Get a grip: stocktaking time.

[jgriffin]

don't we need the same players on the field for a few games together before it can 'really come together'? when we have a little continuity we've looked really good..

Quite!

[youngtiger]

All this talk about "one dimensional play" and "teams working us out" made me think - Didn't we employ the great man Murphy as our new skills coach and if so why are we still playing a format that lets people work us out.

I think one dimensional play refers to tactics, which is normally the responsibility of a combination of the backs/head coach. Skills is normally quality of other things like passing ect.

[sapajo]

All this talk about "one dimensional play" and "teams working us out" made me think - Didn't we employ the great man murphy as our new skills coach and if so why are we still playing a format that lets people work us out.

Where and from whom did Murphy learn his tactics and play from? The answer may inform why we are we still playing a format that lets people work us out. Furthermore, it shows why recruiting from within is not always sensible or preferable to bringing in coaches from outside the club with different skills and ideas. King for Saints being an example.

[jgriffin]

King has made a definite difference at Stains for Myler, improving his play this season. not sure about the rest of the backs though.

[The Boy Dave]

Second in the league and +150 odd points difference, one man team.
Good job Myler has improved or they might be on only +12 and they were poor not to top that HC group with Castres, Leinster and Ospreys.

I swear I heard North say recently that King was helping him so he must have been telling a porky or maybe he meant the other King and was talking about the bank balance.

[Bunchy]

You cannot ignore the injuries.
Ben Youngs - returned from Lions tour injured
Flood - knocked out preseason
Allen - compartment syndrome usually associated with car crashed
Tuilagi - only played 50 mins before ripping his bicep off the bone
Croft - played 80 mins before rupturing ACL
Parling - injured (cant remember what when typing this
Mulipola - forced to play with tight calf by Samoa = 13 cm tear !!!

And then
Ayerza - international duty

Take international 1st choice 9,10,12,13 out of any side and it will be really tough - add to that 1st choice 6 and 1 as well as a lions lock...

Perhaps the coaches deserve credit for getting us where we are which, at this point, is in with a shout of all 3 competitions.

A reality check is needed in my opinion.

[Bunchy]

and remember, given the above, we are still 3rd highest try scorers in the league........

[Bunchy]

And on Saturday, as if luck is not against us enough, Niall Morris was continually dislocating his thumb and could be out for 8-12 weeks, Crane has injured his AC joint and could be out for a month, Tait has a bang on his back and could be out for 2-3 weeks.
Benjamin seeking medical opinion this week but could be long term too

Only slightly good news is that Kitchener should be fine for Wuss away

All in a match - bad bad luck

[physiodan]

Agree with what you say and why you say it jgriffin but I only get the feeling that things will improve on Manu's return and to be so reliant on one player is not ideal.

We do rely somewhat on Manu for our go forward as does every team in every sport. However, as players have come back the team has grown and ijecting Manu without Flood or Allen would have had a lesser impact. Allen for me has made the biggest impact since his return by us only leaking 1 try to Ulster and that wasn't exactly a defensive error, just determined running from Ruan. Leicester are a Team and do not rely on Manu but when he is there he adds that extra sparkle!

[physiodan]

I have a different view and think that the rosy view is mistaken. We were beaten by Sarries in our heaviest loss, we played a tight match yesterday against a very good side BUT WE LOST.

At the Sarries game our players looked tired. Now let me look at the two previous weeks... Leicester had two greuling matches against Montpellier as against sarries playing Zebre twice it what is more like a training match (no offence to Zebre). I am sure if the games were opposite and Sarries had the same injury crisis then the result would have been the other way round. The injury's are not an excuse, they are a factor in us not playing to our potential. With a full squad to choose from at the end of last season when we ripped teams apart and scored from anywhere then its easy to have more than one game plan. At the moment though, we have players out of position and therefore we unfortunately have to rely on a more simple style.

It is however good that as supporters we feel disappointed by this because it just shows that we are aware of our potential when we have all the cylinders back firing in the machine which is TIGERS!

[iceman_19]

It's probably fairly easy to hit the panic button, but after a couple of days to calm down and having forced myself to rewatch the game on Saturday, I think I've cleared my head a bit.

