Exeter Chiefs 21st December

[kk20gb30]

..forgot to say , it really is the hope that kills you.

[TigerBoy1880]

If you are going to shout at someone and demand a response to how they are doing their job then if you get a short tempered response you should be unsurprised. From what was posted early the fan shouted to Murphy "what's the point" in relation to substitutions being made. A stupid comment born of frustration and probably a beer or two. Murphy's response was born of frustration and completely justified. Fans too often moan the club doesn't interact enough. The only error was the F bombs he dropped for which he went back and apologised in person and then in the interview post game.

Just because you don't want him as the head coach does not mean you need to vilify everything he does. We all know he's out of his depth and been left in that position because of the loyalty he feels to the club. It's the board's poor management that is too blame not the man desperately trying to bail out the sinking ship.

Tigers is a business, a fundamental of any business is the customer (supporter) is always right. Indeed it matters didly squat if they are actually wrong but you should never alienate your customers (supporters) as they are crucial to the success of your business. Murphy chose to react in the way he did and as such he has left his behaviour open to critcism but in no way can it ever be excused or justified. That is why Murphy reappeared to apologise after the penny had finally dropped.

So far as Murphy’s loss of self-control yesterday is concerned, if Tigers had just closed out yet another victory whilst on a 26-match unbeaten run, the narrative would have been about Tigers’ “unquenchable desire to win”, a la Martin Johnson. But it didn’t come after an unbeaten run.

Murphy’s premiership record reads P26 W7 L19. Four wins in the first ten games – a dead cat bounce – of sorts. Followed by 3 wins in 16 matches.

In his first six premiership games last season average points scored / conceded was 26 v 31. In the last six 22 v 30. After six games this season 14 v 27. Improvement?

I predicated last week that after eight games, the table for relegation candidates will look as follows: 18 Worcester, 18 Harlequins, 13 Bath, 6 Wasps, 6 Tigers, -5 Saracens. After 6 games (with just 15 premiership matches to go - thats 15 - and Bath still to play) it reads: 13 Worcester, 15 Harlequins, 8 Bath, 6 Wasps, 4 Tigers, -13 Saracens.

After which we will be without our internationals during the 6N. Points against Wasps and Worcester (who will lose fewer players) Sale and Saracens (both away)?

We now celebrate being competitive (in a first half), at home, with a full team against understrength opposition. Losing bonus point?

Of course, we lost our Head Coach at the start of this season, due to an end of season spat with a referee. Both outbursts reflect his passion, and also the fact he is out of his depth. Coaching is a profession, learnt over time, like accountancy, teaching, brick laying, being a player. The fact Murphy lacked the self-awareness to recognise he wasn't ready for the role demonstrates he wasn't ready for it. The ensuing results are the evidence. But his naivety is understandable. However the incompetence of the board i.e. not having the necessary skills to carry out a task, is not understandable. Their willingness to allow the proverbial ship to continue towards the rocks is inexcusable.

There’s an improvement in the defence.

[kend]

Most responsible parents take their children to the rugby because they don’t want them to hear bad language and see a game played with genuine sportsmanship. Unfortunately the game is changing and in my opinion not for the better.
I don’t want rugby to go along the football route.
There isn’t any excuse for bad language but there appears to be a number of supporters now who cannot control themselves.

I can only assume you haven’t spent a lot of time inside local rugby clubs after games.
I am a very responsible parent, and both my sons were told whatever they may overhear at the rugby club stays there

On Murphy's (alleged) outburst I have an anecdote: some years ago I took a load of quite young kids and associated parents to see Quins v Tigers (in the days when Quins gave tickets away to local junior clubs) and we had the front row seats behind the posts. For a number of the parents it was their first rugby match. Tigers started badly and had conceded an easy try. Johnson got the players together behind the posts (and therefore feet away from the assembled youngsters) and delivered a very expletive laden analysis of the performance. A number of the shocked parents explained to their progeny that it was the nasty East Midlanders that spoke like that and the Quins players were gentlemen. In the second half the game turned around and the Quins captain (can't remember who) got the Quins players together in exactly the same spot and delivered the same talk in exactly the same terms.

