Northampton Saints
Saints v Tigers 21st March 25 - Teams Up
By Saint Ted
March 20 2025
This is the Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers Match Day thread...
Who: Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers
Where: Franklins Gardens
When: Friday 21st March 2025; 19:45
How do I watch: Discovery + / TNT1 / TNT Ultimate
Tickets: Very limited number of tickets available from T'offy
Match day info: Guide to the Gardens
Saints take: Saints O'ffy
Tigers Take: Tigers O'ffy
Officials:
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales and Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Teams:
| Northampton Saints | Leicester Tigers | |
| George Hendy | 15 | Freddie Steward |
| James Ramm | 14 | Adam Radwan |
| Fraser Dingwall (c) | 13 | Solomone Kata |
| Rory Hutchinson | 12 | Joseph Woodward |
| Tom Seabrook | 11 | Ollie Hassell-Collins |
| Fin Smith | 10 | Handré Pollard |
| Tom James | 9 | Jack van Poortvliet |
| Emmanuel Iyogun | 1 | Nicky Smith |
| Curtis Langdon | 2 | Julián Montoya |
| Trevor Davison | 3 | Joe Heyes |
| Temo Mayanavanua | 4 | Cameron Henderson |
| Tom Lockett | 5 | Harry Wells |
| Josh Kemeny | 6 | Hanro Liebenberg |
| Tom Pearson | 7 | Tommy Reffell |
| Juarno Augustus | 8 | Olly Cracknell |
| Replacements: | ||
| Henry Walker | 16 | Charlie Clare |
| Tarek Haffar | 17 | James Whitcombe |
| Luke Green | 18 | Dan Cole |
| Alex Coles | 19 | Côme Joussain |
| Chunya Munga | 20 | Emeka Ilione |
| Henry Pollock | 21 | Ben Youngs |
| Jonny Weimann | 22 | Ben Volavola |
| Burger Odendaal | 23 | Izaia Perese |
Not available for selection:
Emeka Atuanya, George Furbank, Sam Graham, Archie McParland, Toby Thame, Ollie Sleightholme, and Robbie Smith.
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StumbleuponSaints v Tigers 21st March 25 - Teams Up
Discussion started by Marching On , 20/03/2025 11:52
Marching On
20/03/2025 11:52
20/03/2025 11:52
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:27:08:45:50 by Saint Ted.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:27:08:45:50 by Saint Ted.
đ€ that Saints are really, really, really up for this as theyâll need to be đŹ
If you were to pick a combined 15, trying to not be biased, you would prob go for this:
15. Steward
14. Can't pick between Ramm and Radwan
13. Dingwall
12. Hutchinson
11. Hassell-Collins
10. Can't pick between Smith and Pollard (Tigers fans will prob laugh at this, but I think the form Smith is in, you could arguably say that he is now the better)
9. Van Poortvliet
1. Smith
2. Montoja
3. Heyes
4. Mayanavanua
5. Lockett
6. Kemeny
7. Can't pick between Pearson and Reffell
8. Augustus
So that's 6 players from each side.
I do think though that our bench is stronger, with the impact of Pollock, Odendaal, Coles, Haffar in particular.
And maybe I'm kidding myself given where we are in the league, but I think our side has more cohesion.
And then we have home advantage. And on a Friday night, when we've traditionally been strong.
15. Steward
14. Can't pick between Ramm and Radwan
13. Dingwall
12. Hutchinson
11. Hassell-Collins
10. Can't pick between Smith and Pollard (Tigers fans will prob laugh at this, but I think the form Smith is in, you could arguably say that he is now the better)
9. Van Poortvliet
1. Smith
2. Montoja
3. Heyes
4. Mayanavanua
5. Lockett
6. Kemeny
7. Can't pick between Pearson and Reffell
8. Augustus
So that's 6 players from each side.
I do think though that our bench is stronger, with the impact of Pollock, Odendaal, Coles, Haffar in particular.
And maybe I'm kidding myself given where we are in the league, but I think our side has more cohesion.
And then we have home advantage. And on a Friday night, when we've traditionally been strong.
5 points needed from this.
And from where we are in the league and where we want to be, we also need to stop the awful habit we have of gifting bonus points to our opponents.
And from where we are in the league and where we want to be, we also need to stop the awful habit we have of gifting bonus points to our opponents.
Quote:Londonsaint
If you were to pick a combined 15, trying to not be biased, you would prob go for this:
15. Steward
14. Can't pick between Ramm and Radwan
13. Dingwall
12. Hutchinson
11. Hassell-Collins
10. Can't pick between Smith and Pollard (Tigers fans will prob laugh at this, but I think the form Smith is in, you could arguably say that he is now the better)
9. Van Poortvliet
1. Smith
2. Montoja
3. Heyes
4. Mayanavanua
5. Lockett
6. Kemeny
7. Can't pick between Pearson and Reffell
8. Augustus
So that's 6 players from each side.
