Tigers v Quins AP Semi-Final Match Preview

By ChrisC
May 6 2013

Sealed with a Kiss. Wimpy and chips were all very well but began to pall when they became my staple lunchtime diet after I’d started work. Even we office boys squirting the contents of crusty topped tomato shaped sauce containers at each other had its limitations as a source (sorry!) of entertainment and ceased to be amusing as yet another post lunch visit to the toilets was called for in an attempt to wash off the evidence of the misdeeds of the preceding hour.

Tuesdays and Thursdays though were a different matter, these were the days we went hungry, instead spending the precious hour dancing at the nearby Lyceum Ballroom.

In the early 1960s the famous old theatre, which had opened almost one hundred and thirty years earlier, having its hey-day under the aegis of impresario Henry Irving in the late nineteenth century, had become a pop music venue for live bands and home to our beloved lunch time “bops”. It was heady stuff. The resident DJ played all the top tunes and of course there were lots and lots of girls.

As we listened to; Frank Ifield, Acker Bilk, Cliff Richard, Elvis, Chubby Checker, Ray Charles, Pat Boone, Helen Shapiro and so many other solo acts little did we realise just twelve months later the charts would have changed out of all recognition with The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Searchers, Billy J Kramer & the Dakotas, Brian Poole & the Tremeloes and the other groups holding sway. A seismic change having taken place.

The second time I visited the “Lye” I met a girl called Penny and thereafter we would meet up twice a week to dance. Her favourite song was Brian Hyland’s “Sealed with a Kiss” and the words were apposite to our last meeting under the Lyceum’s glitter ball when she told me that she had a new job and this would be her last visit to the “Lye” for a while as she needed to settle in at the new place, which was near Victoria.

“I don't want to say goodbye for the summer
Knowing the love we'll miss
Oh let us make a pledge to meet in September
And seal it with a kiss”

Which we did and I promised to be at the “Lye” when she returned but I too moved jobs, so we never met again but I still think of pretty Penny, with her long hair dark hair, whenever I hear the long forgotten hit even if it’s the version recorded by Jason Donovan many years later and wonder if, on a Tuesday or Thursday, she’d returned to the “Lye”.

And so the Premiership has also said goodbye for the summer with Saracens finishing top after twenty-two rounds of competition and congratulations to them for their achievement. In the sixteen seasons since the inaugural Premiership just seven clubs have topped the league; Quins, Saracens, Sale, Bath, Gloucester, Newcastle and of course Tigers who’ve topped the pile on eight occasions, the nearest to them being Gloucester with three triumphant seasons.

Twelve months ago it was Harlequins who’d proved themselves the best league team in England before going on to beat Tigers in the end of season knock out cup. Quins were only the third club to win the knock out cup and the league in the same season, the others being Sale and of course Tigers who have managed it on three occasions since the misbegotten competition was visited upon us in the 2000/01 season when Tigers managed their first “double”.

Last Saturday the contests involving the top four teams were pretty regulation as far as their outcomes were concerned and so Saracens will meet Northampton at Allianz Park where Tigers’ near neighbours will have to be far more accurate than they were against Quins, the Saints looking, at times, as if they’d just met for the first time at Scratchwood Services. They had their strategy right but not its execution.

Quins on the other hand, after getting the rub of the green from Mr Wigglesworth, scored after a mistake from Ben Foden permitted the ever predatory Tom Williams to pounce on the kindly bounce of the ball from a speculative kick through from Danny Care.

Rob Buchanan then popped the ball against the base of a Saints’ goal post after a splendid bullocking run though the visitors’ defence. Tom Casson got a third after he was handed the ball by Williams. I thought it looked as if the ball had been passed marginally forward. The self same move but between Tigers’ Tait and Thompstone had been executed against Bath a fortnight earlier. On that occasion the self same Mr Wigglesworth referred the pass to the TMO who disallowed Thompstone’s try but this time, in precisely the same circumstances, he declined to even check – mind you who expects referees to be consistent? Oh and offence de jour was “holding on in the tackle”.

At the same time Tigers were meeting up with London Irish at Welford Road. Brian Smith’s charges, although being possessed of no little talent, had seemingly decided that rather than use the occasion to showpiece just why they deserve to be in the Premiership put on a show of spiteful, negative play of which the nadir was Darren Allinson’s kick, which must have been in full view of the touch judge and referee Luke Pearce, to the unprotected head of Geordan Murphy. It was as clear a Red Card as one is likely to see but the youthful Mr Pearce, who looks as if he could be employed instructing Under 10s how to make clever things out of sticky-back-plastic on Blue Peter, awarded just a penalty. He must then have seen the incident so why didn’t he sanction it in an appropriate fashion?

Then of course he didn’t sanction, other than in passing, the visitors playing most of the match offside and the massive disparity in penalties racked up by London Irish received nothing more than a mild rebuke.

