Tigers v Bristol (H) - Premiership - Saturday 27th April 2024 - KO: 15-00

[sapajo]

Again we lost a game from a stupid box kick , 2 minutes to go in there half and we give them the ball back , it can only come back to the coach, he needs to go , we have gone backwards

Untrue, as I have repeatedly stated on here Mckellar was interviewed post match on BBC RL and in response to a question about whether it was a coaching decision or Whiteleys decision to kick the ball away his response it was the players decision and he will be having words with Whiteley. So for all those that rant on that it was a coaching decision according to our head coach you are all wrong! So if you still maintain it was a coaching decision your effectively calling Mckellar a liar.

[TigerFeetSteve]

Again we lost a game from a stupid box kick , 2 minutes to go in there half and we give them the ball back , it can only come back to the coach, he needs to go , we have gone backwards

Untrue, as I have repeatedly stated on here Mckellar was interviewed post match on BBC RL and in response to a question about whether it was a coaching decision or Whiteleys decision to kick the ball away his response it was the players decision and he will be having words with Whiteley. So for all those that rant on that it was a coaching decision according to our head coach you are all wrong! So if you still maintain it was a coaching decision your effectively calling Mckellar a liar.

What he said wasn't outright that he'd speak to Whiteley think the quote was

It's a decision that is made on the field, and you have to back them in those moments. But we'll be having that conversation with the players and reviewing what we could've done better.

Whilst your interpretation is probably the obvious one it could just be reviewing and discussing if the kick should have been deeper for instance (I for one don't think that will be the conversation)

[TigerFeetSteve]

Just a point I'll put here (have put a seperate congratulations thread also)

Handrè had his son born on Thursday, which may explain why Kelly seemed to be running the attack a bit this week if he's not been fully training this week.

[sapajo]

Again we lost a game from a stupid box kick , 2 minutes to go in there half and we give them the ball back , it can only come back to the coach, he needs to go , we have gone backwards

Untrue, as I have repeatedly stated on here Mckellar was interviewed post match on BBC RL and in response to a question about whether it was a coaching decision or Whiteleys decision to kick the ball away his response it was the players decision and he will be having words with Whiteley. So for all those that rant on that it was a coaching decision according to our head coach you are all wrong! So if you still maintain it was a coaching decision your effectively calling Mckellar a liar.

What he said wasn't outright that he'd speak to Whiteley think the quote was

It's a decision that is made on the field, and you have to back them in those moments. But we'll be having that conversation with the players and reviewing what we could've done better.

Whilst your interpretation is probably the obvious one it could just be reviewing and discussing if the kick should have been deeper for instance (I for one don't think that will be the conversation)

I know what I heard and its what I posted

[TigerFeetSteve]

Untrue, as I have repeatedly stated on here Mckellar was interviewed post match on BBC RL and in response to a question about whether it was a coaching decision or Whiteleys decision to kick the ball away his response it was the players decision and he will be having words with Whiteley. So for all those that rant on that it was a coaching decision according to our head coach you are all wrong! So if you still maintain it was a coaching decision your effectively calling Mckellar a liar.

What he said wasn't outright that he'd speak to Whiteley think the quote was

It's a decision that is made on the field, and you have to back them in those moments. But we'll be having that conversation with the players and reviewing what we could've done better.

Whilst your interpretation is probably the obvious one it could just be reviewing and discussing if the kick should have been deeper for instance (I for one don't think that will be the conversation)

I know what I heard and its what I posted

https://twitter.com/BBCRLSport/status/1 ... 4RybQ&s=19

This is what BBC Radio Leicester posted as the quote

[sapajo]

Thank you but that is just a snippet of some of the interview. It is not all that he said in that interview I was listening to live driving on my way back home for Tigers.

[RagingBull]

I thought Kelly had a very good game, I feel the time at 13 might help with his line running side of things.
If he can get back to his old form with a bit more speed that will be a big boost.

Handre, Kelly, Scott combo worked well.
Yesterday for me the backs looked better in attack it's just this top 10% but trouble is that 10% can be really hard to find.
The fustrations of the past month def came to a boil though, Mike Brown especially looked really pumped up and we just missed that head to say we are 19 points up let's just kick for the corners and slow the game down a bit.

Forwards I do wish Carnduff was backed for at least the bench spot, maybe even starting at 6 with Hanro on the bench.

[Leicestertinytiger]

Agree about Kelly. Think he looks a little lost at 13, but at 12 his handling comes into play more which is actually massively underrated. Everyone bangs on about Dingwall but I actually think Kelly is a better passer. Really liked him in the secondary playmaker role.

Think we need to accept that with Pollard at 10, we need a secondary playmaker, be it Kelly at 12 or Shillcock at 15. Steward has been told it’s something to work on so maybe he could next season.

[johnthegriff]

Please will all those that play rugby or have ever played rugby or for that matter any other contact team sport that honestly cannot recall doing anything in a match that on reflection they regret p!ease hold up their hands. A young man kicked a ball when possibly be should have held on to it or passed it, his execution of the kick was good the outcome was not. Had we secured the ball stuffed it up a jumper for two minutes now many would complain that although we won we lacked the ambition to go for the try bonus point. Players are damned if they do and damned if they don't if the option they choose does not work out and some times the second phase of the option is out of the hands of the player. As fans we always know after the event what should have been done.

