Leicester Tigers
Harlequins v Tigers Match Preview
By ChrisC
February 11 2013
Died of Complications. My father loved sport – any sport but with an especial interest in soccer and boxing. I played rugby so he used to watch internationals with me but found it incomprehensible – and that was forty years ago before the administrators really got into their stride.
I recently revisited this issue with one of my nephews who I’ve been trying to interest in Union since he was a lad, even buying him a Tigers’ shirt back when Vauxhall was the shirt sponsor.
To humour me (young shavers do that once you’re in your dotage and they know they’re in your Will) he sat with me and watched a match. He looked at the big TV screen in silence for a while and then asked why play had once again stopped. I explained that there’d been a knock on. “So?” he said. So I explained the law. He thought for a moment then asked why a player dropping the ball in front of him gave him or his team any advantage. I couldn’t in truth answer other than to say “it’s the law”.
Play stopped again and he looked at me questioningly. “Accidental off side” I said. He raised his eyebrows as I explained. He was again puzzled as to how a player running into one of his colleagues gave him any advantage, quite the opposite being the case he thought. I shrugged and, starting to sound increasingly like a jobsworth, said “It’s the law” and tried to explain the difference between obstruction and accidental offside.
I’d already explained about the scrum, ruck and maul as I could see the potential for confusion. “Why does the little bloke roll the ball to his own men? I thought it had to go down the middle so both sides had a chance to get it?” he said. I could see this wasn’t going well. “Ah. Well that’s a law that isn’t usually enforced” My nephew was now shaking his head.
I’d already given up trying to explain why the reality of what was going on at rucks and mauls didn’t chime with my earlier explanation. And once we got into obstruction at the line out and other minutiae things became even more awkward. My nephew glazed over as I repeatedly found myself unable to explain the logic of the laws, how players were supposed to roll away with two sixteen stone men laying on top of them, how a player receiving a gigantic push up the backside could avoid falling over and much less why the laws were enforced so randomly or not at all. This was found especially irksome by my putative young rugby supporter as, having grasped some of the laws, he correctly spotted infringements but saw them either repeatedly missed by the match officials or maybe just not sanctioned. “That happens I’m afraid” I said. “Mad” he said. “The whole thing’s mad”.
When the match came to an end I asked him what he thought although I really knew the answer. He fell silent for a few seconds and then gave his opinion. “Too complicated, too random, too much stopping and starting and too many daft rules.
As a player and spectator of the sport for over half a century I am becoming more and more disenchanted as I watch yet another match where the officiating is incomprehensible and a full squad is denied the coaches because of some nonsensical international being played elsewhere.
The law makers, ironically, seem blissfully unaware of the law of unintended consequences. As one new tweak of the laws occasions another tweak and then another and then another, all to counter the unintended consequences of the first. Nothing appears to be thought through to a logical conclusion. The whole sport seems to be held together by string and sealing wax (with a bit of gaffer tape added when the sealing wax cracks) so haphazard has it become.
Disciplinary panels appear to have a default against the match officials when there is no contrary evidence to gainsay their decision. They are as inconsistent and incomprehensible as the laws and their enforcement. Meanwhile the English clubs are obliged to try and operate their businesses while hamstrung by absurd financial strictures and obdurate resistance from ERC., PRL and the RFU to any prospect of restructuring the season or competitions.
Some of which seems to suit PRL who appear hell bent on the English domestic game being played at the level of the lowest common denominator. The ERC jealously guard their turf resembling a government bureaucrat while the RFU mandarins, like a whole phalanx of Sir Humphreys, sit patiently waiting the chance of their beloved central contracts and regional rugby coming to pass.
As my nephew observed: “Mad, The whole thing’s mad and incomprehensible” and he’s got a first class degree in pure maths!
And so here we are again with the top three teams in the English club game due to meet over the next couple of weeks while denuded of many of their international players. Potential feasts relegated to curled up sandwiches of what ifs.
But as one of the most annoying clichés of modern-speak would have it – “we are where we are”.
God but I hate what’s happening to my sport!
Coming up it’s a fallow weekend in the international circus so while the clubs won’t get all their England players back hopefully those most recently relegated to the bench and those called up elsewhere should be available, which could mean that Tigers’ World Class tight-head prop Martin Castrogiovanni may be on duty which would be a boon and all the more so as Quins’ first choice loose-head; Joe Marler, seems sure to be in purdah with Stuart Lancaster.
