Tigers Earn Their Stripes!

By

Helen ‘Helzbach’ Davies

It was certainly a game of two halves and despite a strong, confident start following their win against Perpignan, the Scarlets left Leicester without a point for all their efforts.

A strong following from South Wales ensured there was plenty of singing in Welford Road, combating the clapping from the home support.

The Scarlets’ solid defensive line stood firm during the opening stages of the opening half, and the Scarlets looked dangerous in attack. Following the sin binning of Leicester wing Tuilagi, the Scarlets were unable to add any points from their visit to the opposition 22.

The visitors secured the opening score of the match, with Morgan Stoddard touching down following a combination of pace and well worked passes. Stephen Jones, who unusually had an off day, added the extras. Leicester added a try to ensure that they went into half team with a 13-10 lead (despite yet another blatant forward pass earlier on in the move that was missed by the referee!!).

Regan King’s sin binning resulted in the Tigers starting the second half with an extra man, and they took full advantage of it! They ran in 3 tries in quick succession which proved to be the downfall of the Scarlets and proved the old adage that ‘confidence is superior to competence’.

The Tigers’ power suffocated the Scarlets as they attempted to continue with the flair and imagination for which they have become world famous. However, with confidence low, the game became uncomfortable to watch. The Tigers played a typical English game of rugby – keeping the ball tight, little imagination and relying in the whole on the rolling maul. It’s boring to watch, but successful – it won the National team the World Cup after all! This, coupled with poor Scarlets defending and silly mistakes, resulted in the Tigers scoring a total of six tries, securing a bonus point for the English side. One positive to come from the game is that the Scarlets didn’t give up, despite a score-less second half, the team continue to attack, even if it was ineffective.

 

A long journey, full of hope and expectation, became an even longer, rather silent journey home, with thought turning to the match on Friday night against the Cardiff Blues, and the hope that then men in scarlet can bounce back from their defeat and leave Cardiff feeling blue!