If certain English sides combined......

If certain English sides combined to face the celtic league team and french in the HC.......


Saraquins


1.Vunipola
2.Brits
3.Johnston
4.Borthwick
5.Hargreaves
6.Brown
7.Robshaw
8.Vunipola

9.Care
10.Evans
11.Strettle
12.Barritt
13.Tomkins
14.Ashton
15.Brown

16.Marler
17.Stevens
18.Buchanan
19.Kennedy
20.Burger
21.Spencer
22.Farrell
23.Wyles


Northampton Tigers

1.Ayerza
2.Hartley
3.Cole
4.Parling
5.Deacon
6.Wood
7.Salvi
8.Crane

9.Youngs
10.Flood
11.North
12.Allen
13.Tuilagi
14.Elliott
15.Foden

16.Corbisiero
17.Mulipola
18.Youngs
19.Slater
20.Mafi
21.Fotauli
22.Williams
23.Pisi


Bathster

1.James
2.Webber
3.Wilson
4.Garvey
5.Attwood
6.Louw
7.Ksevic
8.Morgan

9.Stringer
10.Burns

11.JSD
12.Twelvetrees
13.Joseph
14.Sharples
15.Abendanon


London Waspish

1.Mullan
2.Lindsay
3.Aulika
4.Launchbury
5.Palmer
6.Haskell
7.Johnson
8.Halauifa

9.Simpson
10.Goode
11.Yarde
12.Masi
13.Daly
14.Wade
15.Southwell


Thoughts? Any interesting mixes of two clubs you think would work well?

firstly i would change the name from Northampton Tigers to Leicester Saints  

I'd also have Goneva in, with the form he's showed so far i think he's a contender for top try scorer this season.

Nathan who would you have him in for? Elliott? Of course there would be differing opinions. I like the combined Bath-Gloucester pack. Bath have a stronger front five by some distance. Gloucester have a stronger backrow. Backline also looks nice too. Perhaps 36 should be in the middle instead of Eastmond though.

I'd start Youngs over Hartley, Myler over Williams on the bench and include Morris somewhere either on the wing or at fullback. He's been brilliant in the first two games and all of last term, solid as a rock under the high ball, pacey and can kick.

Ford over Burns. Young George with two back to back MOTMs now (I think) and his tactical kicking a major factor in both of Bath's wins this season. For me the form 10 in the AP after two rounds.

Eastmond vs Twelvetrees is a tough call. At the end of last season I'd have gone Eastmond but Twelvetrees was a star in a losing side yesterday whilst Eastmond got injured before offering anything vs Falcons.

nathan wrote:firstly i would change the name from Northampton Tigers to Leicester Saints  

I agree with that.

Also no Parling in the Leicester Saints squad?

Sam it depends if you are talking about form vs reputation.

I would definitely take Burns over Ford. I know you are big big fan of Ford but I don't think 2 games means he's a better 10.

Londontiger I knew I missed someone.

Be interesting to see peoples teams if limited to 4 NEQ players

Also, it is probably fairer to split the London teams on geographical basis - so Irish Harlequins and Sarawasps.


BNewcastle Sahrks could struggle, and perhaps out West we should be looking at Bath Chiefs and Gloucester Warriors?

I wouldn't have 6 players from the bottom team in the league in the starting lineup  

I'd have Agulla over JSD or Sharples and Eastmond has got to be in there somewhere, but I'd have Trinder over JJ to be fair

My Leicester Saints Team would be (considering long term injuries) and just 4 NEQs in the 23 man squad

Corbisiero
Hartley
Cole
Deacon
Parling
Wood
Salvi (NEQ)
Crane

Youngs
Flood
North (NEQ)
Allen
Tuilagi
Thompstone
Foden

Ayerza (NEQ)
Youngs
Mercey/Balmain
Lawes
Clark
Fotuali'i (NEQ)
Myler
Tait

Tee hee 'Now this combined club will have a name that is a combination of the names of the two original clubs. From Leicester RFC we'll take the word 'Leicester', and from the Northampton RFC we'll take RFC'....

lostinwales wrote:Tee hee 'Now this combined club will have a name that is a combination of the names of the two original clubs. From Leicester FC we'll take the word 'Leicester', and from the Northampton RFC we'll take RFC'....

Corrected for you, free of charge.

Sarawasps - just EQ.

1.Vunipola
2.George
3.Stevens
4.Borthwick
5.Launchbury
6.Haskell
7.Fraser
8.Vunipola

9.Simpson
10.Hodgson
11.Wade
12.Barritt
13.Tomkins
14.Ashton
15.Goode

16.Mullan
17.Swainston
18.Spurling
19.Kruis
20.Wray
21.Spencer
22.Farrell
23.Ransom/Daly

I think they should just be EQ players, or at least have a fairly severe limit on NEQ.