I do think though that our bench is stronger, with the impact of Pollock, Odendaal, Coles, Haffar in particular.
And maybe I'm kidding myself given where we are in the league, but I think our side has more cohesion.
And then we have home advantage. And on a Friday night, when we've traditionally been strong.
Steward over Hendy?!
Will we be able to get enough good ball up front? Also slightly worried the back line looks similar to that destroyed by Ealing.
Hopefully they will be firing on all cylinders and the home crowd and stronger bench will see us through. I can see us possibly winning by a good few points if it all clicks but equally I can see them strangling the life out of us up front and us trying to force everything as we are prone to do when things aren't working.
Hopefully they will be firing on all cylinders and the home crowd and stronger bench will see us through. I can see us possibly winning by a good few points if it all clicks but equally I can see them strangling the life out of us up front and us trying to force everything as we are prone to do when things aren't working.
I worry about scrum time but I think saints will come out on top Friday night. Atmosphere should be brilliant
Two stronger sides than I thought, you at home means the Tigers are the underdogs
Just make sure we don't knock on and the scrum isn't a problem!
Tigers are without their first choice locks. How much impact do locks really have on a scrum's dominance? Is it mainly forward driving force?
The fact that we have our 4 1st choice locks available, should that not help secure our scrum?
Tigers are without their first choice locks. How much impact do locks really have on a scrum's dominance? Is it mainly forward driving force?
The fact that we have our 4 1st choice locks available, should that not help secure our scrum?
Henderson is a class act at lock and Wells is a solid performer.
I hope we donât see you with the ball too much. 0-3 dullfest is just what the dr ordered
I hope we donât see you with the ball too much. 0-3 dullfest is just what the dr ordered
Quote:ajack
Will we be able to get enough good ball up front? Also slightly worried the back line looks similar to that destroyed by Ealing.
Hopefully they will be firing on all cylinders and the home crowd and stronger bench will see us through. I can see us possibly winning by a good few points if it all clicks but equally I can see them strangling the life out of us up front and us trying to force everything as we are prone to do when things aren't working.
I think we had a big disconnect in midfield that Ealing exploited.
Having smith and Dingwall there makes it so much stronger.
Quote:ajack
Will we be able to get enough good ball up front? Also slightly worried the back line looks similar to that destroyed by Ealing.
Ealing
James Hutch Savala Lichfield
Seabrook Hendy Ramm
Tigers
James Fin Smith Fraser Dingwall hutch
Seabrook Hendy Ramm
A 10 playing at 10 a 12 at 12 and a 13 at 13.
The backs are completely different, two starting internationals are miles apart. That that line up against Tailenders
Five of the seven starters are exactly the same, that to me is similar. Savala is the biggest difference to me Litchfield is an experienced squad player. Also I doubt Ealing had too many multiple world cup winners in their backline.
Makepeace Cubitt obviously not judged ready yet at this level for the 23, relying on Hutch?
Quite worried about scrum-half cover (forgive me, do not know the lad), esp. given the Tigers bench 9...
Also I'll echo Stopsy's comments re Leics 2nd row: have always been impressed by the grit of Wells jnr - and that family knows a thing about Tigers heritage!
Quite worried about scrum-half cover (forgive me, do not know the lad), esp. given the Tigers bench 9...
Also I'll echo Stopsy's comments re Leics 2nd row: have always been impressed by the grit of Wells jnr - and that family knows a thing about Tigers heritage!
Quote:Harpole SaintQuote:ajack
Will we be able to get enough good ball up front? Also slightly worried the back line looks similar to that destroyed by Ealing.
Ealing
James Hutch Savala Lichfield
Seabrook Hendy Ramm
Tigers
James Fin Smith Fraser Dingwall hutch
Seabrook Hendy Ramm
A 10 playing at 10 a 12 at 12 and a 13 at 13.
The backs are completely different, two starting internationals are miles apart. That that line up against Tailenders
Savala has only played in the centres this season, mostly at 12 so i think its fair to say he is a 12 now. and Litch is a 13 so not really sure what you mean by a 12 at 12 etc?
This game should tell us a lot. Given the quality selected (first choice pack), good conditions, home advantage and this is against Tigers there arenât any excuses. Time to play like reigning champions. COYS!!!
[/quote]Savala has only played in the centres this season, mostly at 12 so i think its fair to say he is a 12 now. and Litch is a 13 so not really sure what you mean by a 12 at 12 etc?[/quote]
Savala has according to all rugby made 49 appearance. If we assume 22 means he came on as a 10 and 23 means centre that has 38 appearances at fly half and 11 in the centres.
Yes he may have played at centre this year but I still think in a game heâs maybe not as comfortable as a hutch there.
Litch is a centre but the combo of smith hutch m1 is a lot more settled familiar in the spine of the backline and that should eminent outwards and I believe would change how the rest of the backs preform. (Hopefully).
