Aviva Premiership - Round 13

Fixtures

Fri 19th Feb 16
19:45 Harlequins  v   Leicester Tigers BT Sport

Sat 20th Feb 16
15:00 Saracens  v   Gloucester Rugby
15:00 Worcester Warriors  v   Sale Sharks
15:15 Bath Rugby  v   Wasps BT Sport

Sun 21st Feb 16
15:00 London Irish  v   Exeter Chiefs BT Sport
15:00 Newcastle Falcons Falcons  v   Northampton Saints

Leicester Tigers (v Harlequins, away, Friday 7.45pm)
15 Mathew Tait
14 Peter Betham
13 Matt Smith
12 Manu Tuilagi
11 Telusa Veainu
10 Freddie Burns
9 Sam Harrison
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Leonardo Ghiraldini
3 Fraser Balmain
4 Ed Slater (c)
5 Mike Fitzgerald
6 Tom Croft
7 Brendon O'Connor
8 Laurence Pearce

Replacements
16 Harry Thacker
17 Riccardo Brugnara
18 Logovi'i Mulipola
19 Graham Kitchener
20 Jordan Crane
21 Jono Kitto
22 Oli Bryant
23 Jean de Villiers

Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Winston Stanley, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Tito Tebaldi; 1 Mark Lambert, 2 Dave Ward, 3 Adam Jones, 4 James Horwill (c), 5 Charlie Matthews, 6 Mat Luamanu, 7 Luke Wallace, 8 Nick Easter.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Owen Evans, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Merrick, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Sam Egerton, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Matt Hopper

A good opportunity for Ed Slater to show what he can do as a jumper and caller at the line-out against Horwill. If he can impress with his line-out work and show off his carrying heading into the business end of the season then Jones should get interested given the lack of line-out options in his current squad.

As for Quins vs Tigers as a whole I'd hope for Ayerza - Leo - Balmain to get a scrum advantage at least on our ball. Ward is great at getting a quick strike so Easter can get it away quickly so we may not get as much against the head. However if we can get front foot ball then Harrison, Burns and Tait should control the territorial game much better than we did last week and better than Tebaldi, Botica and Chisholm.

Given the names missing for Quins I'd hope that Tigers can get things back on track here. After last Friday I'll admit to being more than a little nervous though...

I'm concerned that Burns is recovering from a head knock and may well be due to take the concussion recovery test thingy tomorrow. Would not be surprised if there's a late change in that department.

It's stronger team than last week and we need a massive improvement. Glad to see Pearce is starting, he was exceptional off the bench last week.

I see Tigers have JDV on the bench. Not sure, but has he played yet this season? Any read on his conditioning?

It'll be his debut if he comes on Dr. No idea what kind of condition he's going to be in but it's a good time for him to be fit given our other injuries and high chance of us fielding an academy 10 alongside him in the midfield tomorrow.

Is tuilagi playing 12 due to England asking?

If Quins can not get humped in this game I'll be stunned!

Man for man that Tigers team is head and shoulders better then the Quind side.

Sadly it's not even like we're playing bette then the sum of our parts. We're pretty much as crap as the parts make us look.

That 9-13 selection is just woeful. Two poor players, 1 prospect and 1 guy who's barely if ever played anything but A league:

Let's not even mention scrums etc

We haven't exactly been playing brilliantly, hopefully this will be a big performance

Bathman_in_London wrote:Is tuilagi playing 12 due to England asking?

Last time that happened Manu wore 12 and played 13. Would make sense if that was the case again with Eddie seemingly keen to pick Manu despite him barely playing over the last 12 months.

Yappy it's a game for the teams that can't manage a game. Anything could happen.

That's true, then I look at our 9 and 10 and all hope dies

0-0 draw?

Yeah nice try Yappy but you'll not steal underdog status quite so easily

Both teams eager to bounce back from 2 losses but a thoroughly peed off Quins home crowd should have a big impact. Tigers'll be lucky to bag a losing bonus point.

formerly known as Sam wrote:It'll be his debut if he comes on Dr. No idea what kind of condition he's going to be in but it's a good time for him to be fit given our other injuries and high chance of us fielding an academy 10 alongside him in the midfield tomorrow.

