Tigers v Gloucester AP Match Preview
By ChrisC
February 10 2014
Ready to Rumble? If you listen you’ll maybe hear a low rumbling sound. It’s the tectonic plates of rugby union grinding against each other over the “Union Fault”.
Never heard of the “Union Fault”? It’s the fault line that was created when the sport went professional. The unions and IRB always seemed to exhibit a latter day Qing attitude in considering those who invested their money in the sport as merchant adventurers only marginally less desirable than those of the East India Company. Even public companies not excused their club room animus.
Allies were soon found by the sport’s grandees in the guise of the European Rugby Cup Company (ERC) who joined them in sitting upon high and considering, down their patrician noses, the “rough trade” that was increasing its power in the English and French branches of the sport, all the while certain that these johnnie-come-latelies would disappear and the clubs would come scurrying back with their tails tucked firmly between their legs to gain succour from the teat of the unions and their affiliates who could resume their patronage and condescending largesse.
There the unions and the acolytes sat, smug and complacent as an MP with planning permission for a wind turbine, oblivious to the merits of mercantilism instead viewing the whole issue as a passing perturbation. Even when PRL and LNR served contractual notice of their withdrawal from competitions organised by the ERC the unions and its hand maiden didn’t react, exhibiting an extraordinary degree of solipsism.
The Irish provinces were already complaisant as serfs to their union while the impoverished Scots’ unions must have seen the whole issue as a rerun of the nineteenth century Highland Potato Famine heralding an exodus of players with PRL cast as the causative blight.
Surely the Welsh regions would doff their caps to the WRU wouldn’t they? Not a bit of it, here too the merchant adventurers had built trading posts and, in a financial straightjacket imposed by the ever dinosaurian WRU, the regions rebelled. The plates were shifting and the Welsh regions found a willing ally in PRL to help the shift.
Now I have little doubt that the English RFU would have sided with their establishment friends had they not been faced with hosting the World Cup less than a year hence and recognised that a refusal to sanction any competition in which the PRL clubs wished to participate would lead to a World Cup wrecking schism. So the RFU’s potentially malign intervention was averted.
Still the meetings go on and the movement of the plates has settled into a slow but increasing rumble of disconnect. PRL for their part are financially secure without any European competition and if the member clubs have a reduced schedule, lessening demands on players in the season ahead of the World Cup, who knows it could prove beneficial to England’s chances.
Meanwhile where it really matters; on the club scene, last weekend Tigers scraped a win at Sixways while Gloucester chalked up another loss at the A J Bell stadium as Sale continued their revival.
Tigers’ pack went well in most facets of the game against Worcester however it seemed that Tigers’ strategy, for an all too familiar wet and windy Friday night at Sixways, was to play ten man rugby which relies heavily on a good performance from the pack (so far so good) and pinpoint accuracy from the half backs and that’s where things went awry. Though for all the hand wringing and gnashing of teeth in the aftermath from supporters and pundits alike who seem to think that hard track rugby can be played in the teeth of a gale and driving rain at the beginning of February, it was still a victory and Tigers remain equal on points with Quins who’re still in fourth.
Gloucester meanwhile, in Manchester, lost by four tries to two, not helped by rookie referee Matthew Carley yellow carding Puafisi and Hudson thereby reducing the visitors to thirteen players at one stage. The Gloucester pack has, since time immemorial, been an immutable strength of the Kingsholm based club but probably since the days of Dean Ryan there’s been a drift away from the dogged relentlessness of the Gloucester eight come scrum time.
Afoa and Hibberd are to strengthen the Cherry and White’s front row for next season but meanwhile a big question mark hangs over the Gloucester pack although the presence of Puafisi has doubtless improved matters.
Even though two thirds of Tigers’ front row are with likely to be with England on Six Nations duty the trio of Mulipola, Hawkins and Ayerza will provide a significant threat to the visitors next Sunday when I expect Nick Wood, who continues to fight the good fight, to be with the mobile Wallaby Huia Edmonds and Tongan international Sila Puafisi who joined from Tasman in the NPC as a sort of South Seas emergency service to try to stem the relentless backwards motion of the Gloucester scrum.
Neither Edmonds or his main potential rival for the Gloucester #2 shirt; Darren Dawiduk can be considered scrummaging machines and I’m not convinced that Puafisi has made sufficient improvement to matters to prevent the Tigers’ front row to initiating a peristaltic effect over their opposition.
Nigel Davies has an enviably settled pairing at lock with the experienced James Hudson, a really classy operator at the line out, and young twenty year old Elliott Stooke who’s looking a good prospect. He does his job at the line out, is exemplary in defence and gets around the park with the enthusiasm that one senses is lacking elsewhere.
