Mieres says it is vital for Chiefs to use win over Tigers as springboard

Posted on Feb 15, 2012 in English Rugby, Exeter Chiefs, Premiership

Fly-half Ignacio Mieres says it is vital Exeter Chiefs use last weekend’s home win over Leicester Tigers as the springboard for a crucial month ahead for the Devon club.

The Argentine ace slotted 14 points in his side’s 19-11 victory over the East Midlanders last Saturday, a result which helped to propel Rob Baxter’s side into fifth place in the Aviva Premiership and just a point off the top four.

Now the talented 24-year-old back wants a similar outcome when the Chiefs travel to London Wasps for a second time this season. Saturday’s contest comes just weeks after Exeter claimed a 30-16 win at Adams Park in the LV= Cup.

Mieres, though, knows this latest match-up between the two clubs will be a much stiffer examination for him and his team-mates. He said: "Before the Leicester game we talked about how these next four games were crucial for us. Obviously it was good that we started off on the right foot against Leicester at the weekend, but these next three matches are big games and very tough ones at that.

"Right now we are really happy with the Leicester result, but we have to make sure we follow it up over these next few weeks. As I said, it won’t be easy because we are up against some tough opposition, but we have to look to attack this block of games and see where we are at the end of it all."

Certainly the Chiefs will travel with confidence following their victory over the Tigers, a result which ensured the club of a first-ever league double against the nine-time Premiership champions.

"I was talking with the guys and we said you don’t beat Leicester twice a year that many times, so it’s something to be very happy about," added Mieres, who is now into his second season with the Chiefs.

"We knew we needed a big performance against them and we did that. Ever since the Perpignan game we’ve talked about trying to improve and being ambitious and I think we are beginning to see that a little. Of course we still have lots to do in terms of getting better, but as we saw against Leicester everybody did what they needed to do."

In a game where Exeter came back from an initial 8-0 deficit and then later 11-6 down, Mieres says the fighting spirit of the players and also the support of the Sandy Park faithful helped play a key part in the club’s latest on-field success.

"In games like that of Leicester, you have to give 100 per cent and nothing less," explained Mieres. "Lots of things you have to do right, especially around the contact area. Leicester we knew would be physical; they’ve got big ball carriers and big defenders, so we needed everything from everyone.

"Also the crowd were really important for us because always they give us a lot of energy. To see the stadium almost full, especially when it was freezing, it was really good and we were pleased to get the result for them."

Excitement is already building ahead of the forthcoming Aviva Premiership clash between Exeter Chiefs and Bath at Sandy Park on Saturday, February 25 (6pm).

Ticket sales for the derby encounter have already been brisk and supporters who have yet to purchase their place for the game are advised to do so early in a bid to avoid disappointment.

With the Chiefs still brimming with confidence following their latest victory over Leicester Tigers, hopes are high that another bumper Sandy Park crowd can inspire Rob Baxter’s side to a first-ever Premiership win over Bath.

As part of the build-up to what promises to be a big-day of rugby, Exeter Rugby Club chief executive Tony Rowe has today confirmed that the Chiefs will be bringing in a big screen, which will be located on the piazza area by the North Terrace, so that supporters can arrive early and watch the Six Nations clash between England and Wales at Twickenham (4pm) – as well as the Premiership showdown a little later.

Rowe said: “Due to popular demand from not only our own supporters, but also that from those travelling down from Bath, we have agreed to bring a big screen for our game on February 25.

“For the Bath fixture last year, we had something like 3,000 people come in early to the stadium to watch England’s Six Nations game with France on the big screen, so we have decided to do the same this year.

“As we often say, we want to offer a great match-day experience here at Sandy Park and part of that is helping to build a really good atmosphere before the game. Last year the Bath game was one of the best crowds we had all year and I think the day was made even better by the atmosphere created beforehand.”

Tickets for the Bath game are currently available through the official Exeter Chiefs website or by calling into the club’s Trading Post, which is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm.

