Leicester Stun Boks

[Epi]

Leicester Tigers 22 South Africa 17: match report
Read a full match report of the international tour match between Leicester Tigers and South Africa at Welford Road on Friday Nov 6 2009.

By Andrew Ellison at Welford Road
Published: 10:35PM GMT 06 Nov 2009

A heroic performance by a young Leicester team brought the Premiership champions a famous win over South Africa on Friday night at Welford Road.
It was all capped by a magnificent defensive effort in the final two minutes when South Africa camped on the Leicester line in a last-ditch wave of driving mauls to grab a late try.


Leicester proved the stronger and were cheered off by a full house of 24,000 to finish a rousing contest in which two young players emerged the match winners.
A first-half try by Lucas Amorosino, the Argentinian wing signed on a trial to ease injury worries in September, and some accurate goal-kicking from England
Under-20 scrum-half Ben Youngs, who claimed 17 points, were two outstanding performances.
Leicester had needed to call upon the best of their young talent and the growing link to Nottingham, the nearby Championship club, to field a decent team.

There was also the familiar sight of Tuilagi though it was not Alex but his younger brother Manu at centre.
Tuilagi had a big part in Leicester’s first try that thrilled the full house. His neat link to Amorosino set the wing on his mazy run during which he outpaced the Boks to score under the posts.
Youngs converted and his second penalty goal, following a successful strike after 10 minutes, had increased Leicester’s lead to 13-8.

South Africa had dominated the opening quarter. They had eased into a lead of 8-3 lead thanks to Jongi Nokwe’s try in the left corner and an opening penalty goal from Ruan Pienaar in the sixth minute.
Leicester, prompted by captain Aaron Mauger, collected themselves in the final 20 minutes of the half and started to compete up front.

Youngs then added a third penalty goal two minutes before the interval. That kick put Leicester 16-8 clear but some of the good work was spoiled at the very end of the half when Leicester were penalised for obstruction and Pienaar gained a second penalty goal to close the margin to 16-11.

Leicester maintained their tempo and concentration straight after the interval. They may have been short on try-scoring chances, but the pressure annoyed the Springboks and the home team gained more penalty-goal chances.
Youngs accepted two of the three opportunities to put Leicester 22-11 ahead in the 58th minute. The introduction of George Chuter, the England squad hooker, and Wallaby Lote Tuqiri raised hopes of a famous win.
South Africa did gain two kickable penalty chances themselves but they chose to kick for territory.
Pienaar eventually stepped up in the 65th minute to collect his third penalty which reduced the gap to 22-14. Another kick closed the gap further but Leicester’s defence proved too good.

Leicester: S Hamilton; L Amorosino (L Tuqiri 55), A Forsyth, M Tuilagi, J Murphy; A Mauger (capt), B Youngs; B Stankovich, M Davies (G Chuter 55), M Castrogiovanni (D Cole 66), C Green, D Hemingway, G Parling, B Pienaar (T Armes 61), B Deacon (C Hammond 13). Try: Amorosino. Conversion: Youngs. Penalty goals: Youngs 5.
South Africa XV: E Rose (R Viljoen 68); O Ndungane, J de Jongh, W Olivier (M Bosman 65), J Nokwe; R Pienaar, H Adams; G Steenkamp (H van der Merwe 40), C Ralepelle (capt, B Maku 20), J du Plessis, D Rossouw (A Hargreaves 60), A Bekker, D Potgieter, D Raubenheimer (J Deysel 49), A Johnson. Try: Nokwe. Penalty goals: Pienaar 4.
Referee: S Dickinson (Australia). Att: 24,000.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ru...r-Tigers-22-South-Africa-17-match-report.html

:yay

Video
http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/video/0,,Rugby News_19460,00.html

 

[Moses]

Awesome, go Lote!

 

[Spook]

Lote didn't do much but was solid in defense. The Bok scrum was woeful. I thought they had loads of depth...

 

[Newb]

well, well. i wasn't expecting that. perhaps took the tigers a bit lightly? although looking at the leicester lineup, they certainly played their better players and would have been capable of fronting up to a squad of dirt trackers.

 

[waratahjesus]

just finished watching some of it, great game, if i was lote i would stay in england, dont go back to rugby league mate, awesome atmosphere and awesome game, wish some of the touring teams this way would do likewise and play the tahs or reds as they go round.

 

[Lance Free]

I'm just glad the Wallabies were booked to play Gloucester, and not Leicester because I think there would have been a similar result.....

 

[Scarfman]

I thought that was a pretty good Bok side.

 

[Ishmael]

I'm just glad the Wallabies were booked to play Gloucester, and not Leicester because I think there would have been a similar result.....

Agreed.

'Twas a fantastic game, however, and would have allowed PdV to firmly cross a number of names off his future Springbok list.

 

[The Chosen]

I thought that was a pretty good Bok side.

Just finished watching a replay- what a great performance from the Leicester forward pack- not only the scrums, but at the breakdowns. Wonderful to see the bulk of their forwards get stuck in , not seagulling on the sides.
Even Lote got carried away and followed the Stirling Mortlock example of hitting the mauls hard.
Wonderful atmosphere- hope it doesn't inspire the Poms too much for tonight!
Actually how many Poms were in the Leicester side compared to number of imports?

 

[Blue]

I thought that was a pretty good Bok side.

It wasn't (clearly).

It was a combination of color selections and some that were just downright baffling.

I predicted Leicester by 10-15 and was laughed at by some people.

These are players that based on form should not be anywhere near a squad:

Ralapele - useless
Maku- no idea - third bulls hooker
Steenkamp- outclassed in CC all season tiem and time again
Nokwe - Canlt make Cheetahs team
Ndungane - useless wrong twin anyway
Rose - fuck off
vd Merwe - inhured for a year - never played all year so far
Pienaar - flatter to deceive and was poor for Sharks at 9 and never played 10
Raubenheimer (fuck how embarassingly bad was he) - dumb, slow, weak, inept

These guys were all consistently outplayed in the Currie cup yet for color or their past performance they were selected.

To put it in perspective. The Cheetah and WP scrums are the best I have seen coming out of SA in over 5 years yet not one of their players make the squad. Their front rows would have held their own comfortably. But they are all white. Problem. Franscois Louw from WP is the best 7 in SA all year. But Raubenheimber is black. I can cite tenm more examples of players missing out becuase they are white.

People say SA has no depth and it is hard to argue. If you select the third or fourth best player in each position you will lose.

The coaches will blame it on the lack of preparation time. Bullshit. For the SA fans, get used to it boys, I see hard times ahead once the current top tier stars retire.

It was a fucking disgrace.

 

[Biffo]

Good morning PB

 

[Newb]

blue is laying the wood today. :thumb

but to be honest, i can't find much fault with your argument. seems i'm always confused about the touring squad/dirt track SA selections and left wondering why there are blokes i've never heard of there while guys that i rate highly are left behind to fark off to euro eventually. at least PdV is "smart" enough to field his best first XV usually or there would really be hell to pay.

 

[Ishmael]

I thought that was a pretty good Bok side.

It wasn't (clearly).

It was a combination of color selections and some that were just downright baffling.

I predicted Leicester by 10-15 and was laughed at by some people.

These are players that based on form should not be anywhere near a squad:

Ralapele - useless
Maku- no idea - third bulls hooker
Steenkamp- outclassed in CC all season tiem and time again
Nokwe - Canlt make Cheetahs team
Ndungane - useless wrong twin anyway
Rose - fuck off
vd Merwe - inhured for a year - never played all year so far
Pienaar - flatter to deceive and was poor for Sharks at 9 and never played 10
Raubenheimer (fuck how embarassingly bad was he) - dumb, slow, weak, inept

These guys were all consistently outplayed in the Currie cup yet for color or their past performance they were selected.

To put it in perspective. The Cheetah and WP scrums are the best I have seen coming out of SA in over 5 years yet not one of their players make the squad. Their front rows would have held their own comfortably. But they are all white. Problem. Franscois Louw from WP is the best 7 in SA all year. But Raubenheimber is black. I can cite tenm more examples of players missing out becuase they are white.

People say SA has no depth and it is hard to argue. If you select the third or fourth best player in each position you will lose.

The coaches will blame it on the lack of preparation time. Bullshit. For the SA fans, get used to it boys, I see hard times ahead once the current top tier stars retire.

It was a fucking disgrace.

I'm inclined to question a lot of that post since you described Rose as 'fuck off' when he was actually one of the Boks' best last night. He's been very flaky in the past but showed last night that he at least has plenty of potential. Obviously there are plenty of players who are there because they are black, and Rose might even be one of them, but he showed last night that he at least belongs at that level.

 

[PaarlBok]

Good morning PB

Good Morning Biff! :yay

We were simply bullied in the forwards by Leicester, no excuse and the surely deserve their win.

This game just show how much we need dirt tracker matches. Had many Saffers disagreeing with me on this because our SH lot dont get expose with that amount of passion from the crowd and the way it boost the local teams. In the SH you'll only found this at Loftus or Newlands.

I said from the start Wicus Blaauw should have been there, well like Blue qouted you could have picked a entired 3 teams there. Thought Ashley Johnson sort of front up but the others were just useless. Sarel Pretorius should have wear 9 and and and. But at least the selectors can file most of them to file 13 now.

DickHeadSon was kak as usual, :nta:, no only joking. :lmao:

Not lekka to loose but there is a bigger picture in the end.

 

[Scarfman]

Not criticising the ref, PB? :violin:

 

[Hugonaut]

That's by no means a first string Leicester team either - missing Geordan Murphy [fullback], Alesana Tuilagi [wing], Dan Hipkiss [centre], Julian White [TH Prop], Louis Deacon and Ben Kay [Second Row], and any three of Tom Croft, Craig Newby, Jordan Crane and Louis Moody in the backrow.

Bad team put out there by deVilliers – I was watching the Currie Cup final recently, and it was one of the most enjoyable games I've seen [from a neutral's perspective] this year. Was expecting to see a lot more of those guys out there against Leicester, but it would seem from Blue's post – and the evidence of the performance – that there's still a lot of political machinations involved in selection.

