Tigers lost their claws, the return of the DJ and How I broke my neck!!

By Luke Wilkins on Jan 14, 09 07:33 AM

On Saturday afternoon, as soon as my Offside show had finished on Kerrang, I hurried round my good, but hairy, friends OJ's (from the drive show with Kate Lawler) house to watch our beloved Leicester Tigers play Northampton in the old egg chasing Premiership.

I wish I hadn't, not because OJ's beard was making me long for my beloved (now travelling the world to find itself) moustache, nor because he had terrible wind (of course it was your phone on vibrate mate!), but because the next 80 minutes of rugby action filled me with dread.

Yes we lost, which on paper may not be that bad, but it was the manner in which we failed to beat our recently promoted rivals that genuinely sent a chill down my spine. Normally a very vocal supporter (just ask any of my neighbours, they normally go on holiday if they know there is a rugby game on!), I sat in almost silence, as I watched us get torn apart by a very talented Ben Foden and his team.

There was so much lacking from the Tigers performance in their 17-13 defeat to their East Midlands rivals that I generally could not get excited, which trust me, is a rarity indeed!

Sure we were in it till the final whistle thanks to some terrible kicking (my arthritic dog would have nailed more than he did) from the otherwise impressive Myler playing 10 for Saints, but at no point did we look like we were going to rip through their defence, or even build a steady platform on which to launch a game winning attack. I know I have had a good run as a Leicester fan, having won so many titles, and played some awesome rugby along the way, but the team that took the field on Saturday was like no side I had seen pull on a Tigers shirt for ages.

Julian White did his usual one man demolition job of the Northampton scrum up front, and Geordan Murphy as always looked world class at full back, but the rest of our backs were more toothless than an 80 year old Thai hooker, and I just could not see how we were ever going to cross the game line at times.

Rabeni, who has crashed through premiership defences for years seemed shock that he was getting tackled, Mauger (who is a constant disappointment) looked like a club player, and even the normally impressive Flood was a mere shadow of his normal self.

With no Hipkiss, and Varndell not even on the bench, it suddenly struck me, that we are simply not the side we were last year, and we have a real lack of world class players with the ability to change a game. I truly hope this is a one off, but I think that with the merry go round of coaches we have had in the last few years, we have forgotten something very important, and that is to make sure you have match winners in the key decision making areas.

With us now languishing in fifth, and with the club saying that the focus has now shifted on the Heineken Cup campaign, I hope the players focusing on restoring a bit of pride in the remaining fixtures, but the key element is that we have now lost that thing that made us so dominating over the last few years, and that is the aura of invincibility.

So many times clubs have led against us, even this season, only to fade in the last twenty and for the Tigers to snatch a win, but after this last defeat, I don't think any club in the Premiership will fear us anymore.......which is a terrible thing to get used to.

On a more positive note this week, I am extremely excited to restart my DJ residency at Gatecrasher this Wednesday (14th) where I spin the best rock, indie, electro and general scuzzyness in the Fizzy Pop room, and I can't wait to play some of the new tunes I have got my hands on over the Xmas break, so pop down from 10pm if that's your bag.

I can't tell you how much I have missed playing to a crowd, there is no buzz like it, especially when you drop a tune and you can see the reaction people have, its uber satisfying.....unless they are throwing things at you because they don't like it, but I move pretty quick so I can avoid it most of the time............well until I injured myself!

Which brings me nicely to how I managed to break my neck................well technically I popped out two vertebrae, but the former sounds much more impressive and manly, while I was lifting weights in the gym, it's an old rugby injury that I have had before, but luckily, after a couple of emergency osteopath sessions, I can say it is back on the mend, although it is probably fair to say that I wasn't the cleverest person in the world in the way I carried on training in the gym even after being told not to, and entering a limbo competition was just crazy (I'm Kidding!).

Word of advice, if your injured, wait till it is better before you try lifting heavy weights, no matter how keen you are, because it's just not worth it! God I sound old!! On the plus side - the painkillers allowed me to see through time, which was nice, and I am thinking of starting a new found trend of walking around like a Thunderbird, because I can't turn my neck!!!

PS - I have to report that I still have not got past lesson one on my electric guitar, due to lack of any sort of practice time, but I reckon by next week....................well......I will be like Clapton.........In fact I will have to, after spending a lovely day at my older Brothers house on Sunday, where he showed off his amazing skills and his new collection of handmade guitars, and he has only been playing a year......ah well........there's nothing like a bit of competition to get me motivated.