Aviva Premiership Semi Final Review - Leicester Tigers 33 - 16 Harlequins

As a die-hard rugby fan, there’s not too many things I’d take from football and put into the egg-shaped game.  It’s difficult to imagine Paul O’Connell, for example, leaping squealing into the air clutching his ankle as soon as somebody gets within 2 metres of him, or Adam Jones taking off his shirt and swinging it round his head after scoring a rare try (we can all be grateful for that).  But the one thing I would like to see more in rugby, that you see often in football, are good club songs.  Not ones that involve personal insults or invitations to have an almighty scraps, but a good repertoire of uplifting songs to get behind your team.  The Welsh and Irish are alright at it, admittedly (think ‘Fields of Athenry’ for Munster, and any hymn about food for the Welsh), but the English are pants.  From the Northampton’s horrendously repetitive “When the Saints go marching in”, to Harlequins’ tedious “Come all within”, these songs may be fine on their own once or twice a game, but these are the only chants these clubs have – and so you’re subjected to them at least 42 times a game. But by far the worst of the bunch, when it comes to songs, are the Leicester Tigers.

I find it amazing that the biggest, best supported and most successful club of the last 20 years can only muster 2 chants, both of which consist of a slightly differing drone of the word “Tigers”.  Even opposition fans have more tuneful songs about Leicester – namely the envy fuelled “Same old Leicester, always cheating” which is sang with wonderful verve at Kingsholm in particular.  Yep, the superb Welford Road crowd are noisy, partisan, intimidating and passionate – and utterly devoid of musical imagination.  Not that music was on everyone’s minds on Saturday afternoon – the Tigers had a semi-final to win and a score to settle against a Harlequins side who had turned them over on four out of their last five encounters – including twice at Welford Road. 

But it was the hosts who started the better, with Ben Youngs putting in a gorgeous kick behind Ugo Monye to gain territory before George Robson was penalised for pulling down Geoff Parling in the lineout.  Captain Toby Flood stepped up and nailed a difficult first kick to give Leicester a 3-0 lead.  But that was about as good as it got for the first half for the Tigers, as Quins began to edge to close contact exchanges and forced Leicester into making mistakes.  Firstly, Toby Flood kicked out on the full having taken the ball back into the 22, before Dan Cole slapped the ball out of Care’s hands whilst diving off his feet in the ruck to concede an easy 3-pointer for Nick Evans.

The mistakes kept coming – Flood kicked the ball dead from halfway, Dan Cole smeared a gigantic bogey over his face – and Quins grew in confidence, going for touch from a kickable penalty and, from a resulting scrum, James Johnston marmalised Logovi’i Munipola and Evans slotted another 3 points from an easier position.  The Tigers were struggling for rhythm, and even when Tom Youngs burst through the middle off his brother’s pass, Flood came up short from a subsequent penalty.  The game was starting to bubble nicely though, with both sides showing ambition in attack with a Mike Brown burst through midfield and another Tom Youngs break both ultimately coming to nothing but signifying both side’s positive intent.  Despite the fact that the Tigers were largely taking a hold on possession, they were continually barrelled back by superb defence from the visitors, with Maurie Fa’asavalu putting him some crunching hits and Luke Wallace turning quality ball over to take all the momentum out of the host’s phases.

When Harlequins did go down the other end, they came within a whisker of scoring themselves.  James Johnston had been held up just short when Danny Care picked and dived over on the blindside – it was a sharp piece of play that looked for all the world like it would be a try, but instead Tom “Stretch Armstrong” Croft showed unbelievable reflexes to hurl himself into Care at full stretch and knock the England 9 into touch before he could make the line.  It would prove to be a game changing moment because, although Mathew Tait made a try saver of his own on George Lowe 10 minutes later, the Leicester defence held firm, despite another Evans penalty.

This was becoming frantic, chaotic and incredibly compelling to watch.  Danny Care made a significant dart into the Leicester 22 before sweeping up superbly when a teasing kick from Flood had invited Niki Goneva to charge onto it with the try line beckoning – he may have prevented a try but he couldn’t stop the penalty when Tom Casson failed to roll away after making a tackle 10 metres out.  As the first half drew to the end, both sides were desperate to go in at half time in the ascendency, and the sheer pace of play led to a series of turnovers in midfield – eventually it came out in Leicester’s hands, with Ben Youngs flicking the ball via Jordan Crane to Goneva, who shot down the left touchline, brushed off Tom Williams, and jogged it round under posts.  It gave the Tigers a 13 – 9 lead at half time, which was harsh on Harlequins, but teed up a sensational second half after a breathless first.

