Tigers announce Sevens squad

[RagingBull]

Are you serious, they worked hard to stay in it but mostly lived of scraps.
Group D was the lowest quality of the lot IMO!
They were rubbish, worked hard but other than that they had very little to offer and under pressure against Sale they just totally collapsed.
Some very very average players on show IMO!
Odogwu four tries versus Tigers and eight on the day, most in a group stage ever, totally baffling that he was let go looking at what Tigers put out!

Okay.

Your man Odogwu did very well!

Yep he did TBF, certainly has the sevens skill set.

Wonder why Hagg dropped him for the JRWC (Not that it mattered).

Side note Fred looked lean and Henry seems to have taught him how to hit.

I mean in the squad i thought
Hardwick looks like he has potential @ 10
Will be interesting to see how the likes of Yawayawa, Fredd jnr and White do in the championship next season

[sam16111986]

thought they would have struggled more.

Bar the sale game they where they alright.

Are you serious, they worked hard to stay in it but mostly lived of scraps.
Group D was the lowest quality of the lot IMO!
They were rubbish, worked hard but other than that they had very little to offer and under pressure against Sale they just totally collapsed.
Some very very average players on show IMO!
Odogwu four tries versus Tigers and eight on the day, most in a group stage ever, totally baffling that he was let go looking at what Tigers put out!

Have you ever played in back to back sevens games? It's knackering, a huge disadvantage. Given that the Sale team were also bigger, stronger and more experienced the result wasn't a surprise. Our oldest player was 19. The other teams had players woth Premiership and Championship experience. On paper we should have have got nothing but the boys grabbed a bonus point win. They should be proud of that.

In these style of events you have to temper your expectations. Some of our young players looked promising. White and Tuilagi in particular look to have big futures.

[The Boy Dave]

thought they would have struggled more.

Bar the sale game they where they alright.

Are you serious, they worked hard to stay in it but mostly lived of scraps.
Group D was the lowest quality of the lot IMO!
They were rubbish, worked hard but other than that they had very little to offer and under pressure against Sale they just totally collapsed.
Some very very average players on show IMO!
Odogwu four tries versus Tigers and eight on the day, most in a group stage ever, totally baffling that he was let go looking at what Tigers put out!

Have you ever played in back to back sevens games? It's knackering, a huge disadvantage. Given that the Sale team were also bigger, stronger and more experienced the result wasn't a surprise. Our oldest player was 19. The other teams had players woth Premiership and Championship experience. On paper we should have have got nothing but the boys grabbed a bonus point win. They should be proud of that.

In these style of events you have to temper your expectations. Some of our young players looked promising. White and Tuilagi in particular look to have big futures.

Sorry but I can't agree with that, it's 7 v 7, yes it can perhaps be viewed as a bigger test for one side than another but the opportunity was there and they were very poor, simple as that.

[sam16111986]

Yes it was 7 vs 7. It's just the other teams 7 were physically developed and more experienced. We won one game with a bonus point, we're competitive in another and only got blown away as we played the best team in the group in a back to back game when they were fresh and we were tired.

We sent a team we knew would be outgunned and would lose. They fought tooth and nail and grabbed a win and pushed a team with a few Premiership players close. If our academy had wiped the floor with that lot then it would be a very poor indicator of English rugby. The academy boys exceeded my expectations.

[The Boy Dave]

Yes it was 7 vs 7. It's just the other teams 7 were physically developed and more experienced. We won one game with a bonus point, we're competitive in another and only got blown away as we played the best team in the group in a back to back game when they were fresh and we were tired.

We sent a team we knew would be outgunned and would lose. They fought tooth and nail and grabbed a win and pushed a team with a few Premiership players close. If our academy had wiped the floor with that lot then it would be a very poor indicator of English rugby. The academy boys exceeded my expectations.

It was nothing special at all, if it were then results would've been different.
Performances were workmanlike, I thought Tigers looked slightly better than a poor Wuss team and used their extra mobility in their workmanlike approach to their advantage and had Wuss blowing first up.
The back to back Sale match with personnel changes and a small break is allowed but possibly took the workmanlike edge away and then Tigers were left with very little, certainly not enough quality to cope and 55-7 was a fair reflection of the standard IMO.
Believe it or not I am not making it up, it was 55-7.
Falcons were very average IMO, Tigers scored early and late to make the score look more respectable but in all honesty never realistically looked like being deserving winners.
Credit for their workmanlike approach, quality was at a premium though IMO.

[RagingBull]

I mean they are not sevens players for a reason (Although Odogwu could do it if XV doesn't work out for him).

I though Lewis has alot of pace for a Lock.
Fred looks to be developing well into a 8.
Hardwick seems to have good vision.

But again it is hard to judge them based on this competition.

