I'm sure he doesn't need to be named for everyone to know who I'm talking about.

Mrs Slacker's black and white Santa hats completed the outfits. We made a lot of noise, more so in the first half than the second, but we didn't taunt the Tiggers as much as we should have. One half-hearted attempt at “One Q in quiet” didn't really take off.

For the lack of sound from the home fans, I blame the announcer at Welford Road – as Toby “is a Geordie” Flood prepared to take a kick, “shh” could be heard over the PA. Clearly the locals think this means be quiet all the time, except with Martin Castrol GTX takes the field.

Anyway, I'm sure a lot more will be said about the tutu, so to the game.

This week, when people haven't been debating the much more important issue of which colours this site should use, some have been wondering whether we should've played a reserve side in Leicester today. Some said yes, save players for Worcester, others said no, a heavy defeat would cause a bigger problem.

In the end we were forced by England to rest Jamie Noon, but the rest of the team didn't consist of many surprises. That's not to say everyone agreed with the starting 15 – I for one would've replaced Noon with Tom Dillon, not Spencer Davey, but that's just me.

Overall, Leicester controlled the match, restricting us to small spells of possession as their backs attacked with pace and forwards with aggression. Our best chance of points in the first half came when the scores were 0-0, Rob Miller kicking a penalty from just inside the home half. It missed, but Hideo was pleased we'd got that close as most Falcons fans continued to expect a thrashing.

Flood knocked over the first points of the game after 20 minutes, the Tiggers choosing to kick a penalty with the Falcons fronting up well in defence. Another former Geordie, Craig Newby, almost scored a try but knocked on on the line, bringing ironic cheers from the away fans.

With Noah and his back-line flowing, Geordan Murphy scored the first try of the game with just a few minutes left in the first half, as we ran out of defenders on the left. Flood converted to give his new team a 10-0 lead at half-time.

Some fans seemed happy with the score so far, after all on paper the two XVs are miles apart in terms of quality. The game isn't played on paper, but so far Leicester were dominating, the only problem for them was our tackling and Newby dropping the ball on the line.

Leicester were much the better side in the second half too, although we did have a spell of possession later on in the game, but made little impression in their 22. Flood knocked over a second penalty before Steve Jones, who had replaced Miller, kicked our first and only points of the day.

Aaron Mauger went over for a second try though from our lost lineout (not the only one of the day), and with the game won Leicester continued to seek more tries. Our defence held firm though, and we even put together little spells of possession later in the half, but couldn't get close enough to threaten to get back into the game.

Leicester's time ran out, and they had to be content with two tries and four points. We have hopefully not picked up any injuries, and probably not suffered a big psychological blow from losing by 40, as might have happened had some fans had their way.

Having got no points out of today's game, and having been bottom at one stage while Worcester were playing Bristol, defeat is not an option against the Warriors next week. We should be able to, since if they can't beat the bottom team at home they logically shouldn't beat the second-bottom team away.

Merry Christmas everyone, see you all on Saturday – with some normal clothes on please!

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