Leicester Tigers vs Racing 92

[Banquo]

big fck up by nige there

[Digby]

how the fck did they not see that!

and was Nigel entitled to review it? (two phases isnt it?)

(its just gone forward...loooolllll.)

You'd want a word with the touch judge after that, he was right there.

[Banquo]

how the fck did they not see that!

and was Nigel entitled to review it? (two phases isnt it?)

(its just gone forward...loooolllll.)

You'd want a word with the touch judge after that, he was right there.

indeed

[Banquo]

brilliant by williams for at least a sniff.

Croft will be feeling sick

[Peej]

Disallowing that Racing try could be interesting...

[Banquo]

Manu...oh dear.

Tigers were poor, but Racing's defence was very decent.

[Spiffy]

Leicester undone by their own slopping handling and Racing's great defence (fair play to ROG, hardly a legendary defender himself).

[16th man]

Hard not to see Sarries missing out to a team who are able to outplay them at their own game again in the final.

[Peej]

Really? I disagree. I think Sarries go in as favourites. If on song their defence will be able to shut down Carter and they have the temperament to keep cool and take opportunities when they come

[fivepointer]

Pretty dreadful game with far too many errors. In good, dry conditions that was a poor effort by both sides.

Racing defence was very good in fairness.

[Digby]

Masoe looked a class apart out there

[Banquo]

Really? I disagree. I think Sarries go in as favourites. If on song their defence will be able to shut down Carter and they have the temperament to keep cool and take opportunities when they come

Even stevens for me, think Sarries will fancy it at scrum time, and may even have a go at the lineout and maul; on the other hand, the game Racing started with is the one most likely to break sarries down....and Racing wont be in the slightest bit worried by the sarries backs. It'll come down to discipline and goal kicking most likely, assuming Sarries can cope with Machenaud and either slow down ball or defend better than Tigers did. Racing half backs are a different class too.

[Banquo]

Masoe looked a class apart out there

speaks volumes about something....Machenaud was also impressive first half and Carter barely put a foot wrong, though clearly below peak fitness.

[Oakboy]

Manu...oh dear.

Tigers were poor, but Racing's defence was very decent.

Two semi-finals, two stifling defensive wins!

I hope Tuilagi is not injured again. Strapping his knee like that and sending him out to carry on must be questionable in view of his injury record. You'll tell me off, no doubt, but I think Carter and Co demonstrated how to shut Tuilagi out of a game when he plays at 12. He just does not have the subtlety or handling skills at the very top level, IMO. Maybe Mauger can get him there but there's hell of a way to go.

[Timbo]

Masoe looked a class apart out there

speaks volumes about something....Machenaud was also impressive first half and Carter barely put a foot wrong, though clearly below peak fitness.

Masoe was class when fresh, but the longer it went the worse he got. Made a lot of mistakes second half, probably on account of being, like, 45 years old.

My feeling, unless Racing's set piece improves Sarries will strangle them and win. Leicester have had a pretty iffy lineout and scrum for most of the season, and still they had the upper hand today. Sarries will usually make that sort of upper hand count in a pretty big way.

[Banquo]

Manu...oh dear.

Tigers were poor, but Racing's defence was very decent.

Two semi-finals, two stifling defensive wins!

I hope Tuilagi is not injured again. Strapping his knee like that and sending him out to carry on must be questionable in view of his injury record. You'll tell me off, no doubt, but I think Carter and Co demonstrated how to shut Tuilagi out of a game when he plays at 12. He just does not have the subtlety or handling skills at the very top level, IMO. Maybe Mauger can get him there but there's hell of a way to go.

That was a predictable response; he was shut out because Tigers were execrable inside him mainly...and besides, it also showed how worried about him they were, and double teaming him should create space elsewhere.

I'm not 'telling you off'...I'm just asking you to consider an alternative viewpoint from your set in stone model.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Manu...oh dear.

Tigers were poor, but Racing's defence was very decent.

Two semi-finals, two stifling defensive wins!

I hope Tuilagi is not injured again. Strapping his knee like that and sending him out to carry on must be questionable in view of his injury record. You'll tell me off, no doubt, but I think Carter and Co demonstrated how to shut Tuilagi out of a game when he plays at 12. He just does not have the subtlety or handling skills at the very top level, IMO. Maybe Mauger can get him there but there's hell of a way to go.

It was his thigh.

Sorry, but how does that show anything about Manu at 12? How kin quality ball did he get? You really do dislike the bloke don't you.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Manu...oh dear.

Tigers were poor, but Racing's defence was very decent.