Firstly, against a very good Ulster side, we put in our best defensive display of the season. That probably has a lot to do with Anthony Allen being back and, although we conceded a few too many penalties, we won't be facing a freakishly good kicker like Pienaar every week (thank God).

Secondly, we lost three key players during the game which made a huge difference in my opinion. Crane, despite not being everyone's cup of tea, added grunt to the back row, which we lost when Mafi came on, despite looking good in the lineout. Tait was looking very solid under the high ball and lively in attack - I don't think I saw Hamilton joining the line and he was was very wobbly when fielding kicks. Kitchener was a huge loss - colossal in the lineout and the loose, he was the only player on our side whose performance levels were matching Pienaar's. With those 3 off, in ascending levels of importance, we lost a lot of threat and cohesion which affected our ability to maintain tempo and bury the game when we were 10 points up.

Finally, the way I see it, our game plan isn't especially threatening (without Manu). We go wide too early and, more often than not, have no decoys, or at least not convincing ones. I do wonder at the wisdom of not having an 'external' coach come in to look at our attacking play. I know Burke is an adopted Tiger and has been here for 8 years, and I get the need to keep the culture unique, but there is a time when protectionism crosses over into narrow mindedness. Someone like Aaron Mauger would be a breath of fresh air in my opinion - he's been doing brilliant work with the Crusaders despite an injury crisis they suffered last year.

My review and highlights of Saturday's game are up here: http://www.ruckedover.blogspot.com

[Chobbsy]

Could not agree more.

Bring on Clermont! April could be a different story.

As long as its wet, muddy and windy, we don't want to go there when they have a hard running surface

[Chobbsy]

If we can stay in the mix near the top 4 in the league, which I think we can, with our next 4 games being Worcester, Gloucester, Irish and Newcastle, (current bottom 4) then by the end of March/beginning of April, we have a real shot in the league and maybe in the Heineken Cup if we have a fully fit squad. IMO this would be our strongest team:

Ayerza
T.Youngs
Cole
Slater
Kitchener
Croft
Salvi
Crane/Waldrom
B.Youngs
Flood
Allen
Tuilagi
Benjamin
Goneva/Morris
Tait

With players such as Croft and Tuilagi basically not playing for most of the season and with Allen only just playing again, they will be really match fit and hopefully we can finish the season very strongly

What no Parling ??? you have got to be joking, it must be Parling and Kitchener

[Chobbsy]

I deliberately posted to winkle out opinions following a discussion with my Stains-in-laws where they pointed out that they could not sustain the level and type of injuries and absences we have and perform as well. They also noted how it is almost impossible to compete consistently with Irish and French teams with their massive advantages.

I fully accept the point about tactics, as I have been a constant critic of the 'kick it for statistical advantage/ headless chicken school' and would point to the play of one D.Cipriani this season as someone who plays with his head up and does what the field in front of him dictates (as, less successfully, does Lamb).

I do think that as current champions we are permitted a bad luck/ transition time, and I believe many are under strange illusions about consistency in professional sport. A backwards glance at the fluctuating fortunes of Ferguson's Man U should be an object lesson in reality - form ebbs and flows even if the underlying structures are sound.

Surely "They also noted how it is almost impossible to compete consistently with Irish and French teams with their massive advantages." should read and Saracens with their comliance with the salary cap

[The Boy Dave]

We do rely somewhat on Manu for our go forward as does every team in every sport. However, as players have come back the team has grown and ijecting Manu without Flood or Allen would have had a lesser impact. Allen for me has made the biggest impact since his return by us only leaking 1 try to Ulster and that wasn't exactly a defensive error, just determined running from Ruan. Leicester are a Team and do not rely on Manu but when he is there he adds that extra sparkle!

It's Manu's upredictabilty that frightens players. His range of options when attacking is equal to anyone and he just about has it all. He particularly fixes defenders IMO which creates openings, defence's zig zag and gaps open up for runners and then he could always just run you over. He is such a threat. Very few players of that ability in world rugby at any one time. He would be a loss to anyone and is a player any team would build around and come to rely on. It's unfair to expect everyone to be of that ability but I did not expect we would become so predictable without him.