Friday Night Mayhem for 4 Try Tigers
With twenty or so first team squad members out through injury, international call-ups and an ABH suspension, a few tiger’s fans had bleated all week about fairness of playing such games through the international period. Quoting level playing field’s and crap sides like LI having a fecking far too lofty position in the league table, and not adding feck all to the English game, had this exile fan pissed off with it all. We were set up for a fall either way, as a win would have been a frickin’ injustice to the great Midlands side, and a loss would have been their third.Well feck all that. A depleted Tigers unit containing up to ten former, current and under 21’s internationals took the field to give the London Irish squad, containing wankers and non-contributory players to the England cause, a right good fecking in front of their passionate followers.
On a bitterly cold and disappointing night, the Leicester side ran in four tries from Healey, Kay, Chuter and Holford to take the five points, and few will deny them the victory. The margin of the mullering was, however, harsh on the visitors, who had come out of the traps like fecking maniacs to try and impose their game on the former league and European Cup winners. For large periods in the opening exchanges, the exiles dominated the territory and possession only to be denied by a determined and aggressive defence.
Barry claimed the only points on the night for Irish, taking the lead with a penalty after some excellent fatlads work. This was short lived as the Boot had a clearance charged down for the second time in six days to gift the ageless and very impressive Healey the first try with the returning Goode to add the extras. It all looked a mess, with forwards getting in the way of Everitt, denying space and allowing Austin to get at the boot and ball.
The Tigers unit showed a professional attitude with excellent defence that repeatedly repelled the Irish attack all night and, together with a streetwise knowledge of the dark arts in the loose, turned over possession at will. Still, the visiting side gave their all in their attempts to remedy their mistake and add parity to the scoreboard.
After a quarter of an hour, a game defining moment went against them, which resulted in a large majority of the players losing their focus on the game in hand.
Having been camped on in the oppositions 22 and launching wave upon fecking wave of drives for the try line, the defensive might was finally breached allowing Spud to dot down for a deserved try. Happy days for the small cold gathering of souls in green, and the boost the side needed to step their way to only our second victory at Welfare Road in 621 attempts over the course of 178 years. However, the spec-savers sponsored touch judge could not provide positive feedback to the nightmarish Maybank and a scrum 5, attacking ball was awarded. Few in the ground would deny this as a try and many of the Irish outfit questioned strongly the logic of such a poor decision.
Maybank, who tried all night to join the attacking options of both sides, attacking phases with his poor positioning, had been missing in action with his thumb up his arse when the try was scored. Play the whistle is the agreed game plan, but feck me, this was a hugely wrong call that had denied Irish a deserved lead at this juncture of the game.
Tigers finally cleared their lines, and the one-eyed feckers from Welfare settled back into screaming injustices against their lads. It was a spur that allowed the home side to dictate the pace and direction of the game.
But for some sliced kicking from the normally reliable Goode, the territory seemed to be camped in the mid-field. Lloyd was involved in most things good the Leicester side created, as he pulled out another top-draw performance against London Irish, and Hipkiss was tackling like a fecking gladiator, one huge tackle denying a try in the corner.
Their pack were also starting to get better in the fatboy battles, establishing a good base to get the girls involved, with Smith starting to show the form that should have gained him a call up, all be it in a less destructive wider berth of wing. With a renewed vigour established by the home team, the Irish players were starting to feel the pressure and were starting to feel that Mayhem was a home banker whistler. This resulted in repeated infringements, challenging the offside line and illegal gambits in the rucks causing a large penalty count to mount.
Goode elected to take pot at goal for one of these midfield offsides, which he landed to stretch the lead. He also elected to kick for corners now that the Tigers catch and drive was starting to spark, generating more pressure on the exiles.
For our part, we seemed to panic, even with the score close, and attempted to force the play. Barry started to run from 10 in an attempt to break the tough defence, resulting in a less structured game plan and masses of easy turnovers to be conceded. The decision making throughout the side was causing grave concern for those following the whites, with little imagination allowing a drift defence easy pickings.
The Tigers seemed to be hitting their straps with Healey, the pick of all things attacking. He was buzzing around the paddock, bossing the game and delivering good ball to the backs to allow them to spread the play at will. Goode was getting his passing range zoned with some superbly executed long passes hitting their man.
After numerous phases and re-tries at getting behind the Irish, Kay, the former English Lion, found himself out wide with a clear channel to the try line. He ducked under the Flutey cover tackle and claimed his reward. Goode missed the conversion, but the home crowd were going do-frickin-lally. Another score slightly against the run of play, but they had taken their chases while we had fecked ours.
