Irish beaten as Tigers find form

By Mike Hill
May 13 2002

Tigers finally rediscovered their best form and dispatched London Irish by virtue of five tries to one. In an impressive second half Tigers scored 24 unanswered points and secured their tenth try scoring bonus point of the season.

The Irish had led at half time 16 -10 after being awarded a penalty try when Tigers pulled down a driving maul five metres from their line. Three penalties by Barry Everitt had kept the Irish in front and Leicester had failed to find any consistency in their play.

The highlight of the first half was a well executed try for Leon Lloyd playing on the wing. Following a powerful Martin Johnson drive Tigers spread the ball wide to the right where Stimmo powered past the cover and made the overlap for Leon to race home.

Tigers stepped up the pace in the second period and the forwards started to dominate the lineouts and win more possession. Martin Corry was prominent throughout and particularly impressive in his lineout steals which gave Tigers vital turnover ball.

Corry also showed some quick thinking when he took a quick tap penalty fifteen metres out and sprinted over to score. That was preceded by a typical try for Neil Back from a driving maul as Tigers hit top gear for long enough to put the game way beyond London Irish.

Tigers got a penalty try of their own after a powerful forward drive was unfairly collapsed and Leon rounded things off with a chip and chase to score after Jamie Hamilton made a break from a scrum.

The second half was vintage Leicester with many players back to their best. Ricky Nebbett and Perry Freshwater were more than able replacements in the front row whilst the international back five were as always a class apart. Martin Corry wins this weeks man of the match for a supreme performance just edging out Glenn Gelderbloom who also played a blinder.

Mad Moodos ready to mash Munster

Moody deserves a mention for his total disregard for his own body as he charges around the field nailing opponents and sprinting to catch restarts. Please Lewis save it for Cardiff you don't want to miss out on another European Cup final. Let's hope Deano plays Josh against Bristol and saves Mad Moodos for the Irish.

A cynical trip ended Tim's contribution prematurely but he looked in good form and constantly troubled the Irish defence. Leon looked the part on the wing with two well taken tries and the centre partnership of Gelderbloom and Ollie Smith was good enough to have Kafer playing for his place next weekend.

I've felt for two seasons that our best half back combination is Oz at nine Goode at ten and both played well. Oz has a superb delivery and still gets to boss the game whilst Andy brings the outside backs into the game more and has a greater kicking range.

Deano could well go for the same tactics against Munster and move Austin to ten late in the game a la Parc des Princes. Things are looking rosy again at Welford Road with hopefully the Bristol game continuing in the same vein. Certainly the boys won't want to let Dean Ryan's men beat us twice in a fortnight - there's only one Deano at Welford Road!