By Chris Chaplin
November 10 2004

In the midst of the chaos caused by the Southern Hemisphere’s finest visiting our shores to collect some pre-Christmas spending money a drastically depleted Tigers make their first visit to play Worcester Warriors at Sixways.
When looking at the League table, which shows Tigers as joint top and Worcester in eleventh place, with a twenty-two point difference between the sides, the casual observer could be forgiven for thinking that this is relatively simple journey for Tigers down the motorway system to collect five points. Think again!

The Warriors have not been pushovers this season and while they may have only, thus far, beaten fellow strugglers Quins, there have been some tight results against the better sides such as Bath and Gloucester when they were entertained by their new found Premiership colleagues down Worcester way.

I have only seen the Warriors play one full game this term and that was on the opening day of the season against Newcastle when to say that the newcomers didn’t get the rub of the green would be something of an understatement. The match officials that day seemingly being more concerned that Jonny Wilkinson’s come back match should be a celebration for the media’s World Cup star.

However living, as I do, on the Gloucester/Worcestershire border I hear plenty of Warriors’ news depending on where I go for a pint (all in the course of research you understand!) and thanks to Radio Hereford and Worcester I hear match commentaries as well, sometimes even going so far as to record them – how sad is that!?

I certainly thought from what I heard and saw that the Warriors put in one of their best performances since promotion when they played Gloucester a few weeks ago and since then they’ve also beaten the ex European Champions Brive at Sixways, although the loss they sustained in France during the return was enough to see them end their first European adventure with an aggregate 55-39 score line.

Against London Irish though it seems they had a bit of a shocker with poor discipline letting Mark Mapletoft put six penalties through the Warriors’ uprights as well as converting the sole London Irish try by Scott Staniforth, seeing the Worcester outfit trail in 25-15, with a dubious Penalty Try awarded by the fast deteriorating Chris White putting a bit of a gloss on the Warriors’ side of the score sheet.

Twenty-four hours earlier Tigers had been exacting their revenge on old adversaries Gloucester for the West Country side’s temerity in beating them at each of their last four meetings. Here again there was bit of gloss added to the losers’ performance by a last minute Henry Paul try. Tigers also failed to convert at least three try scoring chances and missed out on what could yet be an expensive lost bonus point.

When Tigers travel down to Worcester it may be with a squad missing, Rowntree, White, Chuter, Kay, Moody, Corry, Ellis, Murphy, Booth, Smith, Holtby, Lloyd and possibly Tuilagi (A) with Healey, all either on England duty or injured, that’s fourteen of the first team squad unavailable including six of the first choice pack – and that’s as I write this preview, heavens only knows who else will be missing come Saturday.

In the front row Tigers will have the excellent James Buckland who put in another good performance against Gloucester, teaming up with that most solid of citizens Darren Morris, who goes to tight-head.

Morris gave Phil Vickery a miserable afternoon at Welford Road so the British Lion starts with Michael Holford who is preferred to Peter Cook, who must feel unlucky to find himself behind young Matt Hampson who is named as a possible bench prop, especially after Cook’s good showing in the 49-0 thumping of Leeds in the A league and being marked down as one to watch by Jason Leonard whom he faced on his debut last season.

Standby ex Worcester prop, now plying his trade at Rotherham, Colin Noon, is also named for a possible place on the bench. The wandering prop having earlier being accused of some injudicious tap dancing on an opponents head which reportedly generated a wound requiring a bobbin full of stitches – who does he think he is? Adam Eustace?

Against London Irish the Warriors started with ex Cherry and Whites’ prop, the venerable and hugely experienced Tony Windo in company with Zimbabwean born Andre van Niekerk at hooker, although it seems to me that Ben Daly presents a more dynamic option and I’d expect to see him start, together with young Scot Chris Horsman, who came from Celtic Warriors with P45 in hand, on the tight head.

