RugbyRebels

STARTING XV
15 Bryce Hegarty [3] *
14 Harry Potter [22] *
13 Guy Porter [26] *
12 Matt Scott [31]
11 Hosea Saumaki [3] *
10 George Ford [114]
9 Jack van Poortvliet [29] *
1 Ellis Genge (c) [96]
2 Nic Dolly [9] *
3 Joe Heyes [81]
4 Ollie Chessum [17] *
5 Calum Green [69]
6 George Martin [24] *
7 Tommy Reffell [56]
8 Jasper Wiese [24] *

REPLACEMENTS
16 Charlie Clare [35]
17 James Whitcombe [9] *
18 Dan Cole [273]
19 Harry Wells [134]
20 Marco van Staden [5] *
21 Richard Wigglesworth [21]
22 Juan Pablo Socino [4]
23 Kini Murimurivalu [28]

* Heineken Champions Cup debut

Bordeaux-Bègles: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Federico Mori, 13 Jean-Baptiste Dubié, 12 Yoram Falatea-Moefana, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Maxime Lucu; 1 Jefferson Poirot (c), 2 Clement Maynadier, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 4 Kane Douglas, 5 Thomas Jolmes, 6 Cameron Woki, 7 Bastien Vergnes, 8 Louis Picamoles
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Thierry Paiva, 18 Lekso Kaulashvili, 19 Alban Roussel, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Yann Lesgourgues, 22 Ulupano Seuteni, 23 Santiago Cordero

Cordero on the bench and Jalibert injured for Bordeaux.

What's the deal with Henderson, just not making the squad?

Mikey Brown wrote:What's the deal with Henderson, just not making the squad?

Rumours that he's blown out his knee and won't be fit for a while. Borthwick doesn't really talk about injuries so don't hold your breath for an update.

Leicester are in such good form that I can see them sneaking a win, but that Bordeaux pack is full-on thunderbastard territory and Tigers look a little wet behind the ears in comparison.

Wow. That's... not exactly a B-side, but it's certainly fairly solidly rotated. Possibly a sign that Borthwick's not planning on being over-ambitious and chasing Europe as well as the Prem this season? Mind, I said that last year when we rotated in the Challenge Cup and we still pulled out ridiculous victories that hinged on the players being brought in playing superbly, so I guess IBWT.

Big opportunity for the two young lighthouses of Chessum and Martin to make a mark. With the likes of Van Poortvliet, Heyes, Dolly, and Reffell in as well, there's no shortage of young tyros with points to prove, plus I'd imagine Saumaki's probably got the bit between his teeth having been left out of the Prem so far. Could be a highly motivated team.

Puja

This is what I like about the Borthwick regime. Good squad depth and the young guys opportunities in tough games but with enough experience around them to ensure that it's not just a pasting. There's a number of young guys in that side really notching up the appearances I mean Heyes on 81 appearances as a 22 year old tighthead is ridiculous.

I suspect Bordeaux might be the first loss of the season but I'd back us to make a real game of it.

Horribly difficult game. Bordeaux top of the French league. Tigers will do well to collect anything from the trip.

fivepointer wrote:Horribly difficult game. Bordeaux top of the French league. Tigers will do well to collect anything from the trip.

Indeed, although there are names in the Bordeaux side that I don't know. But sides don't lead the Top14 without strength in depth.
I'll be there and am looking forward to it and remain optimistic!

francoisfou wrote:

fivepointer wrote:Horribly difficult game. Bordeaux top of the French league. Tigers will do well to collect anything from the trip.

Indeed, although there are names in the Bordeaux side that I don't know. But sides don't lead the Top14 without strength in depth.
I'll be there and am looking forward to it and remain optimistic!

There's a few names that I know from the Bordeaux squad that are missing or on the bench that I'd normally assume would start so they may have rotated a little as well but the do look pretty damn strong still.

Just hope the rain holds off and both sides can play ball in hand.

