Aviva Premiership - Round 8

Premiership Table


Fixtures

Friday 21st November 2014

Harlequins (6th) v Sale (7th) 19:45  BT Sport
Two teams who won last week face each other at the Stoop. By all accounts Quins did the basics well last week, and against a Sale team who have struggled on their travels that could be enough.

Newcastle (11th) v Gloucester (8th) 20:00
Falcons are probably safe from relegation already - so must be looking to improve before next season when Bristol or Worcester are likely to be much stronger than London Welsh have been. This is the sort of fixture they simply have to be winning, especially with Gloucester in the midst of a crisis among their back line. International duties and injuries deprive them of all but Charlie Sharples from their first choice attack.

Saturday 22nd November 2014

Exeter (2nd) v Wasps (5th) 15:00
I have no idea how Exeter have made it to 2nd in the table. Whenever I see them play they have looked very short of firepower. However they win the matches I do not watch. Wasps had a fun unopposed session last week - not really the preparation for a trip to Sandy Park.

London Irish (10th) v Bath (3rd) 15:00
London Irish have just lost 3 matches on the bounce, with what have been described as some lamentable performances. The coaches have been critical of the players, the fans of the coaches. Bath are however still vulnerable and could easily struggle in this match.

Sunday 23rd November 2014

Saracens (4th) v Northampton (1st) 13:00 BT Sport
Both sides will be disappointed with last week. Mark McCall seemed to blame the ref for Sarries failure to win - perhaps he should instead look at how they approached the game. They offered zero threat with ball in hand, and seemed to assume their defence would win the game. As predicted Saints were vulnerable last week. Mallinder was critical of how they tried to play too much rugby in poor conditions. Saracens should be much stronger than Saints this week, but if they persist with Wyles at 12 could struggle to create. That would be criminal with two wingers who are on fire.

London Welsh (12th) v Leicester (9th) 15:15  BT Sport
BT Sport are often criticised for only showing glamour matches. They balance that this week with this bottom of the table clash between the two lowest try scorers in the league. London Welsh have been conceding 49 points per match, so maybe Tigers can get their second TBP of the season (previous was against Falcons) but do not hold your breath. Freddie Burns lack of confidence from the kicking tee will mean that Owen Williams wil start - yet he has shown no evidence that he will be able to direct the backs to try scoring form.

I expect 5 home wins with only London Welsh bucking the trend

4 home wins LT, I think Bath will do enough to grind out an ugly win.

Oh and cheers for the previews

To be fair to Owen Williams the only centre he's started with that looked likely to break the line was Bryant. Allen is so far from form I doubt he'd score if unopposed. Smith looks short on match fitness and we have not other options available as Bai, Loamano and Manu are all injured.

Sarries will kick Saints to death in that I fear will turn out to be "one for the purists". Such a shame as that should be a stellar game otherwise.

Im getting nervous that people are actually backing us to win games now on a semi-consistant basis...

Harlequins:
Chisholm; Walker, Hopper, Casson, Lindsay-Hague; Evans, Dickson; Lambert, Ward, Sinckler; Matthews, Robson; Trayfoot, Wallace, Easter (capt).

Buchanan, Marfo, Collier, Twomey, Clifford, Care, Swiel, Turner-Hall.

Sale Sharks:
Haley; Brady, Jennings, Tuitupou, Arscott; Cipriani, Cliff; Lewis-Roberts, Jones, Cobilas; Mills, Paterson; Braid (capt), Seymour, Beaumont.

Neild, Flynn, Harrison, Lund, Easter, Fowles, McLeod, Forsyth.

After seeing how bad Glaws were last week Geordie, you should be eying up the TBP!

I'll be interested to see how Exeter get on vs Wasps, you wouldn't bet against Waldrom scoring again...
I hope Bath will have enough to sneak it, Eastmond may well play having been released by England and hopefully Garvey will play some part after coming off the bench last week.

