Aviva Premiership Season 1 - Homepage

First topic message reminder :

Welcome to the New Aviva Premiership.....Teams & Tactics 8pm Saturday......Predo's 8pm Monday......

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Bath Rugby	Bathite
Exeter Chiefs	Ballbag
Gloucester	Prop
Harlequins	Driver
Leicester Tigers	Pooly
London Irish	Pull
London Wasps	Nick
Newcastle Falcons	Flux
Northampton Saints	Johnny
Sale Sharks	Ollie
Saracens	Luke
Worcester Warriors	ITFL

PREM R2 - https://www.606v2.com/t22456-aviva-premiership-round-2-week-6#886054


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PRESS RELEASES
PLAYER RELEASE PAGE
INJURIES



WAITING LIST:
1. HERSH

Well possibly yea but it's such a southern sport it's unreal. Still quite a pompous attitude in rugby. We have no right to be best in the world.

"To say players have to leave to get international coverage is complete tosh"

That is a comment I'd expect from somebody who follows a southern team.

Just because you play in a poor team doesn't mean you are a poor player. Parling is a prime example, years of top class service for Falcons, moves to Tigers and he's straight in the England fold. Why do you think Flood moved??? He was getting squad call ups, moves to Tigers and in no time was getting 10 starts. Dave Wilson was fantastic up here but only ever on fringes, moves to Bath starts to get starts and bench spots.

If I was coach I'd mix things up, plenty of Falcons players have been deserving of a Saxons call up but have got nowhere near. Hudson is a good call, Swinson is no worse than Robson. Welch is better than Saull who's utter tosh. Fitzy was worth a look at 12 but not even in contention. Fielden is a cracking winger but we persist with Banahan who's garbage.

Who's to say these players won't perform in the surroudings of better players...think is it's not even on the cards as they don't get even get looked at.

MJ as top boy should at least show his face around the smaller clubs to show if they perform they have a chance instead of having to move on to get in the shop window. Total farce as has been for years. Not likely to change to change as theres always been a north/south divide in sport and they always will be.

Thing is on the whole the north produce more talent at football/rugby anyway. The best players to play for England over the years have learnt there trade up north. Wilko, Greenwood, Robinson, Dawson, Healey, MJ (midlands), Rowntree, Tindall, Foden, Ashton, Carling, Underwood, Back (midlands)

You're getting a bit personal now here mate, its obviously something you're passionate about. Moving miles away from my original point which was just to say that the North was an area where football is more competitive and it was harder for rugby to get the talented youngsters.

As I said, didn't want a North v South argument, I've never intentionally put down Northern rugby in any of my posts, i've used fact where possible in my arguments, not opinion. I also said that its obvious that form teams will get more players in international squads. Yes the game is heavily weighted to the South, but that has where the successful teams have been, thats where most of the team are and thats where its biggest.

How can we tell if Fielden is 'cracking'? How much rugby has he played at the top level, in the Heineken Cup to prove that? Has he played any age group stuff, any England 7s? (I genuinely don't know) Banahan is a Bath player, but i'd say I'm not that biased, i'm not from Bath. Banahan got his break after being plucked from lock by Brian Ashton nonetheless, he also played a lot of game in the HC for Bath, along with a couple of England 7s campaigns and Saxons tours and now with 2 different England managers, so obviously quite a few people rate him, rightly or wrongly in your and many others opinions.

This argument about players being ignored is very common, you here about it from Championship teams, you here it from Exeter Chiefs, Harlequins up until now. It's not just the North that misses out i'm afraid.

"Who's to say these players won't perform in the surroudings of better
players...think is it's not even on the cards as they don't get even get
looked at."

I totally agree. There is no way of telling, but its a hell a lot more of a risk for a coach to pluck talent out of a poor team, hoping they will get better, then picking a bloke like Ford or Twelvetrees who might have half the talent, but is surrounded by a winning ethos of players and a proven set up.

Its not even a problem unique to rugby, think how many of the England Football squad come from the teams in the bottom 1/4, not matter where those clubs happened to be based in the country.

Was tongue in cheek tbh, quite like Banners as a 13.

Oh and Flood and Wilson probably moved because they wanted more money and more chance of winning silverware?

Why's that, because the team they played for where near the bottom of the table, why's that?

I don't know, because if the players were that good and deserving of England call ups, then Newcastle should be a good side, no?

Even moreso during 6Ns, when you don't lose those talented players, but other teams lose theirs? Something doesn't quite add up i'm afraid.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Was tongue in cheek tbh, quite like Banners as a 13.

HAHA! You tool, i was a bit irate for a second, read that and cracked me up (i refuse to write LOL)

Why would Wilson move to Bath of all places if he wanted to win silver wear

To get his hands on the mighty LV Cup of course!