As the second period started, you could sense a slight change in the balance of the game.  Instead of the Harlequins defence piling on the pressure, it was the Tigers who were relentlessly aggressive in contact, earning penalties and territory early on.  The visitors held out for the first 10 minutes before another match-changing moment – Tait bumped off Tom Williams before stepping inside the attempted recovering tackle, accelerated away from Evans and then had his pass to the onrushing Crane knocked on by Care.  Referee Greg Garner did not hesitate and showed yellow, which seemed harsh given that replays showed Care holding his arms out to make a tackle rather than reach for the ball.  But the decision was made, and the hosts began to dominate.  Despite Flood missing the resulting penalty, Ben Youngs, Crane and Munipola were starting to make significant dents around the fringes, and 6 minutes later Flood made amends with a 3 pointer after Marler was penalised for offside.  Then, just before Quins got their 15^th man back, Tigers got the breakthrough they were looking for.  Tait was at the centre of the good work again, wriggling free from Brown and Wallace to make inroads before the ball found its way into the hands of Tuilagi, who beat Ben Botica and passed inside for Niall Morris to run in under the posts.  It was a cruel blow for the visitors, but a real sign of the powerful grip that Tigers now had on this game.

In fact, they were rampant.  Even with 15 men back on the field, the reigning Champions couldn’t prevent Leicester from winning every contact and finding gaps all over the park, and after just 3 minutes of restarting the game they found themselves behind their own sticks again following a remarkable score.  Botica spilled a high kick from Flood, before the ball was fed into the hands of Croft 60 metres out, and the England blindside hit the gas and motored away from Wallace and Karl Dickson to score an unbelievable try in the corner.  It should also be pointed out that this superb try also hid another sort of gem – namely Dan Cole absolutely clattering his captain, Flood, as the fly half chased his own kick.  Cole didn’t seem to notice.

Leicester didn’t seem to notice the game was won, either.  Five minutes later they were at it again, with slick hands sending Morris free down the right and his sublime offload gave Tait the chance to coast in for a deserved score.  It was now a rout.  With that, Tigers emptied their bench and some of their momentum dissipated, but nobody could deny this was their day – even if the visitors did come back with a fine consolation try before the end, with a lovely offload from Tom Williams putting Ross Chisholm for a score.  It was a testament to the fighting spirit of Harlequins, but the day belonged to the Tigers.

33 – 16 was the final score, and Leicester had booked themselves on their annual pilgrimage to Twickenham for the 9^th successive year.  “Same old Leicester, always winning” came a small chant from a small corner of the crowd before quickly shutting up for fears of fellow Tigers’ fans’ heads exploding at the thought of a new song.  But another trip to Twickenham, and a silverware send off for club legends Geordan Murphy and Martin Castrogiovanni?  That would be something to sing about.

Leicester Player Ratings

Mathew Tait – 9 – Magnificent stuff.  Rock solid under the high ball, surprisingly powerful in contact and absolutely dazzling in open play, with mesmeric footwork and pace.  Back to his best.

Niall Morris – 7 – So unflashy and yet so effective.  Great tracking run for his try and fantastic offload for Tait’s score.
Manu Tuilagi – 7 – Quieter than Leicester would like again, but got through a lot of grunt work, delivered a couple of big hits and made a fantastic break for Leicester’s second.
Anthony Allen – 7 – Another unsung hero, made smart decisions throughout the game and marshalled the defence against a dangerous opposition backline superbly.
Niki Goneva – 7 – Sure, it sometimes seems like he has covered his hands with grease before games, but all is forgiven when he can finish like he did for his first.  Brilliant balance and power.
Toby Flood – 6 – Some average kicking from hand and from the tee let him down, but he led the line well and invariably picked out the right runners in the midfield
Ben Youngs – 8 – His service has improved markedly, his passing was lightning quick, his kicking was intelligent and he made a couple of telling breaks to keep the defence on its toes.
Logovi’i Munipola – 7 – Got out muscled in a couple of early scrums but then held his own and contributed a huge amount in the loose, charging around with typical vigour.
Tom Youngs – 7 – Another impressive display by the Premiership Player of the Season and new Lion.  A couple of squiffy throws were quickly forgotten as he carried with real purpose – twice making scything breaks.
Dan Cole – 8 – Once Mulipola started holding his own, he gave Marler a torrid time in the scrum.  Massive defensive effort as well, getting through a huge amount of tackles but showed some lovely hands with some deft offloads too.
Graham Kitchener – 6 – Fairly quiet for the second row, but a big contribution to a dominant second half when the Tigers started to dominate the collisions.
Geoff Parling – 7 – Didn’t get stuck into the Quins’ lineout perhaps as much as he would have liked but still surprisingly effective with his hands on the ball.
Tom Croft – 9 – Try saving tackle?  Check.  Ridiculously good try? Check.  Phenomenal work rate in the loose and physics-defying speed contributed to a superb performance.  Man of the Match.
Julian Salvi – 7 – Not headline stealing, but a constant thorn in Quins’ side and made several telling interventions in the first half to prevent the visitors from crossing the line.
Jordan Crane – 8 – His performance levels are finally back to pre-injury standards, showing great power on the carry and a wonderfully subtle offloading skill to maintain momentum.