Graham Kitchener was reportedly close to appearing at Sixways, a last gasp failure of a fitness test on the ankle he injured in training thwarting the Tigers’ star. If he is fit then I hope to see him start alongside another rising star; Ed Slater who hopefully will have been saved from the depredations
of Graham (Gutter) Rowntree’s coaching during his time in the England camp. What on earth do the England coaches do to perfectly good players who are selected on their club form to reduce them to mediocrity when in an England shirt.
Jamie Gibson and Steve Mafi are real forces at the lineout so I’d be happy enough to see either start from that perspective before later giving way to the other in what I suspect may be an area where Tigers will find some advantage.
If Tigers work at the breakdown has improved of late, with Julian Salvi in the vanguard, then that of Gloucester has become lost its crepuscular recesses.
I suspect that Worcester bound Matt Cox, one of the brighter stars in the Gloucester firmament, will be on the blindside for the visitors making way for Kvesic on the open side. When watching Gloucester at the breakdown I get the impression, probably wrongly, that having paid big bucks to encourage the ex Worcester player to move to the club of his childhood fantasies, Gloucester felt that the nascent star would be able single-handedly provide a one man conveyor of quality ball to his half backs.
It seems to have escaped somebody’s attention at the Cherry & Whites’ Hartpury training ground that the breakdown is a collegiate affair and it is not enough to deploy a high quality open side and then stand back and wait for him to perform alchemy. Ironically Twelvetrees’ absence isn’t helping matters as he’s an enthusiastic participant in this theatre of operation.
Academy graduate Gareth Evans looks likely to fill the sizeable boots of Ben Morgan who’s on duty with England. Still just twenty-two he doesn’t give his side the massive go forward that is produced by Morgan but works hard in defence. Meanwhile I expect to see Tongan; Sione Kalamofoni, ex of Nottingham, at some point go head to head with fellow international Steve Mafi.
Kalamofoni and Mafi both provide pace to their respective back rows but with Julian Salvi likely to be on duty I see the breakdown an area of prosperity for the hosts even though it’s where Exeter bound Thomas Waldrom is a less than enthusiastic participant at times and where Jordan Crane’s restoration can’t come soon enough for me.
If you enjoy surprises and variety then don’t bother to watch Tigers handle restarts. It is so proscribed as Waldrom takes the kick, trundles forward like a portly uncle reluctantly engaging in a somewhat tiresome game of post prandial touch. He then falls over and takes no further part in proceedings. Ben Youngs then extracts the ball and box kicks it too far to the onrushing opposition backs who make prodigious territorial gains while Youngs’ Tigers colleagues abandon hope of a beneficial chase.
It’s foolish to expect players, who are not rugby’s answer to Usain Bolt, to hare up field in a pointless expenditure of energy chasing lost causes whether its chasing wayward box kicks or restarts from Flood.
With the penchant of clubs to broadcast music at every conceivable opportunity I half expect to hear Shed Seven’s “Chasing Rainbows” ring out on these all too frequent occasions.
There’s been a bit of job sharing going on at scrum half for Gloucester between All Black Jimmy Cowan and twenty year old England Saxon and Under 20 international Dan Robson. I much prefer Robson to the histrionic Cowan. The Potteries born youngster has terrific service, his pass is accurate and speedy and he’s quick of eye and deed.
If Ben Youngs starts, and there has to be a question mark over this as he is so sadly out of form. And though Robson is unlikely to get the platform to work from that Youngs will, the British Lion and erstwhile England first choice could find Robson all over him like a cheap suit. For that reason I don’t think Youngs is being done any favours by starting. Better to start Mele, who’s been going well in a series of solid, if unspectacular, appearances and then bring Youngs on from the bench against a tiring opposition defence. A good impact appearance or two would do his confidence more good than being left to struggle from the start.
An interesting sub plot at fly half with the rumoured new Tiger; Freddie Burns facing his putative predecessor Toby Flood.
Burns, like Youngs, has been in poor form of late however with Twelvetrees on England duty and Mills the only other real option and maybe needed elsewhere I expect that Burns will be busting a gut to show the doubters at Welford Road what he can do. And on his day what he can do is brilliant.
Toby Flood’s kicking from hand at Sixways last Friday was conducted casual insouciance that at times I suspect that Flood was in the queue of peccant players at Oval Park on Monday morning.
There really was no excuse for the slipshod performance from Tigers’ international half backs and it must not be repeated come Sunday.
Ryan Mills is another Gloucester player who’s decided to head to Sixways and the probability of Championship rugby next season. I can only surmise that Cecil Duckworth is digging deep to rebuild Warriors’ squad in readiness for a prompt return to the Premiership after relegation to a league unhindered by the strictures of a salary cap.