IMO those three playing where they are playing should make the difference from losing to Ealing to scrapping back into top 4 !!!!
Savala has according to all rugby made 49 appearance. If we assume 22 means he came on as a 10 and 23 means centre that has 38 appearances at fly half and 11 in the centres.
Yes he may have played at centre this year but I still think in a game heâs maybe not as comfortable as a hutch there.
Litch is a centre but the combo of smith hutch m1 is a lot more settled familiar in the spine of the backline and that should eminent outwards and I believe would change how the rest of the backs preform. (Hopefully).
IMO those three playing where they are playing should make the difference from losing to Ealing to scrapping back into top 4 !!!!
Nervous about this one given how strong the Tiger's team looks on paper. Although Kata and Perese are always good for a yellow/red card especially in the cauldron of a derby match.
For me Smith and Dingwall is a massive difference in terms of leadership and cohesion in the backs - fingers crossed Smith stays fit and firing as we are light until Furbank is back (which doesn't sound too far away?).
Should be a cracking game as long as we can keep 9&10 on the pitch for most of it (or get so far ahead we can rest them......).
Should be a cracking game as long as we can keep 9&10 on the pitch for most of it (or get so far ahead we can rest them......).
A real shame both teams did not have their 1st choice team available. Slightly more players available this time over the 1st game against them.
Quote:Smith better than Pollard đLondonsaint
If you were to pick a combined 15, trying to not be biased, you would prob go for this:
15. Steward
14. Can't pick between Ramm and Radwan
13. Dingwall
12. Hutchinson
11. Hassell-Collins
10. Can't pick between Smith and Pollard (Tigers fans will prob laugh at this, but I think the form Smith is in, you could arguably say that he is now the better)
9. Van Poortvliet
1. Smith
2. Montoja
3. Heyes
4. Mayanavanua
5. Lockett
6. Kemeny
7. Can't pick between Pearson and Reffell
8. Augustus
So that's 6 players from each side.
I do think though that our bench is stronger, with the impact of Pollock, Odendaal, Coles, Haffar in particular.
And maybe I'm kidding myself given where we are in the league, but I think our side has more cohesion.
And then we have home advantage. And on a Friday night, when we've traditionally been strong.
Hostage to fortune the above two posts. They are both fine players and Fin is certainly playing with a back line that is more threatening
Good luck to both teams, fingers crossed for an incident free game and itâs not Mr Woodthorpe and his team making the headlines!
Liebenbergs cloak of invisibility seems to be working well! Itâs all a big predictable to start with ..
This could be a cricket score. Very poor so far.
I do think the biggest change this year has been the return to the 2023 defence. Itâs all a bit pants.
I do think the biggest change this year has been the return to the 2023 defence. Itâs all a bit pants.
Looks like a team who havenât started the season yet, totally inept in everything they have done so far.
13 mins and three tries down, totally embarrassing.
Error strewn and so glad I never made the trip tonight.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:21:19:54:18 by JohnI.
13 mins and three tries down, totally embarrassing.
Error strewn and so glad I never made the trip tonight.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:21:19:54:18 by JohnI.
Slow start Saints
Seems to be a recurring problem
Letâs hold on to half time
Get a telling off
Then come out a different team second half
Seems to be a recurring problem
Letâs hold on to half time
Get a telling off
Then come out a different team second half
Groundhog Day!
How do we keep getting the return to play so wrong? No precision! No intensity! We treat it like a pre-season friendly. And the opposition tear us a new one!
How do we keep getting the return to play so wrong? No precision! No intensity! We treat it like a pre-season friendly. And the opposition tear us a new one!
The only thing working is the kick off! Sadly lots of practice.
Dessaint is right need to get to half time now and sort this out.
Dessaint is right need to get to half time now and sort this out.
Quote:Deesaint
Slow start Saints
Seems to be a recurring problem
Letâs hold on to half time
Get a telling off
Then come out a different team second half
Along with a complete change in our defensive strategy.
Josh Kemeny is the only one who has turned up! Need to get Pollock on asap to add some intensity
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:21:20:21:25 by northampton_lad.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:21:20:21:25 by northampton_lad.
Well, in summary, absolute rubbish in every facet of the game. No bite, accuracy., plan or passion. Looks like 10 weekend in the sun loungers hasnât helped.
Well, time for a Lazarus like rising from this nonsenseâ
Well, time for a Lazarus like rising from this nonsenseâ
Sadly, very predictable đ Will we salvage anything from the second half?
So - pollock doing very well !! But how was that NOT a no-arms tackle on the line !! Yeesh!!!
Better in 2nd half.
Still struggling to catch, pass, kick and tackle but it is a sign of how bad the first half was, that this is better!!
Still struggling to catch, pass, kick and tackle but it is a sign of how bad the first half was, that this is better!!