Tigers never looked as if they were in danger of losing although it is alarming how whenever Tony Allen is removed from the action Tigers’ defence looks uncertain.

So in a reprise of last year’s final of the knockout cup Quins will visit Welford Road to play Tigers against whom, after many barren years, they have lately built up a good record by emerging victorious from their last three meetings. The first was last year’s final, the second when they comprehensively dismantled Tigers at Welford Road last September before Tigers, severely depleted by the Lancaster circus, lost at the Stoop by just four points back in February.

Quins had a hard time against the Saints’ pack but evetually achieved a degree of parity and although he went well I suspect that Joe Gray will get a start between Marler and Saracens bound Johnstone ahead of Rob Buchanan if only because his throwing to line out is steadier than that of the Hong Kong born hooker, who was splendid around the field last Saturday along with both his front row colleagues who pummelled away at the heart of the Saints’ defence.

Quins appeared to have set their stall out to play a narrow and very direct style but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them broaden their attack against Tigers in spite of the confines of the Welford Road pitch.

Tigers gave Martin Castrogiovanni possibly his last start at Welford Road as I expect to see Dan Cole in the tight-head berth come 3pm next Saturday. I suspect Joe Marler will breathe another sigh of relief to once again not see Marcos Ayreza glowering at him from Tigers’ front row, the Argentinean also absent when the tonsorially extravagant Marler’s team were victorious at Welford Road last Autumn. Mulipola looks sure to be starting on the loose-head with maybe Boris Stankovitch, who’s back in full training after surgery, in the wings. Of course the option remains for Castrogiovanni to be opposing Marler as the Italian international played several of his early matches for Tigers in the #1 shirt even though Ayerza was also with Tigers at the time.

British Lion elect Tom Youngs will surely complete a good all international front row for the home side which, at Welford Road, will stand an excellent chance of gaining an advantage over the visitors although it will as ever depend on the referee (it can’t be Wayne Barnes again can it?) and his ability or willingness to correctly interpret the laws. Maybe he’ll even feel minded to have the props bind legally.

Saints adopted a strategy of loading their line out with jumpers and while the stats won’t show Quins having lost much on their own throw neither will it show how poor was the possession they accrued for much of the time, which led to them struggling to find their usual rhythm even though they had their best line out duo on duty in George Robson and Olly Kohn.

Most rugby teams have “heartbeats” and for me at Quins it’s Black Countryman Robson. He’s untiring, endlessly carrying the ball and doing the real hard bits and pieces that allows his back row to be as effective as they are. When ex Bristol lock Kohn is missing it’s as if the Quins pack has suddenly acquired a two stroke engine such is his influence in the grunt department and so Tigers will need to get their line out strategy and execution strategy spot on.

Master tactician Geoff Parling will again be reading the runes for Tigers and with the reported return to fitness of Ed Slater I wouldn’t be surprised to see him once again partnering another of Tigers’ British Lions. If it’s the case then it’ll be a tough call on Kitchener who was wonderfully athletic against London Irish and I doubt that Cockerill will want to risk Mafi at lock going instead for Slater’s combination of power at the set piece and nimbleness around the pitch.

With Tom Croft, another British Lion, back to his best he’ll be bringing his considerable influence to bear at the line out as well displaying the all court prowess that’s seen him crossing the whitewash since he returned from the injury sustained against Quins last term.

I can’t see Richard Cockerill disrupting the trio that’s started five of the last six matches for the Tigers, which is looking a settled and coherent combination with Crane spreading his wings adding some nice handling to his renowned power and of course Julian Salvi will be salivating at the prospect of righting the perceived wrongs of the previous encounters between the teams. All that’s required is a match official who permits a fair contest at the breakdown.

I guess that if Luke Wallace has a fan club I should be a member. He’s a really impressive traditional open side and at just twenty-one I’m amazed he’s not on Lancaster’s radar as real English open-sides are as rare as an honest banker. I thought he out played the highly rated Tom Wood last weekend and would like to see him try his luck against Salvi. I expect though, if he’s fit, that O’Shea will have Chris Robshaw at open-side. Tom Guest’s work at the breakdown and in defence against Saints was simply outstanding, although I reckon the England skipper at blind-side and Wallace on the open-side would be a good balance.

As we know Stuart Lancaster seems to think only Methuselah is older than Nick Easter and surely, after another great season in Quins’ colours, he should bring an age discrimination case against the RFU. Easter did spend much of last Saturday’s match coming into rucks and mauls from the side and spent so much time offside he should have asked Jim Mallinder for a visitors’ visa but Mr Wigglesworth ignored these indiscretions as he concentrated in an arbitrary manner on his “offence du jour” – do these referees have some kind of Atomic Clock so they can uniformly judge their call of this offence? If they do Mr Wiggleworth’s is broken.

