Tigers v Montpellier - threads merged

[TomWeston]

It's Nigel (stand up comedian in welsh) Owens apparently.

I hope that he can referee the scrum better under the new laws than he did in Toulouse last season.

Pretty forlorn hope, mind you!

[APJones]

Never trust the French - love it

But did the interviewer say that Toby had just singed a contract there?

think he asked "why would you ..." Flood side stepped the question well enough

'Singed' - does that mean he has burned his bridges?

Or were his comments about not trusting the French because he has perhaps heard that Toulon are no longer interested having signed someone else?

Could be that Toby recollects the messing about with Castro by the French club.
You never can, by the way. Trust the French that is! Ever!!

[mol2]

Whist there was a fair bit of blocking our capacity to fall off tackles was concerning. Whilst Bowden and Benjamin looked good in attack they both fell easily off tackles. Benjamin, I suspect, still lacks a little confidence in his shoulder. Bowden doesn't give the impression that he will ever improve this aspect of his game.

I am still unconvinced that a side with Deacon and Crane in will work well.
Both have their merits but are very slow which is a defensive issue as it seems to give the opposition the equivalent of 4 props to target.
I guess injuries force selection issues and Slater probably had to be on the bench to cover both flanker and second row. Likewise why was Lamb picked ahead of Williams other than because he can cover centre?

When are we going to see Matera or is he injured too?

[APJones]

I haven't read all the above posts or seen my recording of it on TV ( I was at the match but tiger cub minding duties meant I couldn't concentrate on the match as I usually do !
But by all accounts by the 'experts' I spoke to - it was Tigers best performance of the season so far.
All I can say is we need to be better at Montpelier next week. If we do get ahead, keep the ball and don't let them back in. It will be a much tougher match on their home turf.

PS I thought the LV matches were our best performances so far - well up to this game any hoo.

[PM76]

When are we going to see Matera or is he injured too?

Not registered for Europe, hopefully we will see him Vs. Saracens. Gibson is playing impressively well but he does not have the potential to be world class, Matera does. No doubt Pablo is also having the typical bedding in period for new signings. I see Gibson as a solid club player who will probably pick a few international caps over the years, I'd be surprised if he makes the 6 or 7 shirt at Tigers his own. I just hope Pablo gets enough game time to convince him to stay at the club, and indeed that the club can afford to keep him!

[drc_007]

Tigers missed 18 tackles of which the backs accounted for 12. There were probably more where the backs were so out of position they didn't get near enough to make a tackle. They were bailed out on a couple of occasions by Tom Youngs who defended like a Trojan.

My impression was that players just didn't work hard enough to get back into position after turnovers?

[Grimlish]

Well yes drc, but that may have been because there were so many turn-overs, with sloppy kicking, and failure to support attacking runners - IIRC Scotty got isolated in attack for one try (shouldnt have been passed to him imho) and Dan Bowden for another, not to mention the failure to clear at all (Lamb or Scotty I'm not sure which, after a fantastic last ditch cover tackle) for their 4th try.

We played with real intensity across the whole XV for about 20 mins total yesterday, but then played to the opposition strengths in broken play. Failure to tackle was a part of it, but at times it looked more like a game of sevens with some bystanders on the pitch unsure what to do in either attack or defence. Our backs got running for the first time this season, but couldnt keep it going for the full stretch and the rest of the team were so astonished they hadnt a clue what to do...

Perhaps they'd all been reading Austin's piece about Anaerobic Vs Aerobic play, and decided to prove the point??

[youngtiger]

I am still unconvinced that a side with Deacon and Crane in will work well.Both have their merits but are very slow which is a defensive issue as it seems to give the opposition the equivalent of 4 props to target...

Personally I thought that both Deacon and Crane had decent games; Louis did a lot of the unseen work hitting rucks ect., whilst Crane carried the best he has all season. Most of Montpellier's breaks came from gaps in the wider channels, e.g. Ranger's break leading to their first try, and glaring holes in the line, allowing Nagusa to make his runs. None of this was noticeably Crane's or Deacon's fault.

Well yes drc, but that may have been because there were so many turn-overs, with sloppy kicking, and failure to support attacking runners - IIRC Scotty got isolated in attack for one try (shouldnt have been passed to him imho) and Dan Bowden for another, not to mention the failure to clear at all (Lamb or Scotty I'm not sure which, after a fantastic last ditch cover tackle) for their 4th try.

I thought Scotty did pretty poorly on that one, practically stopping before arriving at the tackler, and unable to keep himself on his feet in the tackle leading to him being isolated. The Bowden one wasn't that he was isolated either, he was going for an offload, and Ranger slapped the ball out of his hand.

[APJones]

We played with real intensity across the whole XV for about 20 mins total yesterday, but then played to the opposition strengths in broken play. Failure to tackle was a part of it, but at times it looked more like a game of sevens with some bystanders on the pitch unsure what to do in either attack or defence. Our backs got running for the first time this season, but couldnt keep it going for the full stretch and the rest of the team were so astonished they hadnt a clue what to do...

I quite agree
- but stand to be corrected after I watch the game on tv tonight

[Norfolk & Goode]

If you go to the highlights at: http://www.ercrugby.com/matchdaytv you will see at 78m 23s Lamb lose the ball to the most blatant bit of cheating by the Montpelier 11. His hand even pops out underneath Lamb as he pushes the ball back on the ground, 3m in front of the ref - hilarious!

[MurphysLaw]

[quote="PM76"][quote="mol2"]
When are we going to see Matera or is he injured too?[/quote]

Not registered for Europe, hopefully we will see him Vs. Saracens. Gibson is playing impressively well but he does not have the potential to be world class, Matera does. No doubt Pablo is also having the typical bedding in period for new signings. I see Gibson as a solid club player who will probably pick a few international caps over the years, I'd be surprised if he makes the 6 or 7 shirt at Tigers his own. I just hope Pablo gets enough game time to convince him to stay at the club, and indeed that the club can afford to keep him![/quote]

I think it is too soon to judge whether Gibson might develop into a class player. He had a good game yesterday against a strong pack, and having his first run of games lately has seen him improve game on game. He has much still to learn, but he is still young and is showing great potential imo.

We currently have an embarrasment of riches at 6 - (assuming all fit and available) - Crofty, Mafi, Slater, Gibson and Matera. Contrast this with our reliance on Salvi at 7. Whilst Gibson, and maybe Matera, could be described as '6.5s', do folks think that any one of these is capable of developing into the openside role with Salvi ?

[Grimlish]

But Norfolk, the ball shouldnt even have been on the park at that point, no?

[sapajo]

But Norfolk, the ball shouldnt even have been on the park at that point, no?

Agreed Lamb should have booted out it full stop, he needs to stick to the basics especially in his own 22

[Norfolk & Goode]

Probably Grimlish, but Lamb has a look and sees no defenders behind so risks trying to beat the 1 defender with immediate back-up from 5 team mates plus Youngsy. Worth a go in those circumstances, just a shame the ref thought that a ball naturally appears like that from under a stationery player! I personally wouldn't criticise Lamb for that decision, brave but not foolish. Just an opinion!

[Bill W (2)]

Probably Grimlish, but Lamb has a look and sees no defenders behind so risks trying to beat the 1 defender with immediate back-up from 5 team mates plus Youngsy. Worth a go in those circumstances, just a shame the ref thought that a ball naturally appears like that from under a stationery player! I personally wouldn't criticise Lamb for that decision, brave but not foolish. Just an opinion!

Had it lead to a try for Tigers he would be acclaimed a hero!!