Is that Pat's kid the guy standing out on the wing who's clearly an 8?

Watching Dweba just stand completely still in the middle of the pitch as the ball flies back and forth over his head is the most entertaining thing since Potter accidentally leapt down in to the dugout.

Mikey Brown wrote:Is that Pat's kid the guy standing out on the wing who's clearly an 8?

Nephew, I think they said.

Fair play to Tigers. A significant win. They didnt do anything fancy but kept their composure, shape and discipline.

Ford immaculate.

Great win- Ford did well to get it together after a very dodgy 5 minutes.

I should also hold my hand up- I was very dubious as to whether Borthwick was up to the job, and whether the squad was good enough to get Tigers back at a very good level, and have been proved wrong. Great ‘turnaround’.

fivepointer wrote:Fair play to Tigers. A significant win. They didnt do anything fancy but kept their composure, shape and discipline.

Ford immaculate.

I wouldn’t say immaculate- he had a very poor 5 mins which nearly cost them big time. But for 75 he was terrific, even in the kick fests- and kudos for putting those 5 mins behind him

Well done tigers. Pro performance.

Average age of that Tigers starting pack was 23.75 years old
Only Green older than 26.

7 out of 8 EQP also.

Tigersman wrote:Average age of that Tigers starting pack was 23.75 years old
Only Green older than 26.

7 out of 8 EQP also.

Great stuff

Banquo wrote:

fivepointer wrote:Fair play to Tigers. A significant win. They didnt do anything fancy but kept their composure, shape and discipline.

Ford immaculate.

I wouldn’t say immaculate- he had a very poor 5 mins which nearly cost them big time. But for 75 he was terrific, even in the kick fests- and kudos for putting those 5 mins behind him

Er, he missed an easy kick at goal, did not get close with an attempted drop-goal, kicked out on the full, missed touch with a penalty and kick-passed inaccurately at least twice. Terrific for 75?

I think the commentator summed it up when he said, "Ford will never go off-script."

I thought Ford was very good, notwithstanding some errors. Most of his kicking was spot on. Some of the chips he put were first rate and his general tactical kicking was good. His distribution was pretty much error free. His coverage of the back field impressive and his all round leadership stood out.
On balance i'd say he had a strong all round game.

Fordy had a strong 7/10 game for me. The tactics and weather conditions meant that Tigers adopted a certain style of rugby which wasn't pretty and relied upon an awful lot of discipline which he brought. There were some errors but also a lot of good stuff, the move for the Tigers try was delightful from Ford.

Tigers tactics weren't easy on the eye but got the job done. The young lads in the pack were fantastic, so aggressive in defence. Really loved the commitment they showed and how quickly they dismissed the idea that they might be second string options.

Oakboy wrote:

Banquo wrote:

fivepointer wrote:Fair play to Tigers. A significant win. They didnt do anything fancy but kept their composure, shape and discipline.

Ford immaculate.

I wouldn’t say immaculate- he had a very poor 5 mins which nearly cost them big time. But for 75 he was terrific, even in the kick fests- and kudos for putting those 5 mins behind him

Er, he missed an easy kick at goal, did not get close with an attempted drop-goal, kicked out on the full, missed touch with a penalty and kick-passed inaccurately at least twice. Terrific for 75?

I think the commentator summed it up when he said, "Ford will never go off-script."

three of those were in the referenced 5 mins.

fivepointer wrote:I thought Ford was very good, notwithstanding some errors. Most of his kicking was spot on. Some of the chips he put were first rate and his general tactical kicking was good. His distribution was pretty much error free. His coverage of the back field impressive and his all round leadership stood out.
On balance i'd say he had a strong all round game.

yep

As they haven’t got their own thread, we’ll done Exeter

Banquo wrote: three of those were in the referenced 5 mins.

Georgie boy, Billy V and - though away from home - Kruis will always be noted for what they don’t do right