[sapajo]

Please will all those that play rugby or have ever played rugby or for that matter any other contact team sport that honestly cannot recall doing anything in a match that on reflection they regret p!ease hold up their hands. A young man kicked a ball when possibly be should have held on to it or passed it, his execution of the kick was good the outcome was not. Had we secured the ball stuffed it up a jumper for two minutes now many would complain that although we won we lacked the ambition to go for the try bonus point. Players are damned if they do and damned if they don't if the option they choose does not work out and some times the second phase of the option is out of the hands of the player. As fans we always know after the event what should have been done.

Whiteley is 28, he is neither a young or inexperienced rugby player

[westwinds31]

Just a point I'll put here (have put a seperate congratulations thread also)

Handrè had his son born on Thursday, which may explain why Kelly seemed to be running the attack a bit this week if he's not been fully training this week.

......and these are the things that a lot of the time us fans have no clue about, things that happen in normal life, births, deaths etc that could have an impact on performance, if your mind is elsewhere - whether it's a good or bad thing. I guess you could argue that they shouldn't be playing if affected that badly, but it's worth considering, that we have no clue about what players are going through off the field. Of course, social media abuse and the like will only add to this, if whoever it is reads that stuff.

[Stephen18]

I thought Kelly had a very good game, I feel the time at 13 might help with his line running side of things.
If he can get back to his old form with a bit more speed that will be a big boost.

Handre, Kelly, Scott combo worked well.
Yesterday for me the backs looked better in attack it's just this top 10% but trouble is that 10% can be really hard to find.
The fustrations of the past month def came to a boil though, Mike Brown especially looked really pumped up and we just missed that head to say we are 19 points up let's just kick for the corners and slow the game down a bit.

Forwards I do wish Carnduff was backed for at least the bench spot, maybe even starting at 6 with Hanro on the bench.

Completely agree it’s the best Kelly has looked all season he slowly seems to be getting back up to speed, hopeful the right people at England are having a word with him telling him the same thing. 12 if definitely his better position, but I think have an experience like Scott along side help as I assume he would take back over the defence. I think that probably been 1 of the struggle for Kelly trying to be 2nd playmaker, whilst leading the defence, in a position he’s not familiar with. He is the best balance the back line has looked if not still the most accurate they were making chances. Think Kata can still add impact off the bench but would like see him in the 13 like Manu.
Thought Staward also look a lot better at fullback carried well, joined the line well showed he was the 1st choice 15 for me, it the closest I’ve seen him play to how he used to with Ford since Pollards been here.
And Ohc scored a couple get him the ball in space and he is a completely different play to, if we just have him chasing kicks.

[Scuttle]

Please will all those that play rugby or have ever played rugby or for that matter any other contact team sport that honestly cannot recall doing anything in a match that on reflection they regret p!ease hold up their hands. A young man kicked a ball when possibly be should have held on to it or passed it, his execution of the kick was good the outcome was not. Had we secured the ball stuffed it up a jumper for two minutes now many would complain that although we won we lacked the ambition to go for the try bonus point. Players are damned if they do and damned if they don't if the option they choose does not work out and some times the second phase of the option is out of the hands of the player. As fans we always know after the event what should have been done.

I think you are right about hindsight. I also wonder if there was a bit of both player and coach input into the choice to kick. I doubt we will get 5 points at Sale so possibly needed a BP on Saturday to have a chance of the play-offs. I can imagine the coaches saying....if you are in possession in their half with a couple of minutes to go and there is a chance of a BP, go for it. Maybe Whiteley chose the kick to compete as a way to pressure for a 4th try. Many on here wouldn't have kicked, including me, but many on here didn't have make the call. Hindsight completes the story.

[SETiger]

I'm not inclined to blame the head coach for everything that happens on the pitch, but I can't imagine for a second that anyone's immediate instinct is to kick away posession from the opposition half like that unless it's an attacking grubber kick or chip ahead for a runner coming through at pace. It must have been coached into them (Youngs has inspired groans from the crowd too this season).

This doesn't necessarily contradict McKellar when he says it was an on-field decision to kick, and I don't believe he meant to throw anyone under the bus. But on RL I think Adam fed him a line about sometimes things being outside of the coaches' control, and I hope in the cold light of day Dan would accept that it's up to the coaches give the players a clear direction that they can follow. There's been quite a lot of talk of "bounce of the ball" in the post-match interviews this season and I hope that can be put to bed before next season. The most successful teams don't leave it up to fate like that.

[jgriffin]

I'm not inclined to blame the head coach for everything that happens on the pitch, but I can't imagine for a second that anyone's immediate instinct is to kick away posession from the opposition half like that unless it's an attacking grubber kick or chip ahead for a runner coming through at pace. It must have been coached into them (Youngs has inspired groans from the crowd too this season).

This doesn't necessarily contradict McKellar when he says it was an on-field decision to kick, and I don't believe he meant to throw anyone under the bus. But on RL I think Adam fed him a line about sometimes things being outside of the coaches' control, and I hope in the cold light of day Dan would accept that it's up to the coaches give the players a clear direction that they can follow. There's been quite a lot of talk of "bounce of the ball" in the post-match interviews this season and I hope that can be put to bed before next season. The most successful teams don't leave it up to fate like that.

Since most teams below Premiership would've had it drilled into them to 'stick it up their jumpers' with 90 secs to go, it is more likely a mindset cultivated by coaches, though not the Deanos of this world (who do still exist in most of rugby). One growl would be enough to remove the thought of kicking!