Irish knew they were in the shite now, but still gave 100% effort to get a foothold in the game. We all knew that an exile score of any kind was what the doctor would have ordered, but it just wasn’t happening. The penalty count was killing any chances of eating into the lead, one of which killed a great attacking position. Danaher received a bit of 70’s discipline for being offside at a ruck, so far so, that he may be pinged for it in the next game.
Goode added another penalty a few moments after the Kay try to increase the lead to 18-3 with five minutes remaining of the first period. This was after adventurous play from the 22 from the visitors in attempt to clear the lines, before Penney was adjudged to have held on to the pill in contact.
Half time was now needed to get the troops together, issue another battle plan and start playing the stuff that had got the Irish up to 3rd, be it a perceived lofty status from media and other clubs alike.
The Tigers were now sensing that Irish were there for the killing and tried to accelerate the slaughter before the tea-break was met. Only determined defence from the Irish at set-piece gained from Goode electing to kick the corners from more penalties kept the scoreboard stalled, although it cost us our captain and inspiration. I prey that Catt can now make a recovery to get back on the field to lead his chargers once more, and fecking soon!
Half time has crawled upon by the Irish with the score sat at 18-3.
The second half saw the Catt injury result in a re-shuffle in the girls, with Horak on at fullback, moving Flutes to inside centre, his third position at the club in a hand full of games. After five minutes play, Leguizamon came on for Murphy, who again was game in everything he was involved with.
Leguizamon was quick to show his potential and tried to be involved in all aspects of the LI attempts to pull off any comeback, but still the Leicester defence remained tight and fecking aggressive. He was involved in yet another disallowed try when he stormed over to touch down, only to be denied as the lineout was taken too quickly after the touch was found from a penalty into the corner. The award was a free-kick to the defending side, allowing Goode to clear, but Geezer is a find, and the sooner we get him a European passport the fecking better, if this can be achieved!
More turnover, big tackles and huge slices of Mayhem on home side offside interpretation, kept the Tigers on the front foot. Another penalty for holding on, another Goode kick to the corner and exiles under more pressure. The Tigers machine of catch and drive kicked in and the drive to the try line was a mere formality before England-reject Chuter emerged from the pile-up with grin and 5 points. Conversion taken, 25-3 and game over.
Hell of a pattern had been established throughout the second half, and the killer try highlighted it. LI possession, fatlads banging away in and around the gainline, girls get ball, play as forwards, get turned over by either Tigers or Mayhem and Tigers score. Fecking nightmare.
Mores changes to personnel to try and reap some pride with Skuse coming on for impressive Rautenbach, Hodgson on to give some bite at scrum half, Collins on for ageless Hatley and Russell on briefly before a binning for Coetzee.
The pride was still there, although the basic application of skills did not go hand in hand with the great efforts. The fecking in your face defence of the Tigers continued to expose poor contact skills, however, the spilled pill was more a result of some feck off huge hits with great technique shown in the tackling. All the travelling souls wanted was a try for these efforts as the realisation that the game was frickin beyond hope kicked in, well confirmed more like.
After Russell came, placed his hands in a ruck and left to the bin, uncontested scrums were called. This prevented either side from putting pressure on in this set-piece, especially Tigers with their numerical advantage. It may have helped us from allowing the home side a BP, but again, pure wishful thinking.
Another penalty, corner hit by boot, catch, drive and Holford, the replacement, over to claim the fecking BP. The long drive back was now in the minds of most, and a summary of getting absolutely feck all for all the efforts afforded. A few minutes of the exiles chasing a try were summed up when the ball finally left the field of play, putting all out of their misery.
35-3 away to Leicester had been the net loss after a promising start. Little can be taken from this kicking, but a lot must be gained. The front row again faced up, but failed to dominate, the second row failed to claim consistent lineout ball after weeks of fun and the back row just could not steal enough ball. They lived off scraps and hardly provided the platform required to get our recently dangerous backs running and showing their creativity.
The result has now gone, but the season rolls on. Chins up lads, as the efforts have been duly noted. Let this be a bad day at the office, remove from the fecked mind and body, and target Agen and Sarries to get back on track. Lets have the Cardiff game as a means to get pitch time for the squad members and rest the bodies of the warrior types that have delivered three wins from four, to ready them for a very important period for the club over Christmas.
As for it being a 3rd team Tigers unit: Feck off, it is just a frickin awesome squad! Rabeni back and the returning international players coupled with punchy White boy will result in the Tigers being up there at the business end of the season. Their defence and chance taking on the night was just too much for LI, and fair play to them.
Team:
Flutey, Staniforth, Penney, Catt, Bishop, Everitt, Willis,
Hatley, Coetzee, Rautenbach, Casey, Kennedy, Roche, Danaher, Murphy.
Subs:
Collins, Russell, Skuse, Strudwick, Leguizamon, Hodgson, Horak.
-- Master Scribe