Who are we missing most?

Mat · Post by **Mat** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:30 pm

If we had the missing unjured and international players would we have won and the answers is almiost certainly yes! But all that hides the true problem its not anyone player but a lack of skill through out the team no matter who is playing.

We are looking for contact and going to ground with slow recycle and so the defence regorganises. We are happy to kick away lots of ball and try to out muscles teams when nearly all prem teams now have packs capable of holding their own against each other. The Wor backline ran a space between forwards and burnt them off not looking to crash ball through a player. If caught they were looking to off load rather than go to ground. Look at all the best teams in Europe and they off load out of the tackle and have pacey runners in the half backs and 3/4 who know how to beat a man!

Wales are playing with fantastic skill to make up for there lack of phsicality. Frances backline has shown some tremendous skill this six nations. NZ may have gone out ealy int h World Cup but there backline paly with real skills as do the Aussies.
Jow many times did Goode, Youngs, Smith and Tuilagi run strright at a Worcester defender. How many time was Crane at inside or Outside centre running straight at a defender.

We at Tigers seem stuck in a time warp at the moment as do England. Sadly the return of our injured players and internationals willonly mask the problem.Sadly that great win at Munster was in hindsight the thing that untimatley cost us the European tittle the sucess of Tuilagi and Rambini smashing throuhg the 10 12 channel has lead us to go for the power route. Wasps just tackled us on the gainline all day and beat us!

Its not all doom and gloom though a full tigers team is capable on its day of beating anyone but to win consistently againast the very best and be as we were at the turn of the centuary needs us to improve our skill level. Geordan creates space for Tom to explode thorugh and a fit Danny Hipkiss can make a break so we do have some skill and Mauger is getting more comfortable all the time but too many of our forwards and many of our wings/centres look to goto ground instead of offload. Youngs is a classic example a he is very young and made a couple of power breaks but then went to ground . Olli Smith used to make graet outside breaks and had good hands with neat flicks behind his back but now he usually looks to powere through and set the forwards to maul or goes to ground to set up a ruck with the forwarrs rumbling once set.

So for me we lack SKILL training.

westwinds31 · Post by **westwinds31** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:44 pm

Mat, you make an interesting point about the power game. It worked a treat last season in all but the final game and it took the brilliant McGeechan/Edwards combination to work out how to stop us. This season, teams are wise to it, although there is still a place for Tuilagi to bash through and no greater sight in rugby either ! I'm sure that the team go through off-loading in training and there has been evidence of it in certain periods of play, particularly in the Quins game, although they were poor. I think that tackle area has improved, in that the tackler doesn't just bring the man down, he attempts to stop the ball coming out, so a lot of the time the man has to go to ground, or risk losing the ball altogether.

Mat · Post by **Mat** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:33 pm

I agree there is a place for a basher but they need to be taught to run at space not people and then they are more lickely to get through. I sadly think we got so narrow by only having bashers and since we had so much success with it we have got very one dimensional.
I want to see balance in any team and differnt options I would nearly always have the power of Tulagi or Rambini on one wing added to and the pace of Tom on the other.

Many teams still seem able to unlock a defence without running through people but by going around. Look at how good the welsh back line and forwards are at keepoing the ball alive and not going to ground even against the improving defenses. As is the same of many French sides.

Crivvens · Post by **Crivvens** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:26 pm

westy154 wrote:No Kornboy, Coach Loffreda has had a full 13 games now to prove himself. He hasn't done so and must be replaced. The season only has a couple of months left and we haven't even won a final yet.

Not good enough! We need to learn the lessons from football and sack the management the very second something goes wrong. No time to bed down, no time to craft the team in their own graven image, one loss, one sacking!

It wasn't until I got to the end of the first paragraph that I realised you were joking - I could feel the anger rising up and was about to give you both barrels!

Glan · Post by **Glan** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:29 pm

maujer imo is key because he isnt the points scoring machine but he sets up alot of good attacking platforms, lately without him we have looked like going nowhere in attack fast. ellis is on the repair as is alex T - who would be my first choice starters and need to find form returning from injury so:

i believe its more of a what than a who we are missing, and that is time - we have all the right players (except a consistant Fly half) we just need more time to find the best partnerships and combos.

atm i dont mind the losses but its the fact we arent finding out our best combos atm bcuz they are all not working as we havent had the time for those combos to gel or the consistancy when they do for the coaches to see them at there best.

give the team time to find there feet, next season (providing we make the HC) should be very interesting.

drc_007 · Post by **drc_007** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:24 am

Tigers lack a truly outstanding fly-half, a position that has a critical role in the overall performance.

Of all the No10's I've seen this season the one English player I've been most impressed with is Shane Geraghty, any chance Tigers might recruit him?

Oadbywonder · Post by **Oadbywonder** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:53 pm

Oadbywonder wrote:Its as plain as the nose on your face PAT HOWARD
MR.Loffreda played in all competions 13 won 7 lost 6
and what does that win you NOWT

under cocky played 14 won 10 lost 4
loffreda played 13 won 7 lost 6
i rest my case

cooke-1 · Post by **cooke-1** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 4:10 pm

answer is simple.
we don't need any more forwards or random backs.
only one man can preform the magical needed...he is known as the 'magician'...hernandez...a rugby GOD!!!

mol2 · Post by **mol2** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:43 pm

We,ve missed Ellis, Moody & Castro most. Whilst Castro has been missing on international duty & still doesn't seem to have regained full fitness after the injury at the end of last season.
Ellis may be back but it'll be next season before we see him back to full fitness.

Sadly our problem is the player not absent through injury - the fly half we need to sign! Or the bravery to pick Humphreys in spite of his defensive frailties.

Lea · Post by **Lea** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:08 pm

Easy

M Johnson - 4
N Back - 7
J Kronfeld - 6

These are the guys we are missing

down the brickies · Post by **down the brickies** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:14 pm

Moody and an in-form Hipkiss, but without doubt we have struggled without a world class, fit, scrum half.

Tiger Eye · Post by **Tiger Eye** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:59 am

Martin Johnson, Neil Back and Graham Rowntree.

scouse tiger · Post by **scouse tiger** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:11 pm

We are missing the try line most !

TigerScrums · Post by **TigerScrums** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:18 am

Ben Kay & Marco Wentzel
Lewis Moody
Geordan Murphy
Harry Ellis
A number 10

Or just clear direction and understanding on the pitch!