Tigers v Bedford Blues (A) - Prem Rugby Cup - Saturday 07th October 2023 KO: 3-00pm

[Scott1]

I was there ..well done young boys …we managed this perfectly …lots of boxes ticked

Could we have won it with a little bit more experience and got a home fixture?

Yes,so we've now ended up with a big loss which has lost a home SF as well as a chance of a home final. Great for the youngsters experience but i just can help think its a wasted opportunity and another 2 games at MWWR for the sake of 2/3 players.

[ay2oh]

If we had played 2-3 senior players and they got injured what would people say then ?

[Scott1]

If we had played 2-3 senior players and they got injured what would people say then ?

You can get injured in training!

[sam16111986]

If we had played 2-3 senior players and they got injured what would people say then ?

You can get injured in training!

I imagine the first team have been preparing for the Bristol all week whilst the younger guys prepped for Bedford.

[Scott1]

If we had played 2-3 senior players and they got injured what would people say then ?

You can get injured in training!

I imagine the first team have been preparing for the Bristol all week whilst the younger guys prepped for Bedford.

Yes,that would explain it

[Lutontiger]

Heard that all first team start intensive training from today, so couldn’t be spared for Bedford match.

[LE18]

Heard that all first team start intensive training from today, so couldn’t be spared for Bedford match.

Intensive, What does that mean, havent they been doing that for thw last 12 weeks or so?

[TigerFeetSteve]

Heard that all first team start intensive training from today, so couldn’t be spared for Bedford match.

Intensive, What does that mean, havent they been doing that for thw last 12 weeks or so?

Think the key is to peak at the right time, so one last push

[aslongaswebeatsaints]

Well done Bedford but good to see so many youngsters getting the opportunity to grow.

Shame we didn’t play a few more experienced players to get that home semi final, but if the benefit is a solid win at Bristol giving momentum into home against Sale then it’s more than worth it in my opinion.

TBH Really excited as to what Tigers will bring under the new coach. Hoping for the addition of that southern hemisphere attacking flair to the Tigers none negotiables.

[sam16111986]

Heard that all first team start intensive training from today, so couldn’t be spared for Bedford match.

Intensive, What does that mean, havent they been doing that for thw last 12 weeks or so?

I believe the workload will be managed so there will be blocks of intensive training interspersed with more skill and tactical based stuff. Might be that they wanted another highly intensive week before the season started but didn't want to risk injuries in the game that followed so sent the development guys out.

[TigerFeetSteve]

Away from the question as to whether the selection was right

Which of the youngsters impressed the other day?

[AViewFromLe2]

Away from the question as to whether the selection was right

Which of the youngsters impressed the other day?

Personally thought overall the boys acquitted themselves ok. The issue was that Bedford were more physical than us, and that ultimately told over the course of the game. The first quarter saw Tigers getting to grips with the increased physicality, once they did that, they became more comfortable and able to do some damage, and deserved the HT lead. The issue was the third quarter, we just let Bedford back into the game, so by the time we entered the final 20 minutes, we didn't have a big enough lead to hold off Bedford, given how inexperienced our bench was.

We either needed some extra firepower off the bench to give us a shot at a fightback, or a bigger lead to then hold them off - we had neither and it showed in the end. The scoreline is a tad unfair on the boys, with one Bedford try being scored with Gourlay either doing his hammy or achilles chasing back. He may have been able to prevent the try if not for the injury - was a shame as he had a good game.

We never really had control in the game, either through the half-backs and their kicking game, or through forward dominance up front. As a result, it was why the game was a bit helter-skelter and end to end. A bit more experience at half-back could have pinned Bedford back a bit more with their kicking game, or a bit more firepower up-front could have eked out a couple of penalties to win us filed position and allow us to play in their areas a bit more than we did.

Of those who played, Carnduff, Illione and Woodward impressed. Chessum was a nuisance at the lineout and has the right physicality however he does need to work on his hands and catching as they can get us into trouble. Gourlay was tidy at FB and Vanes I thought did ok. Our new signing Woollett was a handful going forward, and took his try well. He got caught out in defence a couple of times positionally, but he was playing in a team that had not played together before, and indeed he had only been at the club a week so plenty of mitigation in his favour. Certainly he could get some prem minutes from what i saw.

Anyone not mentioned did not have a bad game per se, but they were either inconsistent or just lacking the required physicality at this level which is understandable given some of the ages. For some lads, that'll be the end of their Tigers careers, some showed they can make it at first team level, and others showed that it is too early to say but they need to continue to work really hard to improve to give themselves the best shot at making it. From that POV, it was a worthwhile exercise to see where boys are at.

[TigerXV]

Away from the question as to whether the selection was right

Which of the youngsters impressed the other day?

