The Guinness Premiership Final: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

What a game!  The Guinness Premiership final between reigning champions Leicester and pretenders to the throne Saracens was a pulsating match and the best I have seen in years. 

The lead changed hands five times during the course of the game.  Just when Saracens thought they had snatched the win as Glen Jackson slotted over a penalty with four minutes on the clock, Leicester conjured a try from the resulting restart and substitute Dan Hipkiss stormed over to clinch the cup.

33-27 was the final score.  Breathless rugby.  It's almost impossible to sit here and write "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" for this game, because as finals go it was top drawer entertainment.

But here goes anyway.

The Good

Toby Flood:  One of the key men for Leicester, and he delivered in spades.  Only missing one kick from the tee, Flood controlled the game well.

Dan Hipkiss - The Tigers centre has been sidelined with injury of late, but he made the biggest impact in the match when he came on from the bench and steamrollered his way over for the winning try.

Geordan Murphy - Who stepped aside when it was time to lift the cup and gave the captains honour to departing stars Lewis Moody and Ben Kay.  I thought that was really sweet.

Attacking rugby - Both teams played expansively and threw everything into the game.  It was refreshing to see teams almost forget it was a final and go out and play.  Take note Toulouse and Biarritz.

Ernst Joubert - Two tries for the Sarries skipper, which sadly for his side, was just not enough.

The Bad

No Brendan Venter - Saracens' director of rugby (and everyone's favourite panto villain) was forced to watch the game at home after failing to get his ban overturned.  A real shame.  Venter has been one of the real characters this year, adding colour and spice to the game.  I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think he is brilliant.

Defence - But who cares when it gives you entertainment like that?  Well, the defence coaches might I suppose...

Not respecting the kicker - Sarries' fans booed when Flood lined up a couple of his kicks.  I know it's not the done thing, but in such a massive game and when they thought they had been hard done by, I can't really blame them.

The Ugly

I can't think of anything.  No really, I can't.  This game was everything I wanted a final to be.

Oh there is one thing:  the fact that I will have to wait until September until the league starts again for the new season.

Glee and the Guinness Premiership Final

Leicester Tigers and Saracens are the last teams standing in the Guinness Premiership race to Twickenham, where the two rivals will meet in the final on Saturday.

This is the sixth final in a row for reigning champions Leicester who finished the regular season in top spot.

Saracens, on the other hand, were league leaders until the halfway point, thanks to a controlled and uninspiring kicking game.  But then, fastforward a couple of months, and a team trip to Brighton and a couple of controversies later, Brendan Venter's team is thrilling to watch and racking up the tries.

Saturday's clash should be a corker.

But what do Leicester stars Geordan Murphy, Ben Youngs and Jordan Crane think of their chances? 

Do Sarries' Brad Barritt and Andy Saull think they can get their hands on the silverware?

And more to the point, which one of these is a closet fan of Glee?

All is revealed...

Skillz

Guinness Premiership finalists Leicester and Saracens are both pretty slick when it comes to ball handling, lineouts, scrum time and racking up the points.

But which team is better at, say, throwing balls through the sunroof of a Landrover?

I wonder...

There's only one way to find out.

First up, Leicester Tigers:



Hmm, pretty poor.  Can Sarries do any better?



We have a winner.

But are these skillz a pointer to who will win the final?

Of course not.  Don't be silly.

The Final Shakedown

After Sunday's epic Guinness Premiership semi-finals we have a tasty clash between Leicester Tigers and Saracens to look forward to at Twickenham on May 29.

Leicester smothered Bath into submission in a 15-6 tryless affair, whilst Sarries squeaked past Northampton Saints 21-19 at Franklins Gardens.

Each game was packed with twists, controversy and bucket loads of irony.

Who can forget one-time Sarries bound Soane Tonga'uhia steaming over for a Saints try on the stroke of half time?  Did Toby Flood's high flying penalty really count for the Tigers?

And then there were the subplots: The extra needle between Saints and Sarries after Celebrationgate, the alleged tapping up of Northampton prop Brian Mujati by Saracens, Brendan Venter's misconduct charge.

All the extra needle created an afternoon of high drama, and I for one, loved it.

The final results?  Heartbreak for Saints and Bath, heaven for Leicester and Saracens.

And it should be a storming final in a couple of weeks. 

My faith in English club rugby has been fully restored.  Roll on Twickenham in two weeks time.

I, for one, cannot wait.

Leicester in the Making?

Unless you've been sleeping under a rock I'm sure you will know that Leeds Carnegie beat Worcester Warriors 12-10 at Headingley on Sunday to grab their place in the top flight for next season.

