Leed Us Oh Thy Great Redeemer

By Chris Chaplin
December 24 2003

The crackers have been pulled. The presents consigned to delights of yesterday. Uncle Bert has vacated the sofa and given up his single handed attempt to replenish dwindling methane stocks and at Oval Park heads are hopefully being scratched as a home win for Tigers is sought to end 2003.

Last Saturday saw any realistic chance of Tigers reaching the Championship Playoff zone of the league evaporate as Saints failed to provide any Christmas cheer for the beleaguered Tigers and following their departure from the Powergen another chance has gone for anything approaching success for Tigers in this poorest of seasons.

On the following day Leeds did their bit to add to Tigers misery even before they visit Welford Road next Saturday by recording a gutsy victory over the fast improving Gloucester side which was without Vickery and Woodman but the dedicated Gomersall was on parade after his return from starring in the Twickenham pantomime less than 24 hours earlier. In notching up this victory the Headingley club put a five point gap between themselves and Tigers.

This weekend’s match is therefore another “cup final” of sorts as was the Powergen match against Sale, which saw Tigers dumped out of that competition and last Saturday’s fixture which, to all intents and purposes, saw them dumped out of the premiership competition as well.

Failure by Tigers to prevail over Leeds will see a nine or ten point gap open between the two clubs leaving Tigers to secure two more five point wins than the next club to just remove the deficit. Not only will a win for Leeds see them close on the mid-table pack of Quins, Sale, Glaws and Falcons, who are separated by just four points, but also provide a welcome layer of insulation from the strugglers comprised of Tigers, Sarries and Rotherham, who gained their first point at the weekend.

A loss will also see Tigers dumped out of yet another competition within a competition, that of any realistic chance of European qualification, other of course than by their winning the HEC.

There is one other competition of course and that is that of avoiding relegation and this is likely to be the clubs’ only success with Rotherham 18 points adrift.

So dire times for the Tigers and a match against a gutsy side with it all to play for on Saturday in terms of HEC qualification and of course in being the latest side to win at Welford Road and do the double over Tigers.

With club captain Mike Shelley now fully restored after injury and Mark Regan perhaps being declared fit, after being excused hurt from a panto appearance last Saturday, otherwise ex Queensland Red Matt Holt will surely continue to do the fine work for Leeds that he has so far this season, there are good options at #2 with others such as ex London Irish Simon Halford and early season habitué, Rawlinson, in the wings. A good scrummaging set up here which can and usually does give a good account of itself in the loose and who are ably supported by the superb Tom Palmer at lock, also now restored after a long absence through injury. Palmer is surely very close to selection for the senior England team now and must be breathing down the large necks of Grewcock and Shaw looking for a well deserved chance.

Young Phil “Little” Murphy got the nod for the Glaws game and was initially partnered by ex Sarries youngster Stuart Hooper. It’s hard to imagine that Palmer will not start against the Tigers and probably be put into harness with Murphy. These two will be a handful in the set pieces and are dynamic in the loose, with Palmer the one to watch.

In the back row the Tykes are similarly blessed with some good options. Coach Phil Davies kept faith with Ex Bristol player Matt Salter on the blindside and James Ponton on the openside, now augmented by returned Welsh international Alix Popham. In reserve Dan Hyde, Colm Rigney, who was seen as key close season signing by Leeds prior to his lengthy suspension, and the excellent Pasta Kiwi Aaron Persico, also now back from World Cup duty with Italy. Boatloads of talent available here and if fit I hope to see something of the exciting Persico.

The Leeds pack gave the renowned (even without Vickery and Woodman) pack something of a torrid time around the tackle area last weekend and the again depleted Tigers pack will have it all to do to contain them.

Clive Stuart-Smith is another Tyke now restored after injury and with on loan South African Ryan Walker now on the bench it’s down to Stuart-Smith and Alan Dickens to scrap it out for long term bragging rights at scrum-half.

I don’t think even the most ardent Tykes fan would say that these two are experienced exponents of their craft yet but they work hard and look good prospects, although the experience of the unfortunate Scott Benton and Derek Hegarty, for whom I always had a high regard, can be missed at times of duress.

Scottish international fly-half Gordon Ross is another “dead-eye Dick” with his boot and if the Tigers show the kind of indiscipline they did in the second half against Saints or Glaws did last week at Headingley then Ross will punish them most severely, his having potted five last weekend.. Ross is a classy player and capable of breaking the gain line with a sharp awareness of gaps in the opposition defence and also able to get his dangerous back-line away to great effect.

The tricky Phil Christophers is now back where he should be, on the wing, as at Bristol he has been used in the centre on occasion by Leeds and while he’s an accomplished centre it’s a position that he doesn’t enjoy and it shows. On the wing he can be very elusive and able to run a superb line in support or run in tries from well inside his own half.

Ex Neath Welsh A international Tristan Davies has been vying with Liam Botham in the centre. Just five tries from his forty odd premiership appearances for Tykes so I wonder whether he’ll get the chance to test himself against Daryl Gibson or perhaps the pacier Botham may be preferred to join up with new signing, 38 time Springbok Andre Snyman, who scored nine tries for his country. A typical strong running robust defending Springbok centre this has been a good signing by Leeds and should enable the centre of the Leeds attack and defence to be stabilised.

