Progress Under Borthwick

[RunTigerRun]

Its not nice to see us as close to bottom as 4th... however just as we are improving so are other teams. Take Quins for example who have turned results around this season after a poor start. London Irish have improved from last season. Teams aren't standing still and yes whilst some clubs such as Wasps, Worcester and Gloucester have maybe regressed slightly, the majority have improved and then you add in Newcastle promoted from the championship last year have been quite impressive in some games.

Agree with some comments that I'd like Tigers to be closer to 4th than bottom, but we have a far greater gap to overcome in terms of improvements from previous poor seasons than other teams so that will undoubtedly take more time - in which the other teams will continue to improve and evolve too (for better or worse).

Tigers are improving quickly and IMO will continue to do so. Lessons will be learned - from wins and from defeats. Borthwick will get the chance to shape his squad more and I do believe we will be back challenging for the higher places in a few seasons' time. I for one am looking forwards to seeing what the lads can do after a full (and hopefully undisrupted) preseason with Steve, Aled and the other coaches!!

[Traveller]

I take it the jury is no longer out?

[OakhamTiger32]

I take it the jury is no longer out?

It was a fantastic second half and a great result but let’s see how we get on in the final. The first half last night was pretty dire and we need to work out what went so badly wrong.

That said, I think regardless of where we finish in the league and how we fare in the final it is clear to see the huge progress we have made and are making under Borthers.. I am very happy where we are at and where we are going

[Crofty]

I take it the jury is no longer out?

Last night was a game of two halves or, to put it another way, a 40 minute performance. Things have improved for sure, but I don't think anyone was sincerely doubting that at any point this season, but a bit too soon to say the just is entirely out.

I'll stick to my original position of gut feeling Borthers will lead us to the promised land but there will be bumps along the way.

[Traveller]

I take it the jury is no longer out?

Last night was a game of two halves or, to put it another way, a 40 minute performance. Things have improved for sure, but I don't think anyone was sincerely doubting that at any point this season, but a bit too soon to say the just is entirely out.

I'll stick to my original position of gut feeling Borthers will lead us to the promised land but there will be bumps along the way.

Humility and patience.

[Crofty]

I take it the jury is no longer out?

Last night was a game of two halves or, to put it another way, a 40 minute performance. Things have improved for sure, but I don't think anyone was sincerely doubting that at any point this season, but a bit too soon to say the just is entirely out.

I'll stick to my original position of gut feeling Borthers will lead us to the promised land but there will be bumps along the way.

Humility and patience.

After the last few years it's the only prudent course of action, outside of when the team is actually playing of course...

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

For me the real star so far is Aled Waters, SB has sorted some of the easier things to fix, its turn the foundations into something longstanding that is the bigger challenge, the appointment of an attack coach is key & the more time this group of players have together the better the "off the cuff" play will improve.

But there are still some big questions, why to we persist in kicking the ball straight back to the opposition when under pressure, is it the tactics, or players panicking, the first 10 mins last night was an embarrassment.

While WW is selected in front of any other 9 at the club, my judgement of SB will remain sceptical, I didn't want the club to employ him (WW) for various reasons, I can see his possible value as a coach (not the attack coach, bet David Mele feels great...), but he is rapidly becoming a liability on the pitch.

Making yesterday's 2nd half performance unnecessary is part of the hard parts of our recovery, better sides than Ulster would of been out of sight by HT yesterday, don't forget the previous 2 weekends we have lost games in a rather limp manner, the actual "where we are" as a Team still isn't entirely obvious , was it 1st Half or 2nd half v Ulster, my guess is somewhere in the middle.

[Scott1]

Agree about WW,people wax lyrical about the worlds best box kicker but Youngs showed him up yesterday. Ben has that innate ability of knowing when to put one up to compete or when to get it off the field. WW to my knowledge,could be more,has cost us 2 trys when kicking it down the oppositions throat instead of putting it in row Z. Last nights was criminal when a man down and we had already stolen a lineout. Luckily it didn’t matter in the end.

[Rob18C]

Agree about WW,people wax lyrical about the worlds best box kicker but Youngs showed him up yesterday. Ben has that innate ability of knowing when to put one up to compete or when to get it off the field. WW to my knowledge,could be more,has cost us 2 trys when kicking it down the oppositions throat instead of putting it in row Z. Last nights was criminal when a man down and we had already stolen a lineout. Luckily it didn’t matter in the end.

I would say WW has done a job for us that we needed him to do though. We needed some experience at half back with Youngs and Ford away for long periods during the 6 nations and autumn internationals as without him our 9/10 combo would have been very inexperienced and probably needed someone to control the play a bit.
Having said that, JVP has been very impressive and now Youngs is back I think Youngs starting with JVP coming off the bench and white is also a good option.
So I agree WW should not be starting anymore or probably in the squad much now but let’s not forget he did a good job for us earlier in the season when we were missing key players

[Big Dai]

Last night actually showed we've gone backwards.

Back to a cussed, dogged, determined, abrasive set of forwards with backs capable of exploiting width in the red zone.

Plus it "shoved one" up Stuart Barnes.

Progress indeed.

[Scott1]

Agree about WW,people wax lyrical about the worlds best box kicker but Youngs showed him up yesterday. Ben has that innate ability of knowing when to put one up to compete or when to get it off the field. WW to my knowledge,could be more,has cost us 2 trys when kicking it down the oppositions throat instead of putting it in row Z. Last nights was criminal when a man down and we had already stolen a lineout. Luckily it didn’t matter in the end.

I would say WW has done a job for us that we needed him to do though. We needed some experience at half back with Youngs and Ford away for long periods during the 6 nations and autumn internationals as without him our 9/10 combo would have been very inexperienced and probably needed someone to control the play a bit.
Having said that, JVP has been very impressive and now Youngs is back I think Youngs starting with JVP coming off the bench and white is also a good option.
So I agree WW should not be starting anymore or probably in the squad much now but let’s not forget he did a good job for us earlier in the season when we were missing key players

I believe he started the season well,he just seems to have gone backwards.

[kk20gb30]

Again , it should be noted where we were and where we are now.
Still building rather than built , keep it real.

[Big Dai]

Again , it should be noted where we were and where we are now.
Still building rather than built , keep it real.

+1......The Churchill quote from last night seemed appropriate.

[fentiger]

It's plain to hear the respect the players have for him. He seems to make everything crystal clear, no 'grey' areas, no ambiguity. If you're working for someone that's exactly what you need, oils the wheels.
The 'whole squad' thing is really important, makes those unfortunate not to be picked feel just as much part of everything!

[Scott1]

Who did we play when Dolly and Whitcombe came on and we took their scrum apart, Connacht?