If Mike Tindall is unavailable then Mills looks set to continue as the conduit to the splendid Henry Trinder. It’s a great pity that Trinder’s career has been hampered by injury as he’s a player I really enjoy watching with his sidestep something to savour, learned at the feet of the master; James Simpson-Daniel it will need concentration from Tigers’ defence, which is once again looking well organised following the return of Tony Allen who squandered a rare attacking opportunity against Warriors, when for the most part the Tigers’ backs were denied ball as it was repeatedly hoofed up field.
Matt Smith was solid in defence but he too got precious little ball to attack with. I prefer Goneva at outside centre although when defending in that channel last Friday he found himself at sea with his consequent missed tackle leading directly to the Warriors’ try. That notwithstanding I just feel the big Fijian is wasted out on the wing in attack and it’s significant that his interception try was garnered while he was further infield.
Much better in my judgement to have Thompstone on the left wing, if he’s fit, and the talented Blaine Scully on the right.
Sometime full back, ex Dragon; Martyn Thomas was on the wing against Sale however I wouldn’t be surprised to see Irishman Shane Monahan on the left wing with Charlie Sharples on the right at Welford Road and cutting infield at which Monahan is especially adept as he can also play at centre.
Both are big, strong and fast and may be seen as just the sort of juggernauts that Matthew Tait will be unhappy to try to recover his form against if, as I think will be the case, Burns peppers the Tigers’ 22 metre area with ice gathering kicks.
With Burns’ kicking from the tee less than reliable these days I think that Rob Cook will get the fullback shirt to provide a back up kicker as Twelvetrees will be absent while Matthew Tait will start for the home side.
Cook is a great carrier of the ball as is the injury prone Tait, who currently reminds me of somebody in a darkened room, together with Ben Youngs, who’s groping for the switch labelled “form” although in Tait’s case the missing ingredient is understandable after another long layoff for injury.
Tait’s willingness to run the ball back deserves credit but the execution of his kicking game is not so meritorious just yet.
Both teams are struggling for their “A game” at the moment with Gloucester down in ninth place but safe from relegation they are probably seeing this season as one to forget.
Tigers may have similar sentiments given their slough of injuries but they are still in with opportunities to make the knock out phase of the Premiership and to progress in the valedictory Heineken Cup so in their case Montserrat Caballé is just limbering up.
Tigers have to win this and every other match from now on in but Gloucester don’t so maybe that’ll be the difference that’ll see Tigers home by a couple of scores.
Finally I’ve had another thought about that rumbling noise. It couldn’t be tractors on the A6 could it?
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014:02:18:20:17:48 by Tiggs.
'Lions led by donkeys' .. Lest we forget
I, for one, don't mind the long box-kick from the restart - I'm not sure that it can be a box-kick if it goes beyond recovery by the chasers - I was always given to understand that the 'the box' was the area behind the defensive line and in front of the cover into which one kicked with the intention of recovering the ball - but ho hum…I digress - as I say - I don't mind the long kick as long as the chasers are trying to get up to close down the opposition counter. It is that rather than Ben's kicks that seems at fault to me.
Interesting observation on Twelvetrees - and, coincidentally, Crane/Waldrom. One might posit that a willingness to engage at the breakdown (see also Manu Tuilagi, Anthony Allen, Matt Smith) is something which is given emphasis at Leicester and that Billy has taken that with him to Castle Grimm. Whilst I know that similar strictures did not sit easily with such as Ollie Smith I suspect that going back some way they have been given a priority at Tigers that is not always the case elsewhere. I think you have also identified the reason why the Tank is being allowed to depart - something that appears beyond some of those who prefer to see selection as about coaching whim and favour - this isn't Invitational Rugby.
While Tait's return has been perhaps a little stop/start I don't see much wrong with his work under the high ball and his defence has looked solid enough. His kicking has always been - hmmm - variable but I don't think he's very far of finding his form again. This should be the ideal week.
I'd like to see Matera on the bench this week - partly in order to ensure that Salvi only has to play 50-60 minutes and partially because playing this Gloucester side at Welford Rd looks a good opportunity for him to show what he can do.
Ah - the smell of red diesel in the morning!
...
Up the A6!
'Lions led by donkeys' .. Lest we forget
My boy and I will be attending our first game of 2014 on Sunday so I hope your prophesy of a 2 score win for Tigers is true !
Kitch in the second row would be a nice bonus.
As for the smell of Red Diesel, TVO is much the better smelling fuel.
I suspect just one decent, emphatic victory could work wonders after so many weeks of ground-out wins or disappointing losses.
Quote:odd-shaped vagaries
Strange when all is still to play for, but I think I'll go and watch the tractors on the A6
I make that three green tractors to every blue one, and I'm yet to spot a red one. You should see the equipment accessorising those babies.
The tarmac really glistened in the afternoon Sun
'Lions led by donkeys' .. Lest we forget
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014:02:16:18:53:43 by odd-shaped vagaries.