Interesting question - not really thought about it as its never been an option.
I think FB has done some good things lately and his kicking has improved. Unfortunately in the cauldron of a semi-final when the heat is on, then if your technique/temperament is a bit suspect then you get found out ,which I think is what might have happened yesterday.
Incidentally, did you mean Owen Williams rather than Farrell? If so answer - yes
I have been attending Tigers/Bath games home and away for more than fifty years.
I have stayed at a small hotel in Bath for most of that time and the owners are
numbered among my friends.
They have usually been graceful in defeat as we have in victory.
They, like me thought that the 45-0 earlier in the season was an aberration and
when I confirmed my booking a few weeks ago for this game I assured them that Bath
would not stick 40 points on us this time.How wrong can you be?
Frankly this was a humiliation of great proportion. I can't ever recall feeling so
thoroughly depressed after a game.
In the local afterwards, the pain was rubbed in by some obnoxious Bath supporters
who said to a man that RC is a total "numpty" for only giving Ford a one year contract so that he could be poached.
In an LV game a couple of years ago at Bath, when we beat them well, they were
lavishing praise on young George and expressing their unanimous desire to get him to Bath.
I said then as I have repeated, Tigers are much too canny to let a talent of that calibre slip through their fingers. Look at all the amazing talent we have lost.
Away from the drunks, in a quiet conversation with some old friends, the view expressed, to a man, was that Tigers were only a shadow of the club we used to be. Much was made of TTTE's comments and the departure of so many big names.
RC is not responsible for everything that is wrong at Tigers but when you look at the many facets, amply delineated above, the common denominator is RC.
The buck should stop with him and he should go and go now.
Yes we scraped in to third place but flattered to deceive.
In a results based business his position is untenable.
The arrival of Mauger will only work if he has a free hand in everything, including
recruitment, retention, training, tactics selection discipline etc etc.
If RC is able to interfere, the problems will persist.
Get yourself back to France Richard and top up your pension.
I'd commented on a couple of threads but simply could not be bothered to enter discussion any longer with people using such words as rubbish.
There is a lot of good but clearly also some wrong some of which I have experienced to some extent myself but as long as the division continues in any form then things will continue to get worse IMO.
We were not rubbish, far from it, but came up against a strong settled team, whose game plan worked!
Yesterday, at crucial moments things didn't go our way, and we suffered. Whether it was the bounce of the ball, or the inability of the officials to correctly penalise blocking. Or like last week reward the attacking side in the red zone, not just penalising the defence.
I am happy though that we did really well to get there, the team tried hard, but in the end the better team on the day won, and I wish them well.
For what it's worth I don't think we were rubbish. We competed very well throughout but came up against a Bath side who displayed a masterclass in defence as well as a masterclass in taking chances. They are some side who will deserve to be champions if they manage it.
The last fifteen minutes was disappointing. You should never let your heads drop like that as professional sportsmen. But up until that point we were playing good rugby with scant reward.
Clearly the backs need a bit more guile and a bit better direction but we already knew that - that's why appointments have been made for next season with a view to rectifying that.
Effort, grit, determination, work rate... All their in abundance. Cannot fault that.
However, we simply lacked any kind of subtlety in attack. There seemed very little in the way of structure and our execution was poor. Bath showed us how to be clinical.
Fingers crossed, the already confirmed additions, plus the hoped for centre and/or fullback, and more importantly the arrival of Mauger will add some cutting edge to go with our obvious grunt. (thank God for an extended preseason).
In the interview after the game Mike Ford said, something along the lines, that he does not impose any limitations on what the backs do. He implied that he doesn't interfere and allows them to sort out their own 'plays'. They are drilled in defence and the set piece but in broken play or opposition mistakes, they run their own show. Given this kind of freedom it is no wonder that his problems at the backline are therefore small with as an example, only having to ask Watson to run the ball rather than kick it away as he did in the 1st half.
The glaring fact from yesterday is that the Tigers are well drilled up front especially at the set-piece. Bath's line out was regularly interrupted and that is one facet of the Bath game that they like to dominate. As has been said before, the Tigers did put in a massive effort yesterday but the Bath defence was not tested by different running lines from the backs. The 'Big Dai' ' one, two bump' was the only game plan. Both Tigers centres played it up the middle, with Tait doing the fancy bit to no avail.!
