Saints Away

[Scott11]

Cockerill lol,like we didn't get annihilated under him too?!

[wellstiger]

I've said it before so here I go again. And again I will be ridiculed yet again......

Tigers we are not... We are no longer feared and seen as a soft underbelly that can be got at.
Some players are passed their sell by date. Mid field are like cart horses. We lack skills at the break down.
We are static in the forwards and are predictable in attack.
For the last three to four seasons this has been self evident.
With the exception of the odd game we have had individuals perform on occassions which has dug us out of holes.
In their entirety we have been out performed. We look no where cohesive and I fear not conteneders on this evidence.
To qoute MOC "you don;t win anything in September" - but you may loose good will of the fans and respect in September.
Every team suffers injuries and manages this - we do not .Players do not step up to the plate given their opportunity.
High expectations with a change in coaching and a bill for personnel he wanted to get a job done and "hit the ground running" this season. Unless miracles happen we look likely to be in a relegation battle and that would be a first for a proud club.

[Timmers]

Embarassing performance. The backs can't play with a platform and yesterday there was no platform. The worst forward display I've seen in a long time. No communication and no real power. May and genge possibly earned their pennies and smith put in a shift but generally terrible.
Back to basics next week...and some serious line out and scrum training this week.
Vienu seriously needs to mix up his play at full back.

[sam16111986]

Embarassing performance. The backs can't play with a platform and yesterday there was no platform. The worst forward display I've seen in a long time. No communication and no real power. May and genge possibly earned their pennies and smith put in a shift but generally terrible.
Back to basics next week...and some serious line out and scrum training this week.
Vienu seriously needs to mix up his play at full back.

Scrum training? The only time we went back was when Williams was in the sin bin. Even then Thacker managed to hook the ball so we retained possession. We had the Saints scrum on toast even with Thacker at hooker.

The lineout needs work. It appeared to stabalise after about 20 minutes when Kitchener started keeping it simple and just called it to himself. After he went off it was a dogs dinner again.

I hope attacking continuity is what they practice this week. We were pedestrian and predictable. This is supposed to be O'Connor's area of strength but we look toothless.

[BFG]

Wake up and smell the coffee Sam, despite having their moments can you not see that they are being bossed!

[sam16111986]

Wake up and smell the coffee Sam, despite having their moments can you not see that they are being bossed!

We were absolutely dire. Just not at the scrum. Did you miss the bit where I said our attacking play was pedestrian and predictable?

At some point one of the coaches will surely decide to change the tactics and start Ford pinging the ball to the corners and instruct Youngs to box kick to compete. Instead of this side to side go nowhere in the centre of the field, get turned over and then watch the opposition stroll into our 22 where we decide to actually start defending.

[BFG]

Wake up and smell the coffee Sam, despite having their moments can you not see that they are being bossed!

We were absolutely dire. Just not at the scrum. Did you miss the bit where I said our attacking play was pedestrian and predictable?

At some point one of the coaches will surely decide to change the tactics and start Ford pinging the ball to the corners and instruct Youngs to box kick to compete. Instead of this side to side go nowhere in the centre of the field, get turned over and then watch the opposition stroll into our 22 where we decide to actually start defending.

It's pressure taking it's toll Sam, physical pressure, mental pressure.
I don't go for the theory that I am reading from some that this team lacks a heart or soul.
They are knackered, the props are knackered, the locks are knackered, they are physically carrying players against sides that now have our card marked.
We are actually encouraging the opposition to come after us by selecting lesser players physically.
There was one moment in the second half where that scrum just completely crumbled, that is one of the easiest signs that as a unit they are clinging on for dear life!

[ellis9]

Are you kidding me?!

Kick for the corners and box kicks? That isn't the rugby a lot of Tigers fans were asking, sorry no, demanding last season! They want exciting, entertaining rugby! Kicking for corners and box kicking won't get said fans excited! How we will be able to compete with fans going Wasps if we play rugby like that?!

What have I always said? It doesn't matter what style we play, it can be as boring as the most boring thing on Earth as long as we win.

[sam16111986]

Wake up and smell the coffee Sam, despite having their moments can you not see that they are being bossed!

We were absolutely dire. Just not at the scrum. Did you miss the bit where I said our attacking play was pedestrian and predictable?