Alot of these players have 2 years development at U20 still and about 3/4 of them have 3 years, alot can change in that time.

Be interesting to see them potentially in the LV cup this season or next.

[Smudge]

I never saw Odogwu play for Tigers and Sevens is not the full game. If it was,
Fiji would be world champions.
However, I have talked to several old friends who were there and the universal
opinion was, "Tigers have let another gem fall out of the basket"

Time will tell, of course but on todays' evidence, they could be right.

[The Boy Dave]

I mean they are not sevens players for a reason (Although Odogwu could do it if XV doesn't work out for him).

I though Lewis has alot of pace for a Lock.
Fred looks to be developing well into a 8.
Hardwick seems to have good vision.

But again it is hard to judge them based on this competition.

Alot of these players have 2 years development at U20 still and about 3/4 of them have 3 years, alot can change in that time.

Be interesting to see them potentially in the LV cup this season or next.

Picking out individuals I'd agree with Hardwick having good vision.
I was unsure about the level of desire from several though.
I thought the lad with the scrum cap had something although he did look to have a very long way to go physically if he was a forward in men's XV's, but he survived amongst this lot, he used what he had to his advantage and made things happen and just had something about him, I think it was Kerr.
I didn't rate anyone else at all, even White who threw several wild passes under pressure, nowhere near Harrison or Youngs for me and never will be.
Odogwu has special feet and pace and he used it, he made it happen, I've heard negatives about his tackling but he was levels above what Tigers had in terms of talent and tackling.

[RagingBull]

I mean they are not sevens players for a reason (Although Odogwu could do it if XV doesn't work out for him).

I though Lewis has alot of pace for a Lock.
Fred looks to be developing well into a 8.
Hardwick seems to have good vision.

But again it is hard to judge them based on this competition.

Alot of these players have 2 years development at U20 still and about 3/4 of them have 3 years, alot can change in that time.

Be interesting to see them potentially in the LV cup this season or next.

Picking out individuals I'd agree with Hardwick having good vision.
I was unsure about the level of desire from several though.
I thought the lad with the scrum cap had something although he did look to have a very long way to go physically if he was a forward in men's XV's, but he survived amongst this lot, he used what he had to his advantage and made things happen and just had something about him, I think it was Kerr.
I didn't rate anyone else at all, even White who threw several wild passes under pressure, nowhere near Harrison or Youngs for me and never will be.
Odogwu has special feet and pace and he used it, he made it happen, I've heard negatives about his tackling but he was levels above what Tigers had in terms of talent and tackling.

Kerr is a 15/winger, will be interesting if we keep him on.

[GETHIN EXILE]

I find it interesting that the 2 teams who went through were the teams who did not have back to back fixtures. If the group had been played properly Sale should have played Worcs after playing us, Worcs the play Falcons who would then have played us. This would have been fair as all teams would have played back to back games.

[The Boy Dave]

I find it interesting that the 2 teams who went through were the teams who did not have back to back fixtures. If the group had been played properly Sale should have played Worcs after playing us, Worcs the play Falcons who would then have played us. This would have been fair as all teams would have played back to back games.

Quins and Wasps won back to back in their groups.
7's is about playing under pressure with fatigue as can be XV's these days.
You look at Sarries in XV's, it's just relentless pressure and a test of all round skills.
They have squads of 12 to use in 7's anyway.
Back to back is an excuse though if you are looking for one.

[RagingBull]

a

[loretta]

I find it interesting that the 2 teams who went through were the teams who did not have back to back fixtures. If the group had been played properly Sale should have played Worcs after playing us, Worcs the play Falcons who would then have played us. This would have been fair as all teams would have played back to back games.

Sale also found themselves against 2 sides on the second of their back to back games, us and Wuss. Pastings were handed out on both occasions. I suspect they would have won them anyway due to the size and age in the Sale team, but the margin of the victories were notable.

[The Boy Dave]

Playing back to back is not something that should be focused on as a valid excuse, IMO it sends the wrong message.
XV's is also very fast and very hard these days.
Stamina and execution of skills under pressure are things that are crucial in any format of the game and anyone should look to be better at if not already the best.
If they struggled then other more valid reasons should be focused on such as the amount of kids sent up to play not being good enough for what was required and the confusion in the difference between the 7's and XV's formats, those are more valid reasons IMO.

[L Smith]

I never saw Odogwu play for Tigers and Sevens is not the full game. If it was,
Fiji would be world champions.
However, I have talked to several old friends who were there and the universal
opinion was, "Tigers have let another gem fall out of the basket"

Time will tell, of course but on todays' evidence, they could be right.

I just hope we tie Will Evans to a long term contract before one of our AP competitors turns his head. Wasps, Bath and Saints are all interested according to the Telegraph