One of the parents was so outraged she wrote to Quins to complain as her child had subsequently used one of the 'bad words' at home. Won't someone think of the children.....

She didn't get a response (probably because they were laughing too much to type a reply).

The moral of this story: in the pressure and passion of a rugby game feelings will sometimes be expressed in blunt terms. Get over it.

Back on the game: bitterly disappointing to score three and not even get a LBP.

[Traveller]

Tigers is a business, a fundamental of any business is the customer (supporter) is always right. Indeed it matters didly squat if they are actually wrong but you should never alienate your customers (supporters) as they are crucial to the success of your business. Murphy chose to react in the way he did and as such he has left his behaviour open to critcism but in no way can it ever be excused or justified. That is why Murphy reappeared to apologise after the penny had finally dropped.

So far as Murphy’s loss of self-control yesterday is concerned, if Tigers had just closed out yet another victory whilst on a 26-match unbeaten run, the narrative would have been about Tigers’ “unquenchable desire to win”, a la Martin Johnson. But it didn’t come after an unbeaten run.

Murphy’s premiership record reads P26 W7 L19. Four wins in the first ten games – a dead cat bounce – of sorts. Followed by 3 wins in 16 matches.

In his first six premiership games last season average points scored / conceded was 26 v 31. In the last six 22 v 30. After six games this season 14 v 27. Improvement?

I predicated last week that after eight games, the table for relegation candidates will look as follows: 18 Worcester, 18 Harlequins, 13 Bath, 6 Wasps, 6 Tigers, -5 Saracens. After 6 games (with just 15 premiership matches to go - thats 15 - and Bath still to play) it reads: 13 Worcester, 15 Harlequins, 8 Bath, 6 Wasps, 4 Tigers, -13 Saracens.

After which we will be without our internationals during the 6N. Points against Wasps and Worcester (who will lose fewer players) Sale and Saracens (both away)?

We now celebrate being competitive (in a first half), at home, with a full team against understrength opposition. Losing bonus point?

Of course, we lost our Head Coach at the start of this season, due to an end of season spat with a referee. Both outbursts reflect his passion, and also the fact he is out of his depth. Coaching is a profession, learnt over time, like accountancy, teaching, brick laying, being a player. The fact Murphy lacked the self-awareness to recognise he wasn't ready for the role demonstrates he wasn't ready for it. The ensuing results are the evidence. But his naivety is understandable. However the incompetence of the board i.e. not having the necessary skills to carry out a task, is not understandable. Their willingness to allow the proverbial ship to continue towards the rocks is inexcusable.

There’s an improvement in the defence.

Any your next mission should you chose to accept it is to make a sentence including the words 'clutching' and 'straws'. This forum will self destruct after the Wasps game.

[Jimmy Skitz]

Most responsible parents take their children to the rugby because they don’t want them to hear bad language and see a game played with genuine sportsmanship. Unfortunately the game is changing and in my opinion not for the better.
I don’t want rugby to go along the football route.
There isn’t any excuse for bad language but there appears to be a number of supporters now who cannot control themselves.

I can only assume you haven’t spent a lot of time inside local rugby clubs after games.
I am a very responsible parent, and both my sons were told whatever they may overhear at the rugby club stays there

On Murphy's (alleged) outburst I have an anecdote: some years ago I took a load of quite young kids and associated parents to see Quins v Tigers (in the days when Quins gave tickets away to local junior clubs) and we had the front row seats behind the posts. For a number of the parents it was their first rugby match. Tigers started badly and had conceded an easy try. Johnson got the players together behind the posts (and therefore feet away from the assembled youngsters) and delivered a very expletive laden analysis of the performance. A number of the shocked parents explained to their progeny that it was the nasty East Midlanders that spoke like that and the Quins players were gentlemen. In the second half the game turned around and the Quins captain (can't remember who) got the Quins players together in exactly the same spot and delivered the same talk in exactly the same terms.