Frankly I donât care how obnoxious Pollock is. Maybe some of the other players could do with getting on his wavelength. He looks like the only one capable of driving standards amidst far too much mediocrity from other much more experienced players.
Itâs hard to not swear. Not really been on it all season so no reason for it to change now. Absolutely the worst performance from saints I have ever seen. Ever.
What a stupid play, a penalty where you can get 30 m up field and pollock takes a tap inside 22 with 5 players in front of him.
Donât care how well he did in the 6 N that was absolutely foolish and skipper need to take charge of him.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:21:21:23:25 by JohnI.
Donât care how well he did in the 6 N that was absolutely foolish and skipper need to take charge of him.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:21:21:23:25 by JohnI.
Wow complete embarrassment looked foreword to the premiership returning for so long and the game was as good as over after 13 minutes. So many stupid errors and none existent defence. It looked like they were trying to get the bonus point and rushing from the 1st minute lots of unnecessary offload attempts and handling errors.
I'm in Paris, just got back to hotel after a nice evening to see the score...was the game as bad as the scoreline suggests??
Scrap that, just seen some of this thread and a few messages from pals on a saints group, sounds awful and glad I missed it, not sure I will be watching the highlights...
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:21:21:31:44 by herbie85.
Scrap that, just seen some of this thread and a few messages from pals on a saints group, sounds awful and glad I missed it, not sure I will be watching the highlights...
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:21:21:31:44 by herbie85.
I rate him but the commentary on Pollock before he crossed the sideline annoyed me, his gift of the tbp didnât.
I suppose tigers two friendly games certainly paid off while we were just messing about
Quote:herbie85
I'm in Paris, just got back to hotel after a nice evening to see the score...was the game as bad as the scoreline suggests??
Scrap that, just seen some of this thread and a few messages from pals on a saints group, sounds awful and glad I missed it, not sure I will be watching the highlights...
It was worse than the scoreline - it's perhaps telling of where Tigers are that it took them 75 minutes to get a bonus point against the shower that we were tonight. Bath or Sarries would have buried us.
When you lose 5 experienced players, with injuries and 6 nations, this was always going to happen, not played for 3 weeks and the England boys have been away for 10 weeks
Itâs a derby and nobody looked interested
But itâs ok, rather than negotiate contracts, Mark Darbon was off at pre school getting our new badge designed
That was clearly more important
Today was a new low
Itâs a derby and nobody looked interested
But itâs ok, rather than negotiate contracts, Mark Darbon was off at pre school getting our new badge designed
That was clearly more important
Today was a new low
Well, the one word answer is ABJECT.
Saints can big this whole âDerby under the Friday Night Lightsâ carp as much as they like but if the team fail to turn up then the result is a forgone conclusion. Leicester looked as though they wanted it more and should be kicking themselves for not scoring fifty points. Injuries aside they put out pretty much their strongest team who had the advantage of a friendly against Munster last week to clear out the cobwebs - Saints looked like a team who had not played much since the end of January and who had been turned over by Ealing. Itâs a hard fact that tonightâs Saints starting line-up contains at least half a dozen players who could at best be called journeymen. Throw in an understandably tired outside half and a full back having a bit of a mareâŠâŠâŠenough.
If the play offs were not gone before tonight, then they are certainly gone now. Put out a second string against Sale next week and get your act together for the European game the week after - with no relegation, itâs all thatâs left to play for after all.
Saints can big this whole âDerby under the Friday Night Lightsâ carp as much as they like but if the team fail to turn up then the result is a forgone conclusion. Leicester looked as though they wanted it more and should be kicking themselves for not scoring fifty points. Injuries aside they put out pretty much their strongest team who had the advantage of a friendly against Munster last week to clear out the cobwebs - Saints looked like a team who had not played much since the end of January and who had been turned over by Ealing. Itâs a hard fact that tonightâs Saints starting line-up contains at least half a dozen players who could at best be called journeymen. Throw in an understandably tired outside half and a full back having a bit of a mareâŠâŠâŠenough.
If the play offs were not gone before tonight, then they are certainly gone now. Put out a second string against Sale next week and get your act together for the European game the week after - with no relegation, itâs all thatâs left to play for after all.
Iâm not sure all is as it should be at Saints
And this performance just makes me more nervous
And this performance just makes me more nervous
Utterly @#$%& tonight. Iâm more concerned of two things; our defence is now rubbish again. Is Lee Radford ok? Also, we need fresh investment as if reports are true we are nowhere near the cap, because we canât afford to be. We need extra cash from other sponsors or be (I know this will be unpopular) bought out by external owners like in Football. We need to ditch the project EPQ 1-23 and get some cheaper but massive saffers in to get us on the front foot again.
So rubbish tonightâŠthey did not look remotely on it.
So rubbish tonightâŠthey did not look remotely on it.