He really didn't want to leave you though, it was only because he couldn't get a game behind Hayman and fed up shunting to LH. He has been open about saying he is homesick, that this is a short term move and he wants to return to Newc. However, thats gone quiet for a year or so.

Aus is a freak nation, they've had the right set up for years now. I remember covering in my A level PE, they basically have this Institute of Sports framework in place where they'd cherry pick the bect candidates and give them the best training facilities and coaches. Essentially they are the Aus equivalent of a sporting centre of excellence but they've being doing it for so long it just churns out world class athletes day by day.

Although off the top of my head, they haven't had much notable success trhrough any of the rugby games, but then again anyone there can pretty much pick any sport they wanted - and there is such a wide variety!

Anyone know the list of players released from the EPS this weekend?

Heard a rumour that all the Bath players are available for the Bath game, which would be cracking news, both on here and real life.

Released players: D Attwood (Bath Rugby), M Banahan (Bath Rugby), C Clark (Northampton Saints), A Goode (Saracens), L Mears (Bath Rugby), J Simpson (London Wasps), T Waldrom (Leicester Tigers), D Wilson (Bath Rugby).

Jesus, that was instant! Top work drives

I was reading it on ESPN lol


This weeks match thread..........

https://www.606v2.com/t23000-aviva-premiership-round-3-week-7

RESULT!

are saxons players available??

also anyone got a hooker for loan? can be an academy one.

Anyone seen the England XV, pretty much what I expected in selection for now, any opinions guys?

Not impressed with Botha in there. Attwood/Garvey would give us more particularly in ball carrying which we are seriously lacking. Also surprised Dowson got the nod over Morgan. Hes a very intelligent player and a great linking man but works best when you have a big front 5 doing the hard carrying like Saints do. Think Morgan would give us a lot more go forward. Apart from that its probably the best side we could put out at the moment to be honest. Going to be a very physical turgid game at the weekend.

Not convinced by Botha at all, seems a backward step with all the young lock talent about. I honestly think that Borthwick would have been a better option if looking for a short term fix. He's twice the player of Botha, kniows the England game, on good form and a great lineout operator.

On the other hand, very chuffed that Bath get Attwood back (here and real life), he has been huge for us this season.

I'm a big fan of Dowson, so hope he succeeds, but seems everyone is out against him, so has nothing to lose. You need players like him in a young unexperienced team, but I don't see many ball carriers in the pack. Hartley and Cole are going to have to be busy in the loose.

I'm not a Mike Brown fan, can't stand the bloke and see no sense in having him on the bench. It's not as though Foden is going to come off other than for injury, so would have had Sharples on there instead for versatility. The thought of Foden or Brown possibly having to play on the wing for a while seems stupid.

Not any other surprises, but think it's going to be a terrible game to watch. Going to be the worst of Scotland, without their key players and Parks at 10 and the worst of England, no line breaks and Sarries mindset. Should be a big defensive battle. Hope Barritt makes the step up and makes a claim for the 12 shirt long term.

Can you put me on the waiting list like Hersh please

You promised me you would

Nope

Agree having Brown on the bench is stupid. Its all or nothing for Foden and Brown. Start, or get released back to club. Sharples should have been on the bench. I'm not sure i'm completley convinced by Strettle either but was probably the right choice to start. Likewise not a massive fan of Dickson, i think he can be a bit flaky at key moments, and the lack of a top 9 and 10 for Saints has really held them back, towards the ends of competitions. (Both AP and Heineken. Is Simpson injured or has Dickson jumped ahead of him in the pecking order??

Englands back 3 looks their strongest area at the moment, but i'm not convinced they will get any decent ball, with the way the backrow will be dominated at the breakdown especially against Ireland, Wales and France.

My predos for this weekend are

England by 8
Ireland by 5
France by 25

Looking forward to it all getting underway now!!

Those predictions look about right Ollie. It makes me tickle how Welsh fans think they're going to storm the 6N because they did well at the RWC - I fancy Ireland to sneak it though. What a back row!

Is anyone doing a fantasy 6N competition? I've loaded mine with Frenchies... I can see a rout.

I need to see who has who away from home, as always the 6 Nations will be determined by results in Paris and Lansdown for the travelling team.

It's definately France's to lose though, but it has been for many years I'd say.

France to win it easily for me. Got good home games, and have the best side by a distance in my eyes.

I'm going Ireland with strong showings from France , Wales and England. Could be the best 6 nations for years.

Driver - RIP 606 wrote:I'm going Ireland with strong showings from France , Wales and England. Could be the best 6 nations for years.

Or a massive let down! Wales could show their WC was a fluke, Ireland could be nothing without the leadership of BOD, England's selection gambles might not pay off and France are always 1 game away from a poor showing!

Don't think that all of those will happen, just playing Devil's advocate

I think Bathite's suggestion is more likely than Drivers.