Blueprints for the future? Ruminations of the fates of two English clubs in Heineken Cup round five

Posted on Jan 19, 2012 in Uncategorized

I only saw two games of this round. On Friday, I saw Ulster’s humiliating demolition of Leicester, as complete a thrashing as you can imagine. On Saturday I saw Harlequins squeak home past a fired-up looking Gloucester side. I’ll get around to watching some of the others at some point but in terms of the direction of English rugby, I found these quite thought-provoking just by their own. Judging from the comments in the media, I’m not alone, but the most pertinent article to the direction my thoughts are taking was by Paul Ackford in the Telegraph – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/9013380/Englands-famous-brand-of-hard-men-have-given-way-to-gym-conditioned-athletes.html

This is because I agree with the doubts raised about the decision making and mental fortitude of some of the young England players. The academy process seems to be bringing through some good players, some tremendous athletes often with great skills (although not always with rounded skillsets) but when faced with adversity, they’re raising questions.

Leicester faced a massload of adversity on Friday. Ulster have put together a fantastic first XV through clever recruitment and good developing, it was in fine form (the previous 5 games had yielded 4 bonus point victories) and are busy burnishing Ravenhill’s reputation as one of the citadels of European rugby. It was never going to be easy and Leicester walked right into the teeth of a perfect storm as Ulster finally put together one of the performances they’ve been threatening for some time. There is absolutely no shame in being beat by that, even being beat well, but in crumbling and conceding your new record defeat – there is plenty of shame in that.

For quite a while I thought Leicester was going to make a fight of it. Up until Twelvetrees missed one in front of the sticks and Pienaar promptly put one through, I felt nervous on Ulster’s behalf. Not that Leicester were anything but the second best side until that point. They were struggling to contain Ulster’s big runners and offloading. They were losing the breakdown. Leicester soldiered on without really attempting to solve the problems. After that, they fell apart. Cole went for dissent, Youngs probably should have gone for dissent, Slater should be banned for his punch and Tom Croft suffered the absolute indignity of being dump-tackled into touch by a guy nicknamed Mincer. Nevermind the reality of Paddy Wallace being a solid tackler, that’s the sort of moment that sticks. Actually reading that back, that’s a misleading nickname; Wallace got it because he used to mince in the tackle, not because he minces people in the tackle. Just so we’re clear.

Quins too suffered some awkward moments. Nick Evans had an unusually bad night with the boot, their slick handling game couldn’t quite get the final balls to hand and their defence got stretched far too easily by Gloucester. Harlequins however, held on and eventually got what they needed. Charlie Sharples made a mistake (bad timing with the 6N coming up) and Mike Brown popped over. They could, and possibly should have already been in front with a penalty, but the decision to look for a try made sense as Gloucester’s final roll of the dice sputtered out; the 3 points was on, but it wasn’t enough.

So – where is the difference? Is there a difference? As noted, Ravenhill is not an easy place to go, particularly not with key injuries, and a wise man is cautious about drawing too much from one-offs. However, I don’t think the nerves under fire and failure to adjust are a one off; this is the latest symptom of the disease. The disease can be encapsulated in a quote from Nigel Redman in the linked article:

‘‘I’ve lost count of the number of times coaches have complained to me that players aren’t decision makers while showing me their 84-page play book.”

Leicester look like a regimented side. They look like a side that go out there with a plan and if the plan doesn’t work, they wait to hear what the new one is. Or keep going with the old one. Players aren’t looking for the ball, they’re in their zones waiting for it to happen. Leicester didn’t react to their mullering at the breakdown by ordering the likes of Croft and Mafi to follow the ball, they just stood there, in a style eerily reminiscent of England. The only man there with a sense of initiative was Youngs and his decision making was shaky at times – and, also, I suspect under instructions at time too. In fairness, it’s going to be when he’s 22, it’s understandable. Twelvetrees is also going to have poor decision making when he rarely plays at fly-half. When the other side has Pienaar, Wallace and Terblanche pulling the strings, there will be a disparity. There shouldn’t be that much though. Basically, Leicester do not look like a team who make their own decisions, and when the pressure comes they react the wrong way. This brings me to Harlequins.