Abject describes that "performance" perfectly. Following the game against Ealing, I thought we'd see a response from Saints. I was excited by the team selection and thought we had a good chance of a home win (or fight for it, at least). Instead, we saw a similar performance to that of Ealing and a side that showed a lack of commitment to the cause bar only a few individuals. I wonder what is going wrong with the team's preparation for game day and like Deesaint, I wonder if all is well, behind the scenes.
We got completely humped by a very average Leicester. That's not good. Three tries gifted by coughed up knock ons. Making Steward look classy. And drizzly walking back to town!
Quote:riverlodge
We got completely humped by a very average Leicester. That's not good. Three tries gifted by coughed up knock ons. Making Steward look classy. And drizzly walking back to town!
"a very average Leicester".... aren't Saints 8th?
Throwing out a few thoughts before bed....
One word summary: unacceptable.
Where was the leadership tonight? If it was there, I didn't notice it, especially in the first half. Who was reading the riot act, other than the coaches at half time?
Thought we were crazy to turn down a fairly straightforward kick at goal less than 30 seconds in. Shortly afterwards we made the first of our 26 (!) knock ons.
The crowd - started OK but quickly fell flat due to performance on the pitch, with a few attempts to get going through the rest of the game but with little enthusiasm really. I was a little surprised that the Tigers supporters weren't louder, but perhaps they couldn't believe what was happening either! Once again, I'm not convinced the light show works for us, especially if we can't at least dim the floodlights. I'm sure it served to dampen the atmosphere from the crowd somewhat, and I'm equally sure that the same effect was had last time the light show was tried. And then the quality of the rugby on the pitch dampens the atmosphere further. With hindsight I should have followed my gut and left at half time, as I wasn't enjoying the rugby at all, I've never felt like doing that before.
We didn't get to applaud the players in after the game either. Not sure I remember that happening before. Saints perhaps worried about boos from the supporters left who hadn't exited the Gardens as quickly as possible after (or before!) the full-time whistle?
Also: this amused me [x.com] - 'unbeatable' indeed! All the talk this week of this being the first playoff final of potentially many, and we fall so humiliatingly at the first hurdle. We'd better enjoy what's left of the Champions Cup too, because were out of the running for that currently and that doesn't look like changing.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:22:00:41:34 by Matthew.
One word summary: unacceptable.
Where was the leadership tonight? If it was there, I didn't notice it, especially in the first half. Who was reading the riot act, other than the coaches at half time?
Thought we were crazy to turn down a fairly straightforward kick at goal less than 30 seconds in. Shortly afterwards we made the first of our 26 (!) knock ons.
The crowd - started OK but quickly fell flat due to performance on the pitch, with a few attempts to get going through the rest of the game but with little enthusiasm really. I was a little surprised that the Tigers supporters weren't louder, but perhaps they couldn't believe what was happening either! Once again, I'm not convinced the light show works for us, especially if we can't at least dim the floodlights. I'm sure it served to dampen the atmosphere from the crowd somewhat, and I'm equally sure that the same effect was had last time the light show was tried. And then the quality of the rugby on the pitch dampens the atmosphere further. With hindsight I should have followed my gut and left at half time, as I wasn't enjoying the rugby at all, I've never felt like doing that before.
We didn't get to applaud the players in after the game either. Not sure I remember that happening before. Saints perhaps worried about boos from the supporters left who hadn't exited the Gardens as quickly as possible after (or before!) the full-time whistle?
Also: this amused me [x.com] - 'unbeatable' indeed! All the talk this week of this being the first playoff final of potentially many, and we fall so humiliatingly at the first hurdle. We'd better enjoy what's left of the Champions Cup too, because were out of the running for that currently and that doesn't look like changing.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:22:00:41:34 by Matthew.
So many good players in the squad....so many poor performances this season... time to question coaching and management methinks đ€
Quote:Stewardâs not the one showing a lack of classâŠ.riverlodge
We got completely humped by a very average Leicester. That's not good. Three tries gifted by coughed up knock ons. Making Steward look classy. And drizzly walking back to town!
Falcons, Quins and Bristol have all been nilled once this season.
I'm not sure I can remember a season recently where three bigger clubs have been.
I'm not sure I can remember a season recently where three bigger clubs have been.
Good morning Saints supporters,
Unfortunately these games happen occasionally and whilst I will delight in the score and the Fire Alarm at 70 minutes, I still think Saints are a very good side.
Cheika said after the match he had learnt from the AI break and our Match against Munster got rid of the rust, which Saints definitely were for the first 15 minutes. Lesson 1 for Dowson?
Hendy just had one of those nights and then you start trying to hard, heâs still a class player!
Apart from the one act of desperation, Pollock showed what a player heâs going to be!
Appreciate you were playing catch up by this point but when the weather changed there was no change of game plan! Augustus and Langdon needed to stick it up their jumper for a bit! Team and Coaches just seemed shell shocked!
