Aviva Premiership Round Six

by **Ozzy3213** Mon 06 Oct 2014, 1:59 pm

First topic message reminder :

So round five produced yet more excitement as what is shaping up to be a great season continued at a pace. On Friday night Bath Rugby laid down another marker, ending Saracens unbeaten start to the season at The Rec, and temporarily put themselves back at the top of the table. Saturdays games saw Quins get back on track, nilling a hapless Welsh side who look to be relegated, even this early in the season, Saints edged out Irish in a tight affair were defences were on top, and Gloucester heaped more misery on Tigers with a comfortable win at Kingsholm. Sundays offering saw Sale Sharks get one over on Wasps, to keep the middle of the table tight, and Newcastle ended their 20 game losing streak by beating high flying Exeter Chiefs at Kingston Park.

Predictions wise, it was 5 from 6 for me this week on here, with Tigers letting me down. I was only 4 from 6 elsewhere (the bookies) as I can't bet against my own team!

So here's the table after round 5;-

POS	TEAM	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	TF	TA	TBP	LBP	PTS
1.	Northampton Saints	5	4	0	1	154	72	+82	18	6	3	1	20
2.	Bath Rugby	5	4	0	1	172	88	+84	19	11	2	1	19
3.	Saracens	5	4	0	1	160	100	+60	15	12	2	0	18
4.	Exeter Chiefs	5	3	0	2	157	88	+69	16	9	1	2	15
5.	Gloucester	5	3	0	2	141	131	+10	15	15	1	1	14
6.	Harlequins	5	3	0	2	111	113	-2	12	9	1	0	13
7.	London Irish	5	2	0	3	101	112	-11	7	10	1	3	12
8.	Sale Sharks	5	2	0	3	137	125	+12	18	12	2	1	11
9	Wasps	5	2	0	3	120	119	+1	14	12	1	2	11
10.	Leicester Tigers	5	2	0	3	95	137	-42	8	13	1	1	10
11.	Newcastle Falcons	5	1	0	4	92	150	-58	11	17	0	1	5
12.	London Welsh	5	0	0	5	44	249	-205	6	33	1	0	1

On to this weeks fixtures;-

Friday 10th October 2014 19:45 Leicester Tigers vs. Harlequins

Back at Welford Road after three straight defeats, Tigers will be desperate to win this one, but will need to be a whole lot better than they were against Gloucester to do so. Quins will be buoyed by their nilling of Welsh, but that result will have little bearing on this game in reality. It's not easy to call this one, but I can't see Tigers losing a second one on the bounce at home, so am going for a Tigers win with a Quins losing bonus point in a scrappy game.

Saturday 11th October 2014 14:30 London Welsh vs. Newcastle Falcons

This is seriously must win for Welsh, even at this early stage of the season. Falcons are now up and running after beating the Chiefs, and if they can back that up this weekend with another win there will be clear daylight between themselves and Welsh, and it's tough to see where Welsh will make up the points at this stage. Having said that, Welsh will know that this is it, they have to step up now. They will need to keep in the game against a Falcons side that will come with renewed confidence, and will have to close things out better. I can't see it. For Falcons fans this one will be like London buses, you wait forever for one and then two come along at once.

Saturday 11th October 2014 15:00 Exeter Chiefs vs. London Irish

Two sides off the back of defeats last week and both will be keen to finish this block of Premiership games on a high. Both had plenty of the ball at the weekend but couldn't quite get the job done, and whoever is going to win this one will need to be more clinical. On paper the sides are evenly matched and both have exceeded most peoples pre season expectations of them. I can't quantify why really, but I just fancy us to win this one, will be tight though and I expect the Chiefs to be within 7 at the death.

Saturday 11th October 2014 15:00 Saracens vs. Gloucester

Gloucester have been really up and down this season, but have picked up a couple of good wins on the way. Saracens I don't think have really hit top gear yet, but have had too much for everyone bar an in form Bath last week. Back at Allianz Park, they won't want to lose two on the bounce, and I don't think Gloucester are yet in a place to go there and beat them. I think Saracens will go up a notch in preparation for their European game the following week, and will send Gloucester back west with nothing, whilst notching up a try bonus point themselves.

Saturday 11th October 2014 15:15 Northampton Saints vs. Sale Sharks

Sale had a good win yesterday, but Saints are a whole different prospect to Wasps and this will be a much tougher proposition for them. Saints don't lose many at the Gardens and will want to consolidate their position at the top of the table with another win before the European break. Sale will need their pack to give them a platform and if they do, then in Danny Cipriani they have a 10 who could pull of a win for them. Sadly for them, I see the Saints pack dominating, and if that happens they will win this one comfortably, and with bonus point.