As a die-hard Leeds fan I am immensely proud of the entire squad, backroom staff and coaching team. And I'm not ashamed to admit it, but I did shed a tear when the ref blew the final whistle.

Whilst I feel for Worcester (as I know the pain of relegation) it is a brilliant achievement for Leeds.  This season, the Yorkshire side managed to secure top flight rugby with 40% less cash than all other teams in the Premiership.

Now that's boxing clever.

Their success due in massive part to the focus and determination of Head Coach Neil Back and Director of Rugby Andy Key.

When Back and Key arrived in LS6 two years ago they set themselves a non-negotiable three year plan:

Year 1: Promotion from the Championship.  Check.
Year 2: Survival in the Guinness Premiership.  Kerching!  Pass GO and collect £1m.
Year 3: Top 6 finish in the league and a Heineken Cup spot.  Dare I dream?

Well maybe.

Back and Key have instilled a new level of grit and determination in Leeds.  Call it mental strength, the ability to grind out results - it doesn't matter. 

Last time they were in the Premiership, Leeds didn't have the fitness or mental toughness to dispatch London Irish in the way they did two weeks ago.  Back then, I lost count of the times when I stood in the South Stand at Headingley to see Leeds start blowing out of their arses and roll over in the last twenty minutes.

Not now.  Neil Back's Leeds are arguably one of the fittest teams in the league - as London Irish discovered in the frantic final minutes at the Majedski.

And Carnegie seem to have a newly found mental strength to tough out games and grab the win.

Remind you of anyone?

It's like Neil Back has picked up a load of individuals, shook them up, whipped them into shape, distilled his winning mentality and injected it into them along with a load of Leicester grit.

Are Leeds a new Leicester Tigers in the making?

Leeds have the infastructure, the academy, the stadium, the community links and now they have the cash.  OK, so Carnegie don't have the same fan base, but if they keep winning - and winning well - then the crowds will come.

Hopefully the ex-Leicester pairing of Back and Key will be able to entice quality signings to the club with the extra £1m they will get from the RFU.

But I'm not talking about big name stars - I mean, the Justin Marshall disaster from a couple of years ago says it all. 

No, I'm talking about players who many people might not have heard of but who go on to develop and be great for the team.  Players like flanker Hendre Fourie, second rows Marco Wentzel and Eric Lund (who is sadly leaving the club), and hooker Andy Titterall.

Although saying that, I wouldn't mind too much if they signed Dan Carter...

But I am keeping my fingers crossed that Back and Key might have stumbled across the winning formula:

Leicester-style Grit + Fitness + Amazing team spirit x £1m = Top 6 finish for 2010/11.

As I say, I can dream...

WELL DONE LEEDS!

Tigers Eye Top Spot

Leicester Tigers will be the first Guinness Premiership side to roar into the playoffs if they beat Newcastle this weekend.

But Richard Cockerill's men aren't focussing on a trip to Twickhenham just yet.  As the sporting cliche goes, they are only concentrating on their next game.  That is a trip to Kingston Park on Sunday, where they haven't beaten the Falcons since 2004.

Here, Leicester captain Geordan Murphy and number eight Jordan Crane talk about the race for top spot, and scrum-half Ben Youngs tells us about an embarassing incident with a champagne bottle. Bless him.

Who Will Be the Champions?

The Guinness Premiership is rounding the find bend and all the teams at the top are sharpening their spikes for the final run in.

Last week I upset Sale fans when I picked the Sharks as the team most likely to slip into the Championship next season.

Now, I'm going to crane my neck and look at the top of the table to see just who could be Guinness Premiership Champions.

Let's delve into each team's remaining fixtures, do a bit of crappy maths and conjure up a potential winner.

Here are the teams with their current league positions, points and run in:

Leicester Tigers

Points: 58
Position: 1st
Fixtures: Bath (H), Falcons (A), Harlequins (H), Saracens (H)

Playoff tip:  It's not a bad run in for the Tigers with three of their last four games at fortress Welford Road.  Coach Richard Cockerill will expect to pick up five points against both the Falcons and Quins, and I expect Leicester to battle out wins againsts Bath and Sarries.  A top two spot and a home semi-final awaits.

Northampton Saints

Points: 56
Position: 2nd
Fixtures: Leeds (A), Gloucester (H), Bath (A), Saracens (H), London Irish (A)

Playoff tip:  The Saints have a tougher run in than Leicester with tricky away games against Bath and the Exiles.  Leeds could be a potential banana skin as they battle relegation, but Northampton will expect to take the full five points this weekend.  An LV= Cup final rematch against Gloucester could be a humdinger of a grudge match, and whilst Sarries's form has been pretty rubbish, last weekend they put Newcastle to the sword in a seven try demolishion job.  Despite this, Northampton are the form team and in pole position for a home semi final.