Good luck for the rest of the season.
Unfortunately these games happen occasionally and whilst I will delight in the score and the Fire Alarm at 70 minutes, I still think Saints are a very good side.
Cheika said after the match he had learnt from the AI break and our Match against Munster got rid of the rust, which Saints definitely were for the first 15 minutes. Lesson 1 for Dowson?
Hendy just had one of those nights and then you start trying to hard, heâs still a class player!
Apart from the one act of desperation, Pollock showed what a player heâs going to be!
Appreciate you were playing catch up by this point but when the weather changed there was no change of game plan! Augustus and Langdon needed to stick it up their jumper for a bit! Team and Coaches just seemed shell shocked!
Good luck for the rest of the season.
Quote:A2OQuote:you were saying đConnorman
Pollard yesterdayâs man.
Works as a quote this morning though đ€Ł
A few classless comments on here, but will put those down to disappointment!
Had it been Furbank making the break that Steward made you would have been raving about it.
Out of respect and knowing what Saints are capable of in terms of comebacks, Tigers took the Penalties to keep the scoreboard rolling rather than going for the TBP, personally think this was good leadership.
Yes we are still pretty average but thought our attack took a step forward (from a very low baseline) and Woodward at 12 played well. Our defence considering new defence coach and all the shenanigans off the pitch was good.
Had it been Furbank making the break that Steward made you would have been raving about it.
Out of respect and knowing what Saints are capable of in terms of comebacks, Tigers took the Penalties to keep the scoreboard rolling rather than going for the TBP, personally think this was good leadership.
Yes we are still pretty average but thought our attack took a step forward (from a very low baseline) and Woodward at 12 played well. Our defence considering new defence coach and all the shenanigans off the pitch was good.
Time to forget about the league and focus on clermont . Whilst we are miles away from winning Europe clearly there is a home last 8 at stake which financially will help the club and clermont are very beatable. Need to go full strength against sale to prep for the week after as looked like they had all just met last night. Whilst we were awful and I don't remember ever being that bad tigers just did what they needed to do and they did it very well and made it look easy. Nothing flash just simple rugby done very well. Catch , pass, compete , be physical and most of all they were just smarter than we were . When they got that early lead and then the rain come down they excuted the game plan really well.
I think what we saw from Tigers is the true Chieka model, as St Dolph says above, the simple things done very well with physicality. Iâd be very surprised if Saints ever cough up so much possession again in a single match.
Unfortunately rugby is a game of momentum. The momentum went against us early through basic mistakes, Pollock almost wrestled it back single handedly around 55 mins, but a series of 3 or 4 knock ons killed it again. When you're chasing the game in the rain, mistakes are much more likely. I think the biggest concern is the lack of gainline success (partly due to Leicester defence), which then lead to slow ruck ball behind or on the gainline. This means players like Fin and Dingers have to force offloads in traffic to try and create an opportunity. So much of our game depends on quick ball and breaking the gainline. We generally run teams off their feet. We couldn't do that last night. There were also some dozy defensive errors, particularly in the guard position around the ruck. Our forward carriers need to make more ground in general, not die with the ball and concede a turnover. We should have also controlled the game and played the percentages better early on, in order to regain a foothold, rather than force it when we had plenty of time remaining.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:22:09:26:56 by undersizedprop2.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:22:09:26:56 by undersizedprop2.
I was at the theatre last night (Carrie, the musical. Not sure where the most blood was spilt..) and actually forgot all about the match until I got home. Probably just as well I didnât make the trip. Iâm coming to the Clermont game so I really hope they sort things out as it could be an (other) embarrassment.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:22:12:27:56 by Buzzer.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:22:12:27:56 by Buzzer.
Tigers forwards looked so much more up for it and ours didnât.
Langdon has gone off the boil. Ditto Pearson. Our back row was anonymous.
JVP out shone James.
So frustrated with it all
Langdon has gone off the boil. Ditto Pearson. Our back row was anonymous.
JVP out shone James.
So frustrated with it all
Got completely duffed up on the gainline and in the scrum so backs had no platform. As the saying goes a good big one beats a good little one. We massively lack heft in pack. No coincidence we looked better with Odendaal on in second half.
So would leicester supporters being together in one area/ their choice/ made any difference to thew atmosphere
It seemed to me to be the performance of a team that know they will not make the playoffs and also know there is no relegation
The scrum wasn't horrendous, but agree Leicester edged it. Trevor is not quite operating at the level he once did, Manny held up relatively well, though I think with the right coaching he could really make use of all his athleticism and power. I was impressed with Luke Green (particularly in the face of Dan Cole's silly antics). I think he deserves a shot at starting.
Quote:WesternWanderer
Got completely duffed up on the gainline and in the scrum so backs had no platform. As the saying goes a good big one beats a good little one. We massively lack heft in pack. No coincidence we looked better with Odendaal on in second half.
