Tigers Vs Clermont at Welford Road

[FKAS]

STARTING XV
15 Freddie Steward [49]
14 Chris Ashton [5]
13 Matías Moroni [28]
12 Dan Kelly [41]
11 Harry Potter [34]
10 George Ford [121]
9 Jack van Poortvliet [43]
1 Ellis Genge (c) [103]
2 Nic Dolly [20]
3 Joe Heyes [94]
4 Harry Wells [148]
5 Eli Snyman [17]
6 Ollie Chessum [25]
7 Tommy Reffell [70]
8 Hanro Liebenberg (vc) [51]

REPLACEMENTS
16 Charlie Clare [45]
17 Francois van Wyk [15]
18 Dan Cole [282]
19 Calum Green [84]
20 Jasper Wiese [37]
21 Ben Youngs [275]
22 Freddie Burns [95]
23 Matt Scott [43]

CLERMONT: 15 Cheikh Tiberghien, 14 Marvin O'Connor, 13 George Moala, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Baptiste Jauneau; 1 Giorgi Beria, 2 Yohan Beheregaray (c), 3 Christian Ojovan, 4 Thibaud Lanen, 5 Miles Amatosero, 6 Clement Lanen, 7 Lucas Dessaigne, 8 Fritz Lee

16 Etienne Fourcade, 17 Daniel Bibi Biziwu, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Paul Jedrasiak, 20 Judicaël Cancoriet, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 John Joseph Hanrahan, 23 Samuel Ezeala

No power winger for Tigers, I'm expecting Ford and JVP to try and pin Clermont in there half and then look to force errors as they try and play out.

[Puja]

Disappointed that Chessum's not getting another go at 4, but aside from that, a very pleasing team. Enough rotation to keep people fresh and keep everyone interested in the run-in, but also taking Clermont very seriously. Good to see JVP and Heyes keep their places on merit - they'll want to back their performances up from the away leg and stake a claim for the end of season big games.

Puja

[FKAS]

Agree in Chessum but with the rotation Borthwick wanted I think he was a touch limited with Martin being injured. There's a bit of impact on the Tigers bench but it is nice to see Heyes and JVp retained.

[Puja]

Both Chessum and Kelly have gone down injured - knee and hamstring respectively. Kelly was carried off, but Chessum's still playing despite a pronounced limp. I don't see the point - we're 23 points up on aggregate, so just take him off!

Puja

[Puja]

Second try - now 44-13 on aggregate. It's time to bring Ford, Heyes, and Genge off. No need to risk any more injuries.

Puja

[FKAS]

The officials have been fecking useless today. TMO says "direct contact shoulder to head" despite clear evidence the initial contact is shoulder then riding up. Lack of consistency is just fucking ridiculous.

Chessum should no better and go lower though.

[badback]

Potter looks good

[fivepointer]

Job done by Tigers. No drama, they did what they needed to do and were never in any difficulty.
Kelly's injury is concerning. Looked like a tear, so he could be out for months.
Chessum copped a dull red. He'll miss a few weeks so its not the end of the world.

[Puja]

The officials have been fecking useless today. TMO says "direct contact shoulder to head" despite clear evidence the initial contact is shoulder then riding up. Lack of consistency is just fucking ridiculous.

Chessum should no better and go lower though.

I've got far less sympathy for Chessum than I did for Porter, despite his being by far the more marginal red. He had ample opportunity to go low and absolutely melt the Clermont player into touch and he just didn't, whether through iffy technique or exhaustion - either way it's a work-on for him. Wouldn't necessarily be the end of the world for him to have a ban - 1 Prem match missed, 1 Prem Cup match that he wouldn't've played in and 1 tackling course which might actually be of help to him.

Puja

[FKAS]

Potter looks good

Some might say magic.

[FKAS]

The officials have been fecking useless today. TMO says "direct contact shoulder to head" despite clear evidence the initial contact is shoulder then riding up. Lack of consistency is just fucking ridiculous.

Chessum should no better and go lower though.

I've got far less sympathy for Chessum than I did for Porter, despite his being by far the more marginal red. He had ample opportunity to go low and absolutely melt the Clermont player into touch and he just didn't, whether through iffy technique or exhaustion - either way it's a work-on for him. Wouldn't necessarily be the end of the world for him to have a ban - 1 Prem match missed, 1 Prem Cup match that he wouldn't've played in and 1 tackling course which might actually be of help to him.

