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Wales' openside Reffell now 'one of the best sevens in the world'

By PA
Tommy Reffell of Leicester Tigers looks on during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Leicester Tigers and Newcastle Falcons at Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium on December 03, 2023 in Leicester, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Leicester’s head coach Dan McKellar praised his side’s accuracy in overcoming extremely difficult conditions to record a bonus-point 47-3 Gallagher Premiership win over bottom club Newcastle.

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It was Falcons eighth consecutive defeat and they remain winless having just picked up four league points to remain eight points behind ninth-placed Gloucester.

Wales flanker Tommy Reffell was Tigers’ hero with a hat-trick of tries.

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Matt Scott, Jasper Wiese, Ollie Hassell-Collins and Mike Brown were also on the try-scoring sheet, with Handre Pollard kicking four conversions and Jamie Shillcock two.

A penalty from Brett Connon was Newcastle’s sole response.

McKellar said: “It was tough conditions for the boys out there and indeed for the supporters.

“It was a good day at the office but the boys certainly had to dig in hard to defend their line.

“In the conditions, we didn’t really want the ball but Newcastle have scored a lot of points in their games so keeping them out today was impressive as our defence is a real weapon for us.

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“Another plus was that we were able to empty our bench quite early and so able to give the likes of Tom Whiteley and Jamie Shillcock valuable game time.

“It was a slow start to the season with results not going our way but slowly but surely we are building momentum.”

Reffell won the man of the match award to draw praise from McKellar.

He added: “Since he has come back from the World Cup, he has been outstanding and is challenging himself to be one of the best number sevens in the world.

“If he continues to progress, there is no doubt that he is likely to achieve that.”

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It was another miserable day at the office for Newcastle, who despite a spirited performance lacked the attacking flair to trouble their opponents in conditions that clearly didn’t suit them.

They did have periods of sustained pressure but never looked like capitalising and were given a lesson by Tigers in how to take chances.

Newcastle’s head coach Alex Codling said: “They had a very strong side with 14 internationals out there and they do the basics very well.

“I can’t fault our efforts but it was a tough watch and the final score was hard to take.

“When we lose momentum, we can’t seem to get it back but the conditions really suited them today.

“They are so strong around the area of ruck and maul so we lost the arm-wrestle and it was clearly a one-sided game.”

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7 Comments
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BigMaul 336 days ago

He’s not even Wales’ best 7. Or the best 7 in the Premiership. A long way from best in the world!

He would struggle to crack the top 20 for most people, I suspect. Maybe even 30/40/50. To be honest, he’s so far down the pecking order that I’ve not the time or inclination to work it out.

He’s a good premiership player who can do a job at international level.

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Colin 336 days ago

Reffell is very, very good. However at the break down he often gets away (as do others) with supporting his body with the back of his hands or elbows on the grass. Refs do not always penalise this and they should.
Also refs are ignoring drop kicks which are actually punts. I often slow the drop kick action to check and you would be surprised how few times the ball touches the grass first.

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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