At some point one of the coaches will surely decide to change the tactics and start Ford pinging the ball to the corners and instruct Youngs to box kick to compete. Instead of this side to side go nowhere in the centre of the field, get turned over and then watch the opposition stroll into our 22 where we decide to actually start defending.

It's pressure taking it's toll Sam, physical pressure, mental pressure.
I don't go for the theory that I am reading from some that this team lacks a heart or soul.
They are knackered, the props are knackered, the locks are knackered, they are physically carrying players against sides that now have our card marked.
We are actually encouraging the opposition to come after us by selecting lesser players physically.
There was one moment in the second half where that scrum just completely crumbled, that is one of the easiest signs that as a unit they are clinging on for dear life!

The only time the scrum crumbled was when Williams was off the field. You remove your 18 stone second row and pop a winger on the flank instead and you can't be surprised if the difference in pushing ability isn't noticed. We still got the ball back cleanly. The scrum was probably the only reason Saints didn't get a TBP, it certainly got us out of a few holes in our 22.

Quite frankly we could have a pack of Mulipola's and go nowhere currently. Until MOC pulls his head from his backside and changes the tactics we are in for week after week of this rubbish.

As an aside the physically smaller Thacker probably made more metres than the rest of the pack combined ball in hand.

Ellis, I'm with you all about play to win. It's also much easier to play attacking rugby in the opponents 22 than it is on half way.

[Jon]

As has been said, the issue is with the forwards. For whatever reason, we are lacking physicality and that's not giving a good platform to the backs. Toomua is looking rusty, but unsurprising given his time out and needs playing in. Sadly, centres is an area we need strengthening in.

For Glaws, I'd put Wells in at lock with Barrow. I've read on Facebook Kitch maybe out next week. Play Hamilton at 8 with Williams at 6 and O'Connor at 7 (if injured Evans). Drop Kalemfoni completely, and put Mapapalangi on the bench as heard good things about him.

Backs i'd leave the same, with the exception of Malouf. I'd have him in the A-team, or loan out to get 15s experience. Hopefully Brady/Thompstone or Holmes can come in.

[BFG]

You are completely missing the point Sam, it's energy sapping!
Tired players are inconsistent, they lose form, lose confidence and pick up injuries, all the obvious signs and likely causes are plain to see!

[sapajo]

Really disappointed with Mike Williams his yellow card was moronic just when after he came off the bench and we needed him badly.

[rdracup]

We are, yet again, a mid table team. Looking at performance, passion and ability to adopt to new laws, then Wasps, Exeter, Bath, Sarries, Saints are way ahead of us. For me set scrum is OK, line out can be fixed, but our back row is the problem particularly at the breakdown. SK is not the force he was said to be, BOC is in decline, Hamilton is OK, Williams is good at set piece but not at breakdown. Dom Ryan is a disappointment. Getting rid of Lockie McC looks like a mistake. Croft would make a big difference to the line out and on this evidence we would not lose out at the breakdown. Will Evans should be given a chance.

My back row for Glaws would be Croft, Hamilton and Evans, and drop Malouf for Brady or Thompson if fit.

That would mean starting without any MOC summer signings in the pack... which says it all

[Tigerbeat]

Really disappointed with Mike Williams his yellow card was moronic just when after he came off the bench and we needed him badly.

JP said it was only a penalty but the yelliw card was given as the team had been on a warning.

[kend]

There was one moment in the second half where that scrum just completely crumbled, that is one of the easiest signs that as a unit they are clinging on for dear life

There were several points where the Saints scrum crumbled as well. Were they hanging on for dear life? Overall the scrum went well - it was one of the solid positives of the game. As was the 5 metre defence. The odd scrum will go awry, especially if the forwards are having to work as hard in defence as Tigers did in that game. Thacker has been one of the positives in the last two games - I just don't understand the negativity about him. He is a forward that can play like a back, that makes him difficult for defences to handle.

It wasn't just Tigers playing badly; Saints played well and were worth the win.

Tigers really need to find someone to replace Manu as a gainline breaker in mid-field. Smith played well (according to the ESPN stats - no missed tackles), but he just doesn't bring the same threat. Ford and Toomua need some space to work in.

New combinations, new coach, maybe not the playing balance MoC would ideally want (that said, I still remain to be convinced about his appointment). There will be some bumps along the way. The side are better than that performance.