Noddy555 wrote:We must put out our best team against Wasps and get the flankers to take care of Cypriani and Gopperth who have two of the smartest brains in British Rugby. We must also tackle properly and compete well at the breakdown, otherwise this could be a whopping defeat.
Gopperth may have a rugby brain, but he's not going to trouble the Academy voters with this "no really, I was trying to catch the ball - honest!" performance:
Roly wrote:Who is reffing should be irrelevant if the team removes the potential for indifferent officiating from the equation.
Roly, I never had you down as a hopeless romantic. There are 2 teams of (most of the time) 15 imperfect players, with opposing aims, who play with a ball designed to behave awkwardly. Ignoring other variables such as the weather, there are so many things out of an individual team's control. No way can they stop marginal calls arising thus leaving scope for indifferent officiating.
Marginal calls may not arise, but not because anybody deliberately set out to make sure there weren't any - they can try and reduce the possibility, but not eradicate them completely.
That's pretty much what I meant, witness the first 50 minutes v Glaws and you get the idea....
“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” Sir Winston Churchill.
Will S I agree entirely with you, for me Manu has always been at his best when playing at 13. I would put Peter Betham at 12 and wingers JP Pietersen and Adam Thompstone with Veianu as fullback in place of Tait
with young Jack Roberts on the bench with Kitto and Burns because I would play Sam Harrison at 10.
Gopperth and Cipriani are both very smart footballers, but neither are big defenders. We need aggressive ball carriers for this one to hammer that channel over and over again - I'd start Genge and (if fit enough) Williams, although I expect he'll be on the bench. Wade is obviously very dangerous but is also a weakness under the high ball, so JPP is a must. Also wouldn't be surprised if we went for a 5:2 split on the bench.
1. Genge
2. Youngs
3. Cole
4. Slater
5. Barrow (if fit, Kitchener if not)
6. Williams (if fit, Hamilton if not)
7. O'Connor
8. McCaffery
9. Harrison (deserves it)
10. Burns
11. JPP
12. Smith (need his head at 12)
13. Manu
14. Betham
15. Veainu (if fit, Tait if not. Wasted on the wing though IMO).
It is a great problem to have deciding who to leave out rather than it being last man standing! I would keep Genge on the bench as he will make more of an impact as a sub than Ayerza would. Very soon, I expect they will alternate before Genge becomes the starter by the end of the season. If Mike Williams is fit I would start with him. Putting Smith inside Manu could be a good call. I would then put JPP and Thompstone on the wings with Betham on the bench, especially if there is a 6/2 split ( I would go for 3 backs on the bench) as he can cover more positions than most. Tait may well get the week off.
I think one of the reasons we beat Gloucester was that our bench was much better than theirs. It is fantastic for once to be able to 'drop' such talent to the bench. Add in Toomua and Owen Williams into the mix and if everyone can stay fit, it could be a great season.
Soggypitch wrote:I agree with your team JS. Manu at 13 not on the bench as some are advocating. He needs game time in his best position.
Alright, but the first time he runs out of the line to miss a tackle, he should be substituted and shot.
The try that came after he rushed out of the line was also due to a straightforward missed tackle on the touch line. Manu created a dog leg but we still had cover.
I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed man
On last week's performance, Wade looked distinctly uncomfortable until late in the game. For the first 60 he always shipped the ball on and seemed reluctant to be involved in any contact either offensively or defensively. Whether someone had a word with him about it I know not.
Old Hob wrote:On last week's performance, Wade looked distinctly uncomfortable until late in the game. For the first 60 he always shipped the ball on and seemed reluctant to be involved in any contact either offensively or defensively. Whether someone had a word with him about it I know not.
Hopefully Tombstone will have a few words with him about that.
Nowadays referees decide matches, players by how much.
Wouldn't start Genge. Ayerza will work their scrum hard leaving less scope for that to be done to Genge, allowing him to have a real impact in the loose when the opposition is tiring and the last thing they want is a loose head who runs like a flanker.
Leicester Tigers (v Wasps, Welford Road, Saturday 3pm)
15 Mathew Tait
14 Adam Thompstone
13 Peter Betham
12 Matt Smith
11 J P Pietersen
10 Freddie Burns
9 Sam Harrison
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Tom Youngs (c)
3 Dan Cole
4 Ed Slater
5 Mike Fitzgerald
6 Luke Hamilton
7 Brendon O'Connor
8 Lachlan McCaffrey
Replacements
16 George McGuigan
17 Ellis Genge
18 Greg Bateman
19 Graham Kitchener
20 Mike Williams
21 Ben Youngs
22 Owen Williams
23 Jack Roberts
I suspect a manu ---> Williams swap pre game time anyway.
Very happy with that shame for Evans but Mike Williams is prob to counter the likely wasps second wind and they have big ball carriers in their back row.
