Abuse of players a symptom of growing discontent among fans

ANOTHER week, another spectacular collapse.

Let’s be fair, Leicester Tigers were much, much better than the team that capitulated to Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens last week.

The energy and scramble defence was a step up and they were in the game right until the very final play.

Ollie Chessum and George Martin were excellent in the lineout, particularly impressively because Bristol had decided to contest virtually every throw and they were under extreme pressure throughout.

Ollie Hassell-Collins was unfairly singled out for criticism last week, and his two tries went some way to answer his critics.

Yet in the final analysis the one statistic that counts shows that Tigers lost yet again.

In spite of dominating most of the game, the final ten minutes were about as bad as you can get.

Others will write about the decision to give the ball back to Bristol with minimal time on the clock, when keeping it in hand seemed the most sensible option.

What can’t be ignored is the abuse of players that followed the final try that gave the Bears victory.

While that is utterly unacceptable and it seems likely that bans of fans will follow, it can’t be denied that it is a symptom of a growing discontent among the fan base.

It’s clear that the team desperately needs an attack coach but unfortunately legal issues have prevented that being dealt with quickly.

It has left head coach Dan McKellar in a difficult position – the level of dominance with the ball that Leicester enjoyed was poorly rewarded with points on the scoreboard.

Given Leicester’s inability to score from close in, one wonders why they don’t simply take the penalty points on offer.

An analysis of points scored from kicks to the corner surely indicates that it’s a losing strategy for this Leicester side.

Meanwhile, the scrum has been dominated in successive games by Newcastle, Northampton and Bristol – none noted as strong scrummaging teams – so what is going wrong?

At the same time, the number of games that Leicester are losing in the final quarter indicates a lack of fitness that is simply unacceptable – the loss of Aled Walters has been huge and, as one of the best in the world, he probably can’t be adequately replaced.

Frankly, the season can’t end quickly enough.

In the absence of a sugar daddy owner, the cupboard is bare in terms of different solutions and the fans can only hope that next season will see a turnaround.