Gloucester Rugby:
Steve McColl; Charlie Sharples, Billy Meakes, Mark Atkinson, Henry Purdy; Billy Burns, Dan Robson; Yann Thomas, Darren Dawidiuk, John Afoa; Tom Palmer, James Hudson; Tom Savage, Matt Kvesic (capt), Ross Moriarty

Replacements:
Luke Cole, James Gibbons, Shaun Knight, Elliott Stooke, Gareth Evans, Callum Braley, Aled Thomas, Tom Isaacs


Three changes for Glaws.

Falcons meanwhile make 6 changes - but were too lazy to print a team list:

Falcons Switch Six For Visit Of Gloucester

Bathman_in_London wrote:After seeing how bad Glaws were last week Geordie, you should be eying up the TBP!

I'll be interested to see how Exeter get on vs Wasps, you wouldn't bet against Waldrom scoring again...
I hope Bath will have enough to sneak it, Eastmond may well play having been released by England and hopefully Garvey will play some part after coming off the bench last week.

Would that be sensible, as concussion was one of the reasons he was released.

Falcons

1 Vickers
2 Lawson
3 Tomaszczyk
4 Green
5 Barrow
6 Wilson
7 Saull
8 Hogg (c)

9 Blair
10 Clegg
11 Tuilagi
12 Socino
13 Tiesi
14 Sinoti
15 Tait

Replacements 16 McGuigan 17 Rogers 18 S. Wilson 19 Robinson 20 York 21 Tipuna 22 Powell 23 Hammersley

LondonTiger wrote:

Bathman_in_London wrote:After seeing how bad Glaws were last week Geordie, you should be eying up the TBP!

I'll be interested to see how Exeter get on vs Wasps, you wouldn't bet against Waldrom scoring again...
I hope Bath will have enough to sneak it, Eastmond may well play having been released by England and hopefully Garvey will play some part after coming off the bench last week.

Would that be sensible, as concussion was one of the reasons he was released.

Well I would say no, but both Wood and Lawes had the same and they seemed to play the week after. From what I understand the captains run was on Wednesday not Thursday this week for England, hence the different outcomes for the 3 concussions. We have other options at 12 so I hope the Bath medical team err on the side of caution.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Falcons

1 Vickers
2 Lawson
3 Tomaszczyk
4 Green
5 Barrow
6 Wilson
7 Saull
8 Hogg (c)

9 Blair
10 Clegg
11 Tuilagi
12 Socino
13 Tiesi
14 Sinoti
15 Tait

Replacements 16 McGuigan 17 Rogers 18 S. Wilson 19 Robinson 20 York 21 Tipuna 22 Powell 23 Hammersley

Really wish your captain was on the Scotland bench at the weekend instead of Al Strokosch. Lots of other Scotland fans feel the same.

I reckon Eastmond may have been dropped under the guise of concussion bringing the test forward a day to avoid knocking his confidence, shame as with an out of sorts farrell and care he never had a chance. Bath have strength in depth now and henson,devoto,Joseph went very well last week. Our backrow is coming back one by one and id expect a close one with irish.

LondonTiger wrote:Harlequins:
Chisholm; Walker, Hopper, Casson, Lindsay-Hague; Evans, Dickson; Lambert, Ward, Sinckler; Matthews, Robson; Trayfoot, Wallace, Easter (capt).

Buchanan, Marfo, Collier, Twomey, Clifford, Care, Swiel, Turner-Hall.

Sale Sharks:
Haley; Brady, Jennings, Tuitupou, Arscott; Cipriani, Cliff; Lewis-Roberts, Jones, Cobilas; Mills, Paterson; Braid (capt), Seymour, Beaumont.

Neild, Flynn, Harrison, Lund, Easter, Fowles, McLeod, Forsyth.

I have a sneaky suspicion we may lose this one, Lowe has been the real change in our backline that's brought it from a bunch of guys who've never met to a functioning unit. Without him I worry. Can understand it though if he's rested, he's not played for ages and needs managing for the long term.

I think if we do win it'll be down to the front row playing out of their skins again like last week.

Could we even get a front row forward as MoM??? Probably not!

sirtidychris wrote:I reckon Eastmond may have been dropped under the guise of concussion bringing the test forward a day to avoid knocking his confidence.

I was thinking this myself, call me synical but I don't think it's the first time a player that's likely to lose his spot has suddenly been injured either.

