What could go wrong?
What indeed?
Now a couple of weeks have passed since the Quins game the disappointment that I felt has faded somewhat. While it’s true that Tigers’ backs played as if they’d just met in the Swan & Rushes the injuries (it’s OK to call it a crisis!) and the players missing messing about with Lancaster and his acolytes had clearly taken their toll, the outcome was still an unacceptably incoherent display and of course the injuries continued to pile up.
Since then though what I guess could be called the “A team” have a 100% record in the LV= Cup (probably my favourite of all the competitions!!) and if things don’t improve elsewhere I think it could develop some importance for Tigers by the time the next two rounds take place at the end of January.
In the meantime London Irish, who visit Welford Road this weekend, also lost their last Premiership match, going down to Saints by five points and then after losing to Falcons up at Kingston Park by eight points in the LV= Cup entertained Saints again, also in the LV= Cup, and got a real tonking losing by twenty points with Brian Smith’s priorities seemingly very much focussed elsewhere.
With Tigers at sixth in the Premiership, a hefty ten points off the top placed team and London Irish languishing in eleventh place, but in little danger as they have a nine point cushion over the isolated Worcester at the bottom who have to visit Reading in early January. Both clubs need a concerted run of successes, starting on Saturday.
Tigers welcome back their England players although Mulipola is injured after his endeavours with Samoa and Dan Cole may start on the bench although I’d start the world class tight-head and even Tom Youngs, who looked jaded for England, should be getting back into the swing of things for Tigers with just a fortnight until the make or break fixtures with Montpellier. With Ayerza still on international duty and Mulipola injured I expect that the hard scrummaging Boris Stankovitch will be in Tigers’ #1 shirt to make a hard-nosed and experienced front row for the home side.
And they’ll need to be on their mettle as London Irish held their own for much of the time against a Saints’ front row albeit sans Hartley and Corbisiero.
I can’t see why Smith would do other than stick with Welsh international John Yapp who’s joined from Edinburgh where he spent a solitary season after a decade with Cardiff Blues. With more than a score of caps for Wales Yapp is an uncompromising character but one who I think could find British Lion Dan Cole a bit of a handful, after all almost every other loose-head does!
Stalwart and sometime England international David Paice went well against Saints and while the line out wasn’t faultless that was more to do with the excellence of Saints than shortcomings from Paice who I thought influential at the breakdown.
Samoan tight-head Halavatau, whose given name is Leopold, looks certain to give Stankovitch a bit of a workout but, refereeing permitting, I see Tigers having the edge in the dark recesses of the scrum.
George Skivington started in the Irish second row in their Premiership matches against Quins and Falcons but gave way to Welsh world cup player Ian Gough for the first visit of Saints and based on his fine performance that day, when he was alongside Kiwi Bryn Evans, (who’s really taking the “Movember” theme seriously having a fine set of whiskers already), I expect him to continue unless Skivington is restored to fitness.
Another British Lion; Geoff Parling hasn’t played much rugby while with England partly due to their temporarily breaking him and then due to “Gutter Graham” opting for Messrs Launchbury and Lawes. There’s no reason then for the ex Falcon not to feature for Tigers from the outset come Saturday and I’d pair him with the athletic Graham Kitchener who, like Slater, gives Tigers an extra flanker with real pace. The Irish duo did have a few tricky moments at the hands of Christian Day and Manoa and their task will be no less of a challenge against Parling and Kitchener who I think will edge things.
Tigers will need the athleticism of their locks to help combat the threat from London Irish at the breakdown where they were super aggressive against Saints denying the visitors quick ball for much of the match however it was at the cost of a flood of penalties flowing from Andrew Small’s whistle. Saints infringed in similar manner but with more subtlety and so Irish got the worst of things. How either side avoided a Yellow card for the amount of infringing that was going on remains a mystery.
World cup playing Samoan flanker Ofisa Treviranus went really well against Saints and gave them all kinds of problems even though he’s most often on the blind side wherever he plays (and he could equally be at #8) he does so right on the edge and looks to be a candidate for a Yellow Card to add to that which collected last season.
In fact Treviranus will probably be alongside that veritable penalty giving, Yellow Card machine; Tongan Chris Hala’ufia who remarkably has been given thirteen Yellow Cards and one Red as well as suspensions since he arrived from Parma for the 2006/7 season, first at Quins and then, after a couple of seasons at the Stoop, latterly at Irish.
He must be the player for whom the epithet “abrasive” was invented. He has tremendous go forward, his team look a different proposition in attack when he’s on duty and his work in defence is exceptional if sometimes “headstrong” so he’d be a handful alongside Treviranus and with New Zealand born, but Scotland qualified and in the current international squad, Blair Cowan is newly arrived from Worcester, I was very impressed with his carrying when I watched him play last, the Irish back row is an impressive unit and really took it to Saints who are no slouches. However with Blair’s involvement with Scotland Declan Danaher could be on parade but my feeling is that young Scot Kieran Low could get the nod ahead of the veteran flanker.
With Julian Salvi sure to be playing for Tigers I wonder if Brian Smith might be tempted to bring in somebody like Canadian Jeb Sinclair who played a good bit at open side last term after he arrived from Western Province and move Treviranus to #6. Sinclair’s not a true specialist open side though and provided that, unlike Mr Wigglesworth when he was in charge of Tigers’ last match against Quins, this week’s officials actually know the laws, Salvi could once again prove pivotal at the breakdown.
