Are the Tigers losing their teeth ?

Leicester's defeat at Clermont leaves them in a tough spot in Pool 4. They lie third, with just no hopers Aironi below them. If the French side do the double over them next weekend, it's hard to see the Premiership side finding a way past Ulster and Clermont to get into the knock out stages. Another "giant" heading for the Amlin ?

In a week that has seen our illustrious leader Dave "playing a blinder" (according to Boris Johnson) against everything that nimble footed Frenchie M. Sarkozy could throw at him, it was sobering for rugby fans to see front line English sides struggle to make a dent in their French opponents. Although they have always been famously guilty of putting the Heineken second to their own domestic competition, this season has seen the likes of Castres, Montpellier and Clermont tear into European opponents with all the reckless abandon of a Parisian tucking into his morning croissant. Ominously, they seem to be able to play the power game that was once the preserve of the English. Today, like the Saints yesterday, the Tigers looked clueless when the opposition refused to crack under pressure. Cockerill had better take a close look at the video, because it looks as though this particular outfit is unwilling to let a physical battering bother them. In the heat of battle today, it was Chuter and Tuilagi who lost focus, and French players like Malzieu and the hugely impressive Brock James who kept playing.
Like our Dave, Cockerill and co may leave Pool 4 empty handed...