On the right wing was the other half of the ex Bristol wing axis David Rees. Vastly experienced with a scoring rate of around one per game in his prime he can still do damage and with Christophers provides good varied styles of attack.

The only problem with this set up to my mind is that Dan Scarborough ends up at full back. Taffy Kiwi ex Llanelli full back Matt Cardey replaced Rees early on against Glaws with Scarborough presumably moving forward to the right wing, which I personally think is by far the better back three combination. Scarborough is such a good attacking player I find it hard to understand any influential player such as him playing out of his natural position. As is the case elsewhere there is more talent to come as Diego Albanese returns from playing for the New Zealand Baa Baas and he may well start in the #15 shirt.

Good, robust, talented pack, sound in the tight and excellent around the tackle area and if Regan returns likely to be even more dynamic in the loose. Perhaps a potential weakness in the relatively inexperienced Stuart-Smith and Dickens at scrum –half but if things go awry here Ryan Walker is waiting to tidy up.

With the arrival of Snyman the back division has a settled and balanced look to it and in Christophers and Scarborough the Tykes have an exciting cutting edge with the knowledge that the sound Matt Cardey is behind in support or perhaps the additional verve of Albanese although the Argentinian .can have his moments defensively.

All in all the Tykes look set to climb the table again before the season is out but will it be at the expense of Tigers?

I must confess that as the teams swam their way up and down the oversized Olympic swimming pool that Franklins Gardens was last weekend I was, in the first half, not a little encouraged as Tigers made the better of the dreadful conditions. The pack were dominant with Julian White again outstanding this time against Tom Smith no less and whom he turned inside out. The Saints scrum was a mess, the line-out was a Tigers’ game reserve, Neil Back was on top form, Adam Balding played sensibly and although Will Johnson was a bit workmanlike the unit was greater than the sum of it’s component parts.

Behind the pack Healey started well but curiously began to look less assured when Robinson replaced Dawson but still through the first half he generally kept his half-back partner well served and like almost all #10s Pez excels when coming forward, less so when on the back foot. The second string centre partnership of Gelderbloom (there’s a good candidate for the next Tigers backs coach) and Lloyd did well with Lloyd looking particularly good and also revelling in lots of go forward ball.

Baxter looked less happy trying to cope with the conditions and may be he is dry ground player. Fred ran his heart out and knocked the rare Saints attacks backwards. Jaco again looked impressive and had he backed himself rather than heed the siren call of Fred then a try was almost a certainty, even if a bit of judicious aquaplaning may have been required.

Tigers were therefore unfortunate to go in behind at half time but I was not overly concerned and I awaited the second period with some anticipation, confident that more dominance in both territory and possession was bound to see the redoubtable Saints defence eventually give way. I thought that referee White was bound to get over being too long a time in the Southern hemisphere and begin pinging the Saints front row and I settled down again as the whistle blew to start the second period.

Now I always thought that the half-time break was a time for the captain and the coaches to boost the team, analyse the first half goings on and send the team out renewed and for redoubled efforts. Well clearly that’s what Wayne Smith did but what went on in the Tigers’ dressing room can only be the subject of bemused speculation.

The pack carried on as they had ended the first half, although sadly so did Mr White, but behind the pack everything changed. Healey’s wobble at the end of the first half became a full scale crisis of confidence with his clearance work and service slowing to a snails’ pace with poor Pez getting ball behind him, above him and below him but rarely to him. Oh how the lad suffered. What had happened? Suddenly supplies to the centres became spasmodic and laboured, the wings saw little ball with Baxter’s dislike of the conditions and his subsequent failings in defence horribly exposed by some clever Saints play.

Jaco kept running some superb lines and defended well as Saints gradually got on top but the backs were back to their uninspired, fumbling worst due to a breakdown at half-back where Pez again repeatedly had to kick position and possession away as he was mercilessly hunted down by the Saints back row.

Then discipline collapsed and the penalties duly came and when Saints scored their try it just gilded the lily on the Tigers’ coffin as another match which they could and indeed should have won drifted away.

Strangely, being an advocate of change, aside from returning our pantomime horse duo of Gibson and Smith to their rightful places the only unforced change in the back division that I’d advocate is putting the revitalised Leon Lloyd on the right wing and moving Baxter to the less exposed left where he can work the Leeds blind-side. I fear that Christophers or Scarborough will just run round Fred and he’s not the attacking force he was at the moment

Obviously Darren Morris will have to replace the injured Julian White in the pack and I hope that Corry is returned to #8 with Balding at blindside.

The outcome? Well it’s getting increasingly difficult writing these conclusions.

I don’t, in all honesty, see how the Leeds eight can have the beating of the Tigers even without Julian White, who has been superb thus far in his all too short a period in a Tigers’ shirt.

I think it’s essential the Healey and Pez are persevered with but Oz must take responsibility and get Pez on the front foot as the Italy fly-half can get round Ross or get his centres away. If Oz does this for Pez then I see a Tigers win.

However if whatever the changed game-plan was for the second half at Franklins Gardens is persevered with it’ll be another home defeat and tenth place for Tigers this season.

With a full strength Glaws to come on the 3 January.

Happy New Year to everybody.