Completely Concur about papered crackswestwinds31 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2024 8:39 am If we'd have won on Friday night it would have been the classic "papering over the cracks" scenario. Let's be blunt, we're not going to win anything this season. I get the club/coaches have to say that we're still in 2 competitions, but we're not. This isn't a new thing, we've been banging on about the attack for a couple of seasons now. I watched the Bath v Sale game and it's night and day in terms of attack. Not just the back line, it's forwards cutting lines, using footwork, offering themselves up. We are one dimensional. The ball goes out to the edges in hope rather than with any purpose. Poor OHC an Bassett are either chasing kicks of getting the ball with a defensive wall in front of them. Admittedly, was it twice when Bassett got the ball in space and made considerable metres ? When both Bath and Sale got turnover ball, they "came alive", trying to exploit the space. If they kicked, it was intelligent kicking into space, not aimlessly kicking it straight down the throat of the full back/covering player.
It's all very worrying to be honest. Newcastle away is never easy. You'd hope that they'd be a reaction to the Gloucester game, but we said that about the Prem Cup Final and it didn't happen. If the players are tired...why are they ? Are we over-training ? Not a clue but this can't go on for much longer. I never turn a Tigers game off/over on TV, but that's the closest I've been.
It’s not about the missed 6 points which were very close - (as we can only score about 5 yards in from touch that needs to be the number 1 kicking practice)
I look at the overall performance which was at best average to poor against a team who is really struggling
If we had met Saracens on Friday night they would have thrashed us like last year at theirs.
We have the individual players who would grace most teams BUT we aren’t currently able to be more than the sum of our parts (or even near it).
Whatever we did in the break didn’t work and it’s like the start of the year again
From Friday forward we play however DMK wants and he has to own it - but with an clear knowledge that he should only have till the 6 nationals next year to make his “style” work or the experiment failed
So we role on, I will support them, I want to win but I will accept 100% commitment and blood - the Tiger way