Chestnut or Sage and Onion?

By Chris Chaplin
May 6 2004

After watching Wasps’ magnificent performance in overcoming Munster I thought that when Tigers’ visited the Causeway Stadium it would result in a thorough stuffing for the visitors however having watched both Tigers and Wasps last weekend I’m not now quite so sure.

With next weekend the end of the proper season before the start of the playoff jamboree it is at least true that there’s plenty still to play for although if the playoffs blessedly didn’t exist the situation would not be markedly different. Bath and Wasps would still have the proper league title to play for and the following pack would still be vying for HEC qualification.

In any event I can’t be bothered to get out my slide rule or embark on an exercise in differential calculus or whatever it would require to fathom out all the various scenarios and permutations involving lucky losers, teams with a B in the club name or whatever other arcane rigmarole now surrounds the outcome of our sporting year.

Suffice it to say that Wasps still need to beat Tigers and Bath their old adversaries Gloucester to have a chance of claiming top spot and the right not to pass Go and proceed straight to Twickenham, although after last year Gloucester might see this perceived advantage as a mixed blessing.

As to who the hell is going to qualify for the HEC next term – who knows?!

What is without doubt though is that a win at Causeway Stadium is important for both the protagonists next Saturday but perhaps more so for Tigers as Wasps will anyway fancy their chances at home against either Glaws or Saints.

It was probably an unreasonable expectation for Wasps to maintain the intensity and quality of their performance at Lansdowne Road when they visited that other bear-pit of sometime overly hostile home supporters, Kingsholm.

There were some changes to Wasps starting line up with Lewsey and Shaw missing altogether and Howley and Dowd starting on the bench, both immensely influential players and with Paul Volley, the form open-side of recent times, and skipper Lol both having quiet games Wasps were simply not at the races in the first half.

The arrival of Dowd seemed to signal a change though with the unusually below par pack coming to life. Glaws had done their homework and laid up deeper behind the pack and while this gave them more to do in attack it did, to an extent, disrupt Wasps usual stifling defensive game-plan and the home side was able to get behind and around the visitors.

Glaws did however make the mistake of under estimating the European Cup finalists never say die approach exhibited to such effect the previous weekend, although quite why I fail to understand, and in their search for a try bonus point almost let Wasps back in to steal the match rather than just a losing bonus point and indeed were it not for a borderline offside decision by the otherwise excellent Spreadbury the whole affair could well have been a draw.

Tigers on the other hand had a real try-fest at the expense of Rotherham and while it is true that a side can only play what is in front of them Titans were very poor and I have no doubt that defensive coach Neil Back and Head Coach Wells will have some harsh words for their charges for letting in two tries.

When at their best Tigers in 2000/1 were almost an elemental, awe inspiring, unstoppable force and I had the same feeling when I watched Wasps overcome Munster but in spite of the score line Tigers performance on a blessed Saturday afternoon was just clinically accomplished. After that first early try they were never going to lose and they knew it, so once Jaco and Johnno were replaced at half time their play lost it’s edge. Hardly surprising really as the team seemed more engaged in coping with a positional version of musical chairs than anything else!

The question that must surely be keeping maestro Warren Gatland from his beauty sleep is whether to risk his recovering injured players in the form of Lewsey and Shaw and risk losing them for the playoffs and even the HEC final.

Were I Gatland and the arch pragmatist that he is I’d be hugely tempted to take a chance at not finishing in the number one spot, which will in any event still be dependent upon Bath losing at home to Glaws, an epoch making event in it’s own right were it to come to pass, and concentrate on nicking the ZP pot at the death for the second year running, an event which I think is very likely, and thereby secure an incredible double in a World Cup year in also securing the European Cup, which I also think they will achieve.

We now know that Craig Dowd, with Howley part of the twin axis at the heart of Wasps achievements of the past few years, is injured and unlikely to take any further part in this season’s deeds of derring do. This is a big loss to the Wasps as not only is the most capped All Black prop key to their play he is also an inspirational and steadying presence in the same was as is Johnno for Tigers

Leota was also somewhat subdued at Kingsholm with the pinpoint throwing and fire of Lansdowne Road strangely missing although with Dowd absent Big Trev will doubtless relish the challenge and have a stormer.

With a front row of England’s Will Green, Leota and Tim Payne Wasps will not want for commitment although whether, without Dowd, they will be a match for the Tigers front row that dismantled Rotherham is questionable. White was in top form against the experienced Kiwi Rawson last Saturday and had it not been for the hapless Sean Davey failing to realise for some time that Whitey was not boring in after all but that Rawson was dropping his binding and collapsing, the early scrums would not have been such a mess. Darren Morris retaining his place for the injured Rowntree should hardly be cause for celebration down High Wycombe way. Hat trick try scorer George Chuter also retains his place.

I am a great fan of Richard Birkett and have often felt that standing in the imposing shadow of the hugely talented Simon Shaw he doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves. We hear much of the ball stealing skills of Alex Brown but Birkett is not far behind although he too seemed subdued at Kingsholm.

The key question here again is will Simon Shaw have recovered sufficiently from injury to be risked against the robust talents of Johnno and Deacon who is again preferred to Kay from the outset. If he is but is not at 100% then the Tigers pairing could gain an edge here. If Shaw is fully fit and at his best and with Birkett benefiting from his presence then it could be a close run thing for supremacy in the line out and Tigers would be well advised to keep it simple and not risk finding Lol and Worsley lurking about waiting to pounce on any errant long throws. While true that Corry has an enviable record in the lineout he will be hard pressed against the two England men if the service is not spot on.

As for the loose, if Shaw is fully fit and plays then his work in open play could be a key factor in the Wasps pack getting the nudge on the Tigers eight in that arena of play. If Shaw is omitted then it’s a choice between Purdy and Skivington I guess and then there could be an opportunity for Tigers experience to come through.

