Final Preseason Game vs London Irish

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RagingBull
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Re: Final Preseason Game vs London Irish

Post by RagingBull »

MikeR wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:23 pm Unbelievable that Thompstone should be ahead of Holmes , and quite frankly I would play Olafowa ahead of both . He scored a try last night that no one else other than May would have scored - a great talent and we need him to play . Not sure about Williams at 7 , but with BOC , Thompson and Evans out I suppose there is little option . Very pleased with Spencer and Denton .
To give Thompstone his credit, his workrate is massive especially in defence and chasing.
sam16111986
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Re: Final Preseason Game vs London Irish

Post by sam16111986 »

RagingBull wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 8:38 pm
MikeR wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:23 pm Unbelievable that Thompstone should be ahead of Holmes , and quite frankly I would play Olafowa ahead of both . He scored a try last night that no one else other than May would have scored - a great talent and we need him to play . Not sure about Williams at 7 , but with BOC , Thompson and Evans out I suppose there is little option . Very pleased with Spencer and Denton .
To give Thompstone his credit, his workrate is massive especially in defence and chasing.
Thompstone has been an excellent player for us for some time. Scores tries and does a lot of generally unnoticed work in defence and back play. His positioning is very good and he's worked hard on his ability in the air since he joined. He's still only 30 (31 in a week and a bit) so has got a couple of years left in the tank.

I expect Holmes to overtake him this season and Owolofela the season after. Natural succession. Thompstone might be a handy player to have against the Chiefs with Holmes coming in against Newcastle.
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Re: Final Preseason Game vs London Irish

Post by BFG »

You just couldn't make too many judgements from this game.
Reffell was quiet and outside the fringes of the game but some of Irish' workrate was so poor that made Leicester look extremely clinical, I expect on another day against a better performing team that extra phase or two might be required to finish and we would see if Reffell is up to it as a loose forward.
Most tries were mismatches of size and speed but this aside the highlights just don't take into account the team performances.
Eastmond was very busy and I do like the intensity that he tries to play at, he brings a buzz to the attack, he did McNally to break but what the highlights don't show was how McNally worked tirelessly whilst some teammates were very lazy, he must've been knackered, and also the highlights don't show Eastmond with a bit too much buzz and giving a pass to Irish that top teams would've finished off.
The highlights also don't show Leicester missing the biggest overlap that I have ever seen, Topsy Ojo could be heard loudly above the crowd calling for extra cover and still Leicester didn't notice from the ruck, must've been a five on one!
Rugbyflanker
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Re: Final Preseason Game vs London Irish

Post by Rugbyflanker »

Still turning ball over a lot too, especially first half.
speedski
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Re: Final Preseason Game vs London Irish

Post by speedski »

MikeR wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:23 pm Unbelievable that Thompstone should be ahead of Holmes , and quite frankly I would play Olafowa ahead of both . He scored a try last night that no one else other than May would have scored - a great talent and we need him to play . Not sure about Williams at 7 , but with BOC , Thompson and Evans out I suppose there is little option . Very pleased with Spencer and Denton .
Olafowa defense was sorely lacking....more than once - but admittedly his score was very impressive.
Hot_Charlie
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Re: Final Preseason Game vs London Irish

Post by Hot_Charlie »

sam16111986 wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 7:22 pm

I've only seen the try highlights but for the tries we scored where Reffell was on the pitch he was normally in shot when we scored, impressive workrate around the pitch. Maybe something the other big options don't offer in the same way.
Reffell getting a lot of LTTV “post match press exposure” time too. Reading between the lines, I think he’ll be featuring in the GP this season, possibly more than we expected.
voice of the crumbie
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Re: Final Preseason Game vs London Irish

Post by voice of the crumbie »

speedski wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 3:57 pm
MikeR wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:23 pm Unbelievable that Thompstone should be ahead of Holmes , and quite frankly I would play Olafowa ahead of both . He scored a try last night that no one else other than May would have scored - a great talent and we need him to play . Not sure about Williams at 7 , but with BOC , Thompson and Evans out I suppose there is little option . Very pleased with Spencer and Denton .
Olafowa defense was sorely lacking....more than once - but admittedly his score was very impressive.
,

He is a potent attacking force, no doubt, but needs to work on his defence as has been noted. I hope he gets plenty of opportunities off the bench to allow him to develop at premiership level and see whether he can translate his potential into the real deal. However we have to remember that all premiership teams have the capacity to pounce on and exploit defensive errors / lapses. In this respect Thompstone and Holmes are currently ahead of him.
Tigers for the premiership and European Cup. Get behind the team and make some noise!!
JP14
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Re: Final Preseason Game vs London Irish

Post by JP14 »

I see Reffell as more of a 6 than a 7, O’Connor might be available for the Exeter game, he is in some sort of training.
Formerly of Burbaaage (not Inkleh), now up north at uni
JP14
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Re: Final Preseason Game vs London Irish

Post by JP14 »

Having watched the highlights it seems that Irish’s defence is really weak apart from McNally, a welcome addition for the Tigers squad next season perhaps if Fitz leaves.
Formerly of Burbaaage (not Inkleh), now up north at uni
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