Richard Cockerill may therefore be able to select a near to first choice front row with the Italian star joined by George Chuter in the #2 shirt unless Hawkins, who’s admirably filling the veteran’s boots (well somebody’s boots anyway!) and Marcos Ayerza on the loose-head, which still leaves Mulipola to come to the fray later on. The Samoan international went well on Saturday until he got a bang in the “Mulipolas” following which he struggled (as you would) and I don’t really understand why he wasn’t replaced after a scrum found him devoid of power in his legs (in my experience a bang in the Mulipolas can have that effect).
Quins will miss Marler, one of the most improved front rows around, though Samoan giant James Johnston will be available on the tight-head. Much has been made of Johnston’s binding or more correctly lack of it. He is now picking up fewer penalties for this transgression, so he must have eradicated the problem – right? Wrong!
I watched a fair bit of rugby last weekend and realised that it’s not that Johnston has especially improved it’s just that a tight-head taking, let alone holding, a correct bind is almost as rare as Stuart Lancaster missing an opportunity for self aggrandisement.
So this weekend we can expect to see Castrogiovanni and Johnston holding onto the sleeves of Mark Lambert and Marcos Ayerza respectively, subsequently pulling them down and under the scrum while the officials ignore the cause of the collapse and penalise the symptom. We may see a few random penalties if we’re lucky, we’ll almost certainly see front rows popping up like trios of giant Meercats and the referee tossing a coin as to whether it was “pressure” (what the hell else would it be?!) or a wanton infringement by somebody has occurred.
What we can be assured of is that there’ll be a mental spirit level calibrated and ready for any tackle that reaches ninety-one degrees from the vertical.
I expect that the excellent England Saxon; Joe Gray will be filling the position previously known as Hooker for Quins, nowadays of course the position just requires the player to be able to march forward as the ball is fed to his colleagues in the second or even back row but Gray is very eye catching in loose play and solid with his throwing at the line out. Although crooked throws are another perfect example of randomisation.
Were the scrums to be managed correctly I have little doubt that likely Tigers’ front row would prevail but, in the world of “Leagunion” where scrummaging seems a messy inconvenience, who knows. The referee will doubtless just spin the wheel of fortune if he loses his coin.
Ollie Kohn is likely to be available after his secondment to the Welsh squad, where he won his first cap, rejoining his partner George Robson. Against Wasps I thought that Kohn was sorely missed not least around the breakdown but if he is indeed restored then it’ll be a major boost to the home side and all else being equal I expect to see Robson and Kohn rampaging around the fringes.
Tigers’ line out went well against the usually good London Welsh set up, it also benefitting from the return of a much missed player; Tom Croft. While Louis Deacon and Kitchener were commanding, Slater must still be in with a good chance of start. It would though be facile not to acknowledge what the loss of Geoff Parling represents.
I can see this area of play pretty much going with the attacking side and there being plenty of driving mauls so I hope the old wheel of fortune has had a good dose of WD40 (other lubricants are available)as it’ll be well used.
Nick Easter, for me, is the form #8 in the Premiership at the moment and his inexplicable exclusion from the England set up, where the experience gained from his almost half a century of caps for his country would surely be welcome in what remains a callow team, is frankly bizarre but while feeling disappointed for their talisman I’m sure the Quins’ supporters will be grateful in equal measure to see his reassuring presence in their famous colours. He carried as well as usual against Wasps but due to early pressure and aggression around the breakdown from the fired up visitors he wasn’t able to get those trademark bursts through the centre of the tackle area moving and which so often lead to the lethal flooding of the channel for which Quins have become renowned.
Tom Guest started against Wasps and as I’ve said before he’s a player I admire however it was when replacement; Samoan international Maurie Fa’asavalu entered the fray the muscle displayed by Wasps began to be countered so I expect his power to be deployed from the off against the Tigers’ half backs, especially if one of them is George Ford.
It’s a shame that, with Chris Robshaw having become the default open side for Conor O’Shea, we haven’t seen more of young Luke Wallace who’s had just four Premiership appearances this term. Goodness if he played for Tigers he’d be off for more game time by now!