Sunday 12th October 2014 14:00 Wasps vs. Bath Rugby

Bath are flying high right now, and will fancy picking up an away win here. In Ford, Eastmond and Joseph they have the in form 10-12-13 combination in the league, if not the northern hemisphere. Wasps don't quite seem to know what their best back line is just yet, and as shown yesterday, their biggest weapons can also be their biggest weaknesses, as we saw with Christian Wade scoring a great try, but also handing Sale one on a plate. If they make errors defensively like that against Bath they'll get punished. This looks a high scorer to me, possibly 5 points for Bath, and 2 for Wasps.

Ozzy's predicted table after round 6;-

Northampton Saints 25, Bath Rugby 24, Saracens 23, Exeter Chiefs 16, London Irish 16, Gloucester 14, Harlequins 14, Leicester Tigers 14, Wasps 13, Sale Sharks 11, Newcastle Falcons 10, London Welsh 1.

by ChequeredJersey Fri 10 Oct 2014, 6:51 pm

Good luck Tigers fans. May the best side win

by Sgt_Pooly Fri 10 Oct 2014, 6:53 pm

Just spotted that one is on tonight....the missus is not going to be happy

by **LondonTiger** Fri 10 Oct 2014, 7:32 pm

Change for Quins with Care out. He usually plays well here, so helps us. Was looking forward to the head to head though.

by **LondonTiger** Fri 10 Oct 2014, 7:33 pm

Oh and Many looks fitter and thinner than he did for Falcons visit

by Welly Fri 10 Oct 2014, 7:38 pm

So you are playing the team on the team sheet?

by Guest Fri 10 Oct 2014, 7:39 pm

Oh god I can't hold it in any more. There's no point fighting it, the optimist in me is bursting out. Tigs by 15

by **Ozzy3213** Fri 10 Oct 2014, 7:52 pm

Good start for the Tiggers. 7-0

by kingelderfield Fri 10 Oct 2014, 8:26 pm

aerrrrr is this the worst game of rugby.............

by HongKongCherry Fri 10 Oct 2014, 8:32 pm

kingelderfield wrote:aerrrrr is this the worst game of rugby.............

It certainly is pretty turgid.

by **Ozzy3213** Fri 10 Oct 2014, 8:35 pm

Not flawless in terms of execution of basic skills, but an entertaining game nonetheless.

by **LondonTiger** Fri 10 Oct 2014, 8:37 pm

Mike brown almost shaking under the high ball, so understand the kicks. Turgid? Yes - but we are so low on confidence not a surprise. Quins look leaderless. Robshaw and Easter seem scared to say anything lest they undermine Marler.

by formerly known as Sam Fri 10 Oct 2014, 8:40 pm

Well there's not a lot for the neutrals at the minute. Tigers pinning Quits back at the minute with Brown struggling.

I'm happy Tigers are playing with some real intensity we've been a bit soft at times we look like we've got a bit more fire in the belly tonight. Can't step off the tempo though give Quins an inch and they'll take a mile.

by HammerofThunor Fri 10 Oct 2014, 8:59 pm

Williams taken a knock. Not sure if it's a blow to the head or the nose and it's shocked him. You could tell when he got up from the ruck before.

by Sgt_Pooly Fri 10 Oct 2014, 9:05 pm

Evans not looking great this season.

Tigers pack seems more up for this than Quins

by **Ozzy3213** Fri 10 Oct 2014, 9:07 pm

I think I went Tigers by 10 on Superbru, so if they just continue trading penalties and keep the 10 point gap at the end I'll be happy.

by kingelderfield Fri 10 Oct 2014, 9:09 pm

BBC Weather are bunch of sunshine salesmen.....I watch 3 seperate BBC forcasters all offering clears skyes tonight.......they should be out there with mops!

by kingelderfield Fri 10 Oct 2014, 9:34 pm

Difficult conditions, poor unsympathetic referee and two sides low on confidence.

by HongKongCherry Fri 10 Oct 2014, 9:39 pm

Well that was a game for the purists, but the result is all the matters for Tigers. I thought Quins were pretty awful and rarely built any momentum. It was amazing the difference Ayerza made and he showed how much Tigers had missed him.

by Sgt_Pooly Fri 10 Oct 2014, 9:47 pm

Tigers world class players stepped up tonight, Thorn & Ayerza were excellent.

