The Derby Round v Northampton - Premiership Rugby Cup

[longlivethecrumbie]

There is so much god damn negativity on here, it's ridiculous

[strawclearer]

There is so much god damn negativity on here, it's ridiculous

[ellis9]

There is so much god damn negativity on here, it's ridiculous

Have you only just realised this?!

[ellis9]

People on here just want and expect things which are unrealistic.

People want:
-World class players in every position
-Top class players in every position as second choice
-A good number of players to come out of our academy every season to be selected in match day squads
-Our young players to be ready straight away as a Premiership players so they cannot be given a chance to learn and develop.
-A Southern Hemisphere coach who has no links to Tigers whatsoever.
-No hotels or good ways of generating money as presumably we will be paying all of these world class and top class players in chocolate coins so don't need to generate money to pay them.
-Light green shirts as anything else is awful and not Tigers.
-Tigers to put in a perfect performance every week.
-Tigers to play "attractive rugby" every week by scoring lots of tries and not conceding any.
-Only have games on Saturdays at 3pm as apparently any other time or day is completely ridiculous, unpopular and extremely difficult for every single Tigers fan to get to.
-Tigers to never release players who are 'fans favourites' as it hurts their feelings.
-Tigers to sign only world class players as injury dispensation as all others are 'has beens'

There's probably others but I can't think of them right now.

[LE18]

No one played badly, just not good enough. Hayes was playing well, he went off late in game but had to come back on after Feao went off HIA i think. Unfortunately Heyes tried an offload at the end, as we were attacking, Reinach intercepted and went half the pitch to score under the posts. How can we really be expected to compete with Saints when they select and play Reinach for 80 mins?
Sarto and Varndell both looked lively, Varndell did get across the line once but Gibson was blocking him and held him up, he did not get the ball down.
Joe Ford was not too bad, scored a breakaway try and converted well. Fred Tuilagi carried quite well without breaking the line, scored our first try.
We had picked 4 wingers in our team, JO and SAR were nothing special, Front row did well in first half and we would have been satisfied with the close result up to 70 mins, but when Saints bring on the likes of Haskell, well it just goes to show how much Saints team selection meant to them. Dom Barrow scored against us, Gibson obstructed Varndell and late tackled White, plus at least 3 scrum pens by Saints escaped unpunished in the red zone.

[h's dad]

47 - 20

Saints did score 3 tries in the last 5 mins, from what I've read it sounds like it was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests

So Tigers just gave up at the end?

Try count before the end rush was 6-2 I think. Not close in my book.

Outmatched and outgunned, played their guts out for 70 minutes. Try count before the end rush was 4-2.

[longlivethecrumbie]

People on here just want and expect things which are unrealistic.

People want:
-World class players in every position
-Top class players in every position as second choice
-A good number of players to come out of our academy every season to be selected in match day squads
-Our young players to be ready straight away as a Premiership players so they cannot be given a chance to learn and develop.
-A Southern Hemisphere coach who has no links to Tigers whatsoever.
-No hotels or good ways of generating money as presumably we will be paying all of these world class and top class players in chocolate coins so don't need to generate money to pay them.
-Light green shirts as anything else is awful and not Tigers.
-Tigers to put in a perfect performance every week.
-Tigers to play "attractive rugby" every week by scoring lots of tries and not conceding any.
-Only have games on Saturdays at 3pm as apparently any other time or day is completely ridiculous, unpopular and extremely difficult for every single Tigers fan to get to.
-Tigers to never release players who are 'fans favourites' as it hurts their feelings.
-Tigers to sign only world class players as injury dispensation as all others are 'has beens'

There's probably others but I can't think of them right now.

Sounds about right!

[johnthegriff]

Our young lads competed well for most of the game, we were at 26 20 and applying a lot of pressure , Saints conceding several penalties at scrums close to the try line, personally I thought their scrum half deserved a yellow card. Eventually as often happens the ref awarded a penalty the other way, they cleared their lines and the nine scored two tries. We did not give in we were still going for it when an attempted off load by Hayes was well read by Gibson who put Reinbach away to run in a final try from our twenty two. Saints were clearly better over all but I thought the score at the end flattered them.

[chewbacca]

Not the end of the world, that would be finishing 12th in the prem. It does however indicate that we are a few seasons off of a squad with a significant home-grown presence capable of challenging for titles. As others have said we have been in decline for a number of years and our recovery is likely to take as long if not longer.

[aslongaswebeatsaints]

1. The youngsters gained valuable experience against a team containing some of their first XI, competing well for a large part of the game. Experience that can’t be gained on the training ground.
2. Our first team players got some valuable rest in the bank which could make the difference in the second half of the season.

Why the negativity towards Tigers?

If there is to be any negativity it should be at the blatant problems with the very structure of this competition. To be blunt - badly thought through and not fit for purpose. If it’s purpose is to develop young players it’s shameful how the result is teams like Worcester and now Saints using it either as a momementum building exercise or silver gaining exercise for underperforming first teams. Perhaps a cap on age?

