Aviva Premiership - End of Season Run In

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As we come to the last four rounds, Exeter are clear at the top, and London Irish are adrift at the bottom (though not relegated yet). The fight for both Top 4 and th eplayoffs and Top 6 and Europe promises to be thrilling and will go down to the wire.

Exeter Chiefs

Gloucester (H), London Irish (A), Sale (H), Harlequins (A)
With that run-in Exeter should be sealing a home semi sooner rather than later and should be topping the table for the first time.
Predicted final points 83
Predicted final position 1st


Saracens

Northampton (A), Bath (H), London Irish (A), Gloucester (H)
It is 2009 since Saracens failed to make the play-offs. With the run-in they have that run of Top 4 finishes should be extended by another season - yet it is an indication of just how competitive the league has been and Sarries indifferent form that thoughts of finishing outside the play-offs can even by mildly contemplated. Sarries have thrashed Saints three times already this season, though perhaps Northampton will be hoping to catch Saracens on a post European low. The other 3 sides will all want to win to keep their seasons alive, but Sarries should have too much.
Predicted final points 75
Predicted final position 2nd


Wasps

Sale (A), Worcester (H), Northampton (H), Newcastle (A)
Last season's table toppers have at times been sublime, but have failed to show that form often enough to guarantee a Top 4 place yet. Whilst still hot on Saracens coat tails, I am struggling to see them securing a home semi - and they will not be wanting to go away to Falcons needing points to make the Top 4. The two home games should be comfortable wins, but trip to Salford will be crucial against a Sale team who are not out of the fight for the play-offs and will certainly be eyeing up a Top 6 finish at least.
Predicted Final points 67
Predicted final position 4th


Newcastle

Worcester (A), Sale (H), Leicester (A), Wasps (H)
Falcons have been in the top 4 for most of the season and with 12 wins only Exeter (13) have more. With a tricky run in they need to win on the road in round 19 to help ease the nerves. Falcons have failed to secure a LBP this season and being in the play-off spots with a negative points difference is an interesting quirk. Despite 6 TBPs, only the bottom 2 have scored less tries (and points )than Falcons. They may well need to secure some BPs in these last four rounds.
Predicted final points 63
Predicted final position 5th


Leicester
Bath (Twickenham), Northampton (H), Newcastle (H), Sale (A)
Are Tigers putting in one of their trademark end of season flourishes to make the play offs for the umpteenth time in a row? Quite possibly though they need to keep winning. Three wins from the last four games (so long as it includes Falcons) should be enough. Nerves will be soothed a little if they can win "The Clash" at Twickenham.  This will not be easy as Bath still have hopes of a high table finish, yet (in part due to the quirks of East Midlands derbies) this could be their easiest fixture.
Predicted final points 67
Predicted Final position 3rd


Gloucester
Exeter (A), Harlequins (H), Bath (H), Saracens (A)
Those two tricky road trips have probably ended Glaws hopes of a play-off spot. However with the potential for the teams around them to drop points they need to secure as many wins as they can and see where that puts them.
Predicted Final points 60
Predicted Final position 6th


Sale
Wasps (H), Exeter (A), Newcastle (A), Leicester (H)
Win all four matches and Sale could well sneak into the play-offs. However it is more likely that their efforts will help decide which of the sides above them misses out. May well just lose out on a top half finish, but even so Diamond seems to have them punching above their weight.
Predicted final points 58
Predicted Final position 7th


Bath
Leicester (Twickenham), Saracens (A), Gloucester (A), London Irish (H)
Bath will be hoping they still have something to play for when their Academy Side visit the Rec in Round 22. I would make them favourites to win at the Rec against Tigers, but playing in London removes home advantage. Could well struggle for points in the away fixtures as their season seems set to fizzle out.
Predicted final points 53
Predicted Final position 8th


Harlequins
London Irish (H), Gloucester (A), Worcester (A), Exeter (H)
Little to play for except pride.
Predicted final points 42
Predicted Final position 9th


Northampton
Saracens (H), Leicester (A), Wasps (A), Worcester (H)
Little to play for except pride, they may need to beat Worcester to avoid 11th place.
Predicted final points 38
Predicted Final position 10th


Worcester
Newcastle (H), Wasps (A), Harlequins (H), Northampton (A)
Can they stay ahead of LI? Yes. Can they catch Saints? Maybe.
Predicted Final Points 37
Predicted final position 11th


London Irish
Harlequins (A), Exeter (H), Saracens (H), Bath (A)
A topsy turvy season has told us to take nothing for granted. However London Irish need a minor miracle and their fate is really outside their own hands. Two really tough home games means the question really is when not if they are relegated.
Predicted Final Points - 22
Predicted Final Position 12th

I agree with a lot of what you say Sam, but I think MOC inherited a squad in which the balance between forward and backs spending was way out of line (thanks to the boards push for the Mauger revolution) and he's clearly making steps to change that. He's also been better this year at bringing through the youngsters than Cockers was in the final 3 years of his time at Tigers.

In particular he's gone out of his way to improve the backrow which was at times the weakest area for Leicester* so I'm happy to give him another season with a squad that much closer reflects his vision. The pack will be better next season, Spencer and Thompson walk into the starting 15 for me (ahead of Fitz and Hamilton) and Denton could be destructive coming on for the final 20.



*Although somewhat injury enforced, Fitzgerald, BOC, McCaffrey was genuinely the worst backrow I've ever seen in the AP. Even with all first choices missing next year we'd see Williams, Evans, Denton with Mapapalangi on the bench.

Wow.....what a game! I never thought we would come out of that with a win!

To be fair, we were always in with a shout and Tigers were not great. To go to Welford road and come away with 4pts is a huge achievement, we deserved it.

Fuzzy Dunlop wrote:I agree with a lot of what you say Sam, but I think MOC inherited a squad in which the balance between forward and backs spending was way out of line (thanks to the boards push for the Mauger revolution) and he's clearly making steps to change that. He's also been better this year at bringing through the youngsters than Cockers was in the final 3 years of his time at Tigers.

In particular he's gone out of his way to improve the backrow which was at times the weakest area for Leicester* so I'm happy to give him another season with a squad that much closer reflects his vision. The pack will be better next season, Spencer and Thompson walk into the starting 15 for me (ahead of Fitz and Hamilton) and Denton could be destructive coming on for the final 20.



*Although somewhat injury enforced, Fitzgerald, BOC, McCaffrey was genuinely the worst backrow I've ever seen in the AP. Even with all first choices missing next year we'd see Williams, Evans, Denton with Mapapalangi on the bench.

Good coaches make teams greater than the sum of their parts. We are currently less. We could yet finish behind Sale, Falcons and Glaws. Our squad is stronger than all three but I'd say they are playing better as units. We have the players to be in the top 4 competing with Sarries and Chiefs. We are nowhere near, you can only blame the squad for so long. We've made changes and signed players MOC wanted.

He'll be lucky if he gets another season. If he does then he needs a vast improvement and quickly because come November there might be some Super 15 coaches available as immediate replacements.

The main issue with Tigers has been recruitment and the the guy who is at the top of recruitment and has been at top of recruitment for about 4 years now is still here...

Welly wrote: The main issue with Tigers has been recruitment and the the guy who is at the top of recruitment and has been at top of recruitment for about 4 years now is still here...  

I agree Welly, it's regressed every year. Your pack, especially the back 5 is not top 4 material. You have a great backline and front row but your locks and back row are very average AP imo.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:

Welly wrote: The main issue with Tigers has been recruitment and the the guy who is at the top of recruitment and has been at top of recruitment for about 4 years now is still here...  

I agree Welly, it's regressed every year. Your pack, especially the back 5 is not top 4 material. You have a great backline and front row but your locks and back row are very average AP imo.

The pack is functional. Selection has been poor but that's another story. We've got a couple of good opensides in BOC and Evans. Williams has had a few injuries but has been an England squad member under Jones, Hamilton has become a Scotland international this season and Kalamafoni is an international and AP constant for years now. Agreed it's not star studded but there's enough ability there for a functional backrow good enough for the playoffs.

Second row has been weakened by Barrow and his little strop. Fitzgerald is a decent work horse but error prone and lightweight. Kitch has been a little bit and miss but a good lineout operator when his colleagues can get their timings right. Wells is a good mobile all rounder. Add in Spencer and maybe one other next season and that problem area should be sorted.

The head coach isn't in charge of recruitment but they are telling the board what or who they want.

We have this same discussion every year Sam. The general quality of your back 5 just isn't good enough and hasn't been for years.

Stating these players have been England squad members or are now fringe internationals......is this really good enough for Leicester? Your locks are some of the worst in the AP imo.

I'm not saying we necessarily have much better players, but I wouldn't fancy any of your back 5 at Falcons.

Congratulations to Falcons. Deano has built a side which is stronger than the sum of it's parts, in a nutshell that is what Tigers are failing to do.

If Gloucs win against Bath then the trip to Sale will effectively be a shootout for Champions Cup rugby next season.

Word of mouth has been that MOC was told that if we qualified for Champions Cup next season he'd still be in charge...

Hamilton is a solid player who wouldn't get into any of the current top 7 teams back row (Other than Tigers which says alot)
Kalamafoni is a 6 not an 8.
Williams has promise but the injuries have hampered him.
Kitchener and Fitzgerald are both light weight.
Wells is a good player but again wouldn't get into any of the top 4 teams.

Other than BOC who showed his class and IMO and should have gotten more pens at the breakdown our Back 5 in the scrum has been weak for some time.
Evans and Mapapalangi have promise though.
Thompson, Denton and Spencer are good signings IMO all more physical bigger aggressive forwards.

Head coach might say who he wants but he isn't getting it either a lot of the time.  (Also not a board call on who comes in most of the time).

Sgt_Pooly wrote:We have this same discussion every year Sam. The general quality of your back 5 just isn't good enough and hasn't been for years.

Stating these players have been England squad members or are now fringe internationals......is this really good enough for Leicester? Your locks are some of the worst in the AP imo.

I'm not saying we necessarily have much better players, but I wouldn't fancy any of your back 5 at Falcons.

I'd say the same of your 4-8 options coming to Tigers to be honest, Sarge. I'd take Mark Wilson over Williams/Hamilton/Denton at 6 but even then Kalamafoni has been excellent this season and could offer similar to Wilson at blindside if we had a better number 8...

That probably sums it up though, it's a similar quality group of players performing to different levels.

Thompson is a good signing, I rate him really highly. Spencer is the type of lock we need.

A big signing in the second row has been needed for a while though. Pie in the sky thinking someone like Lood de Jager would be revolutionary in that boiler room. Thinking slightly more realistically, Attwood has found form and fitness at Toulon, if he wants back to the Prem but isn't interested in returning to Bath he would add to the current options significantly.

Totally agree Welly.

I think Denton, Thompson and Spencer are an improvement though.

Hey Carlos. This is the thing though...you shouldn't have similar players to Falcons in the pack, you're Leicester.

I've calmed down now.... And so are up lol.

Still sticking by it was an inept performance from the ref and Deano's media speech worked wonders. Have to congratulate Newcastle and its great to see Goneva play like that.

i would take currently next season a pack of
1. Genge
2. TPN
3. Cole
4. Mafi
5. Spencer
6. Kalamafoni
7. BOC
8. Thompson

Then next season try and ship Kitchener and Fitzgerald end of it and poach a SA/NZ lock who is looking to move when the World Cup ends and a back row from one of those countries too.

I prefer Thompson at 6.

Throw someone like Etzebeth into that pack and it's starts looking more like it.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:I prefer Thompson at 6.

Throw someone like Etzebeth into that pack and it's starts looking more like it.

By the sounds of it forwards who are to be leaving.
Confirmed: Mulipola, Thacker, McGugian, Hamilton
Heard talk of leaving last night: Williams, Ryan,

So I expect around two/3 more forward signings.

Welly wrote:i would take currently next season a pack of
1. Genge
2. TPN
3. Cole
4. Mafi
5. Spencer
6. Kalamafoni
7. BOC
8. Thompson

Then next season try and ship Kitchener and Fitzgerald end of it and poach a SA/NZ lock who is looking to move when the World Cup ends and a back row from one of those countries too.

I'd happily keep one of Kitchener and Fitz, they are both good players who have a place in the squad. As a combination it's way off what we need and I don't see a high quality signing coming in whilst they are both here. Fitzgerald comes under the same bracket as Hamilton for me - a good player who I like but the pack needs better.

4.Spencer, Mafi, Voss
5.***, Kitchener, Wells

If we could fill that void at 5 with an upgrade - even Attwood could make a significant difference IMO - then I'd be much happier.

If Williams leaves then Mafi can also cover 6 so I'd be happy to use that cap to stack the lock options.

Bath currently giving Glaws a good seeing to .... TBP after half an hour from an excellent try by Homer - never saw him score like that for LI ...

I think Denton is a poor signing to be honest. Show pony who goes missing more than he makes destructive carries.

I agree to a point in the second row Sgt. Last season when we had Slater and Barrow to partner Kitch those were good options with Wells coming through. Losing both Barrow and Slater has meant we've become short of weight. I'd release Fitzgerald and rebuild that area in it's entirety.

I still hold a better coach would get more from these players than we're seeing currently.

Welly wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:I prefer Thompson at 6.

Throw someone like Etzebeth into that pack and it's starts looking more like it.

By the sounds of it forwards who are to be leaving.
Confirmed: Mulipola, Thacker, McGugian, Hamilton
Heard talk of leaving last night: Williams, Ryan,

So I expect around two/3 more forward signings.

The SA lock at Munster Grobler is out of contract this summer would take him even with his baggage. He and Spencer would add some weight to the second row with plenty of physicality. Mafi would be a like of like replacement for Williams if he goes.

We need some aggression and niggle in our pack they are too nice. There's no fear factor playing us anymore. Genge helps and Youngs has few qualms about getting stuck in. Guy Thompson helps but we need some more particularly in that second row. There was some talk of Henderson from Ulster but I sadly assume that was just agents using our name to get a better contract offer.

I assume some more props will be announced soon as well.

Denton was fantastic against us a few weeks back. We couldn't handle his physicality and straight running. I know you don't rate him but used correctly he could be a very good addition imo.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Denton was fantastic against us a few weeks back. We couldn't handle his physicality and straight running. I know you don't rate him but used correctly he could be a very good addition imo.

Hopefully Bakewell will take what's there and develop him a bit. He has the physical characteristics to be a better player so it's not a complete waste of money. We could have really done with someone with more of an edge. Guy Thompson is more likely to take the 8 shirt.

Watching Glaws Vs Bath and Ackerman has done a great job with Morgan. He looks slim and more explosive than we've seen in the last couple of seasons. Bath have really turned up with the but between their teeth though, doing Tigers a favour.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Denton was fantastic against us a few weeks back. We couldn't handle his physicality and straight running. I know you don't rate him but used correctly he could be a very good addition imo.

Hopefully Bakewell will take what's there and develop him a bit. He has the physical characteristics to be a better player so it's not a complete waste of money. We could have really done with someone with more of an edge. Guy Thompson is more likely to take the 8 shirt.

Watching Glaws Vs Bath and Ackerman has done a great job with Morgan. He looks slim and more explosive than we've seen in the last couple of seasons. Bath have really turned up with the but between their teeth though, doing Tigers a favour.

I remember when Denton first played for Scotland against England - He was terrific and such a handfull. He's a great runner but seems hugely limited outside of that and really has not learned a great deal in the years inbetween.

Maybe he just has not yet found the right club but switching to Bath then Worcs then Tigers does not really instill a great deal of confidence.

Well as results stand, we're in the playoffs!

Bath humping Gloucester and Exeter beating Sale.

Grobler is likely to go Glous IMO.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Well as results stand, we're in the playoffs!

Bath humping Gloucester and Exeter beating Sale.

Great news for Falcons - who would have predicted that at the start of the season ...

Never in question Heaf

Heaf wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Well as results stand, we're in the playoffs!

Bath humping Gloucester and Exeter beating Sale.

Great news for Falcons - who would have predicted that at the start of the season ...

I could be wrong, but genuinely think I did have them down for 4th in the prediction thread at the start of the season. Will check!

I lied - said they would be 6th .

I told you we'd win The whole thing this year man....

Bloody hell Quins! When's the season over??

Fantastic 2nd half from Sarries, they blew Irish away. Billy Vunipola was immense when he came on, looked super sharp and carried really well.

Really only Tigers v Sale game has the most riding on it.
Tigers need 1 point to secure European rugby or keep Sale to 4 points.
Sale need a win and Glous to get no more than 2 points from the Saracens game.
Bath can still get top 6 IF they get 5 points v Irish and Glous get no points from Saracens.
But then doesn't matter for glous as they have Champions cup already in the bag near enough.

Top 4 decided and only 3rd and 4th can change so would you rather a trip to sandy or AP?

I think Falcons might fancy a crack at that Saracens pack. Falcons scrum isn't great but Sarries are not massively destructive in that area so they should survive. Sarries injury list this season coupled with last summer's poor recruitment mean they aren't at their best. Nice firm pitch for those Falcons wingers. As opposed to Sandy Park where they will get taken apart in the scrum and if it rains won't help their wingers sparkle (I expect Cheifs to be able to defend the ruck unlike Tigers).

As for Wasps I don't know who they'd prefer. Maybe Chiefs as that's more likely to be a game where both sides look to play. Sarries would look to back their defence and just smash Wasps.

Sarries perhaps the better suited although they looked very good in the 2nd half today. Exeter didn't look that great against Sale at the weekend tbh so maybe them (more likely anyway).

I don't think we stand much chance against either really, I just hope we make a good account of ourself.

yappysnap wrote:Bloody hell Quins! When's the season over??

Completely Agree Yappy.....Position in the table is about where they deserve to be at the moment.
If Worcester do a number on Saints then we will drop to 11 as I don't expect anything against Chiefs (even if they field a 2nd string side to rest players).

nathan wrote:I've calmed down now.... And so are up lol.

Still sticking by it was an inept performance from the ref and Deano's media speech worked wonders. Have to congratulate Newcastle and its great to see Goneva play like that.

What did Pearce do to make it inept?

The only really inept thing I saw was our attempts to defend the fringes - watching Dan Cole amble from one break down to another to stand on the edge was getting painful. Lets face it Goneva scored any number of tries like his second one in our colours so we should have known it was coming.

Yet again we built a lead then tried to defend it by hoofing the ball away at every opportunity. Falcons refused to give up and we kept letting them have the ball. After 20 years of being a season ticket holder, it was a shame that my last two matches as such were so disappointing. Falcons fully deserved their win though and I am not sure why it took so long to award the try at the end. I was about 5m away and could see clear grounding of the ball - yet I had time to pee and get most of the way back to the King Power Stadium before it was awarded.

propdavid_london wrote:

yappysnap wrote:Bloody hell Quins! When's the season over??

Completely Agree Yappy.....Position in the table is about where they deserve to be at the moment.
If Worcester do a number on Saints then we will drop to 11 as I don't expect anything against Chiefs (even if they field a 2nd string side to rest players).

As much as the coaches are to blame for the last couple of seasons, the players only have themselves to blame for these last few abject performances.

I don't think I've ever seen a team give up so completely before the end of the season, in any comp. Even the likes of Sunwolves, or Western Force who are tinker every season by every team going show more pride.

Who ever the new coach is needs to crack some heads and I wouldn't be surprised to see some players get moved along, far too comfy.

yappysnap wrote:

propdavid_london wrote:

yappysnap wrote:Bloody hell Quins! When's the season over??

Completely Agree Yappy.....Position in the table is about where they deserve to be at the moment.
If Worcester do a number on Saints then we will drop to 11 as I don't expect anything against Chiefs (even if they field a 2nd string side to rest players).

As much as the coaches are to blame for the last couple of seasons, the players only have themselves to blame for these last few abject performances.

I don't think I've ever seen a team give up so completely before the end of the season, in any comp. Even the likes of Sunwolves, or Western Force who are tinker every season by every team going show more pride.

Who ever the new coach is needs to crack some heads and I wouldn't be surprised to see some players get moved along, far too comfy.

Welcome to the comfy low end of the table where expectations are not so...........stressful. We are keeping each other company. Relax. Have a pint or three. Summer's almost here.................
(the agro can start again in September).

Leicester Tigers (v Sale Sharks, away, Saturday 4.00pm)

15 Telusa Veainu

14 Jonah Holmes

13 Manu Tuilagi

12 Mathew Tait

11 Jonny May

10 George Ford (c)

9 Ben Youngs

1 Ellis Genge

2 Tatafu Polota-Nau

3 Dan Cole

4 Mike Fitzgerald

5 Graham Kitchener

6 Mike Williams

7 Brendon O’Connor

8 Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements

16 George McGuigan

17 Greg Bateman

18 Logovi’i Mulipola

19 Harry Wells

20 Valentino Mapapalangi

21 Sam Harrison

22 Joe Ford

23 George Worth

No idea what the point of having Ford and Worth on the bench is. We'd be better off ditching Joe and putting Evans on there because this game will be attritional up front. Evans should be on the bench we need all the breakdown help we can get and Mapapalangi won't help in that department.

Really not happy that Evans is excluded. He may need to move clubs

Agree with your comments on Joe Ford, it basically means they do not trust Worth or Hardwick to play 10 should George get injured - but can they really be worse than Joe?

Last games for Logo. McGuigan and Williams in Tigers colours?

TBH Worth isn't a 10 at all though.
Hardwick I agree with.

Fortunately can't see Glous beating Sarries.

Oh I agree that Worth is not a 10 at this level (despite playing there for the A team?). He is however one of a plethora of guys I would rather see at 10 ahead of Ford Sr. Shazam can do a better job than can Joe.

Welly wrote: TBH Worth isn't a 10 at all though.
Hardwick I agree with.

Fortunately can't see Glous beating Sarries.

Worth has played 10 for us this season and for Nottingham previously. He's not the ideal option but Joe Ford is so poor I struggle to see how he could be much worse. If George goes off Joe will lose us the match. Worth has a bigger boot and better defence.

I hope not LT but I really don't understand why Evans doesn't play, he was excellent off the bench before BOCs return and now we're leaning heavily in someone who is just back from injury to contest the breakdown for 80 minutes against Sale one of the most ferocious backrows in the league (well at the breakdown anyway).

Played once at 10 in the AWC v wasps didn’t go well.

He isn’t a 10 and I would rather see him at 12/13/15 than 10
As I said would rather Hardwick and Worth on the bench.

Welly wrote: Played once at 10 in the AWC v wasps didn’t go well.

He isn’t a 10 and I would rather see him at 12/13/15 than 10
As I said would rather Hardwick and Worth on the bench.

He was passable Vs Wasps in a scratch side. I'd prefer Hardwick to Joe as well but I still think I'd have changed the split in the bench and had another forward. Sale go hard up front and can finish strongly. Don't want another finish like we endured Vs Falcons.

LondonTiger wrote:Really not happy that Evans is excluded. He may need to move clubs

That's currently my biggest worry about MOCs selection policy. Evans has been ill/injured throughout points this season when MOC has been criticised for picking unbalanced back rows. He is fit and playing well now though, yet still isn't selected.

MOCs tactics seem to be using his forwards as blunt instruments then going wing to wing through the backs. Neither will work against the best sides that Tigers should be challenging.

We have a talented, academy developed player, in a key position, who almost always has a positive impact on games when he plays. Yet he isn't selected...

king_carlos wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:Really not happy that Evans is excluded. He may need to move clubs

That's currently my biggest worry about MOCs selection policy. Evans has been ill/injured throughout points this season when MOC has been criticised for picking unbalanced back rows. He is fit and playing well now though, yet still isn't selected.

MOCs tactics seem to be using his forwards as blunt instruments then going wing to wing through the backs. Neither will work against the best sides that Tigers should be challenging.

We have a talented, academy developed player, in a key position, who almost always has a positive impact on games when he plays. Yet he isn't selected...

What I really don't understand about the Evans none selection is that he is actually good at running hard and straight. His footwork normally find a weak shoulder and he makes more metres than any player of his size really should. For me he's right up there with the Curry's in ability and it's MOC holding him back.

Welly wrote: TBH Worth isn't a 10 at all though.
Hardwick I agree with.

Fortunately can't see Glous beating Sarries.

Sorry for some bad news, but Gloucester might have a shot. Sarries are locked into 2nd place in the table, 8 points behind Exeter and 6 points ahead of Wasps. Can't move up or down. On the other hand, Gloucester need the win...........

king_carlos wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:Really not happy that Evans is excluded. He may need to move clubs

That's currently my biggest worry about MOCs selection policy. Evans has been ill/injured throughout points this season when MOC has been criticised for picking unbalanced back rows. He is fit and playing well now though, yet still isn't selected.

MOCs tactics seem to be using his forwards as blunt instruments then going wing to wing through the backs. Neither will work against the best sides that Tigers should be challenging.

We have a talented, academy developed player, in a key position, who almost always has a positive impact on games when he plays. Yet he isn't selected...

You Leicester guys think MOC survives the off season? I am not nearly as close to it as you are, but my old man lives in Market Harborough and hears a lot of dissatisfaction with him.