I thought Matty Tait was excellent in the backs, such a steady influence these days.

by **Ozzy3213** Fri 10 Oct 2014, 9:50 pm

In contrast, Quins big game players, Robshaw, Easter, Brown were anonymous.

Marler is struggling as captain as well.

by Sgt_Pooly Fri 10 Oct 2014, 9:52 pm

Totally agree, Robshaw made very little impact. Quins struggling at TH/lock seems to be dragging Marler down, he's a ticking bomb.

by **Ozzy3213** Fri 10 Oct 2014, 9:55 pm

Someone did question on twitter whether O'Shea was now regretting splashing out on wingers in the summer rather than bolstering his front 5!

by formerly known as Sam Fri 10 Oct 2014, 10:00 pm

Ayerza is probably the best loose head going. Having him back is a massive lift and brought a lot more out of Balmain.

Much better performance from the forwards. Better tactically from the backs. Good to see Tait looking solid at the back and the top four tacklers coming from the Tigers pack with Quins only getting one chance in the Tigers 22.

by Guest Fri 10 Oct 2014, 10:17 pm

HammerofThunor wrote:Williams taken a knock. Not sure if it's a blow to the head or the nose and it's shocked him. You could tell when he got up from the ruck before.

Yep, was missed by the commentary team but he was very groggy when he got up. Looked like he didn't know where he was for a short time and he clearly couldn't see much.

As posted above I felt Thorn was good and Ayerza came on very strong. So pleased he's signed on for another 3 years, he's currently the only Tigers player i'd say is one of the top 3 in world rugby in their position. Scully becoming a bit of a fan favourite for his attitude, unfortunate that he's having to play catch up due to not taking up the game til relatively late.

Really enjoyed the interview with Cockers aswell. No gloating or anything like that but obviously unhappy that the medics, physios and strength and conditioning teams have been unfairly criticised when he would rather the bile be directed towards him.

by ChequeredJersey Fri 10 Oct 2014, 11:11 pm

Well won Tigers, thought Tait and Ghiraldhini were particularly good and Salvi. Neither side was great but conditions were hard. We just made far far too many handling errors, added to silly penalties everytime we scored, Mike Brown and Easter having their worst games for us in ages and Ward's throwing made for a hard day. Also either Nev was kicking too deep or our chase was weak. At least Robshaw and Marler and Wallace all did well and Lowe is back, if still easing into it.

Could be worse, we got the LBP but Tigers were considerably better and we need to fix the basics

by **LondonTiger** Fri 10 Oct 2014, 11:50 pm

Ok, it was not a great spectackle - though with the downpour 45 minutes before kickoff then the constant rain in the second half was not going to be.

The thing I wanted was to believe the team would play for each other - and they did. They were sprinting to cover for team-mates and there was a real fealing that they were a collective.

We had a couple of chances to possibly put the game to bed - but the speed of Matt Hopper getting back to deny Goneva the first was fantastic. The other opportunity was butchered by Williams (who is clearly not a 12) and Scully. Hard to be too critical though - the bang Williams had just taken may have explained the pass, while yes Scully should have cut in behind the Quins winger to make the pass easier - but his efforts all match long were fantastic.

Probably a game that was better at the ground than on TV - though at least you guys did not have to put up with the group of fans who screamed "In the hole" (Yank golf fan style) every time Evans' kicks headed towards the posts or the female student behind me who spent the whole match abusing Freddie Burns in an extremely shrill voice. Her companion left halfway through the first half and only returned near the end of the game.

by **Ozzy3213** Sat 11 Oct 2014, 8:28 am

So I'm 1 from 1 with predictions so far. Here's hoping for the weekly accumulator to come in!!!

by Bathite Sat 11 Oct 2014, 8:40 am

beshocked wrote:Well done Bath for last week. I didn't watch the game but it sounded like you played very well.

I bemoaned Saracens selection issues vs Bath. It sounded like it cost them in the areas I highlighted - scrum and centres...

Sarries still refusing to acknowledge that Wyles is not a centre. How many losses will it take?

Should have picked those props for Bath.... Poor selection generally costs a team dear - when will Saracens learn?

It's a no brainer to pick Bosch at 13.....

Getting things wrong is normal - not learning from mistakes....

