Deano vs Deano Part 3

Tigers vs Bristol
By Mike Hill
May 15 2002

Saturday will see the two Deano’s Richards and Ryan go head to head once more this time in the quarter-finals of the Zurich Championship.

Given the violence that marred the previous game between the two sides and the comments by Peter Wheeler afterwards there’s bound to be plenty of friction between the teams.

The two opposing Director’s of Rugby have vastly different aspirations for their teams. Tigers want to keep on a winning roll before the final and keep alive their hopes of an unprecedented back to back Treble. Bristol on the other hand will be keen to improve on what has been a slightly disappointing season, full of promise but lacking any tangible success.

Bristol will provide tough opposition on Saturday as Tigers gear up for the European Cup final. In the last fixture between the teams, all of two weeks ago, Bristol comprehensively outplayed a weakened Leicester side. Bristol also competed well at Welford Road before narrowly losing in December and will fancy their chances of causing an upset.

Darren and Wig should be back for this game to ensure they’re sharp for Cardiff and Rod Kafer will probably start. I was impressed by how well Glenn Gelderbloom and Ollie Smith gelled as a centre partnership against London Irish. They will have given Deano something to ponder come selection time for the final. Since Pat Howard’s departure Leon has struggled at outside centre and may instead be challenging Freddie and Geordan for a place on the wing with Ollie Smith playing at thirteen.

I hope Deano was suitably impressed by the starting half back pair against London Irish since I firmly believe that Oz at nine and Goode at ten is our strongest combination. It will be interesting to see how they compete against Pichot and Contepomi which will be a good test before they face Stringer and O’Gara.

I wonder how many fans will turn up on Saturday given that last season’s attendance in the quarter final was so poor (~8000). A lot of people will be saving their money for Cardiff so the gate is bound to be far less than this seasons fanatastic 15,000 plus average. Tiger’s now have a stable income, are making a profit and should be able to include the home ZC games in the season ticket.

That would soften the blow of the 17% increase in price for my next season ticket. My wage certainly hasn’t gone up by that amount and Leicester Football Club should be careful not to get too greedy in the future. The crowds are huge, the shop and bars must be making a fortune and I fully expect another record profit this year. The majority of Tigers fans are not rich and spend a great deal supporting the team. I recognise that other Premiership clubs are more expensive but Tigers make enough money to keep their prices lower.

I’ll stop moaning now and hope for a feast of running rugby on Saturday (KO 1pm).