One of the parents was so outraged she wrote to Quins to complain as her child had subsequently used one of the 'bad words' at home. Won't someone think of the children.....

She didn't get a response (probably because they were laughing too much to type a reply).

The moral of this story: in the pressure and passion of a rugby game feelings will sometimes be expressed in blunt terms. Get over it.

Back on the game: bitterly disappointing to score three and not even get a LBP.

she should have taken some parental responsibility and told her child why that language was unacceptable, one of the things I find most annoying is people that expect everyone else to parent their children for them

[CrumblingTerrace]

The first half was our best rugby this season.

But you don't beat Exeter in 40mins, you need to play the full 80mins.

The second half was as bad as we've been all year. By the end it was, quite frankly, excruciating to watch.

[Ian Cant]

At the end, a few minutes after the players had all shaken hands, gone down the tunnel Manu emerged with the rest and trotted round, no sign of a limp,to clap the few fans like me who’d stayed behind. Hopefully, he is ok!
This squad has lots of talent but now need to play more cohesively and not give cheap penalties away. Love a Genge but he has to bind properly so come on Boris work on that with Cole as the opposition in training.
Geordan needs to leave the coaching to others( which he may already do) but make sure at half time everyone listens to one person’ input.
Quins and Bristol are winnable IF the team play like the fist half yesterday.
Lewis has to be in the squad as yesterday he was the sort of player needed in the last 10 minutes when a double bonus point was possible.

Have a great Christmas Day Tigers’ whole club; chill out the come back ready to beat Quins!

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

I remember GM commenting on the state if the Headingley pitch when warming up there, very colourful.
I also was at WR for an extras game when the entire assembled crowd all got to hear Eric Millers thoughts on a piece of play..

[LE18]

I was very disappointed with the final result, I had previously forecast that this was a game we could win, especially after seeing the sympathetic team Exeter had selected.
After taking a good lead into half time I felt that my optimism was correct, we looked as though we knew how to break a side down and score tries and were heading for a long awaited win.
I believe that what must have been said to Exeter at half time was the deciding factor, to tighten up their defence and they would win. Clearly it worked, we could no longer break their defensive wall, keeping hold of the ball only resulted in us going backwards until we finally had to kick the ball away to try to gain ground. This did not work, they ran it back hard at us and in desperation, it was desperation, we were forced to try to hold on to the ball again and were driven even further back.
Exeter scored from inside the 5 mtr line as usual, they are unstoppable at it, I did think the TMO got 1 wrong when the ball was clearly on Genge's arm and the replays did not show any clear grounding.
Regarding subs, I believe we get this all wrong, why do you change a hooker in a dangerous position, why not make all your subs in a neuteral area of the pitch, its so easy for a new prop or hooker to give away a penalty when entering the fray in those circumstances, let alone throw in a dreadful lineout!
I'm still mildly optimistic that we can escape, our first half performance was pleasing, we can beat other teams if we play like that first 40 mins, but we must keep it up for 80. Half time was the factor, Exeter raised their game, we could no longer break them down.

[Grimlish]

Half time was the factor, Exeter raised their game, we could no longer break them down.

So, what happened at half time? This a genuine question. What did Exeter/Baxter do that we/Geordie didn't or couldn't?

The contrast between the two halves was astounding - we played as well I've seen us play for at least 18 months then as badly as ever. Sure two quick (needless) tries didn't help but that was largely down to the intensity Exeter brought second half that we couldn't match, having bettered it first half. I went from excitement at an apparent return to form to despair, so what must the players feel like?

[Crofty]

Most responsible parents take their children to the rugby because they don’t want them to hear bad language and see a game played with genuine sportsmanship. Unfortunately the game is changing and in my opinion not for the better.
I don’t want rugby to go along the football route.
There isn’t any excuse for bad language but there appears to be a number of supporters now who cannot control themselves.