Harlequins, more than any other club in the country, look like a team where the players make the decisions on the pitch, and not the coaches in the dressing room. They play with a spontaneity and speed that is, when executed right, very difficult to stop. They play with a number of decision makers – Evans, Brown, Robshaw, Easter, Care – and seem to be bent on developing more. In particular, Harlequins develop forwards who are very comfortable ball in hand, yet still have a big physical edge. It’s still a work in progress, not least because they’ve got to get used to playing big matches as favourites, but they seem to be responding well to it. If they can keep the current personnel together, then in a year or two they could really be a force to be reckoned with. I really hope so as I see in Quins a model for English teams to emulate. Decision makers playing heads up rugby at pace with an emphasis on developing within to ensure there is a stream of players who understand the club’s needs. It is the way that the superteams of Europe, Toulouse and Leinster, are doing things. I just hope that an English club proves capable of following them.

Leicester will be back, in some shape or form. There is too much quality in their ranks for them to lay low for long. They’re a good team. They’ll probably win some stuff. But they won’t be great, not until they sort the mental cracks that appear to be forming. That won’t happen without players who take responsibility for what they do, starting with their decisions on the pitch. The same goes for England. If we want to be great, then we need to cast the shackles off the players and discover who’s got the brains and balls to win, and who doesn’t.

Which is why I hope the model for English club rugby going forwards is set up by Harlequins, and not Leicester.

 

Leicester name team for Premiership final

Posted on May 27, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Leicester Tigers have announced their matchday squad for the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final against Saracens at Twickenham on Saturday.

Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill includes 16 survivors of last season’s final in the squad, including back-rower Craig Newby who leads out the team at Twickenham.

There is only one change of personnel in the starting XV from the semi-final victory over Northampton Saints, with Horacio Agulla named on the wing, allowing Matt Smith to move to centre in the absence of the suspended Manu Tuilagi.

Leicester Tigers (v Saracens, Aviva Premiership Rugby Final, Twickenham, Saturday 3.00pm)

15 Scott Hamilton
14 Horacio Agulla
13 Matt Smith
12 Anthony Allen
11 Alesana Tuilagi
10 Toby Flood
9 Ben Youngs
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 George Chuter
3 Martin Castrogiovanni
4 Steve Mafi
5 George Skivington
6 Tom Croft
7 Craig Newby (c)
8 Jordan Crane

Replacements

16 Rob Hawkins
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Dan Cole
19 Ed Slater
20 Thomas Waldrom
21 James Grindal
22 Jeremy Staunton
23 Billy Twelvetrees

Leicester and Saracens Reach Aviva Premiership Final

Posted on May 17, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

For the second year in a row the English Premiership Grand Final will be between the Leicester Tigers and Saracens. Although Leicester were fortunate to retain a full team against Northampton, and Saracens very nearly lost to a misfiring Gloucester team, nobody can deny that these were the two form teams this season and deserve to be in the final.

Leicester reach their seventh successive final and will be hoping to win a third title on the trot. Although Saracens did the double over Leicester this season, Leicester will hope that their experience of these big occasions will see them through. Last year Saracens went into the final on the back of successive wins at Welford Road and Franklin’s Gardens (twice) yet fell short in the final against Leicester. Saracens looked destined to win, yet Leicester landed a sucker punch with a Dan Hipkiss try late on, and crucially turned over a Saracens lineout at the death. Saracens have won the most games this season, but it’ll mean nothing if they can’t win this one last match.

Saracens though have come on leaps and bounds since last season, and lets not forget that they lost that final only by the narrowest of margins. Saracens finished third last season, and did one better by finishing second this season. They finish the season with the most wins, only losing four league matches – only a lack of bonus points saw them finish behind the Tigers. Saracens might not be the flashiest of teams, but they get the job done and they have a real belief about what they are doing. They received the same criticism last season, yet they played their part in perhaps the most thrilling premiership final ever. Saracens can score tries if they want, and it’d be foolish to suggest that a team with the likes of Alex Goode, David Strettle, Chris Wyles and Shalk Brits can’t score at all. Saracens have done well enough defending like heroes and pressuring the opposition into penalties, but they’ll need to score tries to beat Leicester – in their last couple of games against Gloucester and Harlequins their goal kicking has been awful and has created close scorelines out of what should have been very comfortable victories.