If you haven’t seen this lad play you’re in for a treat. He’s a classic open side, tremendous over the ball with what must be phenomenal core strength just like his opposite number next weekend; Julian Salvi. Both players also being key link men to the backs in the Neil Back style.
Surely Tigers should be under investigation for having six Salvi clones on the pitch last Saturday – how on Earth could he otherwise have managed to be in so many places at the same time? Quins’ cloning of Wallace should also be part of that investigation as at The Stoop it also seemed whenever and wherever there was action there was (a)Wallace. It’ll be a great contest between these two. We can only pray that the referee has some semblance of knowledge about what’s going on and officiates in an even handed way so that we are spared the spectacle of “rule book lite” being used for one team and “rule book high tar” for the other.
If Tigers are to get another win at The Stoop, where they have a good record, then they will have to do as did Wasps and be aggressive at the breakdown where Quins will try to burst through the middle or run one off around the fringes.
Danny Care may be available come Saturday as he didn’t get a run out against Ireland with Ben Youngs producing a Man of the Match performance and presumably Lancaster can see the benefit of game time. If Care is held back then Quins are fortunate to have Karl Dickson, the rather less annoying older brother of Saints’ Lee. Karl is probably a less instinctive scrum half than Care but perhaps more intuitive.
Sam Harrison was his stolid self against London Welsh. He did make a nice break and he tackled well but otherwise it was, as usual, all pretty much by the book as he largely resisted making the most of a generally solid platform. George Ford played in a similar vein. He was OK. His kicking was OK. His passing was OK. He was, well, OK.
Very late on Micky Young and Dan Bowden got their chance and it was if a new set of batteries had been put into the Tigers. Suddenly they were buzzing around, breaks were being made, wrap-arounds were executed at pace and of course Bowden got a well taken try.
The usually reliable Nick Evans had such a bad day at the office last Saturday evening he may consider changing his name to David Brent. In truth it wasn’t that bad. He did miss some kicks which ended up as the difference between victory and defeat and he did provide a pass ripe for interception by Tom Varndell for Wasps’ first try. Were it other than Evans I bet we’d all just shrug a bit but it was Evans, so eyebrows inevitably shoot skywards. He got a few scars to his face as well but it doesn’t look to be anything that’ll keep him from the battle next weekend if he’s otherwise fit when I hope against hope that the increasingly disconsolate Toby Flood will get to play some rugby at last - with Tigers which may depend on the likely fitness of Burns for the match with France.
I’d like to see Flood outside of Young and inside of Anthony Allen who had another strong outing against London Welsh. Defensively sound as ever he made a couple of good breaks and his “take and give” for Morris’s try was sublime. And it’s always great to see two of the best fly-halves in the business going head to head and Flood and Evans are two of the best.
I think that the occupant of the Quins’ #12 shirt will depend on the Tigers’ #10. If it’s Ford (for I doubt Cockerill will start Bowden ahead of him if Flood’s not around – who knows why?) then were I O’Shea I’d start Jordan Turner-Hall with George Lowe. Hopper always looks more an outside centre and I didn’t think the balance of Hopper and Lowe looked a comfortable one, so with Turner-Hall fit I’d go with him and either Hopper or Lowe applying the rapier touch. If Flood starts then it could be the lighter weight Hopper/Lowe combination but they don’t form the target for their forwards that Turner-Hall does and who I’d anyway prefer.
Similarly I like the combination of Allen and centurion Matt Smith, they are also Ying and Yang in their approach and I can see Allen getting Smith in between the Quins’ centres. It’ll be a close fought contest though as they’re pairings for which I have great regard.
Adam Thompstone and Niall Morris, decried by some of the less astute as being mere “journeyman”, continue to confound their detractors by running in the tries. Both are also resolute defenders as well as rarely missing a chance to score. Their defensive prowess will be tested by Quins’ outside backs who I expect to be the rejuvenated Ugo Monye and the rehabilitated Tom Williams. Monye’s skill under the high ball is undiminished by the passing years and Williams, although sometimes prone to drift out of the game, can still cause big trouble if he gets possession in space.
Mike Brown, one of the country’s top full backs is otherwise occupied being played out of position by Stuart Lancaster. Brown doesn’t look comfortable on the wing and with Goode not back to his best after injury I fail to see why Brown isn’t being played in the position where he’s such a star. It seems incredibly perverse.
