Mick Cleary delves deeper into a rare occurrence - Leicester's refusal to dip onto the replacements bench against Perpignan - in The Daily Telegraph
"It was quite a Sunday double for the Leicester director of rugby and if he can do it, then why can’t others? Cockerill chose not to use any of the eight substitutes available to him, a nigh-on unprecedented act in the modern game. Ah, but Leicester didn’t win? True, but Perpignan’s last-minute equalising penalty had nothing to do with the fact that eight Leicester blokes were sitting swaddled like Michelin men on the sidelines. The Tigers’ starting XV were still punching their weight, driving hard in the scrum and in the loose.
"Shaggy-haired, breast-beating, fist-pumping Martin Castrogiovanni was a compelling sight at Welford Road, the prop glaring and roaring over the crumpled heap that had been the stable, upright Perpignan scrum a few seconds earlier. Interestingly, Perpignan’s difficulties in the scrum started when they hoicked off their hooker, Marius Tincu, early in the second half. The Catalan side used seven substitutes in all, yet had to rely on a late penalty to get the draw.
"The men with clipboards will tell you that subs do make a difference, that there is an impact, that fresher is fitter and better than battle-worn and jaded. Well, it wasn’t on Sunday."
RSS feed