Northampton and Gloucester saw their title hopes end, but they’ve both had decent enough seasons. Northampton might have finished fourth as opposed to finishing second last season, but that doesn’t mean they’ve gone backwards. In the autumn it looked like Northampton would run away at the top of the league, but a shock New Years defeat at home to Harlequins after a Christmas period where they saw games being cancelled, and then a host of Six Nations call ups and injury to Lee Dickson saw them tumble down the table. Despite their problems in the league, Northampton are in the Heineken Cup final this Saturday after going through the pools as the only unbeaten side. Northampton will probably win the Premiership at some point – it’d be difficult to say that they can’t with the players they have. But they can only hope to do that once they have a squad that can deal with international call ups and injuries and not suffer a massive loss in quality.

Gloucester were a revelation this season and were tipped by many to be a dark horse for the title. In the Dean Ryan years they had a young talented team that finished top of the league twice, but only to later choke in the big games against Leicester. Dean Ryan was replaced with Bryan Redpath and key youngsters such as Ryan Lamb and Anthony Allen left the club – it looked like Gloucester would be going backwards. However Redpath has taken a new generation of players, such as Freddie Burns, Charlie Sharples and Henry Trinder and has forged a team that is in some ways better than the one under Ryan. Despite struggling early in the season, Gloucester went on to win the LV= Cup – their first trophy since 2006, and set a club-record of eleven successive wins. Certain Gloucester players though haven’t done themselves any favours by publically berating Saracens style of play after their 12-10 play-off defeat in Watford. The matter of the fact is that collectively they kept knocking on the ball throughout the game and were only in the game because Saracens kept missing kicks at goal. Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu for example should perhaps step away from his Twitter account and instead practice his ball handling skills.

Leicester and Saracens have two weeks to prepare themselves for the final, and in the case of Leicester see if centre Manu Tuilagi cops a ban for his attack on Chris Ashton, or indeed if anything happens regarding coaches Richard Cockerill and Matt O’Connor’s behaviour in the stands.

The final will be a tough one to predict – Leicester have all the big game experience yet Saracens just don’t seem to lose and have already beaten Leicester home and away this season. Will lasts years final act to strengthen Saracens as they learn from that lesson, or will it as a psychological boost for Leicester? Either way one can only hope that the 2011 Aviva Premiership Final is just as exciting and dramatic as the 2010 Guinness Premiership final.

Manu Tuilagi – England honours beckon?

Posted on Mar 21, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Currently top of the Aviva Premiership try table, after only nine starts and five appearances as substitute, Manu Tuilagi is making defences sit up and take notice. The six foot one inch English qualified Samoan has been a sensation in his first full season with the Leicester senior squad.

In a team laced with internationals and stars – young Tuilagi has been the standout performer this season. In just over eight hundred minutes of rugby, the young man has run in seven tries. Only London Irish’s Topsy Ojo has a comparable record with seven tries in over thirteen hundred minutes of rugby. By comparison, England stars, Chris Ashton and Matt Banahan have only four tries apiece, although both have made fewer appearances than the Leicester man.

Tuilagi played his junior rugby at Hinckley RFC from U14′s to U16′s; winning the Leicestershire county cup at U16′s, and it was here that he developed the skills that complemented his natural talents. Manu is the younger brother of Henry Tuilagi, Freddie Tuilagi, Alesana Tuilagi Anitelia Tuilagi and Sanele Vavae Tuilagi who are all Samoan internationals and given the illustrious pedigree of his brothers, Manu was sure to be a huge hit.

He was a student at John Cleveland College where he has won the Leicestershire schools county cup 3 years running and played in the U15′s Daily Mail Vase where on the way to the Final at Twickenham Stadium. Tuilagi again played in the Daily Mail Vase final in u18′s where he scored a try in the victory over Hampton School after collecting a cross field kick.

Tuilagi represented Leicester in the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham in 2009. The team wasn’t very successful and only made it out of the first round, having beaten London Wasps.

Tuilagi played for the victorious Leicester Tigers side against South Africa at Welford Road on 6 November 2009.

He begins his first season (2010–11) with the senior Tigers side with plenty of promise, Tigers’ Director of Rugby Richard Cockerill professing he expects Tuilagi to be a first-team regular, and to receive international honours for England before long. He is widely regarded as the long term solution at outside centre for England, and is expected to take over when Mike Tindall retires.