George Carlin wrote:

GeordieFalcon wrote:Falcons

1 Vickers
2 Lawson
3 Tomaszczyk
4 Green
5 Barrow
6 Wilson
7 Saull
8 Hogg (c)

9 Blair
10 Clegg
11 Tuilagi
12 Socino
13 Tiesi
14 Sinoti
15 Tait

Replacements 16 McGuigan 17 Rogers 18 S. Wilson 19 Robinson 20 York 21 Tipuna 22 Powell 23 Hammersley

Really wish your captain was on the Scotland bench at the weekend instead of Al Strokosch. Lots of other Scotland fans feel the same.

Yeah hes been playing very well this season , but he needed to as his performances had dropped a little.

Are we Resting Lowe, as I suspect? Or is he second choice or injured?

Danny and Swiel great to have off bench

ChequeredJersey wrote:Are we Resting Lowe, as I suspect? Or is he second choice or injured?

Danny and Swiel great to have off bench

According to offy, Lowe is being rested as part of a phased come back. Fair enough as for a guy who was out for a year he's played a heck of a lot of rugby and done it very well. Reasonably comfortable with Casson/Hopper, though - they have played well together and Casson's recent cameos have been OK. He just needs to stay fit...

I think at this point in the season it's all about the forwards. Lambert has found another level in the scrum and Sinckler put in an immense shift last week. The lineout is going well (and I notice we've used Matthews as a lifter in short lineouts, which is a neat way to make sure of the ball) and the rolling maul has looked good in the last few games. If they can take control of the game early, Quins can create the space for the backs.

Bath Rugby team to face London Irish

15 Luke Arscott
14 Semesa Rokoduguni
13 Jonathan Joseph
12 Kyle Eastmond
11 Matt Banahan
10 Gavin Henson
9 Micky Young
1 Nathan Catt
2 Ross Batty
3 Henry Thomas
4 Stuart Hooper (c)
5 Dominic Day
6 Matt Garvey
7 David Sisi
8 Leroy Houston

Replacements

16 Tom Dunn
17 Nick Auterac
18 Kane Palma-Newport
19 Charlie Ewels
20 Carl Fearns
21 Chris Cook
22 Ollie Devoto
23 Olly Woodburn


Pretty decent team that, a few with a point to prove in the backs.

Leicester Tigers (v London Welsh, away, Sunday 3.15pm)
15 Tommy Bell
14 Blaine Scully
13 Matt Smith
12 Anthony Allen
11 Adam Thompstone
10 Freddie Burns
9 David Mele
1 Michele Rizzo
2 Harry Thacker
3 Dan Cole
4 Brad Thorn (c)
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Jordan Crane

Replacements
16 Jake Farnworth
17 Tom Bristow
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Robert Barbieri
20 Laurence Pearce
21 Sam Harrison
22 Owen Williams
23 Mathew Tait

Matt Garvey back . He should be Englands No.6.

Be interersting to see how his form comes through over the next few weeks when he gets match fit.

Like the Tigers team. Plenty if power on the bench so that we can take the game to LW in the second half. Burns gets a go after impressing vs Sale in the LV, Williams hasn't done enough to make the shirt his own so that's good for competition.

Bell has impressed and can cover the place kicking and Tait needs a rest. Thacker was a stand out last week in a tight game. Let's see what he can do in what should be a more open one. Those centres need to step up in attack though.

Allen and thompstone have looked rusty - no surprise after long lay-offs, while Smith is what he is.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Matt Garvey back . He should be Englands No.6.

Of course another point of view is - Matt Garvey back, most over-rated club player on these boards.

LT that amounts to blasphemy! Wash your mouth out.

P.S

Besides i think im the only one that actually calls for him...i think he massively underrated.

LondonTiger wrote:Allen and thompstone have looked rusty - no surprise after long lay-offs, while Smith is what he is.

 Smith certainly looked good against Sale.

 Like the power in the bench.

 Pearce, Barbieri, Balmain, Williams all strong carriers of the ball.