It should be a fascinating contest at the breakdown and one that’s too close to call.

Behind the pack Danny Care is clearly underwhelmed by his exclusion from the Lions but he should look on the bright side, he gets to go the Argentina with England – now what could be better?

He played very well against Saints in spite of the ball not being served to him with silver service for much of the time and, like Ben Youngs, he’s an instinctive scrum half. Both he and Youngs have points to prove and axes to grind so this will be another feisty confrontation behind two closely matched packs. Both will need to be judicious and accurate with their box kicking.

If George Robson is the heartbeat of Quins then Nick Evans is the lungs. He dictates the pace and direction like a rugby version of compatriot Sir William Southgate and yet again it’ll be interesting to see the All Black and spurned British Lion candidate Toby Flood probing and prodding at each other.

Different in execution but similarly astute both will need to be on top kicking form as any misses from the tee could be ruinously costly as I sense points will be hard to come by.

As Turner-Hall wasn’t even in the Quins’ match day squad for the visit of Saints I’m assuming he was either injured or that O’Shea felt that the somewhat silkier skills of the Mancunian and erstwhile Saracen Tom Casson, who’s scored four tries from his thirteen starts this term, were better suited to face the hard charging Burrell who made headway a few times down the Quins’ 10/12 channel. With Tony Allen sure to be in Tigers’ #12 shirt it may be that Quins will feel that, assuming he’s fit, Londoner Jordan Turner-Hall is likely to get more of a return from the steadfast Allen.

Allen rarely puts a foot wrong and is Tigers’ defensive Napoleon. It was when he limped from the action at the Stoop back in February that things went awry in Tigers’ defence and they stumbled to a close run defeat.

His Achilles Heel has been that he didn’t have a kicking game to speak of but this season I’ve noticed the work he’s obviously put into improving this aspect of his play and had he not been obstructed a delicate chip through last Saturday would have seen him clear.

It may be that Quins will get some change out of Allen but I doubt it and with his ability to repeatedly breach the opposition’s gain line he may be able to release Manu Tuilagi who should get the chance to run at the fleet footed George Lowe who has used his pace to good effect scoring three tries from his fourteen starts this season. Tuilagi though has a 20kgs weight advantage so he’ll take all the stopping.

I think Turner-Hall and Lowe provide the same top class balance in the centres as do Allen and Tuilagi. Perhaps the Tigers’ duo just edging it.

Out wide against London Irish Tigers rang the changes with Morris returning from injury and Goneva getting another chance, replacing Thompstone who was rested as a precautionary measure.

I hope that Thompstone is recovered and that Morris retains his place as with Matt Tait they were developing a good defensive understanding. Geordan Murphy looked injured on Saturday but reports are that he’s fit and if so I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him in a Tigers’ shirt just yet as with Brown, Evans and Care likely to be testing Tait to the full with their kicking I hope that Welford Road’s favourite Irishman has not yet left the building! He may not be needed but it’d be nice to have him on hand.

Tom Williams has been ever present this term making no less than twenty-seven starts and scoring eleven tries. He has great awareness and the predatory nature that wingers require. This has been his best Premiership season for Quins and the rehabilitated Brighton born winger will be looking to end his ninth season with the south west London club on a high.

I often use the term “favourite” and if I had to draw up a list of such players Ugo Monye would be on it.

Now twenty-nine the Islington born winger made his Premiership debut on 13^th September 2003 and has made one hundred and thirty-six league appearances since that debut season when he scored ten tries from seventeen starts.

He’s still arguably the best chaser of restart ball and his decade of experience is like a comfort blanket to his team. Marvellous, just marvellous.

Mike Brown must be delirious at being in his best position at full back after the unhappy experience with England when he looked a fish out of water out on the wing. He completes a very good back three and Tigers will be well advised not to engage in any daft kicking and keep the ball in hand or on the ground otherwise Evans, Brown, Monye and Williams will bring it back with interest.

Close thing this match. Quins have the advantage of results in the recent past being in their favour (although they did experience a very fallow period against Tigers prior to the mini run of favourable outcomes) so Welford Road will hold little fear for them.

To borrow a phrase beloved of our “friends” in the financial services industry which they deploy when an investment goes mammaries skyward: “past performance is not an indicator of future results”

So with this in mind I’m going for a close fought match with the Welford Road factor tipping the balance in favour of the home side – just and I’ll be back for some more mutterings in a couple of weeks.

If I’m wrong though: it’s time to say goodbye for the summer and we’ll meet in September.

Tigers v Quins AP Semi-Final Match Preview

Posted by: TheLeicesterTigers.co.uk (IP Logged)

Date: 06/05/2013 18:10

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:13:17:15:41 by Tiggs.