Send Away the Tigers - with no points, if poss.
By Griff February 15 2008
Halfway through the season and halfway up the league. Sunday's home fixture against Leicester Tigers looks to really set-up the second half of the season. With both teams finding a bit of form recently it could be a real hum-dinger. Let's hope we're not using the Tony Hancock phrase come Sunday night.
Halfway through the season and halfway up the league. Sunday's home fixture against Leicester Tigers looks to really set-up the second half of the season. With both teams finding a bit of form recently it could be a real hum-dinger. Let's hope we're not using the Tony Hancock phrase come Sunday night.
The first half of the season was a story of almost-there, Irish lost many fixtures that they really ought to have won. Some of them in heart-breaking circumstcnes. But for a 5 point win at Leeds in the last round and a point being docked by Bristol, Irish would be facing the second half of the season looking up at all bar Leeds and Worcester.
The positives, however, of the first eleven GP fixtures were many. They include holding a clean-sheet against the Falcons, beating top-of-the-table Gloucester, shutting out a rampant Sale Sharks team. All done at newly forged "Fortress Madejski", a marvel bearing in mind that in previous seasons our away form has traditionally been better than home. Only the massively disappointing (and, some say, referee assisted) loss to Bath blots our home GP copy-book. In fact, only Bath and Quins have taken anything away from the Madejski at all this season, and Quins did so in a competition that neither side seemed to care about.
Considering that Irish have played 6 away from their 11 GP games, things are looking reasonably positive for the second half of the season. Bolstered by a great run in the HC and with more Exiles than ever before representing their countries at varying levels in the Six Nations, London Irish can, possibly, be looking at making in-roads into the top-half of the table. To do so the Irish need to take points from the teams above them.
And so, to Sunday, Leicester Tigers have long been the top of the Premiership. Since the start of professionalism they have been there or thereabouts at the top-level. Rare was the victory against the Tigers. One such rarety was the similar fixture last season where a spirited Irish held their nerve to cling manfully to an early lead - only just - winning 26 - 25 with the Tigers camped on our try-line for most of the final 20 minutes.
If Irish were to repeat the feat it would place them in a great position to worry the lower half of the top of the table, a loss would leave us scrapping with the mid-table group for the final top-six place.
The team news is good for Irish, Kieran Roche is back fit, as is talismanic world-cup winning player-coach Mike Catt MBE (37) and his Padawan Shane Geraghty. In fact reports are that all the squad is in peak physical condition following their mid-term boot-camp in Wexford. It sounded hellish but the boys are reportedly in good spirits and shape. The only fly-in-the-ointment in the Exiles camp is Declan Danaher having a forced rest due to being adjudged guilty of stamping in the HC game in Treviso.
Tigers, on the other hand have a couple of notable absences. Julian White and Seru Rabeni missing the fixtutre through citings (White for punching against Leinster and Rabeni for an off-the-ball tackle against Newcastle) however their squad offers plenty of top-drawer replacements. With Andy Goode now topping the GP scoring-list and Tom Varndell topping the try-scorers Irish will have to have their best defence game in action.
In twenty two previous meetings Irish have only won five. Four of those, however, were at home. Tigers have won eight of the last nine meetings and six from their last seven GP matches (including the last four on the trot). Last week saw a disciplined Tigers team hold their nerve at Kingsholm showing the size of the task for the Exiles.
London Irish Team:
15. Peter Hewat; 14. Topsy Ojo; 13. Delon Armitage; 12. Shane Geraghty*; 11. Sailosi Tagicakibau*; 10. Eoghan Hickey; 9. Paul Hodgson; 1.Tonga Lea’aetoa*; 2. David Paice, 3. Faan Rautenbach*; 4. Nick Kennedy; 5. Bob Casey* (captain); 6. Kieran Roche; 7. Steffon Armitage; 8.Richard Thorpe.
Replacements:
16. Dan Murphy; 17.Danie Coetzee*; 18. Richard Skuse; 19. James Hudson; 20. Phil Murphy*; 21. Warren Fury; 22. Mike Catt*.