I understand our pack weight was more than Tigers
Perhaps itâs more that old saying
Itâs not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog
One more thing I'd note is that we looked done for pace in last night's team until Pollock came on. See JVP's kick through, and I'm still note quite sure how OHC didn't score in the corner in the second half when all he seemed to need to do was gather the ball on the floor.
27 handling errors, game was gone after first quarter. Held Tigs out till HPâs error. There was a lot of effort out there, Hendy ran himself into the ground as usual & wasnât the only one.
Can we please cancel the silly light shows .
Get rid of announcers telling us fifty times we can get a stadium App Free .
Get rid of the expensive silly smoky fireworks.
Ask the refs politely to enforce the offside laws.
And instead play rugby properly.
Get rid of announcers telling us fifty times we can get a stadium App Free .
Get rid of the expensive silly smoky fireworks.
Ask the refs politely to enforce the offside laws.
And instead play rugby properly.
Quote:Gwendoline
Can we please cancel the silly light shows .
Get rid of announcers telling us fifty times we can get a stadium App Free .
Get rid of the expensive silly smoky fireworks.
Ask the refs politely to enforce the offside laws.
And instead play rugby properly.
Always makes me laugh when intellectually challenged supporters think that the rugby department (coaches and players) are in charge of things like the light show and fireworks. As if eliminating them will allow more resources to be put into coaching.
It feels like we need a direction reset. But not sure we have the finances to do it. But I'd just be happy with a change in attitude, it was terrible. We desperately need some steel. We need some players with more backbone.
IMHO Leicester knew that we would try to run them off their feet and adapted by getting defenders into the line, hence the interceptions and dropped passes. With Steward at FB, attempts at kicking to prevent them charging up didn't work. Two very quick wingers, which we lacked, gave them an attacking route out wide which stretched our defence and created gaps everywhere.
Not much went our way, the tip tackle on Ramm, the great tackle on Pollack, prevented certain tries.
Not taking the early penalty was a mistake, I thought so at the time and it led to the first interception and ultimately their first try. That early score caused us to panic, passing under pressure, dropping passes and then self-doubt crept in which then spiralled into a desperate shambles.
Having said that I don't think we would have won a kickfest but a more considered start and kicking for position might have reduced the number of headless chicken plays.
Leicester got their analysis and tactics right. Saints developed a way to win last season but most teams have worked us out and come up with strategies to stop us and at the moment there seems to be no plan B.
What a miserable way to start the weekend...
Not much went our way, the tip tackle on Ramm, the great tackle on Pollack, prevented certain tries.
Not taking the early penalty was a mistake, I thought so at the time and it led to the first interception and ultimately their first try. That early score caused us to panic, passing under pressure, dropping passes and then self-doubt crept in which then spiralled into a desperate shambles.
Having said that I don't think we would have won a kickfest but a more considered start and kicking for position might have reduced the number of headless chicken plays.
Leicester got their analysis and tactics right. Saints developed a way to win last season but most teams have worked us out and come up with strategies to stop us and at the moment there seems to be no plan B.
What a miserable way to start the weekend...
Quote:195Rich
Leicester got their analysis and tactics right. Saints developed a way to win last season but most teams have worked us out and come up with strategies to stop us and at the moment there seems to be no plan B.
What a miserable way to start the weekend...
At the supporter forum, Dowson said that te team have a plan and plan B is to do it better and harder.
Quote:SaintsAsh
It feels like we need a direction reset. But not sure we have the finances to do it. But I'd just be happy with a change in attitude, it was terrible. We desperately need some steel. We need some players with more backbone.
I couldn't agree more. For ages now we have looked great when everything comes off but the minute anyone stands up to us we have no answers. We were not really dominated up front yesterday but with 26 handling errors and 14 turnovers you are only ever going to be on the wrong end of a hiding.
We seem incapable or maybe just unwilling to actually control a game by playing smart basic rugby and slowly building the pressure, we simply lack the basics. That is two home games on the trot now where we have been totally humiliated by the opposition and when you add that to our away form it doesn't look good.
If you are going to play the way we do you simply cannot make 10 handling errors let alone 26. We either need the skill to play this way or start playing some sensible rugby.
Sometimes weather conditions are going to dictate how the game can be played.
As I said earlier the heavens opening didnât seem to change Saintâs game plan!
Why?? Especially with the number of handling errors!
As I said earlier the heavens opening didnât seem to change Saintâs game plan!
Why?? Especially with the number of handling errors!
[center][/center]
No, its the best entertainmet we get ! Plus we like it ,its something i believe they call ...fun.
Quote:Gwendoline
Can we please cancel the silly light shows .
Get rid of announcers telling us fifty times we can get a stadium App Free .
Get rid of the expensive silly smoky fireworks.
Ask the refs politely to enforce the offside laws.
And instead play rugby properly.
