BR - top four?

By Cherry Picker
February 21 2010

Gloucester were beaten, but by no means disgraced, by a Leicester side chalking up their sixth successive Guinness Premiership win in a result that halts the recent Glaws revival, but did nothing to suggest Bryan Redpath’s team can’t continue recent progress over the remainder of the season.

Redpath described Leicester as “the beast”, a description which was not mant in a derogatory way in any sense, but which would have made just as much sense had he left out the letter ‘a’.

They may be the beast, but at present they are also the best.
The Tigers are not leaders for nothing, and on the form they showed against Glaws they are just as likely to stay at the top until the end of the season.
Make no mistake Glaws gave the game a shot, but they just couldn’t find a way past a confident, well-drilled and wholly impressive home team.
Redpath told the BBC:  "The beast got us, the Leicester beast. They are top of the league and played very well.
"We came here with confidence. We have been working exceptionally hard recently to get the results and get us back into some form.
"Then you come to this place, you come with hope and with ambition but you have to perform and today they outperformed us."
That just about sums it up.
Tigers scored three tries through Lote Tuqiri and Geordan Murphy either side of the break and Ben Youngs late on to kill off any Glaws revival, which had been given some hope by a try from a try by late replacement Johnny May, a deserved reward for the teenage centre on his full debut. Nicky Robinson kicked two Glaws penalties, while Toby Flood improved his England credentials with a match-controlling game that included three conversions and four penalties.
It’s important now that Glaws treat the result, and the performance, as a setback rather than a return to the early-season blues.
The result was never really in doubt, but it wasn’t a humiliation, as it might have been if this fixture had been played a couple of months ago.

Next weekend’s home game against Sale Sharks is much more winnable than this game ever was, and with Sale three points behind Glaws with a game in hand, it’s a must-win match.

Defeat by "the beast" a setback for Glaws, not a disaster

Discussion started by Shedloads (IP Logged), 21/02/2010 10:12

Shedloads
21/02/2010 10:12

What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
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Stopsy
21/02/2010 13:03

Good write up and thanks.

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cheerycherry
21/02/2010 22:31

Defeat was not unexpected but the margin was disappointing. Not sure why Glaws abandoned their attacking Rugby and reverted back to the territorial kicking game that has not worked for a season and a half and failed yet again but the game was effectively over ten minutes into the second half. Only good news is at least Tigers are out the way for this season and Glaws can focus on the very tight battle for the top 6

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Stopsy
22/02/2010 10:47

unless we both get to the pay offs!

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cheerycherry
22/02/2010 11:54

Cant see Tigers not winning the GP payoffs this season, class above anyone else. I for one just want this season out the way with minimum damage done then come back next year with a properly organised Glaws squad and give it a proper go.

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Two Sheds
22/02/2010 12:10

Pay-offs ... is that a sign we're going back to the old days of boot money?

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Stopsy
24/02/2010 18:28

imho the real reason they were introduced was purely as a money generating measure, hence the missing L

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cheerycherry
25/02/2010 02:36

They have always been purely a money making exercise in my opinion. If I had played through a very arduous season to clearly finish top of the league and have nothing to show for it because of losing an additional one off game, I would be far from happy.

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Two Sheds
26/02/2010 11:27

Agreed - play-offs are a joke, and an insult to both players and fans.
But in these days when the money men rule, what can you do?

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