Subs

Rob Hawkins – 6 – Hurled himself into the fray with customary enthusiasm, taking contact at full tilt on a number of occasions – the way it should be done.

Fraser Balmain – Not enough time to make an impact
Martin Castrogiovanni – 6 – Just typical Castro when he came on, carrying well and smashing people in contact – on one occasion illegally and giving away a penalty.  The sight of the big guy in tears in his last home appearance for his beloved Tigers was a sign of his passion for the club.
Steve Mafi – Not enough time to make an impact
Thomas Waldrom – Not enough time to make an impact
Sam Harrison – Not enough time to make an impact
George Ford – Not enough time to make an impact
Matt Smith – Not enough time to make an impact

Harlequins Player Ratings

Mike Brown – 6 – Magnificent under the high ball but also far too many aimless kicks, handing possession back to the Tigers.  Didn’t see too much of his running ability, either, especially after the break.

Tom Williams – 5 – Missed tackles on Goneva and Tait were costly, with one leading to a try and one leading to a yellow card.  Made up for it with a nice break and sublime offload for Quins’ try – but it was too late.
George Lowe – 5 – Tackled well but was effectively invisible in attack.  On one occasion he did get close to the line but was superbly shackled by Tait.
Tom Casson – 5 – Worked hard and tackled well and certainly held his own, proving me wrong in the process.  But, like his centre partner, just simply did not see the ball to make an impact in attack.
Ugo Monye – 5 – Another to suffer from a lack of decent ball in space.  Worked his socks off as usual but didn’t find any joy at Welford Road on Saturday.
Nick Evans – 6 – Such a lovely passer of the ball, and he kicked well throughout.  Was just starved of possession in the second half.
Danny Care – 7 – Was having a real ding-dong battle with Youngs before he was harshly yellowed, never to reappear.  Made a couple of clever breaks and passed well, and was a whisker away from scoring a very sharp try.
Joe Marler – 5 – Struggled in the scrum as the game went on and gave away a silly penalty in front of the sticks, but his work rate remains excellent and he never stopped battling.
Joe Gray – 5 – Next to no effect in the loose, unfortunately, but he was reliable at the set piece and his jumpers with regularity.
James Johnston – 6 – Had the nudge on Mulipola early on and was keen to get his hands on the ball as much as possible in the opening stages.
Ollie Kohn – 6 – A real grafter, getting stuck into the physical stuff at ruck time where he was a big reason why Quins had the edge in the first 30.  Fell away, like the rest of the pack, in the second half though.
George Robson – 8 – Quins’ best player.  Superb in the lineout, making a mess of a couple of Tigers throws, and also effective around the park with his mixture of power and mobility.
Maurie Fa’asavalu – 7 – Very physical in the first half before fading and being replaced in the second - got through a lot of work and tackled himself to a standstill.
Luke Wallace – 7 – Had a great battle with Salvi in the loose and arguably just shaded it with his carrying and work rate in defence.  A couple of sharp turnovers were impressive but a brainless chip through in a promising position showed he still has some growing up to do.
Nick Easter – 5 – Utterly anonymous for the first 65 minutes, when he finally started making some significant carries and subtle offloads to get the visitors onto the front foot.  It was too late by then, though.

Subs

Rob Buchanan – 5 – Usually such a noticeable contributor with the ball in hand but we didn’t see much of that yesterday.

Will Collier – Not enough time to make an impact
Mark Lambert – 5 – The big man was unable to help stem the irresistible surge of the Leicester machine when he arrived on the scene.
Charlie Matthews – 6 – Got stuck in straight away and made a couple of decent charges towards the end of the game as well.
Tom Guest – 5 – Got no opportunities to show off his pace and instead was consigned to watching first Croft and then Tait gallop in for tries.
Karl Dickson – 5 – Horrible time to come on as a 9.  Pack in full retreat and the opposition rampant – he was never going to have a chance to showcase his skills.
Ben Botica – 4 – Difficult cameo for the Kiwi.  He’s had an outstanding season but some noticeable missed tackles, in particular on Tuilagi, highlighted how perhaps he isn’t all that comfortable in the centre position.
Ross Chisolm – 6 – Got the ball twice.  First time, he was smashed by Goneva, then he ran a great support line to run in a very well taken try.  A positive personal return to the ground on which he suffered a nasty knee injury.