Saracens

Points: 51
Position: 3rd
Fixtures: Gloucester (A), Sale(A), Harlequins (H), Northampton (A), Leicester (A)

Playoff tip:  A very tough run-in for Brendan Venter and chums.  Away trips to Franklins Gardens and Welford Road in the final two rounds are a massive ask for a team with stuttering form.  Gloucester away won't be easy as the cherry and whites are also strong right now.  Sale should be a four or five pointer, but the game against Quins could be tricky.  I think Sarries have peaked too soon and will finish in 5th.

London Irish

Points: 48
Position: 4th
Fixtures: Wasps (A), Worcester (A), Leeds (H), Gloucester (A), Northampton (H)

Playoff tip:  With the exception of Gloucester and Northampton this isn't a bad run in for the Exiles.  But what about Wasps?  Well, to be honest I'm not quite sure how Danny Celebriani and pals have climbed so high up the table, as losses to Leeds, Sale and Saints in recent weeks is hardly championship form.  Therefore I expect Irish to bag a win at Adams Park, take the points from Leeds and Worcester and finish in third or fouth.  I think they'll be happy with a semi-final, even though it won't be at home.

Wasps

Points: 44
Position: 5th
Fixtures: London Irish(H), Worcester (A), Bath (A), Newcastle Falcons (H)

Playoff tip:  Wasps will finish out of the top four.  They have one game less to play than most of their rivals and can't realistically target the Newcastle or Worcester games as sure things.  The Falcons beat Wasps at home, and Wasps on the road are about as tough to beat as a team of under 7s.  They will finish in 6th.

Bath

Points: 42
Position: 6th
Fixtures: Leicester (A), Sale (H), Northampton (H), Wasps (A), Leeds(A)

Playoff tip:  Bath look to be timing their run in rather nicely.  A dreadful first half of the season saw them languishing down at the bottom of the table, but an impressive run of form hsa propelled them to in touching distance of the top four.  Steve Meehan's men are the best team in the league on current form having grabbed 30 of the last 35 available league points.  They're also the best team away from home with 25 points scored on the road.  Bath are coming up on the rails fast and I think they'll pip Wasps to a playoff place.

So, with form and the run-in analysed, I think the semi-finalists will be:

1. Leicester Tigers
2. Northampton Saints
3. London Irish
4. Bath Rugby 

But which team will be crowned champions?

Gut feeling?  I think it could well be Northampton's year.

Put your hands up for the Saints

Why?

I don't know.  As I say it's just a feeling.  Everything coming out of the club at the moment is positive.  They have several international players with plenty more on the fringes.  The Saints have already won their first piece of silverware this year with the LV= Cup and they are the only English team still in the Heineken Cup.  The coaching set up of Jim Mallinder, Dorian West and Paul Grayson has worked wonders.  Everything just seems to be clicking at the right time.

It's not that I'm discounting Leicester, Bath and London Irish - it's just that these teams don't seem to have that extra spark right now.  Leicester are great at home but their away form hasn't been as impressive and their high profile departures are unsettling.  OK, so Soane Tonga'uiha is leaving Northampton for Sarries next season and Neil Best is heading to Worcester - but I hear Tonga'uiha is now trying to stay at Franklins Gardens do the the postive outlook at the club.

I could wheel out some stats about the final league position of teams who have gone on to win the title in previous years, but I won't as I don't think that really matters.

If the top four shapes up as above, I think Northampton will beat London Irish in the semi-final and go on to do a job on Leicester in the final.

Again, don't ask me why, but I just have a feeling....

Mighty Tigers Claw the Boks into Submission

Tonight, Guinness Premiership champions Leicester convincingly beat South Africa - you know, current World Cup champions and winners of the Tri Nations.  Not a bad night for Richard Cockerill's band of merry men from the East Midlands.

It could be argued that this wasn't as impressive a feat as it first might sound as the South Africa line up didn't include several of its biggest stars.  There was no John Smit, Bakkies Botha, Vicktor Matfield or 'The Beast' in the scrum, and the backline was deplete of the hoof of Morne Steyn and Bryan Habana to name only a couple of the stars that tormented the Lions this summer. 

However, the Tigers were missing six England internationals along half a dozen players who are out with long term injures.  Leicester haven't had the most convincing of starts in the Guinness Premiership this season, which I discussed in my earlier post Have the Tigers Lost Their Bite?  Well, if they looked like they'd lost their teeth a few weeks ago, they definitely sharpened their claws against the World Champions at a sell out Welford Road tonight.

