Tigers in Sheep’s Clothing

Worcester Warriors V Leicester Tigers,

Judging by the reaction in the International Bar on Saturday to the Irish win against the Springboks, something of the atmosphere of London Irish had returned to Worcester with our supporters.  Certainly, there was still much talk of the warm welcome we had received at the Madejski Stadium and enthusiasm for the forthcoming Cup match in December. The Irish v South Africa Test was a nail-biting contest, in contrast to England’s massacre of Canada.  It did not pass without notice that the Canadians appeared to be wearing the red Worcester away strip – with about as much luck as it has brought the Warriors lately.  (Watching Canada, someone observed that it is almost exactly 20 years since members of the Worcester RFC drank British Airways dry on the transatlantic legs of their Canadian tour.  Mike Robbins, our Operations Manager is a proud survivor of that trip!)

The Leicester supporters were keen to watch the performance of their players and, after the excellent Supporters’ Club evening in September, Worcester fans took a particular interest in Martin Corry’s game.  It was good to see so many Tigers’ shirts mingling with our own gold and blue in the Sixways bars.  This is what makes rugby so special.  The camaraderie was reinforced before the match, when members of the Leicester hierarchy, including Peter Wheeler, shook hands with us and expressed their hope for a good game.  A senior clubman commented on the excellent crowd, observing that “it must be good for the City of Worcester”.

Leicester fans weren’t the only visitors at Sixways.  On arrival, we spotted a car-sticker:

Catch Me if You Can; I’m a Scarlets Man

Rather surprisingly, Lawrence found himself next to the driver at the bar.  “Not too difficult to catch us at the moment,” said the Welshman.  “We’re having a season like yours, but as long as we fans don’t give up, we’ll be alright.”

Of course, there were also plenty of Warriors supporters in the bars.  Up in the International Bar, Dave Bradley suggested that “The Antiques Roadshow” might be a preferred alternative to England v Canada.  We wondered if this interest in valuation was related to the fact that the price sticker was still visible under the peak of his new Warriors baseball cap.

Despite the result of our game, there was a real buzz around the ground after the match. Andy Keast had written in the programme about the fantastic supporters.  It is important for the players to know that we are a “one-eyed” lot who feel very proprietorial about “our” team.  It is very much a family affair: although we might sometimes grumble to each other about tactics and team selection, we will support our boys to the hilt when they face the opposition – and we really appreciate every opportunity to make our support known both on and off the field.  At the moment, we await news of Leon Greef and send our best wishes for a speedy recovery to him and to all our other “walking wounded”.

There was not too much evidence of “walking” amongst Leicester’s wounded on the field.  The depth of quality in their squad was demonstrated on a day when a clutch of senior players was on International duty.  Even their bench oozed class.  We thought that the afternoon sunshine made their white away strip look very continental (not sheep-like at all!).  Indeed, some of the ladies were heard to say how fetching “twinkle-toes” Healey looked.  He obviously has a very well-laundered wardrobe, whereas Henry Tuilagi, in the words of a Leicester fan, is the width of a wardrobe.  Despite their well-scrubbed appearance, the Tigers were certainly not “wet behind the ears” and the result was what we had feared.  We should, perhaps, have heeded the warning of A.A.Milne in The House at Pooh Corner:

“It’s a funny thing about Tiggers,” whispered Tigger to Roo, “how Tiggers never  get lost.”

“Why don’t they, Tigger?”

“They just don’t,” explained Tigger.  “That’s how it is.”

 

RT