Blood and guts and a try-scoring bonus point as indomitable Tigers fell old rivals
Julian Montoya and Calum Green seemingly played the whole game with claret pouring from their heads
DECISIVE MOMENTS IN
LEICESTER Tigers defeated old rivals Northampton Saints 35-20 on Friday night, bagging a tryscoring bonus point in the process.
A Nemani Nadolo brace and a Julian Montoya effort, plus three successful Freddie Burns kicks, established a 12-point lead as the visitors saw Cournall Skosan and Alex Mitchell cross.
Bryce Hegarty’s effort near the hour-mark sealed the deal with Burns adding three more successful kicks to achieve a personal season’s best haul of 15 points. Karl Wilkins touched down with ten minutes remaining for Saints but they ultimately left emptyhanded.
Mercury rugby writer Bobby Bridge was at the game, and here are his talking points and moments you might have missed:
WIESE REINVENTED
When Jasper Wiese burst on to the scene in the Gallagher Premiership, it was his robust carries and ability to bust tackles and make metres that alerted our attention.
Calling it second season syndrome would be harsh, but it’s clear the South African is now being targetted by opponents who are now fully aware of how talented he is if allowed to build up a head of steam.
The big chink in his armour was disciplinary lapses in defence that resulted in three yellow cards and a short ban. It’s clear the hard work that has been put in is paying off. Time and time again on Friday night he raced up out of the line and put his shoulders in where it hurts.
Statistics show he completed all 18 of the tackles attempted - six more than any other player on the pitch. With Marco van Staden missing, his fellow countryman is contributing heavily in defence and is becoming a more rounded player as a consequence.
DOUBLE TAKE
Ollie Chessum was unavailable for Tigers after being selected in the England squad to face Italy.
But Tigers fans who were at Mattioli Woods Welford Road would have been excused for thinking the giant forward had “popped home” for a warm-up before the game. But it was younger brother Lewis who was a travelling reserve for the match.
The academy ace appears even taller than his big brother and during lineout practice, he seemed to make 6ft 6in tall George
Martin look small! If Ollie does become an England regular, it’s reassuring to know Tigers have another Chessum in reserve for future battles.
BLOODY COLLISION
Blood was spilt for the cause as Julian Montoya and Calum Green seemingly played the whole game with claret pouring from their heads.
The two clashed heads in the build-up to Alex Mitchell’s try and were bandaged up to play on. Losing both to a HIA, be it for 10 minutes or for the duration of the game, could have been a big blow so early in the game.
Interestingly, it seemed neither changed their bloodied shirts or wiped away the stains on their faces upon returning for the second-half.
It might be simply a case of one shirt per man, or it might be something more primal, the bloodshed being a badge of honour, a war wound that evidenced their devotion to the cause. Both provided the kind of grit and doggedness that was the difference between the two sides.
KEY RIP
There was plenty to admire about Nemani Nadolo’s second try. Dan Kelly’s carry that took three men to stop, Wigglesworth’s rapid distribution linking the phases, Hanro Liebenberg’s telescopic arm offload and Burns’ wonderful draw and pass for the winger to cross. But it could so easily have ended in a Northampton scrum before all of that.
The Saints had done well to contain the rolling maul from a close-range lineout and appeared to get their mitts on the ball.
However, Tigers didn’t give it up. Tommy Reffell and Montoya
New signing Chris Ashton’s yellow card at the end of the match will simply help to win over the fans!
hunted for the ball like hungry dogs on a fox hunt before Harry Wells wrenched the ball from Sam Matavesi and nonchalantly popped off to Wigglesworth and the rest is history
This is Wells all over. A series of key but not necessarily eyecatching moments that provide the backbone for this kind of performance.
GOOD GREED
You don’t achieve a strike rate like Montoya has without being a little greedy.
His 12th try in 18 Tigers games came from its usual source; a rolling maul. It was a slow and steady mound of men that edged its way to the line that prompted referee Matt Carley to offer the first warning. Normally, this prompts the ball to be whipped away and that’s exactly what Wigglesworth wanted to do.
The experienced scrum-half had both hands on the ball. But the Argentinian powerhouse sensed it was on and remained calm and got his reward. There’s nobody better in the world than turning those situations into points, and his patience and determination to keep the ball in the maul are key to achieving that status.
ASH SPLASH? NAH, HOW ABOUT THE CHRIS CATCH!
We all hoped that the abiding memory of Chris Ashton’s Leicester Tigers debut would be a breakaway try, maybe even a return of the ‘Ash Splash’ against one of his former clubs (even if it is supposedly in retirement!).
What we weren’t expecting was a stunning cover tackle on George Furbank. The Saints flyhalf was showed the outside route by the debutant and backed himself to navigate his way to the line, but Ashton caught him superbly.
A converted try there and Tigers go into the break only five points to the good. It was potentially a game-changing moment.
INVESTED ONLOOKERS
The television cameras didn’t spot it, but behind the press box at Mattioli Woods Welford Road was a full line of senior Tigers players who were unavailable or not selected for the game.
Jaco Taute, now out for a whole year with his knee injury, was there first and was followed by Kini Murimurivalu and Matias Moroni. Others such as Dan Richardson joined them too.
Most were suited and fully invested in the game, cheering the tries, questioning decisions, applauding great moments of the game. It’s clear the buy-in to
the cause stretches far beyond the 23-men who get the chance to pull on those famous colours.
FINAL WORD IS FREDDIE’S
Any analysis of this game has to feature Burns. What was so impressive is how he did things his own way. He wasn’t George Ford’s understudy performing the same role, he was Freddie Burns - the Freddie Burns we know and love.
He chipped and chased, passed and probed, made an eye-rubbing 71 metres beating seven defenders along the way and landed some seriously impressive shots at goal. Would Ford have met fire with fire in the way Burns did as Saints clearly came to play and put width on the ball? I’m not so sure.
All that was missing was a try that would have blown off the roof.