Puja

Yeah his tackle technique wasn't good enough but I still expect the TMO to be able to actually look at the evidence in front of her eyes and give the referee an accurate description. It's a fairly low bar in terms of competency. Just say what you see, my toddler can do that.

Chessum probably needs the next week/two games off anyway after the Clermont double header where he was generally outstanding.

Agree with the comments on Kelly his injury is a real blow. Scott and Moroni isn't a bad centre combination thankfully but the way his hamstring went guessing that could be serious.

Tigers played well today but don't think we every really got out of third gear. Very much cruised through despite Clermont being well up for it.

[Puja]

Potter looks good

Some might say magic.

But we won't, as it's a cheap joke that was overused by commentary within his first five minutes as a Premiership player.

Speaking of Potter, how has Healey got it into his head that he was a 7s player? He referenced it about four times in commentary, "Ah, he's got that from Sevens, those are the skills that you have to develop in that game," but I'm not aware that Potter's ever really played Sevens? Am I wrong or is Healey confused?

Puja

[badback]

Potter looks good

Some might say magic.

Heard Healey make that joke!

[padprop]

Potter looks good

Some might say magic.

But we won't, as it's a cheap joke that was overused by commentary within his first five minutes as a Premiership player.

Speaking of Potter, how has Healey got it into his head that he was a 7s player? He referenced it about four times in commentary, "Ah, he's got that from Sevens, those are the skills that you have to develop in that game," but I'm not aware that Potter's ever really played Sevens? Am I wrong or is Healey confused?

Puja

Quidditch has 7 players….

I’ll get my cape.

[twitchy]

Well done tigers.

[Mellsblue]

I’ll get my cape.

[Puja]

[Scrumhead]

Job done by Tigers. No drama, they did what they needed to do and were never in any difficulty.
Kelly's injury is concerning. Looked like a tear, so he could be out for months.
Chessum copped a dull red. He'll miss a few weeks so its not the end of the world.

Real shame for Kelly. I’d hoped to see him on the Summer Tour with England.

Did I also hear Montoya was on crutches after the game?

[Mr Mwenda]

So a premiership club breaks another player who might solve a recurring selection issue...

[FKAS]

So a premiership club breaks another player who might solve a recurring selection issue...

Makes a change from England breaking them.

[Puja]

Job done by Tigers. No drama, they did what they needed to do and were never in any difficulty.
Kelly's injury is concerning. Looked like a tear, so he could be out for months.
Chessum copped a dull red. He'll miss a few weeks so its not the end of the world.

Real shame for Kelly. I’d hoped to see him on the Summer Tour with England.

Did I also hear Montoya was on crutches after the game?

Mind, hamstring tears vary wildly and he did come straight off rather than aggravating it, so it's entirely possible he could be back within the month. Of course, with the patented Borthwick Injury Blackout, we'll not know anything about this until he's abruptly named in a XXIII with no warning.

Puja

[Timbo]

I’m pessimistic about the severity of Kelly’s injury tbh. Was worrying that he held high on the back of his leg just under his arse. Suggests it could well be a proximal hamstring tear, which would leave him out for quite a few months. Worst case would involve a rupture around the tendon and can involve bone fracture. Relatively easy to repair with surgery, but it’s a long rehab process.

[32nd Man]

So Rugby Rebels breaks another player who might solve a recurring selection issue by mentioning their name ..

Ftfy.

Seriously, we need to have a long hard think about our track record here.

[Mellsblue]

So Rugby Rebels breaks another player who might solve a recurring selection issue by mentioning their name ..

Ftfy.

Seriously, we need to have a long hard think about our track record here.

He’s not the messiah, he’s a very injured boy.

[Puja]

Chessum banned for 4 games (or 3+1 if he does the coaching course) after deciding to contest the red card decision. Very poorly advised on that one - I can see why he might try and argue the case, but it's just not worth it as that was never going to be overturned. However, with the Prem Cup semi, he's basically got 2 weeks off and will be back for the Leinster game, assuming he takes the course. Not the end of the world.

Puja