Gibson points the way

Tigs LI
By Mike Hill
September 14 2003

Tigers made a successful start to their league campaign with a 29 - 19 victory over a lacklustre London Irish. New signings Daryl Gibson and Henry Tuilagi both made telling contributions as Tigers ended a run of defeats to the Exiles.

Fellow new boys Dan Lyle and Darren Morris also made their first appearances in a Leicester shirt and neither disappointed. After a shaky start Dan soon settled in at number eight and certainly put himself about whilst Darren shored up a slightly creaky scrum when he joined the fray in the second half.

It was Daryl Gibson however who stood out head and shoulders above the rest with a quite magnificent performance. Nothing overly showy he just did the basics very well. Daryl took the ball up with pace and aggression and demonstrated a quick pair of hands. Couple this with strong defence and he was always a certainty for this seasons first Man of the Match award.

Tigers started the game slowly with a getting to know you session punctuated by the normally relaxed Tony Spreadbury competing in his very own whistle blowing contest. Mix this in with the new garish black and yellow bumblebee kit, enforced water breaks and robotic hand movements and I felt like I'd stumbled into an illegal rave.

Back to reality the birthday boy Stimpson matched Mapletoft kick for kick to leave the scores tied at nine apiece at the break. In the first half Tigers had threatened to break through on a number of occasions but the final pass went astray and the support was too slow. In the second they tightened up their game and the tries eventually came.

Harry Ellis had enjoyed a decent afternoon but it was with the introduction of Healey at nine that the game sprung to life. Healey's service to Vesty was just a tad slicker and it quickly paid off. Sam made a clean break fed a rejuvenated Lloyd who spun a wide pass to Ollie on the wing who screamed over in the corner. Ollie had looked very sharp all afternoon and is obviously benefiting from his time with the England squad.

Minutes later Leon Lloyd was in space again after a powerful break and he had options left and right for a try scoring pass. He choose to feed inside to the rampaging Henry Tuilagi who brushed aside two would be tacklers to score with ease. Henry is the third and definitely the biggest Tuilagi to play for Tigers and I can't wait to see him and Freddie in tandem.

Henry point made left the field not long after with what looked like concussion I feel very sorry for whatever was on the other end of that collision. Mapletoft had kicked a further penalty goal to take his side to 12 points and late on in the game the Irish made a concerted effort to leave the field with the consolation of a bonus point. Tigers held out well until, six minutes into injury time, ex-Tiger Michael Horak finally crossed the line.

Josh Kronfeld is captain until the end of the World Cup and he led the team well yesterday it will be a shame if he departs anytime soon. The same goes for crowd favourite Tim Stimpson. The rumours about a move to Perpignan continue but I personally wish him well wherever he plays next year. I will always remember his touchline conversion in the 2001 European Cup Final and the 58 metre strike against Llanelli as the two greatest pressure kicks I have ever seen.

Josh's relaxed attitude and the appointment of the likeable Andy Key as backs coach has brought a greater sense of fun and enjoyment to the team this year and it was nice to see the troubles of last year forgotten and smiles all round once more. However, it's easy to be happy when you're winning and next week will be a greater test of this side. Let's hope this year's away form is significantly better than last if we are to be in with a chance of a play off place come May.

Tigers v London Irish

13 September, 2003

Official Attendance 16,029

Time		Tigers	Irish	Score
		First Half
5	Pen	Stimpson		3-0
12	Pen		Mapletoft	3-3
19	Pen		Mapletoft	3-6
23	Pen	Stimpson		6-6
25	Pen		Mapletoft	6-9
36	Pen	Stimpson		9-9
		Second Half
50	Pen	Stimpson		12-9
55	Sin Bin	Deacon L(4)	Hardwick(3)	-
57	Sub	Hamilton(18) on for Johnson W(6)
58	Sub for scrum (Sin Bin)		Durant(17) on Gustard(6) off for Sin Bin
61	Sub	Healey(21) on for Ellis(9)
62	Try	Smith		17-9
63	Conv.	Stimpson		19-9
66	Sub	Tuilgi H(19) on for Deacon B(4)
67	Sub		Everitt(22) on for Mordt(12)
72	Pen	Stimpson		22-9
74	Sub	Morris(17) on for Nebbett(3)
75	Pen		Mapletoft	22-12
76	Try	Tuilagi H		27-12
77	Conv	Stimpson		29-12
86	Sub	Skinner(22) on for Tuilgi H(19)
87	Try		Horak	29-17
87	Conv		Mapletoft	29-19