You could merge Saries and London Irish, to make London South Africans? If you were looking at making 6 teams to qualify who merge?

Sharks & Falcons
Tigers & Saints
Irish & Wasps
Bath & Exeter
Saracens & Quins
Glaws & Wuss

EQ for Bathster looks pretty tidy

Wood
Webber
Wilson
Attwood
Garvey
Fearns/Savage
Kvesic
Morgan
Roberts/Young/Robson
Burns/Ford
Sharples
36/Eastmond
JJ/Trinder
JSD/Biggs
Watson/Bendy/Cook

beshocked wrote:Sarawasps - just EQ.

1.Vunipola
2.George
3.Stevens
4.Borthwick
5.Launchbury
6.Haskell
7.Fraser
8.Vunipola

9.Simpson
10.Hodgson
11.Wade
12.Barritt
13.Tomkins
14.Ashton
15.Goode

16.Mullan
17.Swainston
18.Spurling
19.Kruis
20.Wray
21.Spencer
22.Farrell
23.Ransom/Daly

You'd start Hodgson over Farrell? Interesting call that. Is Charlie still your preferred 10 in your opinion? I'd probably agree with you, but reckon we are in the minority

Well as Leicester take all our players anyway they aswell be the Leicester Falcons...

GeordieFalcon wrote:Well as Leicester take all our players anyway they aswell be the Leicester Falcons...

 

Bathite wrote:

beshocked wrote:Sarawasps - just EQ.

1.Vunipola
2.George
3.Stevens
4.Borthwick
5.Launchbury
6.Haskell
7.Fraser
8.Vunipola

9.Simpson
10.Hodgson
11.Wade
12.Barritt
13.Tomkins
14.Ashton
15.Goode

16.Mullan
17.Swainston
18.Spurling
19.Kruis
20.Wray
21.Spencer
22.Farrell
23.Ransom/Daly

You'd start Hodgson over Farrell? Interesting call that. Is Charlie still your preferred 10 in your opinion? I'd probably agree with you, but reckon we are in the minority

I wouldn't mind either way - Farrell or Hodgson at 10. Still both excellent options.

 

How many years has Hodgson got on his contract? Can't be long until he retires?

Funnily enough Beshocked a structure not dissimalar to this was proposed at the start of the professional era with professional clubs based around counties or areas through the amalgamation/merger of the then existing clubs:
Basically there would have been West country sides based on Glaws, Bath and Brizzle, London sides based around Quins, Wasps, Sarries and Celtic Exiles team, Midlands sides based on Tigers, Saints and Nottingham and from the North Yorkshire and Lancashire.
These would have been controlled and the players contracted to the RFU centrally but the RFU paniced at the prospect, the club ownership became a free-for-all with some faring better than others (Richmond?) and the set up we have today.

Bathite, Roberts isn't EQ.

Beshocked, Ford couldn't displace Flood purely because his points kicking was pretty shocking. He's clearly gone away and worked on it (and continued to bulk up). Two stellar performances so far and as I told Bath fans when he signed they'll end up loving him as he is quality. Over Burns is a tough call but when you look at the size of the combined Bathster pack you'd want the 10 most able to put them in best areas of the pitch and Ford is tactically astute enough to do that.

I like the Saraquins team though on form I might have Hodgson over Nev and Monye over one of the wingers, and Lowe over Tomkins. No bias obviously. Could put out a good all EQ team too, and a pretty good youth team like this:

Auterac
Spurling
Sinckler
Merrick/Twomey
Jubb
Clifford
Hankin
Chisholm
Spencer
Grimoldby
Walker
Stanley
Sloan
Burns
Earle

Not sure about that chequeredjersey. I think the legendary Maro Itoje needs to fit in somewhere.

Earle is a winger plus Tompkins would definitely fill the no 13 shirt.

Tompkins is the most highly rated academy player at Sarries.

I know this is just pie in the sky but could this actually be done?

No intotouch it was just a light hearted thread to break away from all the HC arguments.

Itoje is too young, and Earle also plays Fullback but I'd happily switch him with Walker

There would obviously be no benefit to combining the sides anyway. They might have a short term boost in squad depth but they would obviously lose revenue due to a reduction in games unless each team played eachother 4 times. It would only work if the aim was to have a Euro super league or merge with the top 14 IMO.

beshocked wrote:Not sure about that chequeredjersey. I think the legendary Maro Itoje needs to fit in somewhere.

Earle is a winger plus Tompkins would definitely fill the no 13 shirt.

Tompkins is the most highly rated academy player at Sarries.

Someone did a spoof song called that.....well, near enough.