Tiger cubs grab chance to shine
INEXPERIENCED TEAM SEES OFF GEORGIAN WORLD CUP STARS
LEICESTER Tigers’ youngsters produced a memorable win 21-13 over an experienced Georgia Black Lion XV at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
The Friday night match was a tight affair in front of a sparse crowd, but with the youngsters putting on a show it harped back to the nights of the A League.
Despite the tough opposition of a Georgian squad featuring nine stars from their successful Rugby World Cup campaign, plenty of the home side coached by Neil Fowkes shone.
It wasn’t a surprise that Finn Carnduff, below, was head and shoulders above the rest given he started in the East Midlands derby against Northampton two weeks ago, but a number of lesserknown Tigers also showed their quality.
Fly-half Keiran Wilkinson controlled territory in difficult conditions, centre Joseph Woodward reminded us of his ability to step up in the midfield, but the best of the lot was hooker Finn TheoboldThomas.
Georgia started the better and got the first try after eight minutes.
The ball was eventually touched down by winger Akaki Tabutsadze, but the try could have been scored by numerous others after they butchered opportunities.
Against the Black Lion giant pack Tigers were always under pressure but to their credit gave as good as they got and even got the upper hand in the maul.
Theobold-Thomas got the equalising score a few minutes later for the first of his tries to mark a coming-of-age performance.
Tigers didn’t have the majority of territory or possession in the rest of the opening period but were ruthless with their second opportunity to take the lead into the break.
It was a refreshing difference to the first team. Turnover ball in midfield was shipped over to the wing and a well-timed mispass from loosehead prop James Whitcombe gave winger Jack Kinder the chance to show his fleet of foot to skate in down the right side.
Black Lion got back into the game with a penalty before halftime, but were far from their best and head coach Richard Cockerill would have been disappointed by the lack of control his experienced players offered against the Tiger cubs. A second maul try for Theobold-Thomas extended Leicester’s lead in the second half to 21-8 and that’s how it stayed until a late consolation try for Tengiz Perinadze in the 78th minute. Tigers will have learnt a lot about their young side against a physically abrasive Georgian side, and given the lack of excitement from the first team at times this season, it was a breath of fresh air t o see some fresh faced whippersnappers taking the field. Given the lack of home fixtures during the regular season after the loss of three Gallagher Premiership sides, Tigers would do well to get more touring and international sides to test their squad depth in the near future.