The ability of the backline to attack from deep at speed was nowhere to be seen. Mauger will have a large amount of work to do. I don't know when he arrives but for me I would start well before pre-season to put his 'moniker' on how the backs will play their own game? This is of course depends, as others on this and other threads have said, if Mauger is allowed to manage the backline? As TTTE has eluded to, being told how to play rather than being allowed to play what is in front of you may stifle Mauger's efforts. It may well be that his own performance given the Crusaders efforts this year maybe wanting? Plenty of forwards recruited for next season but I do not see any 'Bath - type backs' in the roster to satisfy the big forward effort that the Tigers put every game.
Whoever said "one person cannot change the world' never ate undercooked bat
Sorry to upset the applecart but yesterday was the final proof Tigers have degenerated management wise beyond the pale.
To allow a situation to develop, insiduously , year by year, where we just are way behind in our purchases and coaching stategies, where we put the ground development before the playing side, where we have allowed Ford el al to leave, and with seemingly no sensible thought processes, shows that we really need a clearout of major Board members, RC and a number of the players.
Ford Senior and Ford Junior made Tigers look like Championship players yesterday.......... despite the fact we have the best front five in the UK and probably beyond...
As a so called doom monger and a loyal supporter this season has been a disaster...
3rd and our happy clappers are----------- happy ?????????
fortysix wrote:Sorry to upset the applecart but yesterday was the final proof Tigers have degenerated management wise beyond the pale.
To allow a situation to develop, insiduously , year by year, where we just are way behind in our purchases and coaching stategies, where we put the ground development before the playing side, where we have allowed Ford el al to leave, and with seemingly no sensible thought processes, shows that we really need a clearout of major Board members, RC and a number of the players.
Ford Senior and Ford Junior made Tigers look like Championship players yesterday.......... despite the fact we have the best front five in the UK and probably beyond...
As a so called doom monger and a loyal supporter this season has been a disaster...
3rd and our happy clappers are----------- happy ?????????
1) MOC was the main reason Ford et all left.
2) RC won't go this season anyway because it would put Mauger in a really :censored: position coming into next season, Next season will prob be RC do or die year.
3) which players would you cull considering we are losing around 16 players already? Remember if that player is still in contract it could cost us more in cap if we tried to terminate it early.
fortysix wrote:Sorry to upset the applecart but yesterday was the final proof Tigers have degenerated management wise beyond the pale.
To allow a situation to develop, insiduously , year by year, where we just are way behind in our purchases and coaching stategies, where we put the ground development before the playing side, where we have allowed Ford el al to leave, and with seemingly no sensible thought processes, shows that we really need a clearout of major Board members, RC and a number of the players.
Ford Senior and Ford Junior made Tigers look like Championship players yesterday.......... despite the fact we have the best front five in the UK and probably beyond...
As a so called doom monger and a loyal supporter this season has been a disaster...
3rd and our happy clappers are----------- happy ?????????
1) MOC was the main reason Ford et all left.
2) RC won't go this season anyway because it would put Mauger in a really position coming into next season, Next season will prob be RC do or die year.
3) which players would you cull considering we are losing around 16 players already? Remember if that player is still in contract it could cost us more in cap if we tried to terminate it early.
I would get rid of Crane. I don't think he'd make the starting line up of any other team in the top 6. Often looks ponderous with ball in hand and sometimes like a rabbit in the headlights.
fortysix wrote:Sorry to upset the applecart but yesterday was the final proof Tigers have degenerated management wise beyond the pale.
To allow a situation to develop, insiduously , year by year, where we just are way behind in our purchases and coaching stategies, where we put the ground development before the playing side, where we have allowed Ford el al to leave, and with seemingly no sensible thought processes, shows that we really need a clearout of major Board members, RC and a number of the players.
Ford Senior and Ford Junior made Tigers look like Championship players yesterday.......... despite the fact we have the best front five in the UK and probably beyond...
As a so called doom monger and a loyal supporter this season has been a disaster...
3rd and our happy clappers are----------- happy ?????????
If we had topped the league, and then lost the semi-final we would still have finished the season trophy-less , the aim each season is to be in the top four at the end of the regular season
dunks43 wrote:
If we had topped the league, and then lost the semi-final we would still have finished the season trophy-less , the aim each season is to be in the top four at the end of the regular season
What? You mean like our neighbours Saints. In all the doom and gloom at least I can console myself that I don't have to listen to Saints fans talking about a final.
The absolute faith in Mauger to turn everything around is touching, but only justifiable if he has a track record of turning dull, blunt teams full of fairly average players into lethal attacking units.
I'm sure his time at the Crusaders will offer some hope to us all, with the side that are historically the best side in the SXV competition currently languishing in mid-table....
position coming into next season, Next season will prob be RC do or die year.