Tigers on the Sunday Menu
By Behind the Bench
November 14 2014
A Sunday lunchtime appointment at Welford Road will be a crucial one for Saracens to keep the momentum going ahead of the massive home match with Northampton a week later The hosts meanwhile have blamed their erratic form so far this campaign on an admittably lengthy injury list, not helped by England call ups as well.
Leicester have been in this position before though, and have come into form strongly in the latter part of the campaign, reaching nine Premiership finals in a row between 2005 and 2013 before that sequence was interrupted by a semi-final loss at Franklins Gardens last season
One of those final appearances was in 2011 when Saracens claimed their historic first Premiership success, 22-18. Since then, Sarries' record against their East Midlands counterparts has been good, In September 2011, they served up a superb 50-25 win at Welford Road, as Ernst Joubert scored two tries, whilst Brad Barritt, Owen Farrell, Jamie George and Charlie Hodgson made it six in total. However, in the return at Vicarage Road, Saracens lost 20-19, and further revenge was gained fior the home humilation when Leicester won their home Premiership semi-final 24-15, denying the visitors a return to Twickenham. The following season, a cagey encounter at Wembley in September 2012 finished 9-9, which was soon followed by a 38-21 bonus point victory in the LV= Cup against the then-holders. Joe Maddock, Duncan Taylor, Jamie George and Andy Saull scored the tries in a match relocated to Goldington Road, Bedford and when Sarries travelled to the Midlands the following February, they secured a 32-27 bonus point win thanks to a David Strettle brace, and further contributions from Chris Wyles and James Short.
That brings the story up to last season. Whilst the stunning Heineken Cup semi-final win against Clermont Auvergne probably takes the billing as the performance of the season, the 49-10 demolition of the Tigers at Allianz Park, just before Christmas, must come a close second, as the defeated Leicester side contained players of the calibre of Matthew Tait and Ben Youngs. In a match which was only 18-10 at the break, Saracens cut loose in the second half, eventually finishing with eix tries, two for Chris Ashton, and one each for Jack Wilson, Billy Vunipola and Jackson Wray, with a penalty try thrown in as well. The return fixture was the last of the regular season, and a heavily modified Saracens side, who had already earnt a home semi-final, gave a good account of themselves in a 31-27 loss.
2014/2015 began well enough for Leicester, as the return of Dean Richards to Welford Road saw his Newcastle Falcons side lose 36-17, before they eked out a 24-20 win at Exeter Chiefs. However, three straight Premiership losses, a distinct rarity for the Tigers, saw them start to be put under scrutiny. A shocking 45-0 reverse at old adversaries Bath was bad enough, but the 22--19 home defeat to London Irish was a first defeat for Leicester on their own territory since November of last year. Things got no better as a 33-16 loss was suffered at Gloucester. Mid October brought two vital home victories as Harlequins were seen off 22-16, and an Ulster side who won here in the Heineken Cup last season were seen off 25-18 in the revamped European competition, only for the Tigers to lose 15-3 at Scarlets in the following week's game. Two from two in the LV Cup, seeing wins at London Irish and at home to Sale Sharks sandwiched a 59-26 home defeat to the Barbarians.
So what of this game? At the time of writing, squads had not been published, but much has been made of the return of prop Dan Cole, who featured in the win against Sale, whilst Graham Kitchener, subject to England requirements, Brad Thorn and Michele Rizzo are expected to feature amongst the forwards. Ben Youngs is with England, and following resolution of a Visa issue, Fijian winger Vereniki Goneva, top try scorer in the Aviva Premiership last year, will play for his country against Wales and hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini will be with Italy. Saracens will probably not make too many changes from last week's success against Western Province. Richard Wigglesworth and Alex Goode look likely to come back into contention as they are not in the England squad to face South Africa.
Possible line ups
Leicester Tigers
15 Matthew Tait 14 Blaine Scully 13 Matt Smith 12 Anthony Allen 11 Miles Benjamin 10 Owen Williams 9 Sam Harrison 1 Michele Rizzo 2 Harry Thacker 3 Dan Cole 4 Brad Thorn 5 Graham Kitchener 6 Jamie Gibson 7 Julian Salvi 8 Jordan Crane
Saracens
15 Alex Goode 14 Chris Ashton 13 Marcelo Bosch 12 Duncan Taylor 11 David Strettle 10 Charlie Hodgson 9 Richard Wigglesworth 1 Richard Barrington 2 Jamie George 3 Juan Figallo 4 Mouritz Botha 5 Alistair Hargreaves 6 Kelly Brown 7 Jacques Burger 8 Jackson Wray
Tigers on the Sunday Menu
Posted by: TheSaracens.com (IP Logged)
Date: 14/11/2014 13:47
Thanks BTB - you are keeping the site going right now! We still need a reporter for Sunday - any offers??
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014:11:25:14:37:42 by TonyTaff.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014:11:25:14:37:42 by TonyTaff.
Re: Tigers on the Sunday Menu
Posted by: The Bard (IP Logged)
Date: 14/11/2014 14:16
Thanks again, it will be a very important game for both teams as Tigers certainly can't afford too many more slip-ups this season.
Rather suspect our lineout will come under a bit of pressure as Kitchener and Gibson have been in fine poaching form, and we only really have the skipper as a primary catcher.
Scrums could go either way; the first big test for Figallo and Cole usually causes us grief.
If we manage the set-piece OK we should just have enough to win, but fail to do so and we are in for a tough afternoon.
Rather suspect our lineout will come under a bit of pressure as Kitchener and Gibson have been in fine poaching form, and we only really have the skipper as a primary catcher.
Scrums could go either way; the first big test for Figallo and Cole usually causes us grief.
If we manage the set-piece OK we should just have enough to win, but fail to do so and we are in for a tough afternoon.
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