FalconsRugby.org.uk - Leicester 83

Leicester 83 - Falcons 10. Report

By Leipziger, pics by Monkey1
February 22 2005
Record Defeat and Pure Humiliation I shouldn’t have mentioned our record loss 11 years ago at Leicester coming into this game, it probably inspired the Tigers to beat it.

And it was broken, like our hearts, as Leicester ran in ELEVEN tries, converted the lot and scored three penalties to all but end our playoff hopes for this season. 10 points for ourselves was no consolation for Leicester’s 83.

The writing had been on the wall during the week before, with Stuart Grimes “rested”, David Walder a replacement in favour of Mark Wilkinson and Toby Flood and Craig Hamilton and Phil Dowson benched, while Geoff Parling was thrown into the bear-pit for his first Premiership start. Leicester played Martin Corry and Graham Rowntree, as well as England hopeful Ollie Smith and still world class ex-internationals Neil Back and Martin Johnson, with Harry Ellis, Lewis Moody and Geordan Murphy on the bench. Hopefully our boys had come to the Midlands to play, not just lose by the lowest deficit possible.

Leicester were first on the scoreboard when referee Tony Spreadbury penalised them for a forward pass five metres out before changing his mind and giving the hosts a penalty for offside. He then moved the ball inside to right in front of the posts, much to Luke Gross and Ian Peel’s bemusement. Andy Goode kicked the points. We then had an intense spell of pressure in the Leicester half, but wasted three chances from lineouts – Mark Mayerhofler being turned over, Mathew Tait refusing to pass to two players outside him against one defender, and then a forward pass. It was however our Kiwi centre who did find a way through from close range for the opening try, which Tom May converted. From the kick-off Parling took a lineout and Wilkinson cleared far and high. 3-7, could we keep it up for another 70 minutes?

Mayerhofler touches down

Tom converts

Parling gets the line & away

These were the last pictures, see end of report.

In a word, no. After 15 minutes Austin Healey spotted a gap to the left of the posts to score, and Goode converted. Their second followed soon after courtesy of Ollie Smith, after we lost a lineout, which until then had worked perfectly. Again Goode added the extra points. Daryl Gibson was next to go over from a scrum after a dreadful cross-field kick from Wilkinson went dead, and though May momentarily reduced the deficit with a penalty, Smith secured Leicester’s bonus point, and Goode’s second penalty to add to his four conversions meant a half time score of 34-10.

The second 40 were even worse. Within six minutes, both Leon Lloyd and man of the match Henry Tuilagi had scored converted tries, and when we had the chance to get some points back, Mayerhofler dropped the ball in front of the posts and we got nothing.

The Tigers’ seventh score came from a driving maul, who else but Neil Back getting the touch down. Replacement Will Johnson and Back again added further scores, and Goode kept up his perfect kicking record, converting the lot, and Back’s second brought the score to 69-10, already our heaviest ever league defeat. And there were still 10 minutes to go.

The last period seemed to last forever at freezing Welford Road, as Geordan Murphy’s run down the left evaded weak Newcastle tackles for the tenth try, and Lloyd finished the day with his second, Goode again converting both.

After an inexplicable two minutes of injury time, Spreadbury decided to bring our misery and humiliation to an end.

And so we trooped off home with no recognition from the players and an almighty depression. Even the majority of fans who expected a defeat wouldn’t have expected that! It is amazing to think we played so well in the first quarter, yet after that Leicester just couldn’t stop scoring.

Were we concentrating on next week’s home game? Maybe, but that is a very dangerous as Gloucester at home will also be a very difficult game and we will still be without Grimes and probably Noon too. We needed our big players today, yet we fielded a team less than the best available away to the league leaders. Suicide, and if the team did give up after Healey’s try, as it seemed and was also suggested by the lack of replacements (bar Long) and new ideas at half time, then they owe all their supporters at Welford Road today an apology. And Sale and Wasps too, Leicester’s title rivals. I suspect however, orders came from the top. If so, the management let the fans, the club, and themselves down.

So, in the Premiership we are now sixth again, with six games to go. Fourth place is still a possibility as Bath and Gloucester still have to come north, but we will not get into the top three, and our two away games are at the league’s bottom sides so all six are winnable. 4-5 wins should secure a Heineken place for next season, but though we must be looking to win all six, we must immediately focus on next week’s hosting of Gloucester and completely atone for the disgraceful performance today. And get David Walder and Craig Hamilton back in the team.

The many pictures taken of the rest of the game are lost due to the incompetence of the photographer. Some more photos of the first 20 minutes or so follow: