IT'S CRUNCH TIME
The Heineken European Rugby Cup pool matches conlcude this weekend, and D Day is here for the previously invincible Leicester Tigers. Tonight they take on Stade Francais in a winner-takes-all clash at Welford Road. Hopefully now that the speculation over the future of Martin Johnson is over he, and the team, will be able to focus properly on this game.
It has been a pretty dire season for Tigers so far, with their usual challenge for honours reduced to an ignominious scrap near the foot of the table to avoid the humiliation of relegation. Admittedly they lost an entire forward pack to the World Cup, but it seems their problems have been as much behind the scrum as in front of it. I think the decisionb to let Tim Stimpson go to France early in the season is one they will rue, and it has been compounded by Geordan Murphy breaking his leg in the warm-up to the world Cup. They seem to have lost the ability to score tries and create openings, and games they used to win at the death have started going against them.
The European Cup is their only realistic chance of silverware this season, but Stade Francais will not be an easy side to overcome. They are consistently one of the best French club sides and if Diego Dominguez has a good day at fly-half then Tigers will be in real trouble.
A careful perusal of the Sports Channels in the SCMP reveals that unfortunately none of the channels have been able to fit the game into their busy schedules. ESPN is showing "Goals!". Cable Sports is showing Australian Open highlights followed by Table Tennis, and Star Sports has Go-Karting!
Who decides these schedules? What moron thinks anyone cares about any of those programmes or "sports", especially at 4.00am!
I shall make it my lifes work to get some decent bloody sport on TV here - and I don't mean the game with 22 over-paid and under-educated men wearing plastic shirts and running around after a ball in between grotesque over-acting and rolling around any time anyone has the temerity to damage their hairstyles.