"Without his squad's knowledge, Lancaster sent letters to influential people in each of his players' lives - parents, early coaches, PE teachers - asking them what it meant to see their lad playing for England, what they wanted to see from the team, what they wanted that player to realise. He then collated the responses and presented each player with a framed letter."

What a great idea, get that passion and pride for the shirt back and gives the players a dose of reality and responsibility. I'm all for keeping Lancaster full time, regardless of his results. No point causing more unrest, it takes time to adjust to a new regime and whats the point wasting that time? Lancaster knows the English game, knows the players and knows his rugby. He exudes great confidence and a disciplined attitude that the players seems to respect. So we might lose a few games in the 6Ns that we would normally want to win, but with 8 new faces and injuries, it's a period of transition and during that period, you need to keep as many of the other things as familiar and stable as possible and that starts with the coaches.

Just getting excited about the superbowl and stumbled upon this! Random move of the year!

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Emerging-rugby-star-Hayden-Smith-hoping-to-make-jump-to-NFL-1627.html

Lancaster has been superb he has the respect of your average joe and bob which a England manager hasn't had in since SCW.

Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Andy Powell, 19 Justin Tipuric, 20 Lloyd Willians, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.

Thoughts? Don't think Wales could be any stronger bearing in mind injuries to a few.

Lineout might struggle a bit , think thats why they've put Ryan Jones in at 6.

I'd of went with a different backline though

9. Mike Phillips
10. James Hook
11. George North
12. Johnathan Davies
13. Jamie Roberts
14. Leigh Halfpenny
15. Rhys Preistland

I don't think Gats would want to change Preistland around. He will be FH for a while to come so he's allowing him to establish there for now, I would possibly argue Webb at SH, hes been playing well for the Ospreys recently.

Seems a bit strange to shoe horn Priestland at 15? Think that they have learnt their lesson with messing around Hook there in the past?

I really like Halfpenny at 15, great under the high ball, great boot and good counter attacker.

Would prefer to keep the backline stable and just give Cuthbert a pop on the wing.

How has Byrne been playing in France?

Only just noticed Gill at LH! Good for him, who else is injured apart from melon?

Byrne has been on fire in France!

Lydiate, Rees, Charteris off the of my head

Driver - RIP 606 wrote:Byrne has been on fire in France!

Why not in the 22 then? Would make more sense to go

11 North
14 Halfpenny
15 Bryne

Wouldn't it?

Unless his age counts against him now and they are looking to the future?

Gill playing?

Will need to update my side...didn't realise he was even in the squad.

From what I've seen of Byrne he has been impressive. Looks close to his 2008/09 form.

I can see hook on the bench for cover at FH and the back three

I've changed my mind. I think the Scots will have too much, set piece and breakdown, they will have too much. WIll be an intertesting watch anyway

Cussiter seems to take about 3 steps before he pases. As i said all along, they should have started with Blair and Laidlaw.

Corbs is coping with Murray very well. In truth it is an abysmal game.

TMO for Laidlaw is interesting. I'd say try.

Horrible game, lucky for England to win IMO.

I don't know how Botha is in the EPS let alone the starting side. Morgan looked safe when he came on and Barrit and Farrell played well.

Would be happy for the same backline to play a few more games together to gel, but the forwards need re-jigging and better selection.

Scotland I will feel sorry for, whenever they pick Parks they will not play a good game. Laidlaw looked very good when he came on, but he could've just had fresh legs. Denton will be very good, and when Brown gets back to form the Scottish pack will be very handy.

SJE, what are we going to do about late tactics?

Missing a few team sheets as well so we will leave predictions closed till 2 tomorrow to give the lads a chance. If that leaves people struggling for time to predict let me know guys and we can extend the prediction cut off


Wasnt a great game to watch at all. We struggled carrying wise and around the breakdown and something needs to be done about it. Should be looking to bring Attwood/Garvey in next week and Morgan should start. Backs did well but Youngs at scrumhalf wasnt fantastic. His kicking wasnt up to scratch today and gave some easy ball to the scots. Hopefully we will see a better performance from him next week

I may struggle to get full predos in on Sun eve-Monday.....i'll predict on what's available tomorrow morning if that's ok?

Could leave the predictions open Tuesday if that suits mate? If not work away in the morning

I'm working till 8pm tues but may be able to do mon eve.....i'll do all I can tomorrow and others if required!!

Attwood and Garvey need to be in there without a shadow of doubt. Parking looked alright for the limited time he was on.

Perfect so Prop mate

Id go Attwood and Palmer with Parling on the bench. Shame Lawes is injured as he would have been perfect for todays game

Guys sorry to leave you's hanging but i don't have the time or enthusiasm for this. It's a good league and will flourish but i'm not interested as i first was.