GS wrote: It occurred to me that the ref had decided before the start to penalise the team kicking towards the WR end and let the team playing towards the clubhouse off with quite a lot. At the start of the second half we couldn't put a foot right with the ref.
Garner has a habit of whistling against one team first half and the other second half. Prime example was when we played Bath away last season, he had us out of the game by half time so was unable to make amends!
IMHO he is, probably, the worst ref in the premiership, yesterday he was ably assisted by two equally incompetent touch judges.
loretta wrote:“It makes it really interesting, We have been rubbish all season but we are still in the mix. Let’s see who blinks first.”
Cockerill in the Guardian. Just about sums it up.
Can't really argue to be fair,we'd all think he was nuts if he said we'd played well or been unlucky. Pretty fair assessment. If the players don't like it then they've clearly not been watching the same stuff in the video sessions as the fans have been watching all season.
loretta wrote:“It makes it really interesting, We have been rubbish all season but we are still in the mix. Let’s see who blinks first.”
Cockerill in the Guardian. Just about sums it up.
Can't really argue to be fair,we'd all think he was nuts if he said we'd played well or been unlucky. Pretty fair assessment. If the players don't like it then they've clearly not been watching the same stuff in the video sessions as the fans have been watching all season.
Im sure whatever he tells us, he has told the team many times before. Should not be a shock to the players either, we have been atrocious at times and patchy all season. Just put it behind us and bring on the almighty business end of season push the tigers are renowned for.
First half yesterday was extremely pleasing- just not sure what the half time team talk was!
GS wrote: It occurred to me that the ref had decided before the start to penalise the team kicking towards the WR end and let the team playing towards the clubhouse off with quite a lot. At the start of the second half we couldn't put a foot right with the ref.
Garner has a habit of whistling against one team first half and the other second half. Prime example was when we played Bath away last season, he had us out of the game by half time so was unable to make amends!
IMHO he is, probably, the worst ref in the premiership, yesterday he was ably assisted by two equally incompetent touch judges.
We had some Sale supporters sitting behind us and they said towards the end of the game "This referee is truly awful, but at least he is awful for both sides". Sums it up, really.
GS wrote:Not a clue where that first half came from,....
Could just be that 1) we had good weather and 2) and entirely different set of three quarters, with only Goneva remaining and him at centre. Goneva may be better at wing BUT he is an excellent centre pairing with Bai with whom he has played together for several years for Fiji. Thompstone and Scully both looked excellent and chased well.
And a big well done to Brad Thorn who became the oldest ever player in the Premiership yesterday.
For when the One Great Scorer comes to write against your name,
He marks - not that you won or lost - but how you played the Game."
Probably Freddie Burns best performance for Tigers, Bai certainly adds to that and Sam Harrison was excellent. Pearce also showed that he can fulfill his potential at Tigers.
Second half was something of an anti-climax but still a huge improvement, entertainment-wise.
Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond: "We were comprehensively beaten in the first-half, we were bullied. Leicester were the Leicester of old at home.
"Their forward pack got hold of us and ragdolled us. We only had 10% possession.
"In the second-half we got back into it and had a bit of a brain freeze. We could have got a bonus point out of it if we had had more composure and kicked those penalties from in front of the posts."
From the BBC, seems the Tigers are coming into the right run of form just when it's needed, plenty of clubs will be getting worried again.
"If you want entertainment, go to the theatre," says Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill. "Rugby players play the game to win.15/1/21.
[quote="tigerburnie"]Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond: "We were comprehensively beaten in the first-half, we were bullied. Leicester were the Leicester of old at home.
Am not sure I agree with Diamond's assessment. I thought this was the most entertaining half of rugby we've seen from the Tigers all year. I thought home games against Toulon and Bath were more like Leicester of old - awesome forward power winning the game.
The first half yesterday for me was hugely encouraging. I had been despairing at our back play but this was something completely different. The joke on the terraces was that Mauger had been conducting training sessions on Skype.
That said am very worried about next week's game. Will be very, very difficult.
[quote="tigerburnie"]Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond: "We were comprehensively beaten in the first-half, we were bullied. Leicester were the Leicester of old at home.
Am not sure I agree with Diamond's assessment. I thought this was the most entertaining half of rugby we've seen from the Tigers all year. I thought home games against Toulon and Bath were more like Leicester of old - awesome forward power winning the game.
The first half yesterday for me was hugely encouraging. I had been despairing at our back play but this was something completely different. The joke on the terraces was that Mauger had been conducting training sessions on Skype.
That said am very worried about next week's game. Will be very, very difficult.
The first half saw some of the best rugby we've played for some time and I thought the centre pairing work well. I also though Crane had a very good game, particularly in terms of carries.
Not sure how much the ref was paid at half time but the two halves were like chalk and cheese. It's a pity it wasn't broadcast as I often find that thing you criticise from the stand turn out to be correct decisions with the help of replay. However, the one thing I do commend the ref for is immediately going to his pocket for cynical offences in the 'red zone' rather than giving numerous warnings as many do. He also applied it equally to both sides.
Life can be unpredictable, so eat your pudding first!
markharbtiger wrote:
P.S. Interesting to see RC (as reported by BBC) saying we've been rubbish all season. If I was a player on the team I am not sure how I would react to that...
I just knew it - RC's been a doom monger all along! He's not a proper fan - he should shut up and get behind the players no matter what - just like TB et al do!
Nowadays referees decide matches, players by how much.
The "quote" from markharbtiger is actually a very selective and twisted one. RC was highlighting that others have said we were rubbish while other teams were having great seasons, yet the table shows level points or a one point difference vs those awesome sides.
Still - never let the facts get in the way of a bit of RC bashing!
I take your point (and like the way you made it!). The quote was from a longer radio interview so the intent doesn't really come over in the Mercury. The way I phrased it was from the full version.
Appreciate that yours was a pretty accurate lift from the Merc.