There are many uncertainties as I write this but on balance with Dowd missing I expect the Tigers front five to shade the contest in the front five

In the back row for Tigers Will Johnson again partners Back and Corry. Henry Tuilagi, once again fit, waits in the wings and I must say I surprised that as Tigers most improved player he does not start with his strikingly direct approach to the game.

Adam Balding is apparently destined for cameo appearances.

The Wasps first choice trio is pretty much settled.

Although the lack of dominance by the Wasps tight five against Glaws conspired with the excellent Volley having a quiet day and Lol having one of those days when he drops in and out of the game, I think that if these two are back on form, as I guess they will be in front of the Wasps faithful, then together with Worsley it’s hard to see Tigers winning the majority of the disputed ball around the breakdown unless their tight five colleagues really get their opponents going backwards.

If Wasps revisit their form against Munster then the Tigers pack will have to exhibit their best form of the season to win their particular part of the battle or even stay in the hunt. However if the absence of Dowd sees the Kingsholm performance repeated then Tigers should gain the advantage.

Behind the pack Peter Richards continued to be pacey and hard working at Kingsholm. The young sevens specialist works hard but it’s not until Rob Howley comes on and embarks on another master class that we see the epitome of a great scrum half in action. Against Richards I think the combative Harry Ellis could get to his opposite number, especially if the Wasps pack doesn’t hit full song, but it’s no adverse reflection on the young pretender to the England #9 jersey when I say that against an on form Howley he’ll struggle, just like everybody else.

It’s altogether a different matter at fly half though with the form #10 of the second half of the season Jaco (etc) up against Alex King who has not really looked himself of late, even in the wonderful team performance against Munster, with his kicking being very patchy, erring on distance and/or direction for too much of the time. He just doesn’t look happy with his game somehow and there must be a question in Gatland’s mind as to whether VanGisbergen, surely a front runner for overseas player of the season, would be a better option, moving Voyce to full back or perhaps selecting Lewsey in his England spot if he’s fit.

Against King though I think Jaco could gain a very real edge, especially if the Tigers back row can get after the Wasps #10.

I thought Voyce had an excellent game at Kingsholm, strong, quick and picking out some great lines through the Glaws defence and he’ll be somewhere in the pot come Saturday although it’s difficult to imagine one of my personal favourites, Erinle, breaking the starting line up of Abbott and Waters to face Gibson and…..well in spite of Ollie Smith playing most of the match against Rotherham, Leon Lloyd is back with Ollie once more on the bench – strange, very strange.

True Leon made a good start last Saturday looking strong and quick with his try making break down the wing, which led to his injury, being very spectacular showing yet again what a very dangerous open field player he is. However against Fraser Waters and Abbott it’ll be earnest and fault free defence that will be needed in equal measure with the taking of try scoring opportunities and the prospect of Erinle to cope with later! A voice in the wilderness I know but Ollie Smith with Daryl Gibson would make a far more reliable defence while of course Ollie is no slouch in attack himself.

As it is Lloyd though I remain worried at the potential for both Waters and Abbott exploiting his defensive frailties.

I hadn’t seen Logan for a while until Saturday (although the lovely Gabby is happily much in evidence on the TV these days)

He looks a bit slower now and as defensively suspect as ever. I wonder why Shane Roiser didn’t get the spot?

The Tigers wingers against Rotherham were a merry selection with Healey, Holtby, Geordan and Freddie Tuilagi all getting a turn. Geordan looked back to his best until he went to 15 during the massive rig-jig at half time so it’s unsurprising that he’ll start at 14 with Healey retained at 11. Other than for the return of the elusive and now invisible Neil Baxter it would be hard to argue against such a selection.

Full back? As I’ve already said I think Van Gisbergen has had a spectacularly good season and I did wonder whether he’s from the Oadby Van Gisbergens, in which case perhaps he fancies coming back to his roots next season and leaving those London fancy dans behind!!!!

For Tigers’ part Andy Goode again showed his prowess in attack but frankly he had so little to do in defence it’s difficult to say much more other than fear that he will have rather a lot of running back toward his own line to do on Saturday and if he does make a mistake or take too long about his task then he’ll be stung and so will Tigers.

All in all then I think that the absence of Dowd, even if Shaw is back, could yet prove pivotal in deciding what happens in the match, if, as I think, the Tigers front five win their contest then things could get interesting. The Wasps back-row, if back on Munster type form, will be hard to contain though, even if they don’t get quite the quality of ball they’re used to from their colleagues in the engine room. So Tigers to have the edge in the tight but an advantage for Wasps in the loose.

If Howley starts then he’ll need to be starved of good ball from the set pieces as he not only makes silk purses out of sow’s ear possession he’ll knock you up a complete suit and tie! So if the Wasps’ dangerous back division are to be curtailed the Tigers tight five will really have to do their stuff and aid the back-row in cutting off the Welsh Maestro’s supply at source.

So the stuffing I feared after the Munster game? No actually I don’t think so. Even a team as professional and hard nosed as Wasps (they DO remind me of vintage Tigers you know) must surely have a good part of their combined playing eye on the European Cup, it is after all THE big one and certainly the prize to win ahead of the discredited Premiership nonsense.

They may though have been stung (no pun intended) by the less than fulsome acknowledgement of their achievement in lifting the pot from under Glaws nose last term and this time want to top the league AND get the pot so that their supremacy is undeniable and thereby find themselves overstretched and distracted – let’s hope so.

I don’t realistically think Tigers will record a famous victory at The Causeway Stadium on Saturday against the best team in the Premiership but on the other hand I don’t think they’ll lose by that many either.

If they do win then they should all be given life time free parking spaces at Welford Road – now that really is a prize worth having!