Ordinarily of course I would have to say that against the full strength Tigers front row, including Julian White, the Warriors’ trio wouldn’t have good prospects, however they’ll have plenty of belief that they can do a job on the makeshift Tigers set up and it could well be pretty close with the bulk of the responsibility falling on the broad shoulders of ex Lion Morris.

At lock the excellent Craig Gilles was missing from the fray down at the Madejski Stadium with regular starter Tim Collier and ex Leeds player twenty-four year old Phil Murphy forming the starting second row combination before the ex Bath player, Mark Gabey, joined in later on, improving their go forward no end.

I saw a bit of the Scotsman Gillies when he was on loan to Gloucester a while back and liked him then, for me he was the standout player in the Newcastle game, seemingly winning everything that came his way. The Warriors will be hoping against hope that he is fit for next Saturday to face Martin Johnson.

Louis Deacon is mercifully recovered from his England induced injury and starts with the globe trotting Johnno, while James Hamilton, who acquitted himself pretty well when he played during the World Cup disruptions of last season, should get some deserved game time, if only from the bench

It’s hard to see a fully mentally and physically fit Johnno and Deacon not dominating the front and centre of the lineout although the back could be a different matter with Corry missing and Sanderson in attendance.

Neil Back will of course be on parade with Brett Deacon at blind-side and the assembled masses will be eagerly awaiting the appearance of Henry Tuilagi in place of Corry to see if he repeats his exciting run of last week that saw him careering fully 50 metres through heavy traffic swatting off defenders at will before being felled just short of the line.

Worcester will have the top class Pat Sanderson to weld their whole forward effort together and present a very real danger at the line-out.

It is fortunate for Warriors that Andy Robinson has erred in excluding the ex-Quin from the England line up against Canada as I would have played Sanderson at open-side to see how he went while adding to his half dozen or so caps. As it is there will be a great contest between him and Backy, the result of which could be pivotal to the eventual outcome.

Leon Greef, another Zimbabwean born player, joined from Rotherham, en route from Natal, in the close season, presumably hopping across from the doomed good ship Rotherham as it passed Worcester while they sailed toward the Premiership. I can’t honestly say that Greef ever really impressed me when he was at Rotherham so it will interesting to see how he goes against Tigers’ with his colleague, Australian born, ex Waratahs Super 12 #8 Drew Hickey, who looks a combative ball carrier and with Sanderson a real threat to the Tigers’ half backs.

I think that the Tigers’ back row may just have that bit extra but it will probably come down to who wins the contest between Back and Sanderson and I’m not calling that one!.

Even with six of what could reasonably be considered the Tigers’ first choice pack missing for various reasons I still think that they’ll just be able to get the better of Warriors eight, especially if it starts as slowly as it did against London Irish.

Things don’t get much better for Tigers once the dark recesses of the pack are left behind either with options very limited for the Tigers’ coaches.

Scott Bemand had a good outing against Gloucester last time with good, quick service and presentation of the ball coupled with the occasional break and box kick he kept the inexperienced opposing half-backs guessing although looking at the bench options he’d better not get injured as there is no cover for him.

While Tigers may have little in the way of options the situation at Worcester is different and a little more mysterious – well to me it is.

There they have a young scrum half in Clive Stuart-Smith who, when at Gloucester, was seen as one of the brightest stars in the up and coming scrum-half firmament but he has yet to make the starting line up for his new club, who he joined from Leeds in the close season, instead making just five appearances from the bench.

The Warriors have lately shown a preference for the ex-Quin Matt Powell who understudied Werner Swanepoel and before that Neil Cole got the nod in preference to the talented Gloucester born Stuart-Smith.

Powell is sparky around the fringes and able to make some darting breaks but from what I’ve seen of him he hasn’t the class that Stuart-Smith showed when I saw him at Kingsholm. However since Stuart-Smith made very few starts for Leeds either perhaps he’s another of those players who shone brightly but fleetingly but if that is the case why did John Brain sign him?

Tommy Hayes has been sidelined with injury for a couple of months but is now returned and getting back into the swing of things having replaced James Brown who has been recently injured but prior to which had started every match at fly-half in Hayes’ absence and while he had a go in the mix ‘n’ match that is Warriors’ centre.

