By Rich W
February 26 2007

So we gathered at the unnatural hour – in hope and some expectation – not wholly certain what was coming but sure that it would be better than the previous week. How wrong can you be?

Tiger’s started brightly enough after an odd kick-off by Saints – why change direction and then kick long? I didn’t get that. But maybe they knew that Sam Vesty would have one of his worst days in a Tigers shirt and Cohen’s chase almost gained reward from Vesty’s sluggish clearance with a charge down.

From there Tigers created good lineout ball, Rabeni made a break and the home team swept upfield cleanly, quickly, neatly. Good I thought – not expecting it to be the best rugby we would see all afternoon!

Jordan Crane was hauled down short but the support was fractionally late and instead of the pick and drive to score under the posts the ball was sent wide but an over aggressive pass and a speculative flick on saw the overlap wasted and the chance lost.

From there the game settled into what I can only describe as an attritional shambles with neither side able to craft anything remotely like a chance and the absurd Mr Davey whistling away at an astonishing range of marginal infringements. Our group call this sort of display the ‘Random Penalty Generator’! Leicester were penalised for tackling the jumper in the air at the lineout despite it appearing to everyone except Mr D that there was a genuine attempt to do no more than play the ball. A succession of odd penalties took Saints into penalty range but the chance (undeserved as it was) was missed.

However, instead of being stung into activity Tigers continued to huff and puff and bang down the middle to knock down the Saint’s door. Every ball was run back inside on and angle close to the break down and every time the Saints defence held. They had come expecting the tactic and they nullified it expertly.

They were helped in this endeavor by the referee’s willingness to allow both sides to throw themselves into rucks from any angle they chose and with no requirement to remain on their feet. Let it not be said that Tigers were not equally guilty of this and the game stagnated into a mid-field morass. Tigers dominating possession but utterly unwilling to change the game plan and use the wider areas of the pitch became frustrated and eventually another penalty came. This time there was no mistake and Saints were in front. It was no more than they or Tigers deserved.

Again surely Tigers would be stung into action and would come out and – well you get the drift. Unfortunately we were wrong.

With Tigers persisting with the bash it down the middle option – preferably, it seemed, from a standing start and Mr Davey plucking an ever more eclectic array of miscellaneous infringements from his law book whilst remaining seemingly oblivious to the more prosaic ones the game continued in not so much a stop-start but more a stop-stop manner.

The half ended and the score (0-3) reflected the awfulness of the game.

Sadly things were not to improve in the second half. Early on fly-half, Paul Burke squandered a chance to level the scores when he missed a sitter in front. It was doubly a shame because he had moments before orchestrated the only bit of rugby since those opening minutes with a delicate chip and chase to recover the ball and set up a fine attacking opportunity from which the penalty eventually came.

His miss was to prove his last real part in the game and he was replaced by Ian Humphies who shortly after converted a well struck three pointer after another odd decision by the man with the whistle.

With Humphries on we hoped that a greater width and penetration would come to the Tigers attack and indeed he made some sharp half-breaks which gave us hope but the three-quarters stuck to their tight angles towards the traffic and the turgid gridlock of the break-down.

From the kick off after the penalty Sam Vesty instead of clearing attempting to obtain field position with a deep diagonal kick to the corners tried a chip over the top. Under cooked it bounced in front of the Saints’ defensive press and Mark Robinson recovered it beat one poor attempted tackle and set off down the touch-line to narrowly beat the chasing Brett Deacon to the goal line. Annoyingly it was almost the only time either side used the whole width of the pitch all day.

A fine conversion from wide on the right and the lead was 3-10 with Tigers in trouble.

Finally they upped the intensity – albeit still playing with only the middle of the pitch and progress was made. A penalty that wobbled and crept over from Humphries who had injured his thigh cut the gap to 4 and then another would have made it a one point game with 15 minutes to go but he missed a sitter hardly more challenging than Burke’s earlier miss.

However as the Random Penalty Generator finally started to swing against Saints – who looked as bemused by proceedings as did Tigers – a searing touch-finder took play from centre field to the Saints 5 meter line.

Ah we thought! Catch and drive! 5 points! Well we were right about the first part. The lineout was clean, Buckland having replaced the erratic and unconvincing Hickie at half-time. The drive came on and, as the three quarters hit the maul to propel it over the line, We thought a score almost certain. Little did we reckon with that corruption of the modern game the Television Match Official. Unable to see through the pile of bodies thrown over the breakdown by despairing Saints players a try that not five years ago would have been given by a confident, competent referee – everything that Mr Davey isn’t – was disallowed and we had to settle for a 5 meter scrum. At which - cue another bizarre moment from Mr Davey having allowed a succession of scrums throughout the game to come up in the front row without penalty he chose then to apply that law. This after penaliising Leicester early on for wheeling the scrum and then failing to do so again at any stage as both sides circled and whipped scrum after scrum. It was all very confusing.

Whatever – the chance was wasted and Saints were grateful and probably a trifle fortunate to clear their lines.

Agsin Tigers pounded and again Saints defence held firm until Ollie Smith now in the outside centre position after Gibson replaced Hipkiss, ghosted through a half gap to get behind the Saints defence. With Rabeni on his outside and the wing cover struggling to get back the over-lap was calling. A simple pass outside and the try was scored. Unfortunately even Smith, one of those Tigers who can usually be relied upon to seek space and give a pass decided that contact was the way forward. Well it was in keeping with the rest of the Tiger’s efforts. He tried to run over Reihana. And failed.

Still with 6 minutes to go a successful penalty pulled Tigers back to within a point and the win was on. Saints had offered nothing for much of the second half and one more score would have won it for Tigers.

Leicester pressed, seeking the opportunity, hoping for the penalty and eventually it came: 40 meters out and bang in front – clearly within Ian Humphries’ compass. Up steps the captain and in what I can only call a Paul O’Connell moment after the Munsterman’s bizarre decision to take a scrummage instead of three point at Thomond Park in January, Leo Cullen taps and goes.

A worthy player is Leo, aggressive, determined, athletic in his own lumbering second row way. A gazelle he is not. Nor, apparently a clear thinker.

He made yards, the ball was recycled and then passed forwards and with three minutes to go possession and the game was lost.

Saints expertly ran down the three minutes remaining – though again Mr Davey’s management of the game could be questioned – and another record gone to that lot down the road!

All in all a dreadful game played by dreadful teams with a dreadful referee.

Which is the real shame.