Tigers v the Sinners (Northampton Saints)

[Iain]

Sensational. Came really out of the blue. We were really good and there were so many big performances out there.

Croft was world class today. Truly magnificent.

Wow. That may have been my favourite away trip ever!

[pipkoi]

Glad to see that the Saints fans are as gracious as ever in defeat - leaving in their droves at 70 minutes, as last year

[Off Piste Tiger]

Glad to see that the Saints fans are as gracious as ever in defeat - leaving in their droves at 70 minutes, as last year

Loved the song we sang to them
"When the saints go marching home !"

Two years in a row I have been now and thrashing The Saints is great to watch.

[TigerCam]

Many have been saying all season that when we finally perform someone was going to get a battering and that happened today. Croft was excellent both in the loose and the line out, Salvi dominated the break down and Manu is finding some form as well. We seem to be going through the gears at the right time of the year and i am confident we will put up a very good fight in Toulon.

Win next week and this could be a very good year

Manu isn't bad for a "one trick pony" is he?
Come on ,say you're sorry.............

At last! one game where the Tigers have for once this season shown us what talent there is in the side. The first 1/2 was not brilliant with both sides standing back just in case, but the Tigers negated the Saints in every play. 2nd half the pressure told but still too many loose passes. It was as if the boys had been let free and and had so much ball they were not too sure what to do with it at times. When for the majority of the season there has been little or no opportunity for the the back line to show themselves, all hell breaks loose and they have a field day. Mind you, the Saints were lost souls and the Tigers defence was good. It was like the Wales/England game over again, not that Barnes was as poor as Walsh. It just shows what they (Tigers) can really do but this is just one game. Toulon stuffed Stade today and it will be a measure of where the Tigers are that will be revealed at next weekend's game? Glaws did the Tigers a real big favour and I hope, not before time, that this show of form will continue. It (this quality of performance) has been a long time coming, too long in fact and it is evident that when push comes to shove it can be done. Swallows and summers come to mind?

[GS]

In the end an excellent 80min performance.In the first half we seemed to control Stains quite well taking the points as and when. Reminiscent of the Quins and Saffas games of late. I was waiting for us to open the box of magical rugby, score a blinding try before closing the box until the next game and dreading the second half but no....... we seemed to open the box and pour its contents all over the park.

OK, the Stains weren't as good as we had feared but we did look pretty good. Did we go to plan B or just move into second, and then third gear in the second half? I'm in the 'one swallow' camp and, although I feel a bit more confident, next week will be a very different affair.

Forget next week for a day or two and rejoice in seeing the first 80 minute display this season. Please don't put it back in the box, let it thrive.

[Hinckley Bob]

An excellent performance all round, with no obvious weaknesses.

As Dean Ryan intimated in the after-match summary, Tigers are the complete package and can play whichever way is necessary to get the result(whereas Saints are one-dimensional). What an astute summariser!

Glad to hear Cockers credit MOC with the excellent handling of both backs and forwards.

[boon]

better team won on the day, darn ya, and the bragging rights stay up there (for now - they are only ever out on loan!)

things clicked for tigers, nothing seemed to go right for saints - once or twice in the second and third quarters i thought we were about to get the initiative and momntum back but it never came off.

immense performance from tom croft - missed the announcement but i presume he was man of the match? we saints fans all thought so, where i was stood on the terrace.

i did stay to the final whistle. didnt like to see all those leaving early, not my style. just to be clear though, the tigers fans did all sit patiently until the final whistle when sarries trounced you at the roundabout last season? ( just it looked a bit different on the telly iirc)

it was john lennon that said ringo starr wasnt the best drummer in the beatles, and i am not sure that tom youngs was the best tigers hooker today. throwing was abysmal, even if barnes & co were slow to cotton on. hawkins played better on todays showing, but still, i hope your guys are all fit or mend quickly.

[Darc Tiger]

Been on loan a while now Boon.

As for Tom Youngs, his throwing was hardly abysmal. One not straight and a couple of others well contested (but secured). His lineout is out of sight now from the start of season, and I would say his stats in the last few months are as good as other English hookers. What he is there for is his phenomenal workrate and hard carries.

[WhitecapTiger]

(for now - they are only ever out on loan!)

I think the term for a 'loan' of that length is 'mortgage'

things clicked for tigers, nothing seemed to go right for saints - once or twice in the second and third quarters i thought we were about to get the initiative and momntum back but it never came off.

Nothing went right for Saints because Tigers didn't allow it to. Strangled you out of the game and you couldn't live with the pace that we finally (thankfully) showed this season. And when you were disrupting our play we managed to adapt (for once) and change our tactics enough to cause you more problems.

immense performance from tom croft - missed the announcement but i presume he was man of the match? we saints fans all thought so, where i was stood on the terrace.