The Cook Islander Hayes had a spell at Glasgow, whom he joined from Waikato, before fetching up at Worcester. A prodigious kicker out of hand, on his day he is a dangerous playmaker but of course needs good service from his half-back partner and it seems that this was not the rule against London Irish.

Andy Goode showed some of his fine pre injury form against Gloucester and with Scott Bemand’s service I expect him to be able to get the Tigers’ centres into play as well as punishing any repeat of the indiscipline that cost Warriors so dear at Reading. .
The thing that struck me most forcibly when I watched Worcester play Newcastle was that their pack went well but that once the ball got to the centres, who were Trueman and Rasmussen on the day, the moves fell into a kind of torpor with the Warriors’ players looking as if they were surprised to get the ball and hadn’t the faintest idea what to do next. From the highlights I saw of their match against Gloucester all that had changed, some incisive play at last being exhibited, with Lombard featuring in the centre.

Against London Irish, with Lombard injured, squad stalwart Gary Trueman was again paired with ex Exeter Chiefs, Samoan international centre, Dale Rasmussen, who is a typically robust South Sea Islander and should in theory be a good combination with the skilful Trueman. Rasmussen is a real predator, as Mike Catt found to his cost on Sunday when the Auckland born centre ceased on a fumble by the World Cup star to put Daly away to link with Sanderson for the Warriors’ first try.

I thought that Daryl Gibson produced one of his best performances for Tigers last weekend and he was close to being Man of The Match for me at least. He showed all the skills that got him his All Black caps combining beautifully with Goode and Rabeni who himself supplied another great try scoring performance.

It is difficult to see which combination Worcester could play in the centre to dominate these two with my choice as that having the best chance being Rasmussen and the now recovered Lombard. I expect that given ball the settled, albeit by circumstances, Tigers’ duo will give the Warriors all sorts of trouble but they better not miss Lombard!!!!

Out wide Warriors have O’Leary, erstwhile top try scorer in the Premiership, New Zealand Sevens player Sione Kepu and newly signed Springbok Giscard Pieters as possibles to be paired with Sevens speedster Ben Gollings, who actually started at fly-half for the Warriors’ A team which also included ex England and latterly London Broncos winger Paul Sampson.

Sampson would be a good signing for Worcester especially as he’d have the fragrant Kirsty Gallagher in tow – hmmm! Ben Hinshelwood meantime is back from the injury that kept him away from the MadStad but is now on parade for Scotland.

Tigers’ new boy Tom Varndell had a good first outing last Saturday and rightly keeps his place. I think that there are some good things to come from the nineteen year old who got his chance as the Tigers’ injury crisis deepened.

Dan Hipkiss did his best last Saturday but it wasn’t until Alex Tuilagi came on that Tigers really threatened out wide so I hope this pairing starts although they’ll have it all to do against the very experienced Warriors back three which will have that finest of full backs Thinius Delport in it’s number. If Tuilagi doesn’t shake off his injury then I guess Matt Cornwell is the nearest thing to a winger that’s available for Tigers.

Delport is a fine, fine attacking #15 and it is from him that a major threat could come as he counter attacks, so Goode will have to make sure he finds his touch with an unerring accuracy that he failed to achieve against Gloucester.

Tigers full back Sam Vesty is a good squad player but doesn’t bring enough to the party in this position or on the wing as in spite of his having the cursed “utility” tag he is for me a fly-half and I am again left to wonder whether Broadfoot or Warren should not be given the #15 shirt so that their kicking from hand can be employed together with their running skills.

Will the Warriors make the most of their opportunity to score a second premiership victory by taking advantage of the depleted Tigers?

Frankly were it a full strength Tigers pack then I don’t honestly think the result would be in much doubt however that is not the case and it will be a real scrap. I hope that Tigers can overcome the loss of so many players but it is a big ask.

I think Tigers may do it - but if they do it’ll be only by the very tightest of margins.