Leicester Tigers
Where's The Sunscreen?
By ChrisC
October 6 2010
So off to the sunshine of Italy, where the forecast for Saturday is for a partly cloudy day with just a 20% chance of rain and at 19 degrees slightly cooler than forecast for here. Tigers meet Treviso in the first round of the only bona fide competition left in our beleaguered sport and as such one that I think is the Tigers’ target in the 2010/11 season.
Having been acclaimed as Champions of the domestic league for two consecutive years there’s really nothing left to prove at home so it must be at the top of the still to do list of the current management and players to get the European silverware they should have got in the final against Leinster.
If I harboured any doubts about this strategy they were dispelled when I saw the team sent to Vicarage Road last Sunday with the management withdrawing so many key players from the match day 22.
Of course some areas had per force to have the first choice players in situ as the first choice are the only choice!
But clearly the Tigers’ resources are being husbanded for the European competition.
Down at Vicarage Road it was good to see that Mr Poite was having none of this Leagunion nonsense and we had a good old fashioned game of rugby union, with scrummaging, well from Tigers anyway, contesting for the ball and a good measure of discipline.
If this is to be the approach of the continental referees the European Cup should be “interesting” as the French and Italian teams could be playing Union while the English teams will be playing Leagunion. Johnny Foreigner will love the English teams being hesitant at the breakdown and I guess that referee analysis will be a big part of this week’s preparation.
As French referees will be permitting a contest for the ball while the English teams won’t be offering any competition but then when the Celtic nations are playing each other or the French the English referee will spend all afternoon blowing his whistle as he’ll be playing his version of the laws and the players’ there’s.
All rather reminds me of the English attitude to EU regulations; where our Civil Service gilt edge them, bring them into law and furiously enforce them. Elsewhere in the EU the denizens shrug, smile and take absolutely no notice of the rules or as an Italian colleague once said to me when I queried the Italian habit of pocketing set-aside grants but instead of leaving the land fallow grew the crop anyway and stored the product until they could sell it. He smiled compassionately, patted me on the shoulder and said “Ah you English you so love your regulations”
Oh dear!
The Tigers set piece was in good shape in Watford on Sunday and the ostensibly rotational front row just destroyed Saracens, it was only when Nieto made his belated appearance that the home side achieved some equilibrium but by then a penalty try had been conceded, Venter was apoplectic and Wayne Barnes got a sore ear.
The new look back row was clumsy and disorganised though and at half back, for all the efforts of the much improved Billy Twelvetrees, who played admirably flat on the gain line and had Youngs been at 9 then it would have been fine but from the service afforded him by the conservative Grindal, who was characteristically slow in his delivery, the backs couldn’t get much go forward but in his favour the scrum half was magnificent in defence.
Amorosino gives me palpitations in defence and Agulla looked the starting debutante he was while Hamilton was his usual consistent self in both attack and defence. It’s hard to think of a better signing for the Tigers’ backs in recent times.
Of course I expect to see the best available Tigers’ team selected for the trip to bella Italia as I hope that the Italian side are not underestimated.
Now I have to admit that researching Treviso ain’t easy as their website is very tricky to use and the only video footage I can find appears to have been shot with a mobile phone through a pea –souper.
Treviso of course now play their rugby in the Magners League which, while largely featuring sides somewhat below the quality of those the Celtic provinces put out for the Heineken Cup, rather in the same way it attracts miniscule crowds which quadruple for European matches and then drift back into the foggy mists of the bogs and marshes in a manner reminiscent of the Michael Jackson Thriller video, is giving them better opposition than hitherto and they are outperforming the new Aironi Rugby who are anchored at the bottom of the league.
Coincidentally Treviso are currently also in mid table at sixth in the Magners just as are Tigers in the Premiership.
Treviso’s last outing was at home against the Newport-Gwent Dragons who they beat 20 – 13.
Against the Welsh outfit Treviso international Lorenzo Cittadini, joined skipper Ghiraldini, who led Italy in the 2010 Six Nations and veteran Ignacio Rouyet who was replaced just after half time by Pedro diSanto. The Italians love to scrummage and have a highly effective experienced front row who Tigers’ Castrogiovanni will know only too well. Tigers will need to be at their best but with the kind of form they’re in at the moment they look unstoppable, especially given the strength in depth to come off the bench later but as the Italian club have players such as Sbaraglini in reserve this won’t be a walk in the park.
In the second row flanker Enrico Pavenello started at lock with South African born Cornelius van Zyl who played against Tigers in the 2008/9 competition and if Tigers’ maintain their progress in this department with young Slater and Skivington looking to be developing a good partnership and supporting Tom Croft I’d expect them to hold their own.
In the breakaway unit recent arrival from Petrarca, Italian international Paul Derbyshire, who was in South Africa on Italy’s tour this Summer, will probably start with Canadian Robert Barberi and another new boy, this time from Parma, Fijian born Manoa Vosawai who’s European exposure has been limited to the second tier thus far and may lose his place to the Italy international Alessandro Zanni who is a strong ball carrier and of course Will Johnson remains on the Treviso squad list.
This doesn’t look to be an area where Tigers’ Woods, Waldrom and Croft should find themselves in too much difficulty and so I would expect there to be a degree of dominance from the Tigers’ pack and that Treviso’s international scrum half, Simon Picone may find himself exposed and under pressure from the Tigers’ back row unit and Ben Youngs.
From the footage I’ve seen the Treviso defence is poor around the breakdown and the Tigers’ backrow with Youngs could have field day.
Tigers’ continue to seek answers to their dearth of resources at Fly half and with Twelvetrees improved performance last Sunday and the absence of a realistic option he will face Aussie Kristopher Burton who scored against Dragons with a try and a drop goal, from what I could see from the footage the Brisbane born #10 looks a sparky individual with a good boot so he’ll take all the watching and the vastly experienced Marius Goosen is also still around at Treviso.
Andrew Vilk was at inside centre last weekend and we will remember him for his time at Saints and his exploits in the England sevens side back in 2006 when he played alongside Tom Varndell in the side that won a Silver Medal in the Commonwealth Games. He left Saints back at the end of the 2005/6 season and is still pacey with the step of a sevens player.
The ex Saint lined up with another international; Ezio Galon who like Vilk is more usually found out on the wing which is where he was when he played against Tigers back in 2009.
This looks a quick centre combination and Matt Smith with Dan Hipkiss will have to be aware of the potential challenge down the 10/12 channel in particular where Twelvetrees can leave gaps on his outside shoulder as he moves forward as a moth drawn to a flame.
I expect to see Ludovico Nitoglia give way to Joe Maddock, the ex Bath try scoring machine assuming the Kiwi is fit and for him to link up with Benjamin De Jager who has himself scored 35 tries in European competitions.
At full back the classy Luke McLean was replaced by South African Tobia Botes who usually plays 9/10 but if he’s fit I’d expect to see Mclean replace him.
The Treviso back three have plenty of pace and know the way to the try line but with Hamilton in such great form and Alex Tuilagi seemingly rediscovering his mojo against Leeds then I think that under the guidance of a freshened Geordan Murpy they’ll be too much for a Treviso back division likely to be short of ball and with the potential to leak tries.
This has to be a five point win for Tigers for if it’s otherwise they’ll already have to be looking at the end of European glory for another year and of course Treviso will have a similar view if they lose so they’ll be busting a gut – could be very competitive for 60 minutes
But I think Tigers will do what’s needed and come home with five points.
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COME ON YOU TIGERRRRRSSSssssssss
Isn't the ginger Garcia a treviso player? He's quite handy at 12.
TC
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