If you play centre and fancy a game then bring your boots! Tigers vs Ospreys at WR

Tigers go into the next two LV Cup weekends without a fit first team centre and only one fit first team 10. The most experienced midfield option left standing is Owen Williams the 20 year old fly half signed from the Scarlets in the summer.

Smith and Bowden are both ruled out with concussion, Hempetema has a fractured eye socket and they join Manu, Allen and Goneva on the sidelines.

It looks increasingly likely that former England under 18 Javiah Pohe and England under 20 squad man George Catchpole will be in the centres vs Ospreys.

Bring your boots, if there's an injury you might get a game.

Don't whinge, Sam.

Can not a centre be drafted in from one of our Midlands Division colleagues? The Tigers from the day dot were always a side (like all the top sides) a team to tempt and badger players from 'lower' teams.

Whinge about structures which can be rectified. Not injuries which like meteor impact, can't.

Look at the positives Sam, the LV= is about development now. Also the Ospreys will probably be fielding a front row with the average age of about 24, and a handful of Rabo appearances between them.

At least it will give you a chance to see just how good Owen Williams is, trust me this kid is awesome, I am gutted he playing for Leicester.

I was mainly joking and opening a discussion of the side to be announced on Friday. I complained last year that we didn't select enough youngsters for the LV Cup. To my mind we lost two youngsters in Stevens and Lewington that were great prospects because they weren't given games.

Now we might take two humpings in a row but the game time may be vital and give us a player that is a Tigers favourite for years to come. We have three JWC winners available and to my mind they should be definite starters as well as our young centres.

Catchpole has been on loan at Nottingham this season so won't be naive about the rigors of professional rugby whilst Pohe is a unit.

LD, Williams has played the last two. Been a touch indifferent.

From the title I was hoping you were offering me a way of getting out of a visit from the in-laws!

Actually this LV break seems to have come at a good time for Leicester, should mean the injury list is a bit shorter come the start of the AP again.

formerly known as Sam wrote:LD, Williams has played the last two. Been a touch indifferent.

I was watching him just before he left the Scarlets, and he was standing out against the older guys he was playing against, he can kick long and accurate he has an eye for a gap and a sidestep to match, he is also like grease lightning when in full sprint, he can tackle above his size as well, perhaps if Leicester took the shackles off a little then you would see more of what he is about, on the flip side though he does tend to lose his temper quite quickly.

formerly known as Sam wrote:Now we might take two humpings in a row but the game time may be vital and give us a player that is a Tigers favourite for years to come.

That is that attitude we take to the LV= on this side of the bridge, but the downside is that those 'future fans favourites' tend to get poached if they put in a good shift.  

ScarletSpiderman wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:Now we might take two humpings in a row but the game time may be vital and give us a player that is a Tigers favourite for years to come.

That is that attitude we take to the LV= on this side of the bridge, but the downside is that those 'future fans favourites' tend to get poached if they put in a good shift.  

Like Owen Williams has.

LordDowlais wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:LD, Williams has played the last two. Been a touch indifferent.

I was watching him just before he left the Scarlets, and he was standing out against the older guys he was playing against, he can kick long and accurate he has an eye for a gap and a sidestep to match, he is also like grease lightning when in full sprint, he can tackle above his size as well, perhaps if Leicester took the shackles off a little then you would see more of what he is about, on the flip side though he does tend to lose his temper quite quickly.

i don't think there are any "shackles" at Leicester. I just don't think he's had enough game time to settle in yet.

Many moons ago Glaws had a similar crisis and James Forrester appeared at centre for 2 games - scoring 2 tries in the first. Perhaps a centre pairing of Mulipola and Mafi is in order...

I think Mafi and Mulipola are on international duty. Even if they weren't I'd prefer both were rested. I want to see if the young guns have anything about them.

Williams has looked a touch nervy, his two starts have been in difficult conditions as well. I think he'll come good.

Quins have similar problems at hooker (only 3rd and academy boy), lock (Robson and an academy lad or two) and centre (Molenar, Hopper and Botica). We've been playing two members of the coaching staff in the A league to fill the gaps.

It's not good as key players who need a rest may not get that now.

I'd settle for any experience in the midfield when the proper rugby resumes in a couple of weeks Yappy. More than happy for the academy to get a run out at the moment. We've only got 2nd choice and player/part time academy coach Chuter at hooker ourselves though I'm hoping young Thacker gets a go as he is a bright prospect, so much so that the conservative Richard Cockerill handed him his debut aged 17 a couple of years back.

Quins are suffering a bit but have at least had their moat creative backs Evans and Care available as well as their key forwards Easter and Robson. Those players certainly gave you a good base to work from at our place.

My team for the LV Cup:

Stankovitch, Briggs, Balmain
de Chaves, Price
Wells, Slater (c), Gibson
Harrison, Williams
Pohe, Catchpole
Purdy, Hamilton, Benjamin

Bench: Thacker, Bristow, Schuster, Cain, Noone, Mele, Dunn, Humphreys.

Perhaps only start Slater for the one game and then rotate Noone in for the other. Big Ed to captain the side from 8 as an experiment and to ensure they gel at home. Away from home let Noone (A team captain) have a chance. Rotate Cain and Price so each has a stab at it as well. Cain is a big and mobile unit who had a horrific knee injury after scoring on his debut so be interesting to see if he can make it that being his second knee injury and those injuries have ruined his chances of going from England under 18 to England under 20s.

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/Sport/Joe-Cain-targets-first-team-push-after-signing-new-Leicester-Tigers-deal-20130702174458.htm

I wasn't far off.

Leicester Tigers (v Ospreys, Welford Road, Friday 7.45pm) 15 Scott Hamilton 14 Blaine Scully 13 George Catchpole 12 Javiah Pohe 11 Miles Benjamin 10 Owen Williams 9 Sam Harrison 1 Boris Stankovich (c) 2 Harry Thacker 3 Fraser Balmain 4 Joe Cain 5 Sebastian de Chaves 6 Michael Noone 7 Jamie Gibson 8 Thomas Waldrom

Replacements 16 George Chuter 17 Tom Bristow 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Tom Price 20 Harry Wells 21 David Mélé 22 Perry Humphreys 23 Henry Purdy

Ospreys 15 Ross Jones 14 Hanno Dirksen 13 Tom Isaacs 12 Matthew Jenkins 11 Tom Grabham 10 Sam Davies 9 Tom Habberfield 1 Marc Thomas 2 Matthew Dwyer 3 Joe Rees 4 Lloyd Peers (c) 5 Rhodri Hughes 6 Graham Knoop 7 Arthur Ellis 8 Morgan Allen

Replacements 16 Rhys Hutchinson 17 Nicky Smith 18 Dan Suter 19 Sam Williams 20 Jack Jones 21 Jake Cole 22 Nathan Edwards 23 Aisea Natoga