Yes Crofty was MOTM, just edging out, according to Barnes, Manu and Ed Slater. Lions class today was our Tom.

it was john lennon that said ringo starr wasnt the best drummer in the beatles, and i am not sure that tom youngs was the best tigers hooker today. throwing was abysmal, even if barnes & co were slow to cotton on. hawkins played better on todays showing, but still, i hope your guys are all fit or mend quickly.

Tom Youngs didn't have to be the best Tigers hooker today, he just had to be better than yours, which he was, by miles. Hartley's throwing (or any other aspect of his game) wasn't exactly up to much either, I believe he got picked off far more than either of our hookers?

i did stay to the final whistle. didnt like to see all those leaving early, not my style. just to be clear though, the tigers fans did all sit patiently until the final whistle when sarries trounced you at the roundabout last season? ( just it looked a bit different on the telly iirc)

I stayed until the end, and beyond, during that game. Fair enough though, I agree it's not good to see.

Edited as I mis-read which game you were on about

[GT1]

Interesting comments by Cockers to Daggers after the game about our build up to the BIG games. The team are going early to France to train over there & try to enjoy their time in Toulon(but not too much as they might get used to it) Seems a small but significant change to get the players more relaxed & therefore play better in the big games.
Fantastic display from 1 to 23 today same again next week in the sunshine(hopefully) boys!!!

[smalldell]

I commented on the post about backs that things were close to clicking and on this performance we are really getting there...obviously we need to maintain it and Toulon will be a completely different proposition.

For me today showed how important AA is to our cause! His tackling was immense. Its not only the way he tackles but the speed he regains his position and blocks the midfield. His link play was brilliant and his special awareness is second to none. For me he can tackle every bit as good as Brad Barritt and his all-round game is much better.

The improvement in TC's fitness is astounding. He was everywhere yesterday and his speed is better than most backs. With Mafi back in the mix we have real options now.

I hope Mulipola and Tom Youngs are both ok. As a side I really rate Hawkins and he will do us proud if called upon...

Great performance today but we need to maintain it and hopefully reproduce it in a final. I could talk about everyone today but I wont, but really pleased with the team.

[blocky_head7]

I hope the players were allowed to go out and celebrate last night. That sort of performance is worthy of it and will stay in the players minds for a while! Even Castro (who I think has been a bit off this season) made a big impact when he came on with that turnover in the 70th odd minute which well and truly sealed the game.

I will stick my neck out and say I thought Tait was a bad signing, but he is starting to show his true colours and he was brilliant yesterday. Its a shame because thats another player, along with Allen, Crane, Slater that we are going to lose for England...

All in all I have a pretty sore head this morning, but it was all worth it!

[Crumblies]

better team won on the day, darn ya, and the bragging rights stay up there (for now - they are only ever out on loan!)

things clicked for tigers, nothing seemed to go right for saints - once or twice in the second and third quarters i thought we were about to get the initiative and momntum back but it never came off.

immense performance from tom croft - missed the announcement but i presume he was man of the match? we saints fans all thought so, where i was stood on the terrace.

i did stay to the final whistle. didnt like to see all those leaving early, not my style. just to be clear though, the tigers fans did all sit patiently until the final whistle when sarries trounced you at the roundabout last season? ( just it looked a bit different on the telly iirc)

it was john lennon that said ringo starr wasnt the best drummer in the beatles, and i am not sure that tom youngs was the best tigers hooker today. throwing was abysmal, even if barnes & co were slow to cotton on. hawkins played better on todays showing, but still, i hope your guys are all fit or mend quickly.

Gracious as ever boon well done and all the best for the rest of the season. Hope to see you in the final!

[Guinness&Nuts]

Top performance against Northampton yesterday. I think the entire team were top notch, but special praise has to go to Croft he was awesome all around the park. Tuilagi was brutal with ball in hand and Northampton had no answer trying to stop him.
Tait I thought was top notch yesterday, his work rate was top draw. He popped up around the park playing 1st or 2nd receiver and helped secure a lot of ruck ball.

How things can change in a week. Against Exceter Flood stood so deep, yet one week on the total opposite. Lets hope they try and play rugby against Toulon.

[Smudge]

The best we have played this season. When others have used the off-loading game against us we have looked slow and plodding.
If the agitation from those of us on the dark side has had some effect on this, we are vindicated.
I never doubted the ability of the players at the club, just the ability of the coaches to organise them.
Yesterday was hopefully the revelation we have been looking for!

The question now of course is, can we keep it up? I sincerely hope so. Was making Flood the captain the spark? Maybe.
I agree that Croft was awesome and a deserving MOM but there were many other candidates. There wasn't a duffer amonst them.
Incidentally I thought Salvi deserved a mention. He did much that went unnoticed, mining several turn overs and putting in a lot of work.
It also shows what our backs can do, given the opportunity.
I am greatly encouraged.