Two semi-finals, two stifling defensive wins!

I hope Tuilagi is not injured again. Strapping his knee like that and sending him out to carry on must be questionable in view of his injury record. You'll tell me off, no doubt, but I think Carter and Co demonstrated how to shut Tuilagi out of a game when he plays at 12. He just does not have the subtlety or handling skills at the very top level, IMO. Maybe Mauger can get him there but there's hell of a way to go.

It was his thigh.

Sorry, but how does that show anything about Manu at 12? How much quality ball did he get? You really do dislike the bloke don't you.

[Banquo]

Manu...oh dear.

Tigers were poor, but Racing's defence was very decent.

Two semi-finals, two stifling defensive wins!

I hope Tuilagi is not injured again. Strapping his knee like that and sending him out to carry on must be questionable in view of his injury record. You'll tell me off, no doubt, but I think Carter and Co demonstrated how to shut Tuilagi out of a game when he plays at 12. He just does not have the subtlety or handling skills at the very top level, IMO. Maybe Mauger can get him there but there's hell of a way to go.

It was his thigh.

Sorry, but how does that show anything about Manu at 12? How much quality ball did he get? You really do dislike the bloke don't you.

worth saying twice

[Oakboy]

Two semi-finals, two stifling defensive wins!

I hope Tuilagi is not injured again. Strapping his knee like that and sending him out to carry on must be questionable in view of his injury record. You'll tell me off, no doubt, but I think Carter and Co demonstrated how to shut Tuilagi out of a game when he plays at 12. He just does not have the subtlety or handling skills at the very top level, IMO. Maybe Mauger can get him there but there's hell of a way to go.

It was his thigh.

Sorry, but how does that show anything about Manu at 12? How much quality ball did he get? You really do dislike the bloke don't you.

worth saying twice

I saw strapping below and above the knee in typical figure-of-eight style indicating a physio's desire to support the joint.

[Timbo]

Don't know how additional 'subtlety or ball skills' would have helped Manu today. He tried to generate the go forwards that the pack weren't able to but was very heavily marked. Not to say he wasn't sloppy himself at times, but if Leicester had been able to get on the front foot then Tuilagi would have been an entirely different proposition.

[Banquo]

Don't know how additional 'subtlety or ball skills' would have helped Manu today. He tried to generate the go forwards that the pack weren't able to but was very heavily marked. Not to say he wasn't sloppy himself at times, but if Leicester had been able to get on the front foot then Tuilagi would have been an entirely different proposition.

well yes, he had the ball dumped at his feet by Fonua and Youngs, as I said above, for most of the time inside him everything bar the scrum was going badly. Tigers imo picked the wrong back row for the game they seemed to want to play.

[Timbo]

Don't know how additional 'subtlety or ball skills' would have helped Manu today. He tried to generate the go forwards that the pack weren't able to but was very heavily marked. Not to say he wasn't sloppy himself at times, but if Leicester had been able to get on the front foot then Tuilagi would have been an entirely different proposition.

well yes, he had the ball dumped at his feet by Fonua and Youngs, as I said above, for most of the time inside him everything bar the scrum was going badly. Tigers imo picked the wrong back row for the game they seemed to want to play.

Wrong back row...or just generally lacking top end quality backrowers at the club. Mike Williams and O'Connor were out injured, so maybe they could have made a difference. Beyond that...

[Banquo]

Don't know how additional 'subtlety or ball skills' would have helped Manu today. He tried to generate the go forwards that the pack weren't able to but was very heavily marked. Not to say he wasn't sloppy himself at times, but if Leicester had been able to get on the front foot then Tuilagi would have been an entirely different proposition.

well yes, he had the ball dumped at his feet by Fonua and Youngs, as I said above, for most of the time inside him everything bar the scrum was going badly. Tigers imo picked the wrong back row for the game they seemed to want to play.

Wrong back row...or just generally lacking top end quality backrowers at the club. Mike Williams and O'Connor were out injured, so maybe they could have made a difference. Beyond that...

...start McAffery at 8 for a start- Fonua was just out of his league; play two of Fitzgerald, Croft, Slater with him. Might have helped, but it was the wrong starting selection for how they wanted to play the game, and the guarding at the rucks was poor, as highlighted by the try. So a bit of both from your opening sentences.

[fivepointer]

I did wonder if Manu might have been better employed as a dummy receiver on occasions......just a thought.

I wouldnt be too hard on him. Tigers really lacked fluency and control. Their error count was pretty horrendous and they were up against an unforgiving defence. Scrum aside, where Cole had a really good day, they just didnt perform.