Roly wrote:Regardless, what was really dull was the Stade player meekly handing the ball to burns which allowed him to take the quick throw. I notice that after half-time, no Stade player made the same mistake.
There was me thinking it was good Tigers' pressure that forced an error, when all along we were just handed the ball.......meekly.......how fortuitous
Looks different on the highlights, depending of course on how you choose to view it
I watched on BT Sport, every commentator said as much and it was pulled apart by the punditry at half time.
So yes, Burns was simply handed the ball (or at least he certainly wasn't made to work getting it back).
Depending of course on how you choose to view it (see what I did there).
“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” Sir Winston Churchill.
jgriffin wrote:There are some posters on here that could find fault with God, or think they are.
Take it for what it was, an all-out attack that crumpled a troubled team. As with Danny Willett, you have to be in to win and take the chance when it presents itself.
As has been said, there's always room for improvement.
Richard Cockerill found fault with some aspects of the performance after the match.
He didn't speak for long, said something about being late for an arraignment with God.
“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” Sir Winston Churchill.
Manu and Betham a different class. I'm happy for Burns that he showed why he should be the number one 10, classy player when he is on form.
Dom Barrow is Leicester's best 2nd row, great performance and I thought Kitch looked better than he has done over previous week.
Ben Youngs has hopefully quietened the doubters.
I would keep the exact same team now except for Mulipola and Bateman for Ayerza and Thacker.
Ayerza is a a fantastic player but Mulipola's ball carrying is so good to have and Ayerza has been conceding a lot of penalties. Bring Marcos and Thacker on at 50-55 mins when the game loosens up a bit.
Let's have the big weight players from the start so our scrum doesn't move.
Manu and Betham a different class. I'm happy for Burns that he showed why he should be the number one 10, classy player when he is on form.
Dom Barrow is Leicester's best 2nd row, great performance and I thought Kitch looked better than he has done over previous week.
Ben Youngs has hopefully quietened the doubters.
I would keep the exact same team now except for Mulipola and Bateman for Ayerza and Thacker.
Ayerza is a a fantastic player but Mulipola's ball carrying is so good to have and Ayerza has been conceding a lot of penalties. Bring Marcos and Thacker on at 50-55 mins when the game loosens up a bit.
Let's have the big weight players from the start so our scrum doesn't move.
I'm not convinced either Cole or Ayerza are anywhere near their best. I don't know if it's simply a drop in form, or because they're past their sell-by-date. Could be a bit of both, probably more the latter. I'm not entirely sure that Thacker isn't 1st choice hooker now either, he'd certainly give OTY a run for his money in most aspects of the game, he definitely carries better.
I had to keep rubbing my eyes to make sure that this was the same penalty machine Barrow. It was you know, honest. Him and Kitch wrought havoc in the Stade line-out, although it did take the whole pack 20 minutes to work out that Stade were wrapping round the maul resulting from the line-out ensuring they couldn't be off-side, thus preventing a Tigers' counter shove.
“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” Sir Winston Churchill.
If we play Bateman, which we should, you don't need to change Ayerza, the problem has been that Ayerza has been having to deal with the opposition tight head and hooker almost on his own due to Thackers lack of bulk, hence the number of penalties.
Bateman must start against Saints, possibly with Logo and Balmain, to give Cole and Ayerza a bit of a rest , but probably needs a good 70 minutes.
Does anyone know if Leo is anywhere a return to fitness
Roly wrote:Regardless, what was really dull was the Stade player meekly handing the ball to burns which allowed him to take the quick throw. I notice that after half-time, no Stade player made the same mistake.
There was me thinking it was good Tigers' pressure that forced an error, when all along we were just handed the ball.......meekly.......how fortuitous
Looks different on the highlights, depending of course on how you choose to view it
I watched on BT Sport, every commentator said as much and it was pulled apart by the punditry at half time.
So yes, Burns was simply handed the ball (or at least he certainly wasn't made to work getting it back).
Depending of course on how you choose to view it (see what I did there).
Ah so it's gone from 'meekly handed over' to 'wasn't made to work getting it back'
Another view, refers to it as "Some ruthless hustle from Freddie Burns" - pundits aren't everything, unless of course you're waiting for them to say something that can be twisted to support your own views..... (see what I did there).....
For me there were stand out players across the board, Burns, Veainu, Betham, with great performances from Youngs, Tait, O'Connor and Kitch (especially in the lineout).
However and this is purely looking at the stats for the game, Barrow had an immense day, especially defensively. 21 tackles (1 missed) makes him a tackle monster in anyones book. Kitch had 14, none of the Stade players broke into double figures
On the offensive, Veainu made 141m, with 10 defenders beaten in only 7 runs. He is as slippery as an eel.
If we can maintain this form (and dare I say get better) we can give anyone a run for their money.
Whitecap Tiger, the ball was handed back without any fuss, it was pretty 'meek' in my opinion. It was naïve of the French player, who probably thought he hadn't taken the ball into touch and was somewhat confused. The commentators and pundits said all as much.
And I'm not twisting anything, this was an action that benefitted Tigers, I'm surprised at how easily Burns did get the ball back, as were many it seems.
And frankly, I couldn't care less what anyone thinks about what people think I should or shouldn't be saying. Least of all to some of the sheeple on here. I've always given credit where its due. It isn't my fault that more often than not credit has been rarely earnt in this second half of the season.
“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” Sir Winston Churchill.
Long and short of that first try was that our guys were sharp as a tack and Stade were caught napping. An excellent bit of opportunism which should be roundly applauded and not scoffed at as a gimme.
He did hand it over, but Burns saw the opportunity, sprinted towards him from about 10 yards and took it off him. Most would want to give Burns credit for that
I'm not convinced either Cole or Ayerza are anywhere near their best. I don't know if it's simply a drop in form, or because they're past their sell-by-date. Could be a bit of both, probably more the latter. I'm not entirely sure that Thacker isn't 1st choice hooker now either, he'd certainly give OTY a run for his money in most aspects of the game, he definitely carries better.
"Past their sell by date"!It could be that they are both overplayed, Cole must have played more top class rugby than any other prop in the last 9 months, he nearly always plays 80 mins, all the Cole knockers out there always forget how much his coaches ask of him, because they see he is head and shoulders above all the other options available, Ayertza has also played non stop for months for us and Argentina.
Roly, king of faint praise.
[quote="Gramps"
Does anyone know if Leo is anywhere a return to fitness[/quote]
I would bet good money that we never again see LG playing in a competitive match in Tigers colours. I've felt this since he signed to join Toulouse, and given his short appearances and completely different attitude when playing for Italy in the 6N.
TomWeston wrote:[quote="Gramps"
Does anyone know if Leo is anywhere a return to fitness
I would bet good money that we never again see LG playing in a competitive match in Tigers colours. I've felt this since he signed to join Toulouse, and given his short appearances and completely different attitude when playing for Italy in the 6N.[/quote]
Interesting that when discussing Gonevas move to Newcastle, Healey said that it is very much the Leicester way, that once someone announces their off, to shut them in a darkened room till the end of the season. To be fair to Goneva, I think his form since the move was announced as been much better