Galling then for Quins to be denied their star full back but in Chisholm, also just back from an injury, which he got at Welford Road back in September, they have another player who I really like. Big, brave and quick he does a decent job for Quins but I’d prefer him on the wing instead of Williams.
The player who I would like to see much more of is young Ollie Lindsay-Hague. He can really shift. In fact he’s so quick on his feet he could be on Strictly Come Dancing, maybe he’d be the latest rugby player to form a liaison with the winsome Kelly Brook who’s sometimes in the audience.
Also quick on his feet is Matthew Tait who I expect to once again be at full back for Tigers. Tait is coming to his game but if he continues to be so greedy with the ball we’ll have to call him Billy Bunter. Both full backs will run the ball back and both sides will have to chase any kicks and chase hard an aspect of Tigers’ play that was better against London Welsh.
So that’s where I think we are.
It’ll be no picnic at The Stoop, curled up sandwiches or not, but I reckon come Saturday evening Quins will once again be in top spot.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:02:19:19:45:08 by Tiggs.
It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so. “ – Mark Twain
Thanks a lot - it sounds like our generation still has a lot to offer!
I couldnt have written it better my self!
on on quins
Anyway, Saturday is certainly a mouth-watering prospect even though we are both a few players light. This weekend and the following Saturday will have a big impact on the final placings.
It's an odd one this weekend. Despite home advantage and the marginal advantage in terms of Invitational disruption enjoyed by our hosts, I am much to my own surprise, quite hopeful! But oh what it could have been!
Quote:Chris - this may be the best paragraph you've ever written! Utterly brilliant!Richard Cockerill may therefore be able to select a near to first choice front row with the Italian star joined by George Chuter in the #2 shirt unless Hawkins, who’s admirably filling the veteran’s boots (well somebody’s boots anyway!) and Marcos Ayerza on the loose-head, which still leaves Mulipola to come to the fray later on. The Samoan international went well on Saturday until he got a bang in the “Mulipolas” following which he struggled (as you would) and I don’t really understand why he wasn’t replaced after a scrum found him devoid of power in his legs (in my experience a bang in the Mulipolas can have that effect).
...
Amazingly I've been writing these previews since 5th September 2002 (with an unfortunate break in the 2007/8., 2008/09 and most of 2009/10 seasons but I did have a doctor's note!
)
Maybe it seems longer for some!
I'm just starting to get next week's piece together and have hit on a theme which is a bit unusual and may not be everybody's cup of tea so I don't know whether to use it or not. It'd be very hard to write so I'll see how it goes. I might just have to resort to the usual guff.
We may not all always agree - It would be passing strange if we did so - but part of the pleasure of this board is the interest that arises from having well thought out views to consider and challenge one even when not in agreement.
Your previews are among the most thought provoking and there are.
...
I fear Shazam will be our weak link with Care scalping him and denying us usable ball. I hope to be proved wrong however.
Yet again Chris, thanks, and you know already that I agree these previews are so very
You have evoked one thought .. Joe Marler starring in, ''Loosehead in Purdah'', with Stuart Lancaster as the Rajah [or Wife Number One?] and Rob Andrew as the Eunuch Celebre .. costumier: Transvestites-r-Us .. not a nice thought, though, and one so very, very wrong in so many ways
Historically, was the game put together to occupy the weekends / schooldays and energy of all shapes and sizes, to channel their aggression and for them to learn respect for, and unquestioningly take orders from, the officer class? At least one ranking German thought it taught us well to be cannon fodder, although he only credited Eton
If so, then a game of complex rules [difficult to understand and thus shrugged off by plebeians .. let's mix it, then get down the pub] and wholly[ish] open to interpretation by the officials, fits perfectly? Why would the current general staff want to dilute their
Of course, some would have us believe it is the taking part, not the winning, that matters, and that rugby is actually a game. The difficulties only arise if we look up from the grass and see the abattoir, pondering whether donkeys make good shepherds .. or meatballs
They may seem like imbeciles, but there are some amongst them who are most categorically not
Footnote: One thing rugby never should be is an exercise in pure mathematics .. that is F1
'Lions led by donkeys' .. Lest we forget
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:02:14:10:13:04 by odd-shaped vagaries.
Quote:a correct bind is almost as rare as Stuart Lancaster missing an opportunity for self aggrandisement.
Chris you are Wills, where can I collect my £10?
Great review as always thank you.
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