No, its the best entertainmet we get ! Plus we like it ,its something i believe they call ...fun.
Appalling performance. Very disappointed with Fin Smith's very poor game management, especially in the first half.
I think a key comment is that the Tigers integrated the returning players better, when you consider we also had the game with Munster to keep most of the squad match fit too, the only thing that surprised me was the afore mentioned weather not seemingly changing your tactics. I doubt this is terminal, sure last years winners will turn it around. It was not that long ago Tigers were the Champions and look what happened there, coaches all left, key players left, but these two proud clubs will not go away, your turn to win will return, sport is cyclical.
Quote:lineoutballQuote:Gwendoline
Can we please cancel the silly light shows .
Get rid of announcers telling us fifty times we can get a stadium App Free .
Get rid of the expensive silly smoky fireworks.
Ask the refs politely to enforce the offside laws.
And instead play rugby properly.
Always makes me laugh when intellectually challenged supporters think that the rugby department (coaches and players) are in charge of things like the light show and fireworks. As if eliminating them will allow more resources to be put into coaching.
Never improves an argument by being rude. Eliminating waste will make more money available for coaching . No one said the coaches were in charge of the stadium stuff. But money is money. We pay to watch rugby not fireworks.
Quote:Saint dolph
Imagine if bristol played us last night. It would of been a blood bath
+1 Tigers just sat on their lead and played the percentages. Bristol with their counter-attacking prowess and attack from wherever would have put at least 50 points on us and it could have got as ugly as 70 given the ridiculous number of lost balls/turnovers we conceded and how poorly we defended.
Even with the benefit of a few days to step back, reflect and form a non-emotional judgement, that performance has to rank up there as one of the worst Iâve seen from Saints in my 35 years supporting Saints, so in the context of not turning up v Tigers and also if the quality of the Saints team is taken into account (half that matchday 23 were title winners a few short months previously).
We play Bristol on 26 April
Strangely I think we'd have faired better against Bristol. Their defence (when they decided to apply it) wasn't as suffocating as Tigers and they didn't go anywhere near as hard at the ruck
Quote:SaintsDuncan
Strangely I think we'd have faired better against Bristol. Their defence (when they decided to apply it) wasn't as suffocating as Tigers and they didn't go anywhere near as hard at the ruck
Fingers crossed you prove to be right. Iâll be at the Bristol game but more in trepidation than hope.
Premiership team of the week đ
[www.therugbypaper.co.uk]
5x Leicester Tigers đŻ
4x Bath đ
4x Bristol Bears đ»
1x Sale Sharks đŠ
1x Harlequins đ
[www.therugbypaper.co.uk]
5x Leicester Tigers đŻ
4x Bath đ
4x Bristol Bears đ»
1x Sale Sharks đŠ
1x Harlequins đ
Quote:NGSB
Well, the one word answer is ABJECT.
Saints can big this whole âDerby under the Friday Night Lightsâ carp as much as they like but if the team fail to turn up then the result is a forgone conclusion. Leicester looked as though they wanted it more and should be kicking themselves for not scoring fifty points. Injuries aside they put out pretty much their strongest team who had the advantage of a friendly against Munster last week to clear out the cobwebs - Saints looked like a team who had not played much since the end of January and who had been turned over by Ealing. Itâs a hard fact that tonightâs Saints starting line-up contains at least half a dozen players who could at best be called journeymen. Throw in an understandably tired outside half and a full back having a bit of a mareâŠâŠâŠenough.
If the play offs were not gone before tonight, then they are certainly gone now. Put out a second string against Sale next week and get your act together for the European game the week after - with no relegation, itâs all thatâs left to play for after all.
Unfortunately it looks like we will ge in the B teams for Europe next season so season ticket losing value again
Quote:FlyhookerQuote:NGSB
Well, the one word answer is ABJECT.
Saints can big this whole âDerby under the Friday Night Lightsâ carp as much as they like but if the team fail to turn up then the result is a forgone conclusion. Leicester looked as though they wanted it more and should be kicking themselves for not scoring fifty points. Injuries aside they put out pretty much their strongest team who had the advantage of a friendly against Munster last week to clear out the cobwebs - Saints looked like a team who had not played much since the end of January and who had been turned over by Ealing. Itâs a hard fact that tonightâs Saints starting line-up contains at least half a dozen players who could at best be called journeymen. Throw in an understandably tired outside half and a full back having a bit of a mareâŠâŠâŠenough.
If the play offs were not gone before tonight, then they are certainly gone now. Put out a second string against Sale next week and get your act together for the European game the week after - with no relegation, itâs all thatâs left to play for after all.
Unfortunately it looks like we will ge in the B teams for Europe next season so season ticket losing value again
Top 8 From England qualify for Champions cup, weshould be good
That is ridiculous - to call it a champions cup and have teams in the bottom quartile of their domestic league is laughable.
Devalues it completely.
Devalues it completely.
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