With Croft injured and unless Mafi is back from compassionate leave I’d rather like to see Jamie Gibson going out to prove a point against his old club. His work at the restart was the stuff of legend when he was at Reading and with both Benjamin and Thompstone keen to chase down kicks I think he’d be a good choice.
Thomas Waldrom appears to have edged himself back into Richard Cockerill’s good books of late and I’d like to see him at #8 for Tigers with his pace and skill then Crane could provide “impact” later.
Salvi, Waldrom and Gibson could really give the visitor’s half backs something to think about, especially if the Tigers’ pack gets a nudge on.
At half back Irish international Tomas O’Leary is very calm and collected. Good distribution, strong defensively but threatens little around the fringes and with ex Tiger Ian Humphreys likely to be at fly half for the visitors, as they’ll want the best chance available of punishing any misdemeanours by the hosts, the Tigers’ flankers will be looking to push him deep and force him to kick, not permitting him to bring his dangerous backs into play. Defensively against Saints Humphreys was sound making one superb tackle on Manoa as the big American burst down the blind side of a line out. I still don’t sense that he relishes the contact any more than he did when he was at Tigers or Ulster but he does his job with admirable fortitude.
Tigers will at last have back their lightly used but greatly mistreated England half back pairing of Ben Youngs and Toby Flood.
Youngs hasn’t been in great form but to lose his international place to a rival who often can’t get a start for his club must be galling. Similarly Flood has had to sit and watch a player, who simply can’t play as a dynamic attacking fly half, hold sway.
I hope Youngs is back to his best as with a good platform he can fix the opposition defence with some sniping early on. Flood has been playing deeper than usual as a consequence of Youngs’ hesitance and the duo need to get up on the gain line to give Dan Bowden and the newly restored outside centre Matt Smith some room to operate.
For their part and after departures London Irish has a new and settled centre partnership in Irishman Eamonn Sheridan and Fergus Mulchrone who’ve both arrived from Rotherham where they made a few starts together.
I’ve not seen much of these two but they looked a good combination against Saints although Wilson’s try came through the centre as they bought Pisi’s decoy. Smith could go with the latest Armitage; young Guy or Samoan international Sa but my guess is he’ll stick with this season’s established pairing and look to exploit a familiarity that the Tigers’ centres won’t yet have.
Out wide I’d bet it’ll be Topsy Ojo with that other stalwart Sailosi Tagicakibau preferred to ex Tiger Alex Lewington. Amazing that the Samoan international arrived at Irish from Taranaki way back in the 2004/5 season.
Now thirty-one Tagicakibau is still a handful, great defensively and still a prodigious finisher as he proved when taking a wonderful pass from O’Connor just before half time against Saints.
I did notice that when Ojo takes up a defensive position in the centres he can stray out of the defensive line forming a dog leg which Bowden may be able to exploit, especially with his knowledge of Irish defensive stratagems which, while not current, will still be useful.
The visitors may well find themselves opposite three faces more usually to have been found in their own ranks not so long ago as Gibson and Bowden could be joining Adam Thompstone who’s enjoyed a real renaissance since his arrival at Welford Road and will also be relishing a chance to put one over some of his old pals.
With Miles Benjamin getting game time in the LV= Cup he looks to be getting back to the kind of fitness that has been so long denied him. All that’s now required is for him to find the form that he showed at Sixways that first brought him to Tigers’ attention. He came close to a try against Ospreys and with Thompstone we have two wingers who’ll chase down kicks with enthusiasm. What’s now needed is for Flood to shorten his kicks to give them a fighting chance. He was doing it for England during his cameo last Saturday now I’d like to see him do it for Tigers.
Niall Morris remains the default selection for Tigers at full back with Tait still injured and Hamilton having lost some of his pace with the passing years. Morris will doubtless be interested to see James O’Connor at the far end of the pitch and hoping that the newly arrived Wallaby stays there.
My goodness O’Connor just oozed class in the Saints’ match. Marvellous footwork, near faultless distribution with offloads out of the tackle that just looked impossible to achieve.
Tigers just must not under any circumstances kick the ball to him for if they do they’ll pay. Boy will they pay!
Watching Irish playing against Saints it was hard to understand their lowly league position. They played some good stuff but mostly in their own half. Their scrum stood up well against the depleted Saints, their line out went well enough, they were excellent (if often illegal) at the breakdown, their mauling was high class, they defended well, the half backs were OK as were the centres and the back three were very good but for all that unless O’Connor was involved attacks just fizzled out as they drifted wide, accompanied by the opposition’s defenders.
O’Connor is the key to Irish’s success on Saturday so Tigers must keep him in his own half and it’ll be a home win but if they encourage the wayward Aussie downfield it could be a different story.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:11:25:20:57:18 by Tiggs.
Next week is the time to gel for our last games against french opposition fro some years
'Lions led by donkeys' .. Lest we forget
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:11:19:15:08:46 by odd-shaped vagaries.
Let's hope our new boys are gaining familiarity and that the returning internationals can fit in seamlessly. I'd also like to see OTY and DC slotting in for half the game at least - but I trust Cockers to know whether or not they need R&R. It's a difficult balance between resting them and the 'getting back on the horse' thing I suppose.
Knowing them to be true Tigers, I suspect they'll be raring to get back to WR.
I suspect this is going start cagey but hopefully as some of our internationals blow the cobwebs away we'll be able to move up through the gears.
That game you described at the begining - I played in a few like that!
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