Martin Castrogiovanni was a force to be reckoned with in the scrum, and time and time again the Boks were pushed backwards by the Tigers.  Until Castrogiovanni was substituted you could be mistaken for thinking that the Bok's scrum was stuck in reverse.

It's all about the hair:  Leicester's Samson, Martin Castrogiavanni

Scrum half Ben Youngs had a brilliant kicking game after scuffing his initial attempt on goal.  He banged over five penalties (including a couple of long range efforts) and a conversion, much to the delight of Tigers head coach Richard Cockerill who had a smile as wide as the Cheshire Cat plastered across his face.

Leicester captain Aaron Mauger had the best game I've seen from him in a long time as he led the Tigers from fly-half.  Outside him, Andy Forsyth and Manu Tuilagi (a mountain of a man, and still only eighteen) combined well in the centre partnership.  Tuilagi had a few trademark Family Tuilagi-style powerful runs and even tried his hand at hairdressing as he got to grips with the 70's afro of South Africa number eight Ashley Johnson.

Nice 'fro

It wasn't all Leicester though.  South Africa's Jongi Nokwe crossed the line after eight minutes, although Ruan Pienaar missed the conversion.  Ashley Johnson made a few dangerous breaks and  the Boks were a constant threat on the counter attack.  However, after Argentina international Lucas Amorosino crossed for the only Tigers try of the night with his head bobbling around like Paula Radcliffe, Youngs slotted the conversion and the Tigers were away, creating daylight with a series of penalty scores for Youngs.  Credit must be given to Tuilagi in the build up of this try, as he helped to create it with a deft offload which showed his surprisingly soft hands.

With twenty minutes remaining the scoreline was 22-11 to the Tigers, but the Boks weren't finished.  Pienaar reduced the Tigers' lead to 22-14 with fifteen minutes still on the clock, and after a missed attempt he was given an opportunity to redeem himself when the Tigers scrum was penalised for the first time - funnily enough, just as Castrogiavanni had taken a seat on the bench.

With the score tantalisingly poised on 22-17 and a few minutes on the clock, South Africa went through what seemed like thirty phases as they camped out in the Tigers' twenty two.  Fortunately an Odwa Ndungane knock on relieved the pressure and signalled the end of the game.  Cue a collective sigh of relief around Welford Road, quickly followed by the sound of 24,000 Leicester fans simultaneously cheering this historic victory.

Have the Tigers Lost their Bite?

So far this season Leicester Tigers have been the shadow of the Premiership winning side and Heineken Cup finalists that they were last season. OK, so they might have convincingly beaten Viadana in the Heineken Cup and roared back from 15-26 at half time to draw 32-32 against the Ospreys, but in stark contrast to their try-packed performances in the European competition, Leicester have struggled to replicate such free flowing rugby in the Guinness Premiership. In fact, after round three Leicester had failed to score a single try. Not one. Admittedly, they hadn't conceded any tries either which is testament to their strong defence, however now with six games gone they have only crossed the line a paltry three times. So what is going on with the Welford Road outfit? Have the Tigers lost their bite?

It's true that the Leicester squad has suffered more than most with trips to the hospital this season, as a whole raft of first team players are currently sidelined:

Harry Ellis (knee); Toby Flood (ruptured Achilles); Sam Vesty (hamstring); Geordan Murphy (dislocated shoulder); Alesana Tuilagi (broken foot); and this week Julian White (hamstring) joined the long injury list. Lewis Moody has returned to full team action and last weekend he put in an excellent performance against London Irish. I think Lewis would have won the Man of the Match award had he been on the winning team. To his credit, Leicester coach Richard Cockrill refuses to blame anything on the number of players that are currently unavailable:

"We've got a good squad and whoever we put out at the weekend will be good players. We've been in this position before when we've had injuries and the guys who've stepped in have always fronted up and done a good job for us."

So he's not making any excuses then.

Despite the lack of tries, Leicester are still fifth in the Premiership table with three wins out of six. With such key players missing, Leicester might not have the bite they had at the end of last season but they still managed to claw out a losing bonus point against early title contenders London Irish due to their rock solid defence. Neither London Irish nor Leicester were allowed to play with the flair associated with both these sides and they both cancelled each other turning this game into a scrappy affair. It went down to the wire and Leicester could quite have easily drawn or won the game.

I'm sure the Leicester Tigers will sharpen their teeth in the Premiership soon, and in a couple of weeks there is the small matter of the Anglo-Welsh Cup where they will face Leeds Carnegie at Headingley. I suppose all I can hope for as a Leeds fan is that the Tigers take a little while longer to scratch their way back to the form everyone expects of them, and that Leeds might snaffle a victory. Best get in now, because a Tiger never truly shakes its stripes.