Bosch was with Argentina

by kingelderfield Sat 11 Oct 2014, 1:07 pm

I didn't realise what a game it will be at the Cophall stadium today. Gloucester have barring Trinder their A side on the pitch and there will be some really interesting positional confrontations;

Wings Strettle & Ashton versus May & Sharples
Inside centre Barritt versus Twelvetrees
Barrington is very worth watching as maybe one for the none to distant future
8's Vunipola versus Morgan
Kvesic is starting with Fraser on the bench

These match ups aside, both 23's are packed full of quality.

So the nub is this, do Gloucester have a chance? Earlier in the week I just wrote them off thinking they'll be facing a reactive Saracens at home and Gloucester being Gloucester etc. etc., however I have to say looking at the match ups Gloucester certainly have a real chance.

Saracens are ofcourse the favouites and I suspect charge down charlie will be the difference (over Hook) orchestrating positions and play.

Ultimately It will come down to who has the belief and on that score there will only be one winner, but we will see.

Gloucester for the famous win?

by Sgt_Pooly Sat 11 Oct 2014, 2:49 pm

Try for Falcons - Adam Powell. Welsh 3 - 8 Falcons

Welsh defence holding up quite well under strong Falcons pressure.

by kingelderfield Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:08 pm

Gloucester lead 6 to 0

by **LondonTiger** Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:15 pm

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Try for Falcons - Adam Powell. Welsh 3 - 8 Falcons

Welsh defence holding up quite well under strong Falcons pressure.

Welsh have faded in the last 20 minutes a few times. falcons just need to keep the pressure up.

by kingelderfield Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:22 pm

G 13-3 S

by kingelderfield Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:23 pm

G 13-10 S

by **Rugby Fan** Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:25 pm

Twelvetrees in a nutshell there. Excellent pass creates a try, and then a lazy kick gives away a charge down try.

by EnglishReign Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:25 pm

Daft Twelvetrees kick charged down - led to the Sarries try. Come on Glaws!

by **LondonTiger** Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:27 pm

This could be a very long day for Sale who are looking in trouble at the set piece

by kingelderfield Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:28 pm

G 13-15 S

by **Ozzy3213** Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:30 pm

Poor first 30 minutes from us and we're 3-20 down at Sandy Park.

by **LondonTiger** Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:32 pm

Good work by Ken Pisi but shocking work by Sale defence

by ChequeredJersey Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:40 pm

I swear rugby in the last season or so has far more chargedowns than ever before. Any clues why? Laxer kicking? More deliberate tactics looking to charge down? Fitter, quicker defenders? Poor ruck protection? Or offside being more lenient?

by **Ozzy3213** Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:41 pm

Make that 3-30. Game over at half time! Sad

by **LondonTiger** Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:43 pm

ChequeredJersey wrote:I swear rugby in the last season or so has far more chargedowns than ever before. Any clues why? Laxer kicking? More deliberate tactics looking to charge down? Fitter, quicker defenders? Poor ruck protection? Or offside being more lenient?

All of the above.

by EnglishReign Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:44 pm

Kvesic having a stormer, which is good to see.

by ChequeredJersey Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:47 pm

EnglishReign wrote:Kvesic having a stormer, which is good to see.

Ah good, I look forward to the Press' "DROP ROBSHAW!!!" Articles spurred by this. It's been at least 2 weeks

by Guest Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:48 pm

CJ, for me it's mainly your last suggestion. All teams are at it because refs are allowing them too. I won't rant too much but refs ignoring infringements in the name of 'letting the game flow' is really becoming a big issue. Responsibility is on the player not to cheat, but history has shown they will always take the opportunity if they think they will get away with it.

by Sgt_Pooly Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:51 pm

Fantastic 3rd try for Falcons.....3-25 after 52mins

by HongKongCherry Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:51 pm

EnglishReign wrote:Kvesic having a stormer, which is good to see.

Savage is looking pretty decent too

by EnglishReign Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:56 pm

HongKongCherry wrote:
EnglishReign wrote:Kvesic having a stormer, which is good to see.

Savage is looking pretty decent too

Quite. I'm glad last week wasn't a flash in the pan - we really have improved more every game. Looking forward to this 2nd half, wasn't saying that last year!

by HongKongCherry Sat 11 Oct 2014, 3:58 pm

EnglishReign wrote:
HongKongCherry wrote:
EnglishReign wrote:Kvesic having a stormer, which is good to see.

Savage is looking pretty decent too

Quite. I'm glad last week wasn't a flash in the pan - we really have improved more every game. Looking forward to this 2nd half, wasn't saying that last year!

Absolutely. I'm really pleased with how quickly the team seems to have gelled as I was expecting it to take until Christmas

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