* Denotes international
Leicester Tigers Team:
15. Geordan Murphy; 14. Johne Murphy; 13. Ayoola Erinle; 12. Ollie Smith; 11. Tom Varndell; 10. Andy Goode; 9. Christophe Laussucq; 1. Boris Stankovich; 2. Benjamin Kayser; 3. Martin Castrogiovanni; 4. James Hamilton; 5. Ben Kay; 6. Tom Croft; 7. Ben Herring; 8. Martin Corry (c)
Replacements:
16. George Chuter; 17. Alex Moreno; 18. Brett Deacon; 19. Jordan Crane; 20. Frank Murphy; 21. Ian Humphreys; 22. Dan Hipkiss
The positives, however, of the first eleven GP fixtures were many. They include holding a clean-sheet against the Falcons, beating top-of-the-table Gloucester, shutting out a rampant Sale Sharks team. All done at newly forged "Fortress Madejski", a marvel bearing in mind that in previous seasons our away form has traditionally been better than home. Only the massively disappointing (and, some say, referee assisted) loss to Bath blots our home GP copy-book. In fact, only Bath and Quins have taken anything away from the Madejski at all this season, and Quins did so in a competition that neither side seemed to care about.
Considering that Irish have played 6 away from their 11 GP games, things are looking reasonably positive for the second half of the season. Bolstered by a great run in the HC and with more Exiles than ever before representing their countries at varying levels in the Six Nations, London Irish can, possibly, be looking at making in-roads into the top-half of the table. To do so the Irish need to take points from the teams above them.
And so, to Sunday, Leicester Tigers have long been the top of the Premiership. Since the start of professionalism they have been there or thereabouts at the top-level. Rare was the victory against the Tigers. One such rarety was the similar fixture last season where a spirited Irish held their nerve to cling manfully to an early lead - only just - winning 26 - 25 with the Tigers camped on our try-line for most of the final 20 minutes.
If Irish were to repeat the feat it would place them in a great position to worry the lower half of the top of the table, a loss would leave us scrapping with the mid-table group for the final top-six place.
The team news is good for Irish, Kieran Roche is back fit, as is talismanic world-cup winning player-coach Mike Catt MBE (37) and his Padawan Shane Geraghty. In fact reports are that all the squad is in peak physical condition following their mid-term boot-camp in Wexford. It sounded hellish but the boys are reportedly in good spirits and shape. The only fly-in-the-ointment in the Exiles camp is Declan Danaher having a forced rest due to being adjudged guilty of stamping in the HC game in Treviso.
Tigers, on the other hand have a couple of notable absences. Julian White and Seru Rabeni missing the fixtutre through citings (White for punching against Leinster and Rabeni for an off-the-ball tackle against Newcastle) however their squad offers plenty of top-drawer replacements. With Andy Goode now topping the GP scoring-list and Tom Varndell topping the try-scorers Irish will have to have their best defence game in action.
In twenty two previous meetings Irish have only won five. Four of those, however, were at home. Tigers have won eight of the last nine meetings and six from their last seven GP matches (including the last four on the trot). Last week saw a disciplined Tigers team hold their nerve at Kingsholm showing the size of the task for the Exiles.
London Irish Team:
15. Peter Hewat; 14. Topsy Ojo; 13. Delon Armitage; 12. Shane Geraghty*; 11. Sailosi Tagicakibau*; 10. Eoghan Hickey; 9. Paul Hodgson; 1.Tonga Lea’aetoa*; 2. David Paice, 3. Faan Rautenbach*; 4. Nick Kennedy; 5. Bob Casey* (captain); 6. Kieran Roche; 7. Steffon Armitage; 8.Richard Thorpe.
Replacements:
16. Dan Murphy; 17.Danie Coetzee*; 18. Richard Skuse; 19. James Hudson; 20. Phil Murphy*; 21. Warren Fury; 22. Mike Catt*.
* Denotes international
Leicester Tigers Team:
15. Geordan Murphy; 14. Johne Murphy; 13. Ayoola Erinle; 12. Ollie Smith; 11. Tom Varndell; 10. Andy Goode; 9. Christophe Laussucq; 1. Boris Stankovich; 2. Benjamin Kayser; 3. Martin Castrogiovanni; 4. James Hamilton; 5. Ben Kay; 6. Tom Croft; 7. Ben Herring; 8. Martin Corry (c)
Replacements:
16. George Chuter; 17. Alex Moreno; 18. Brett Deacon; 19. Jordan Crane; 20. Frank Murphy; 21. Ian Humphreys; 22. Dan Hipkiss
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StumbleuponRe: Send Away the Tigers - with no points, if poss.
Posted by: Griff (IP Logged)
Date: 2008:02:15:12:20:13
Anybody thinking we're only publishing a match preview so as not to fall-foul of the 14 day rule on SN may be entirely acurate...
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