[BFG]

To be fair I think that a few of Saints younger players such as Dingwall, Ludlam and Sleightholme might've been held back from this fixture for the league as I hear that they have been playing a bit better than some of the older players.
If you put a cap on age in this competition then it could penalise young lads who are wanted for league matches.
Personally I see no harm in facing slightly stronger or experienced teams just as long as it's not too strong, and with the internationals away that's not likely.
Yesterday was no problem in my opinion, shows a higher intensity that is needed and how mistakes are punished against a higher standard.
As a fact finding mission and potential stepping stone it can be a useful exercise just as long as the result isn't focused on too much.
To be honest yesterday was several levels below Saracens 1st XV anyway and so opposition like yesterday will have to be hurdled at some stage.

[Dangerous4]

People on here just want and expect things which are unrealistic.

People want:
-World class players in every position
-Top class players in every position as second choice
-A good number of players to come out of our academy every season to be selected in match day squads
-Our young players to be ready straight away as a Premiership players so they cannot be given a chance to learn and develop.
-A Southern Hemisphere coach who has no links to Tigers whatsoever.
-No hotels or good ways of generating money as presumably we will be paying all of these world class and top class players in chocolate coins so don't need to generate money to pay them.

Oh dear! Agree about the hotel though, as that will create the ability to generate money.
-Light green shirts as anything else is awful and not Tigers.
-Tigers to put in a perfect performance every week.
-Tigers to play "attractive rugby" every week by scoring lots of tries and not conceding any.
-Only have games on Saturdays at 3pm as apparently any other time or day is completely ridiculous, unpopular and extremely difficult for every single Tigers fan to get to.
-Tigers to never release players who are 'fans favourites' as it hurts their feelings.
-Tigers to sign only world class players as injury dispensation as all others are 'has beens'

There's probably others but I can't think of them right now.

[TigerCam]

From what I read, Sam Vesty was very complimentary and if the young Tigers were in tears in the locker room, as reported, then I have no doubt due to their commitment and resolve during the game. IMO, competitions like this have different agendas for different clubs. I for one do not give a 'diddly squat' about winning the so called 'lesser competitions'? They are, as some have said, 'development' competitions and if other clubs wish to put a strong side then so be it? It is their agenda and theirs alone. For me it is how the 'developing' Tigers react and to play what is in front of them, not how good or strong the opposition is. I do expect the Tigers 1st XV (23) to win every game - won't happen, but that is my expectation as a Tigers supporter. So blooding the youngsters against stronger competition is for me a really good exercise despite what the result maybe. If the Tigers lack depth, quality etc, then games like these will expose those areas and also show those who have the potential to step up? GM can then react. IMO, it has been too long in the making for the Tigers to develop a strong academy and not lose those that have the potential to other clubs. If the Saints go on to win the competition then so be it? I for one do not give a 'diddly squat'!

[Coleshillad]

From what I read, Sam Vesty was very complimentary and if the young Tigers were in tears in the locker room, as reported, then I have no doubt due to their commitment and resolve during the game. IMO, competitions like this have different agendas for different clubs. I for one do not give a 'diddly squat' about winning the so called 'lesser competitions'? They are, as some have said, 'development' competitions and if other clubs wish to put a strong side then so be it? It is their agenda and theirs alone. For me it is how the 'developing' Tigers react and to play what is in front of them, not how good or strong the opposition is. I do expect the Tigers 1st XV (23) to win every game - won't happen, but that is my expectation as a Tigers supporter. So blooding the youngsters against stronger competition is for me a really good exercise despite what the result maybe. If the Tigers lack depth, quality etc, then games like these will expose those areas and also show those who have the potential to step up? GM can then react. IMO, it has been too long in the making for the Tigers to develop a strong academy and not lose those that have the potential to other clubs. If the Saints go on to win the competition then so be it? I for one do not give a 'diddly squat'!

Nice post. Totally concur.

[wormus]

From what I read, Sam Vesty was very complimentary and if the young Tigers were in tears in the locker room, as reported, then I have no doubt due to their commitment and resolve during the game. IMO, competitions like this have different agendas for different clubs. I for one do not give a 'diddly squat' about winning the so called 'lesser competitions'? They are, as some have said, 'development' competitions and if other clubs wish to put a strong side then so be it? It is their agenda and theirs alone. For me it is how the 'developing' Tigers react and to play what is in front of them, not how good or strong the opposition is. I do expect the Tigers 1st XV (23) to win every game - won't happen, but that is my expectation as a Tigers supporter. So blooding the youngsters against stronger competition is for me a really good exercise despite what the result maybe. If the Tigers lack depth, quality etc, then games like these will expose those areas and also show those who have the potential to step up? GM can then react. IMO, it has been too long in the making for the Tigers to develop a strong academy and not lose those that have the potential to other clubs. If the Saints go on to win the competition then so be it? I for one do not give a 'diddly squat'!

I totally agree, the Tigers team was in the spirit of the competition and our lads really performed well for 70 minutes and only the HIA ,tired limbs and their strong bench of James Haskell & Tuala coming on whilst we brought on a 17yr. and 18 year olds for whom this moment was a memorable milestone.
Well played Tigers.