LEICESTER TIGERS 2023/24 - Crocodile McKeller: Men at Work

[RunTigerRun]

On the whole EQP thing, I see on Instagram that Van Wyk is now a British Citizen. Helps our EQP quota for the rest of the season at least

[Leicestertinytiger]

All this talk about moving Martin or Liebenberg to 8.

Can’t we just sign a decent no.8 to replace Wiese as best we can and keep the other players in their best positions.

Joe Batley can actually play no.8 and is very good ball in hand. Other EQP options. CCS we don’t know how long he’s signed for Quins, rumoured to be just one year. Mercer might want a change of scenery.

[Hot_Charlie]

All this talk about moving Martin or Liebenberg to 8.

Can’t we just sign a decent no.8 to replace Wiese as best we can and keep the other players in their best positions.

Joe Batley can actually play no.8 and is very good ball in hand. Other EQP options. CCS we don’t know how long he’s signed for Quins, rumoured to be just one year. Mercer might want a change of scenery.

Joe Batley's started one game at 8 since leaving Tigers and only a couple before; suggesting he's a natural number 8 is disingenuous.. Meanwhile, Liebenburg has made around a third of his 140 odd professional starts at number 8.

CCS would be a good option if he sees his future at 8. Rumoured (fairly well substantiated ones) to only be contracted to Quins until the summer.

Mercer? Given his press comments, give me a barge pole.

[Hot_Charlie]

So Chessum can play 6 now.

Great to see we're agreeing.

If it wasn’t sad it would be funny

And ultimately Chessum wasn't really playing 6 on Saturday either. He just packed down on the blindside in the second half scrums. I imagine in all other facets of the game, Martin was doing his thing and was the third jumper.

Numbers just being numbers.

[Rugbygramps]

So Chessum can play 6 now.

Great to see we're agreeing.

If it wasn’t sad it would be funny

And ultimately Chessum wasn't really playing 6 on Saturday either. He just packed down on the blindside in the second half scrums. I imagine in all other facets of the game, Martin was doing his thing and was the third jumper.

Numbers just being numbers.

I agree that they hence other posters comments about needing other ball carriers in other positions, as they can have equal impact. Comment re Chessum I don’t know how else to describe where he’s playing other than where he packs down. Earl moved to open side does that mean he continued doing everything else as an 8

[Hot_Charlie]

If it wasn’t sad it would be funny

And ultimately Chessum wasn't really playing 6 on Saturday either. He just packed down on the blindside in the second half scrums. I imagine in all other facets of the game, Martin was doing his thing and was the third jumper.

Numbers just being numbers.

I agree that they hence other posters comments about needing other ball carriers in other positions, as they can have equal impact. Comment re Chessum I don’t know how else to describe where he’s playing other than where he packs down. Earl moved to open side does that mean he continued doing everything else as an 8

That's different in the context of the game as CCS replaced Underhill so naturally at that point Earl moves to his (arguably better role) as the full time openside on the pitch.

[Rugbygramps]

And ultimately Chessum wasn't really playing 6 on Saturday either. He just packed down on the blindside in the second half scrums. I imagine in all other facets of the game, Martin was doing his thing and was the third jumper.

Numbers just being numbers.

I agree that they hence other posters comments about needing other ball carriers in other positions, as they can have equal impact. Comment re Chessum I don’t know how else to describe where he’s playing other than where he packs down. Earl moved to open side does that mean he continued doing everything else as an 8

That's different in the context of the game as CCS replaced Underhill so naturally at that point Earl moves to his (arguably better role) as the full time openside on the pitch.

Ok if you say so

[Not a jock]

How’s about trying to lure Genge back with the carrot of playing number eight (again)?

[sk 88]

On the whole EQP thing, I see on Instagram that Van Wyk is now a British Citizen. Helps our EQP quota for the rest of the season at least

Having a passport is nothing to do with being an EQP. He has been EQP the entire time he has played for us.

[RunTigerRun]

On the whole EQP thing, I see on Instagram that Van Wyk is now a British Citizen. Helps our EQP quota for the rest of the season at least

Having a passport is nothing to do with being an EQP. He has been EQP the entire time he has played for us.

Fair enough - I was not aware he was already EQP. My bad

[sam16111986]

All this talk about moving Martin or Liebenberg to 8.

Can’t we just sign a decent no.8 to replace Wiese as best we can and keep the other players in their best positions.

Joe Batley can actually play no.8 and is very good ball in hand. Other EQP options. CCS we don’t know how long he’s signed for Quins, rumoured to be just one year. Mercer might want a change of scenery.

The fact you've name checked a club level lock as a potential 8 tells you why we haven't just signed a like for like replacement for Weise. They are rare and generally expensive. We will have to be savvy or innovative in signing a replacement I suspect.

Personally I like the look of Meli Derenalagi the Drua captain who plays across the backrow and who played at 6 and 8 for Fiji at the world cup. If he opts to leave the Islands though there's likely to be several French teams with offers, similar with Lekima Tagitagivalu who'd be a good option for 6 but already in the Top14 with Pau.

In the Prem Jack Clement the former England under 20 8 down at Glaws is available having not renewed yet. Not close to like for like. Shame Bradbury appears a done deal back to Edinburgh as he'd have worked well for us.

[westwinds31]

I like Clement. Always makes metres, physical, good over the ball. With Ackerman signing at Gloucester, it could be a smart move.

[Tiglon]

I disagree. I think Liebenburg has been decent at 8 for us. Before this season he's generally been the back up option behind first Taufua and then Weise. With the right 6 he could definitely drop back into that role for us but it would need to be a big physical 6.

That's not entirely true.

Last season Hanro played the first 4 games at 8. The next 4 where Wiese was missing we had Cracknell at 8. Hanro played one more game at 8 that season, when Cracknell was injured.

The season before, again, he was cover at 8 for the first 4 matches, then Van Staden, then Martin and Chessum (both when we had most of the back row injured including Hanro), then finally Sean Jansen was preferred to Hanro at 8.

Before that, the likes of Guy Thompson and Kalamafoni were played at 8 ahead of Hanro.

I'm not saying Hanro has been poor at 8, he is decent, but he's exceptional at 6 so I'd rather see him stay there.

So you agree as a back up 8 Liebenburg has been decent for us.

As I said we couldn't use him as a like for like Weise replacement but if we were to introduce a big number 6 like say Dave Ewers ,who is rumoured to be leaving Ulster, then across the two of them you could make it work. The big 6 taking on Weise's hard carrying work whilst Liebenburg is athletic enough to come off the base of the scrum and continue being a regular carrier for us around the park (which he does already).

I'm not saying we should sign Dave Ewers it was just an example. We could use a ball carrying lock there, potentially Martin though I think his work at scrum time could be valuable to our set piece. We could potentially replace Carter with a big tough 6/lock type.

Completely agree he's decent at 8, but he's exceptional at 6, so I'd rather keep him there.

Lots of players are decent in secondary positions, but I think we're aiming for more than decent.

If we sign a big carrying 6, why not play them at 8 and leave Hanro where he is.

Having a powerful 8 for the first time since Tuilagi was, I believe, a key element of the return to having a successful team.

I suppose it depends who is available to bring in.

[Rugbygramps]

Another name is Tom Willis. I understand he has been injured but even before that he was behind Billy V in the pecking order.
Very unlikely if it was a 3 year contract of course

[LtPigeon]

OHC could soon be Welsh!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union ... er-stalls/