 Harrison will bring some speed of the base of the ruck, and Tait will hopefully get a chance to be fresh for the broken game part of the game.

 Nice to rotate some players.

Jake Farnworth?

Not meaning to slag Matt Smith - he just is what he is. He is strong and honest, but will never razzle dazzle. (Edited bit - all clubs need someone like him, who can come in and fill the gaps)

It is great that we can actually look to rest Matty Tait rather than be easing him back to fitness.

bluestonevedder wrote:Jake Farnworth?

Academy lad. Featured off the bench in LV against Sale - when thacker moved to 7.

LondonTiger wrote:Not meaning to slag Matt Smith - he just is what he is. He is strong and honest, but will never razzle dazzle.  (Edited bit - all clubs need someone like him, who can come in and fill the gaps)

It is great that we can actually look to rest Matty Tait rather than be easing him back to fitness.

Matt Smith?  Really?
Leicester must be digging really deep.

I think Farnworth has made it into the under 20s hasn't he? Started vs LI and the Barbarians. From memory he's a converted flanker but is more hooked shaped than Thacker.

Agree re Smith. Reliable, decent skill set, strong, quick enough and will put his body on the line every time for Tigers. Doesn't have the flair in attack to be anything more than a squad player though he is a pretty formidable defender.

LondonTiger wrote:

bluestonevedder wrote:Jake Farnworth?

Academy lad. Featured off the bench in LV against Sale - when thacker moved to 7.

Wasps team v Exeter who we have never beaten at Sandy Park

15. Rob Miller
14. Christian Wade
13. Elliot Daly
12. Chris Bell (c)
11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
10. Andy Goode
9. Joe Simpson
1. Simon McIntyre
2. Edd Shervington
3. Lorenzo Cittadini
4. Bradley Davies
5. James Gaskell
6. Ashley Johnson
7. Sam Jones
8. Nathan Hughes

16. Tom Lindsay
17. John Yapp
18. Jake Cooper-Woolley
19. Kearnan Myall
20. Guy Thompson
21. Charlie Davies
22. Alex Lozowski
23. Tom Varndell

What a dumb idea

What was?

The prmatch explosions that delayed the start

Matthews and Robson have obviously decided that with Ward throwing, we should treat sale's lineout as our ball

Bit of a scrappy game. First succession of cohesive attacking play and a try, only took an hour and a bit.

Hopefully game on now.

Well, that was awful

Falcons playing well tonight, the better team and winning

Scrum has been excellent and everything has fitted into place. We've certainly had the rub of the green from the ref though.

Biggest plus point for us tonight for me was Matthews, had a monster game

Lot's of Gloucester fans on twitter complaining about the ref in their game, and Ryan Walkinshaw has tweeted complaining that games are played in the international window.

We've certainly had the edge with the ref but we've done well at the breakdown/set piece too. Pushing our luck at the end.

Atkinson is a lovely runner for Gloucester but hands like spades.

You can see why Kvesic isn't with England watching this game

Ally Hogg has been superb

Agree about hogg and kvesic.

I also agree we got the calls tonight from the ref. But that really does show it's goes in swings and roundabouts because we've been on the end of some poor calls through this season and last.

Wigglesworth was appalling but we didn't lose because of him. The backs showed our lack of depth and it didn't help that Atkinson who has been so good this season had as poor a match as I've seen at this level. Disagree about Kvesic as he was responsible for winning a number of turnovers and carried well.

Funny how different sides see things HKC, I thought Kvesic was poor.

Atkinson has a lovely step but doesn't know when to release. Agree on Wigglesworth to a certain extent, we got a lot of 50/50's. The forward pass & off feet incident when Robson tapped spring to mind.

Appalling is probably a little strong but I'd be a touch miffed the other way round.

I do watch games with cherry tinted glasses Pooly

Atkinson has made some sublime offloads this season, but his basics were truly woeful but it didn't help being pinged for quite clearly not a forward pass. But then how Wiggy missed Savage pulling the maul down from the tackle he awarded a scrum to Glaws is beyond me, he truly is an awful ref who is incapable of letting a game flow.

Yea there were some funny ones, I think he blew about 5 times in the first 2mins.