 

[Blue]

Exactly Hugonaut. That's what is so annoying. The players are back in SA.

Blaauw, WP Nel, Adriaan Strauss. Potgieter, Juries. List goes on.

Ishmael:

Rose puts through one chip and suddenly he is a good player?

 

[Blue]

As much as I hate to agree with keo.co.za, he sums it up well.

http://www.keo.co.za/2009/11/07/pdv-to-blame-for-leicester-disgrace/

Our second best should be in a position to smash a Leicester second XV.

Peter de Villiers must take responsibility for his poor selections and the embarrassment that followed in Leicester on Friday.

It’s all good and well lauding De Villiers when his first-choice side steamroll opponents, but now when an opportunity presents itself to mould an inexperienced group, he and his fellow coaching staff looked out of their depth.

The Springbok ’second-choice’ XV were annihilated by a club side without at least 16 of their regulars, also not helping their synergy. The Bok coaching staff will point to the lack of preparation time, but in that situation the common sense option is to pick combinations at provincial level. De Villiers ignored this, and the result was a disorganised showing in all facets that led to the South Africans being out-muscled.

While De Villiers stated this tour was about gauging who his next best in line are, his refusal to pick form players from the Currie Cup has now left him with more questions than answers.

This team were led out to be exposed by stupid selections and from numbers 1 to 22 there are few success stories from Welford Road.

De Villiers stated in the latest issue of SA Rugby magazine how his technical knowledge of the scrum is the best in the Bok camp, but if that was the case, he would’ve known before this match that Gurthro Steenkamp would’ve repeatedly unbound and taken his head out of the scrum, resulting in penalty after penalty. Instead of choosing Wian du Preez – who is now heading to Munster – and the rest of the Cheetahs front-row as a unit, they were all watching this debacle on TV.

That Chiliboy Ralepelle – the Bulls’ second-choice hooker – had the opportunity to lead his country after not being fit to take part in a Currie Cup final six days earlier is ludicrous. It wasn’t surprising he limped off after 20 minutes, and he should be on the next plane home. Jannie du Plessis’ days in the Bok set-up should also be numbered as he failed to produce any leadership or grunt required. How Heinke van der Merwe was suppose to perform after not playing in six months is a mystery, and one shudders at the thought of him having to play tighthead on this tour.

Danie Rossouw was a frustrated figure with the lack of leadership, and while he tried all night, it wasn’t enough. Andries Bekker also toiled throughout, but in a disorganised side, it was very difficult. That the Sharks’ fourth-choice lock Alistair Hargreaves came on to try and resurrect matters said it all. Even against 20-year-old rookies, he was out of his depth and he would have benefited more from an Isaac Ross-course in bulking up over the summer.

Ashley Johnson and Jean Deysel were the standout loosies, but how Davon Raubenheimer was considered ahead of Duane Vermeulen is crazy. Heini Adams, another who can’t start for his province, struggled behind a pack being shunted around. His tactical kicking was woeful however, and Sarel Pretorius would’ve been a better option.

Ruan Pienaar did nothing to show he is anything close to an international flyhalf. Worst of all is his temperament, panicked decisions resulting throughout the night. But what can you expect when the last time he played in the 10 jersey was on 25 July? De Villiers and Dick Muir’s obsession with versatility over specialists seems to be slowly but surely ruining what was a promising career.

Wynand Olivier, Juan de Jongh, Jongi Nokwe and Earl Rose all soldiered on with little quality ball, but Odwa Ndungane delivered a disinterested performance. Ndungane’s final minute knock-on capped off why Lionel Mapoe should have been in his place on tour.

The technical short-comings, especially at the breakdown, were disappointing, but what was even more worrying was the lack of commitment and desperation shown by some in a Bok jersey.

Victories over Ireland and France were the main aims of this tour, but just as important was judging the depth of South African rugby. De Villiers should now realise that the out-of-form third-tier players who weren’t good enough before, still aren’t good enough. What a waste of an opportunity to ignore those who deserved a chance to tour.

Leicester now have the Bok scalp as theirs. However, records won’t state it was a woeful Bok side, many of whom shouldn’t have been there, and for that De Villiers and his selectors must take the blame.

 

[PaarlBok]

Not criticising the ref, PB? :violin:

Even if Zuma reffed, it wont have change the outcome. Leicester deserved that victory.

Blue I think two players would have made a massive differense, Blaauw & Stegman. We lost it up front. Hopefully this is the end of Guthro, he sure was kak, got away in the CC final but not last night.

 

[PaarlBok]

That's by no means a first string Leicester team either - missing Geordan Murphy [fullback], Alesana Tuilagi [wing], Dan Hipkiss [centre], Julian White [TH Prop], Louis Deacon and Ben Kay [Second Row], and any three of Tom Croft, Craig Newby, Jordan Crane and Louis Moody in the backrow.

To be honest Boet I think thats the bad thing about the NH game. To many foreigners in the club game. Look like Leicester is stronger then England just for that reason. Think its killing the international teams up north.

The players that played last night put up a very good show last night and maybe those missing would have weaken Leicester.