Wasps vs Tigers

[drc_007]

Did not think that Harrison had a bad game. A pack under pressure and no quality allowing him good access to the ball at scrums and rucks.
Wet conditions did not help.

Possibly true, the real problem was at 8.

[Qbec]

Sorry am I the only one who thought that Harrison was too slow to each of the ruck/mauls even then took his time getting the ball out & on a number of times this lost us the ball.

In the scrum why oh why were we insisting on getting the ball to the back of the pack wheeling it round or losing control of the ball which ended up in the ref giving the ball back to wasps for their put in happened to many times, Jordan Crane & Sam Harrison should have got it back & out as quickly as possible because we were not going any where with trying to push them off it The Ref just wasn't giving us the benefit.
TTTE should have played in the No8 position & If Pat Phibbs had such a good game against the Maouri why wasn't he 1st choice today.

Today was not a good day for the team apart from individuals: Salvi, Balmain,Morris,Tait.

[jgriffin]

5th -out of the top 4

[drc_007]

Sorry am I the only one who thought that Harrison was too slow to each of the ruck/mauls even then took his time getting the ball out & on a number of times this lost us the ball.

It looked like he was carrying a knock and should have been replaced earlier.

[kpb]

5th -out of the top 4

However only 3 points separate us from Quins,so it could be worse

[PM76]

Awful IMO, so many problems. Lineout and scum were poor which was costly, barely had any decent ball, could generate very little momentum but when we did the penalty came, lack of leadership etc. Tait was Tiger's MOTM, not much of accolade, Balmain did well, Harris was ok- he seemed to be getting the upper hand just as he was pulled off, Salvi, Chuter, Kitchener, Deacon and Waldrom were not good enough, but Crane was really poor today. Harrison and Ford had poor games, Morris and Tait were good and the rest of the backs just showed nothing, like most of the pack. Poor use of subs again and no plan B, plan A wasn't working even though the scoreboard suggested otherwise. Losing AA due to illness didn't help but a really dismal display. I fear another defeat next week.

That said Tigers are lucky to get an LBP but can't afford to loose too many more as a home semi will slip away, as will the top 4. The worst game from an attacking sense for a long time, at least during the WC last year Tigers scored tries and had periods of pressure, today Wasps kept us in it.

Need Mafi and Ayerza back next week with Waldrom at 8 and Slater in the second row. Mickey Young to start at SH, Harrison and Phibbs do nothing wrong but lack the little extra the game plan requires. Tait to continue at full-back.

Finally Cockers is very fortunate Quins and Sarries slipped up and that Glaws and Saints only got 4 points. No top 4, no job for Cockers IMO.

Edit: And try to sign Poff from Wasps!!!

[Smudge]

The age old complaint, RC has no idea how to use his replacements.
Why on earth didn't he use Slater or Murphy? We were waiting and waiting for impact subs but did they come, did they b*(^%y?
For all the internationals away, this should have still been a decent team. In the end it was shambolic.
Yet again the folly of letting TV go, comes back to bite us.

[Tigerbeat]

Not sure that Slater or Murphy would have made any difference.....the front row was put under pressure throughout the game.

[WiggoTiger]

Why not bring Hawkins on when Chutes was abviously no where near the races. How many wasted lineouts did we throw away int he 1st half??

[sapajo]

Why not bring Hawkins on when Chutes was abviously no where near the races. How many wasted lineouts did we throw away int he 1st half??

Because he was saving Hawkins as back up for Tom Youngs when he returns from England duty

[kingol22]

Lineout was dreadful today, they are professional players but looked like a u17s team learning about lifting in the lineout for the first time. The scrum was not great but that is more understandable when we have our 4th choice props out. No real threat in the backs either, I just hope the addition of Allen, those who have been calling for Bowden to be starting were proved wrong today IMO, Youngs and Tuilagi will be enough to see us through the Treviso games with 10 points.

[butler8]

5th -out of the top 4

However only 3 points separate us from Quins,so it could be worse

and yet so many dont see that it slowly is!!!

i put in the gloucs game thread that my comments could be cut and pasted for any game i have seen this season and today was no exception!

we are dinosaurs in a 21st century world!

im as bored of watching us play than i can ever remember in my 28 years of being a season ticket holder!

[SilebyTiger]

Scrum was refereed terribly today, Balmain seemed to have parity while Harris struggled. Other than experience I dont see what Chuter brought that Hawkins couldn't have today. Hawkins impresses me everytime he plays. Lineout was a shambles and the handling ability of our forwards was pretty appalling. Forget the conditions, these are professional players. God knows what else Ed Slater has to do to get a game, even if it was at 6. I'd try to avoid Crane but he simply was so awful to ignore. Handling terrible, got turned over pretty much everytime he went into contact, has no offload game and he fell off crucial tackles early on.

As a consequence of the back row's inability to gain any initiative at the breakdown, this then put Harrison until monumental pressure from Poff which then led to Ford being put under pressure. How people can criticise Bowden and Smith is mindblowing. I can't remember one instance where either of them touched the ball due to the constant throwing away of possession. Tait stood up well, Thompstone had a good run at some point and then Niall Morris, for me one of the most promising players we currently have, didn't even get a sniff of the ball. He in my opinion is GM's long term replacement however, he will be back off to Ireland at the end of this season.

Then onto RC and MOC's management and use of the bench or lack of. Why did TTTE go off for Thorpe (who looked better in attack than any other forward in the 3 minutes he was on for) and not Crane? Why was Murphy not bought on when we clearly lacked leadership on the pitch?

The club is not going anywhere while we play with this gameplan. We look nothing more than a mid-table team and will obviously continually rely on Cole's scrummaging, Ben Youngs and Manu to dig us out of holes which will overshadow the deeper problems. Can't see the current regime in charge this time in 12 months.

[sapajo]

Can't see the current regime in charge this time in 12 months.

Thats the problem the current regime including the board appear more than happy with the status quo. Why? because they know that us supporters are as loyal as the family dog ie feed us tripe and we will still come back for more and for everyone that vacates their season ticket someone else will gratefully take their place. Great business model.

[DickyP]

This thread is not really a commentary on today's game but a restatement of prejudices.

Actually most of the team did quite well under the circumstances: Harrison in particular has been pilloried on this thread with no real cause; Ford has been accused of not using his centres - he did; and so on.

We struggled because our front row got beaten most of the time, but more importantly didn't receive equal treatment from Sean Davy the times they got the shove on in the second half but no penalties.

The glaring thing missing was Anthony Allen - like the best players you notice him most when he's absent.