Hé hasn’t exactly got the best squad . . . . .

[Scott1]

If I was a forward I'd be livid! We have got to be the worse kickers in the GP from what I've seen. (I don't watch every game but have seen every team more than once)

[LE18]

If I was a forward I'd be livid! We have got to be the worse kickers in the GP from what I've seen. (I don't watch every game but have seen every team more than once)

One thing I have noticed is that we take the ball up quite often and end up 1 metre out of the 22, then cant kick for touch, why not stop the drive before we exit 22?

[fortysix]

White is SO FLIPPING SLOW I nearly smashed the TV screen.
He has YBY bloodline.. sell him.

[G.K]

So the secret of future success is more and more SH players until Tigers are like a NH Super 15 franchise?

So what would you do G.K. - lots of criticism of what is happening and so it would be good to hear your ideas

Apologies if you’ve expressed them on other threads

Dunc - unfortunately it's too late now but I certainly would not have bought back MoC and I would not have recruited so many average players, especially from the SH.

Going forwards I would:

1) Replace Murphs asap so a new coach has a full pre-season (no I don't know who might be available but I'd be in discussions with whoever was).
2) Clear out the average players at the end of the season, we can all have a view on who they are but there are quite a few of them I'd say.
3) Recruit some decent locks and another hooker and another full back, fly half and centre since if GF away and TV and/or Manu injured we don't have too much in the way of quality backup with aussie Matt T also having left (in spirit if not in body).
4) Stop playing negative Rugby by kicking the ball away and defending for much of the match and speed up ruck ball
5) Replace most of the BoD and the caterinmg contract.

Well you did ask....

[JP14]

So the secret of future success is more and more SH players until Tigers are like a NH Super 15 franchise?

So what would you do G.K. - lots of criticism of what is happening and so it would be good to hear your ideas

Apologies if you’ve expressed them on other threads

Dunc - unfortunately it's too late now but I certainly would not have bought back MoC and I would not have recruited so many average players, especially from the SH.

Going forwards I would:

1) Replace Murphs asap so a new coach has a full pre-season (no I don't know who might be available but I'd be in discussions with whoever was).
2) Clear out the average players at the end of the season, we can all have a view on who they are but there are quite a few of them I'd say.
3) Recruit some decent locks and another hooker and another full back, fly half and centre since if GF away and TV and/or Manu injured we don't have too much in the way of quality backup with aussie Matt T also having left (in spirit if not in body).
4) Stop playing negative Rugby by kicking the ball away and defending for much of the match and speed up ruck ball
5) Replace most of the BoD and the caterinmg contract.

Well you did ask....

You will struggle to find sane Tigers supporters who would agree with your 1st point. As for kicking the ball away, it’s not negative rugby necessarily, Tigers aren’t just being intelligent enough.

[sam16111986]

If I was a forward I'd be livid! We have got to be the worse kickers in the GP from what I've seen. (I don't watch every game but have seen every team more than once)

The majority of the kicks were no worse than what Sarries offered up. There were two major differences, firstly our kick chase was rubbish and secondly they benefitted massively from Jonah Holmes positional play.

Sarries scored off the back of a decent kick that Varndell didn't bother chasing properly so Sarries took the ball under no pressure. Of the three forwards chasing up only Dan Cole was in the correct position, Bateman was jogging and not in the line and BOC in a world of his own and didn't notice the large gap to Cole on his left that Gallagher ran through. I imagine Murphy brought in Varndell for his pace and ability to chase kicks. The tactic being your pace merchant applies pressure whilst your forwards come up in a line behind. Simple and should be effective if the players could put it into practice.

[Cardiff Tig]

If I was a forward I'd be livid! We have got to be the worse kickers in the GP from what I've seen. (I don't watch every game but have seen every team more than once)

If I was a SH I'd be livid. Our pack fails to give the SH quick ball 95% of the time. They even struggle with simple things like ball placement upon contact.

[voice of the crumbie]

If I was a forward I'd be livid! We have got to be the worse kickers in the GP from what I've seen. (I don't watch every game but have seen every team more than once)

The majority of the kicks were no worse than what Sarries offered up. There were two major differences, firstly our kick chase was rubbish and secondly they benefitted massively from Jonah Holmes positional play.

Sarries scored off the back of a decent kick that Varndell didn't bother chasing properly so Sarries took the ball under no pressure. Of the three forwards chasing up only Dan Cole was in the correct position, Bateman was jogging and not in the line and BOC in a world of his own and didn't notice the large gap to Cole on his left that Gallagher ran through. I imagine Murphy brought in Varndell for his pace and ability to chase kicks. The tactic being your pace merchant applies pressure whilst your forwards come up in a line behind. Simple and should be effective if the players could put it into practice.

Sam you hit the nail on the head "should be effective if the players could put it into practice." All the coaching in the world is to no avail if the players go off plan when they are on the pitch. Varndell and Sarto were injury dispensation signings to cover the likes of Veainu, Tait and Thompstone so I imagine it was a case of who was available at short notice.

[BFG]

White is SO FLIPPING SLOW I nearly smashed the TV screen.
He has YBY bloodline.. sell him.

I hope none of Harrison and Simmons or any of the two upcoming U18's are sacrificed for White.
He is not good enough!

[Old Hob]

Has Eastmond contributed anything positive in any game? He seems contact shy.

[sam16111986]

White is SO FLIPPING SLOW I nearly smashed the TV screen.
He has YBY bloodline.. sell him.

I hope none of Harrison and Simmons or any of the two upcoming U18's are sacrificed for White.
He is not good enough!

He is too slow. That seemed to be part of the plan at the weekend though. Slow the tempo of the game down, frustrate Sarries. Worked very well in the first half with Sarries conceding twice the penalties we did.

What annoys me is White is perfectly capable of playing quicker and off the cuff. Against Racing away he was fantastic and was more like a young Ben Youngs. Maybe it's a confidence thing and he'll develop and settle in then we'll see more out of him. To be fair when he did try and inject tempo with the quick tap and go, no one went with him, his 14 team mates stood and watched. Probably why he didn't bother again after that.

[mol2]

Kick chase remains woeful - are we kicking too far or just not chasing? Probably the latter.

Long kicks need to be into space or off the park.

Holmes for an international was OK in attack but caught out of position too many times in defence.

There was a clear example when we lost possession in their 22 and I thought we are thin at the back, however rather than kick immediately Sarries took a couple of phases before kicking - yet Holmes still hadn't got himself back into position.

To be blunt none of our released internationals looked like they were on the ball, be that Cole, Holmes or Kerr when he came on.

Didn't expect a win but after the first half I though it was possible but the capitulation at then end was embarrassing.
Perhaps Geordie will need to use Cocker's hair dryer!

[northerntiger]

Has Eastmond contributed anything positive in any game? He seems contact shy.

You were listening to Austin! He did ok for the try and tackled well

[ourla]

I could be wrong but I would imagine White was told to play how he did tactically.

We wanted a slow close contact game for the most part.

[ourla]

It was good to hear Murphy call out Toomua and Holmes yesterday for errors. Obviously it has to be said in the right way but it's good to be frank about our performance. Good players will take it on the chin and try to do better.

Also, good to see Joe Ford benched. Could that be it for him. He's a good Championship player and hopefully can earn a living from the game. But he can't be the future for Leicester Tigers.

As I've said elsewhere, I don't think wholesale changes are needed.