Leicester v Clermont Auvergne

[leic]

I was at the game today and reading the forum, im pinching myself to think was i watching a different game to some of you! OK first half wasnt great, but i loved the 2nd half. Great come back by tigers, very entertaining, awful conditions, against a side thats salary cap is worth 24 million with numerous internationals! and we won!! Cheer up its Christmas and its not all bad!!

[DickyP]

I too was at the game and seem to have a very different perspective from those who watched it on TV. The one glaring error by the referee was Clermont's try. The final pass was directly in line with me and was the most obvious forward pass of the day! Haven't seen one as bad since the All Blacks scored against Wales in the 2003 RWC.

As for Nigel Owens - readers of my posts on this forum will know my thoughts about him - I feel he probably had the best (least worst) game I've ever seen him have: he almost reached the heady heights of inadequacy. He certainly never policed off-side all day, but was mostly bad for both teams indiscriminately. Just as well we were playing a French team and not a Celtic one.

[SpanishTiger]

I too was at the game and seem to have a very different perspective from those who watched it on TV. The one glaring error by the referee was Clermont's try. The final pass was directly in line with me and was the most obvious forward pass of the day! Haven't seen one as bad since the All Blacks scored against Wales in the 2003 RWC.

As for Nigel Owens - readers of my posts on this forum will know my thoughts about him - I feel he probably had the best (least worst) game I've ever seen him have: he almost reached the heady heights of inadequacy. He certainly never policed off-side all day, but was mostly bad for both teams indiscriminately. Just as well we were playing a French team and not a Celtic one.

Their try was a knock on, dunno if a forward pass afterwards, but surely a knock on in the genesis of the play. We knocked it, they got the advantage and inmediately after one of their players knocked it on, and nothing happened. Should have stop right there, i think it was right at half pitch line.

[Old Hob]

Tigers' backs today,what wags eh?. Youngs made a break and ended up at the bottom of the subsequent ruck. It appeared that having your 9 at the bottom of a ruck was unheard of, never before seen and so unexpected that everyone stood about for countable amounts of time wondering what to do and who should do it. And then it happened again, and then again WITH THE SAME RESULT EACH TIME, such larks. And isn't our tactic of giving soft dolly-drop kicks to the opposition when we have the ball in our half so effective? It was so effective we did it again and again. I mean kicking the ball to a back-line of world cup finalists isn't dangerous at all - it just adds to the gaiety of nations and the hilarity of the Crumbie stand who, to a man and woman cried, "Excellent Toby, do it again, and do take a little longer to consider your options when you receive a pass."
I'm going for a lie down now as all this fun has left me breathless.

[TTRITH]

I felt sorry for our wingers today, couldn't do anything as the ball rarely got passed the centres. We needed a playmaker out there, we didn't get that, despite one being on the bench.

Hammy shouldn't be near the side anymore, he's past it IMO, has shown nothing all season. Smith and Manu are two outside centres although with their ability to pass you may as well stick them on the wing.

Alex we know is terrible under a high ball yet he did kick a pretty amazing kick. We miss Parling, Crane, Ayerza, Allen, Twelvetrees, Morris. 36 and Morris as far as I know are fit, SO WHY AREN'T THEY PICKED.

Annoyed. Disappointed. Players on the pitch had no clue. Cockers has no clue when it comes to subs, and O'Connor must sit and drink tea all day with the backs. Despite good form in the league, still think changes are needed.

[Old Hob]

Cockerill's view (from tomorrow's Telegraph):

Having avoided an early exit from the competition Cockerill could afford to be critical of Leicester’s performance and he admitted that there are areas of concern.
“At the top end of the game you can’t afford to give away penalties and easy territory and we have been doing that too often,” he said. “Some of that is the way we want to play the game and run into defensive wall after defensive wall.
“Sometimes we have to manage the game better and Toby, Ben and Geordan Murphy are working on that all the time.
“We do score tries and that gets us out of it. It’s a good mindset to have but against the very best defences it’s hard to break them down.”

That was critical?????

[Grimlish]

Let's not trouble ourselves with perspective and context. Let's pretend Clermont were not the French Top14 champions of 2010, having more internationals in their starting line-up today than even ourselves (many of them WC finalists).

I agree the high ball was over-used by BOTH sides (we benefited too), and playing two outside-centres was bound to hamper our attack, but I reckon it was as much a defensive move as an attacking one and in that respect it worked - the french try just before half-time clearly included a forward pass, and despite significant dominance in the first half they otherwise didnt really threaten our line.

We were strangely flat in the first half, crowd included, starting with YBY's wayward pass in the first minute. Scotty did no wrong with his break but seems to be lacking confidence - as we saw with his dropped high ball.

I brought along a friend who refs and knows his rugby but is no regular at WR - he went home convinced he'd seen a great game of rugby. I agree.

[fleabane]

Good result, but oh so nearly not!

Our defensive organisation in the backline was awful - ASM butchered two scoring opportunities with overlaps they failed to use when our "line" was buzzing round the middle of the field like a bunch of 7 year olds playing tag-rugby. Our defence in broken play is dire.

I was amazed by Manu's try. The same move was tried innumerable times last week, and was so predictable I do not know how ASM did not spot it again.

A far better 2nd half than 1st, and I was pleased to see Toby's kicking return to some form too.

I thought the forwards played well in the set piece, but were too slow to the breakdown, and allowed ASM to drive over and through too frequently.

This reads as a moan, but I want Tigers back at the top of the tree, and we won't get there playing as we do.

[DickyP]

.... starting with YBY's wayward pass in the first minute. ....

It hardly counts as wayward - it went to Toby well within catching distance but he was looking back towards the full back instead of watching the play.

I brought along a friend who refs and knows his rugby but is no regular at WR - he went home convinced he'd seen a great game of rugby. I agree.

I also enjoyed the game despite my frustrations.

[Grimlish]

DickyP wrote:

It hardly counts as wayward - it went to Toby well within catching distance but he was looking back towards the full back instead of watching the play

Well wayward timing then. Its the Fly-half's job to marshall the backs, so he cant be blamed for doing that. Did you see the look of exasperation he gave YBY?

[DickyP]

DickyP wrote:

It hardly counts as wayward - it went to Toby well within catching distance but he was looking back towards the full back instead of watching the play

Well wayward timing then. Its the Fly-half's job to marshall the backs, so he cant be blamed for doing that. Did you see the look of exasperation he gave YBY?

Yes I saw the look - I could see him mouthing 'sorry'!

[Grimlish]

Must've been nearer than me then

[DaveRave]

FOR US they are no longer a pushover for others its business as usual

Tell that to Biarritz!

There's some mis-quoting going on as I didn't say that.