Personally thought overall the boys acquitted themselves ok. The issue was that Bedford were more physical than us, and that ultimately told over the course of the game. The first quarter saw Tigers getting to grips with the increased physicality, once they did that, they became more comfortable and able to do some damage, and deserved the HT lead. The issue was the third quarter, we just let Bedford back into the game, so by the time we entered the final 20 minutes, we didn't have a big enough lead to hold off Bedford, given how inexperienced our bench was.

We either needed some extra firepower off the bench to give us a shot at a fightback, or a bigger lead to then hold them off - we had neither and it showed in the end. The scoreline is a tad unfair on the boys, with one Bedford try being scored with Gourlay either doing his hammy or achilles chasing back. He may have been able to prevent the try if not for the injury - was a shame as he had a good game.

We never really had control in the game, either through the half-backs and their kicking game, or through forward dominance up front. As a result, it was why the game was a bit helter-skelter and end to end. A bit more experience at half-back could have pinned Bedford back a bit more with their kicking game, or a bit more firepower up-front could have eked out a couple of penalties to win us filed position and allow us to play in their areas a bit more than we did.

Of those who played, Carnduff, Illione and Woodward impressed. Chessum was a nuisance at the lineout and has the right physicality however he does need to work on his hands and catching as they can get us into trouble. Gourlay was tidy at FB and Vanes I thought did ok. Our new signing Woollett was a handful going forward, and took his try well. He got caught out in defence a couple of times positionally, but he was playing in a team that had not played together before, and indeed he had only been at the club a week so plenty of mitigation in his favour. Certainly he could get some prem minutes from what i saw.

Anyone not mentioned did not have a bad game per se, but they were either inconsistent or just lacking the required physicality at this level which is understandable given some of the ages. For some lads, that'll be the end of their Tigers careers, some showed they can make it at first team level, and others showed that it is too early to say but they need to continue to work really hard to improve to give themselves the best shot at making it. From that POV, it was a worthwhile exercise to see where boys are at.

Thanks for the balanced write up - has anyone worked out an average age for the Tigers team? Not knowing anything about the Bedford players did you pick up whether they were playing their top 23 or were they giving a few 2nd XV a go? Looked a good ground and would have liked to have gone

[TigerFeetSteve]

Away from the question as to whether the selection was right

Which of the youngsters impressed the other day?

Personally thought overall the boys acquitted themselves ok. The issue was that Bedford were more physical than us, and that ultimately told over the course of the game. The first quarter saw Tigers getting to grips with the increased physicality, once they did that, they became more comfortable and able to do some damage, and deserved the HT lead. The issue was the third quarter, we just let Bedford back into the game, so by the time we entered the final 20 minutes, we didn't have a big enough lead to hold off Bedford, given how inexperienced our bench was.

We either needed some extra firepower off the bench to give us a shot at a fightback, or a bigger lead to then hold them off - we had neither and it showed in the end. The scoreline is a tad unfair on the boys, with one Bedford try being scored with Gourlay either doing his hammy or achilles chasing back. He may have been able to prevent the try if not for the injury - was a shame as he had a good game.

We never really had control in the game, either through the half-backs and their kicking game, or through forward dominance up front. As a result, it was why the game was a bit helter-skelter and end to end. A bit more experience at half-back could have pinned Bedford back a bit more with their kicking game, or a bit more firepower up-front could have eked out a couple of penalties to win us filed position and allow us to play in their areas a bit more than we did.

Of those who played, Carnduff, Illione and Woodward impressed. Chessum was a nuisance at the lineout and has the right physicality however he does need to work on his hands and catching as they can get us into trouble. Gourlay was tidy at FB and Vanes I thought did ok. Our new signing Woollett was a handful going forward, and took his try well. He got caught out in defence a couple of times positionally, but he was playing in a team that had not played together before, and indeed he had only been at the club a week so plenty of mitigation in his favour. Certainly he could get some prem minutes from what i saw.

Anyone not mentioned did not have a bad game per se, but they were either inconsistent or just lacking the required physicality at this level which is understandable given some of the ages. For some lads, that'll be the end of their Tigers careers, some showed they can make it at first team level, and others showed that it is too early to say but they need to continue to work really hard to improve to give themselves the best shot at making it. From that POV, it was a worthwhile exercise to see where boys are at.

Thanks for the balanced write up - has anyone worked out an average age for the Tigers team? Not knowing anything about the Bedford players did you pick up whether they were playing their top 23 or were they giving a few 2nd XV a go? Looked a good ground and would have liked to have gone

From what I understand, that was Bedford's first team rather than the roatated team that played Ampthill the week before.

[johnthegriff]

The Bedford fans I sat amongst said that was probably their strongest available team, they are semi pro plus a few loanees from Saints so don't have too many options. On the day we just did not play as a team, hardly surprising when many of our guys had been playing and training with various other clubs prior to coming together for this match.