Watch out Statto's about

By Simon Good
April 25 2002

Both games against Llanelli this year in the Heineken Cup have been won from the penalty spot. At home Tigers managed to sneak a narrow 12-9 victory, but away the Scarlets took the game with a far more convincing 24-12 scoreline.

Breaking the two games down into the amount of points scored by each team in 10 minute intervals shows that on both occasions the teams were virtually even on points at the break. The first game finished 9 each at the swap around, whereas in the return fixture it was 12-15 to Llanelli.

In both cases the losing team would not score again, or even attempt to kick a penalty, although Guy Easterby missed a drop goal for Llanelli in the first game that would have levelled the scores.

So if this trend continues in the semi, we can expect a bruising first half with the two teams cancelling each other out. Then, the team that is more up for it, and with better fitness levels should assert themselves in the second half.

A big part will be the fans - the two previous games have both been won at home, so lets make sure we outshout the Llanelli supporters on Sunday. Go the Tigers!

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