I can only assume you haven’t spent a lot of time inside local rugby clubs after games.
I am a very responsible parent, and both my sons were told whatever they may overhear at the rugby club stays there

On Murphy's (alleged) outburst I have an anecdote: some years ago I took a load of quite young kids and associated parents to see Quins v Tigers (in the days when Quins gave tickets away to local junior clubs) and we had the front row seats behind the posts. For a number of the parents it was their first rugby match. Tigers started badly and had conceded an easy try. Johnson got the players together behind the posts (and therefore feet away from the assembled youngsters) and delivered a very expletive laden analysis of the performance. A number of the shocked parents explained to their progeny that it was the nasty East Midlanders that spoke like that and the Quins players were gentlemen. In the second half the game turned around and the Quins captain (can't remember who) got the Quins players together in exactly the same spot and delivered the same talk in exactly the same terms.

One of the parents was so outraged she wrote to Quins to complain as her child had subsequently used one of the 'bad words' at home. Won't someone think of the children.....

She didn't get a response (probably because they were laughing too much to type a reply).

The moral of this story: in the pressure and passion of a rugby game feelings will sometimes be expressed in blunt terms. Get over it.

Back on the game: bitterly disappointing to score three and not even get a LBP.

Neither captain swore at the fans though, which is where Murphy's meltdown yesterday differed...

[chewbacca]

Half time was the factor, Exeter raised their game, we could no longer break them down.

So, what happened at half time? This a genuine question. What did Exeter/Baxter do that we/Geordie didn't or couldn't?

The contrast between the two halves was astounding - we played as well I've seen us play for at least 18 months then as badly as ever. Sure two quick (needless) tries didn't help but that was largely down to the intensity Exeter brought second half that we couldn't match, having bettered it first half. I went from excitement at an apparent return to form to despair, so what must the players feel like?

Fabulous tries from us first half. It almost felt like 2nd half Exeter didn't believe they could lose and we didn't believe we could win. We are lacking confidence for sure.

[LE18]

Half time was the factor, Exeter raised their game, we could no longer break them down.

So, what happened at half time? This a genuine question. What did Exeter/Baxter do that we/Geordie didn't or couldn't?

The contrast between the two halves was astounding - we played as well I've seen us play for at least 18 months then as badly as ever. Sure two quick (needless) tries didn't help but that was largely down to the intensity Exeter brought second half that we couldn't match, having bettered it first half. I went from excitement at an apparent return to form to despair, so what must the players feel like?

Fabulous tries from us first half. It almost felt like 2nd half Exeter didn't believe they could lose and we didn't believe we could win. We are lacking confidence for sure.

They tightened up their defence, we could no longer break their line and the different type of kicks we tried were not good enough.

[G.K]

sam11616.. We aren't going to agree on this are we. A disgruntled fan (and there's a lot of those about these days) and a paying Customer shouting "what's the point" in just a comment and does not in any way warrant the Head Coach swearing at him in return. TBH I'm somewhat surprised more fans weren't complaining after that second half performance.

It just confirms my view that, great player that he was, Murphs is not just up to it and the sooner he goes the better it will be for all concerned. It can't come soon enough for me and I repeat that I hope he gets censured for his behaviour at the weekend.

[mol2]

It wasn’t merely lack of belief.

It was lack of structure, tactical awareness and lack of fitness.

I am sorry but we are going to be relegated unless changes are made very,very quickly.

It is going to take 6 to 8 weeks for us to get to the same level of fitness as the rest of the league and an infinite time with the current coaching set up to work out a game plan that can be used effectively.

The line outs are a good example _ we have have calls to confuse international opponents however our understanding is that of of a school second 15.

It is a matter of urgency that those in charge do the decent thing and fall on their swords.

What do we do? Surely there are few coaches who have had a good holiday after the World Cup and could be persuaded to come in on a caretaker basis.