Thanks mate. I will be anxious to see how he gets on. Is it televised? I always liked him as a player and thought him a good captain.

Fuzzy Dunlop wrote:Yeah nice try Yappy but you'll not steal underdog status quite so easily

Both teams eager to bounce back from 2 losses but a thoroughly peed off Quins home crowd should have a big impact. Tigers'll be lucky to bag a losing bonus point.

I hope that is the case

doctor_grey wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:It'll be his debut if he comes on Dr. No idea what kind of condition he's going to be in but it's a good time for him to be fit given our other injuries and high chance of us fielding an academy 10 alongside him in the midfield tomorrow.

Thanks mate.  I will be anxious to see how he gets on.  Is it televised?  I always liked him as a player and thought him a good captain.

BT Sport

doctor_grey wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:It'll be his debut if he comes on Dr. No idea what kind of condition he's going to be in but it's a good time for him to be fit given our other injuries and high chance of us fielding an academy 10 alongside him in the midfield tomorrow.

Thanks mate.  I will be anxious to see how he gets on.  Is it televised?  I always liked him as a player and thought him a good captain.

He'd had a positive review from Cockers in the paper today so he's clearly been impressing with his attitude at training. Cockers also said Tigers weren't paying him enough for him to be here for the money, which is an interesting insight. Looking forward to seeing him play.

Bath/Wasps being shown for free http://sport.bt.com/football/bt-sport-to-show-bath-rugby-v-wasps-free-to-air-S11364040525186

Gloucester Rugby:

Billy Burns; Charlie Sharples, Billy Twelvetrees (capt), Mark Atkinson, Steve McColl; James Hook, Callum Braley; Nick Wood, Richard Hibbard, John Afoa; Jeremy Thrush, Mariano Galarza; Ross Moriarty, Matt Kvesic, Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements:

Tom Lindsay, Dan Murphy, Paul Doran-Jones, Tom Savage, Jacob Rowan, Willi Heinz, Henry Trinder, Rob Cook

Worcester Warriors:

15 Chris Pennell
14 Bryce Heem
13 Wynand Olivier
12 Ryan Mills
11 Cooper Vuna
10 Tom Heathcote
9 Francois Hougaard
1. Val Rapava Ruskin
2. Jaba Bregvadze
3. Nick Schonert
4. Donncha O'Callaghan
5. Darren Barry
6. Dewald Potgieter
7. Carl Kirwan
8. GJ van Velze (C)

Replacements
16. Niall Annett
17. Na'ama Leleimalefaga
18. James Johnston
19. Dan Sanderson
20. Phil Dowson
21. Luke Baldwin
22. Ryan Lamb
23. Andy Symons

Sale Sharks:

15. Mike Haley, 14. Tom Arscott, 13. Sam James, 12. Sam Tuitupou, 11. Nev Edwards, 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Peter Stringer, 1. Ross Harrison, 2. Tommy Taylor, 3. Vadim Cobilas, 4. Bryn Evans, 5. Jonathan Mills, 6. Cameron Neild, 7. David Seymour, 8. Josh Beaumont (capt.)

Replacements: 16. Neil Briggs, 17. Eifion Lewis Roberts, 18. Brian Mujati, 19. Magnus Lund, 20. Mark Easter, 21. Chris Cusiter, 22. Joe Ford, 23. Mark Jennings.

Bath Rugby team to face Wasps

15. Tom Homer
14. Semesa Rokoduguni
13. Matt Banahan
12. Ollie Devoto
11. Horacio Agulla
10. Rhys Priestland
9. Chris Cook
1. Max Lahiff
2. Rob Webber
3. David Wilson
4. Charlie Ewels
5. Dominic Day
6. Leroy Houston
7. Francois Louw ( c )
8. Amanaki Mafi

Replacements
16. Ross Batty
17. Beno Obano
18 Henry Thomas
19. Matt Garvey
20. Guy Mercer
21. Jonathan Evans
22. Jeff Williams
23. Max Clark

Wasps team to play Bath Rugby at the Rec on Saturday
15. Charles Piutau
14. Christian Wade
13. Elliot Daly
12. Siale Piutau
11. Frank Halai
10. Ruaridh Jackson
9. Dan Robson
1. Simon McIntyre
2. Ashley Johnson
3. Jake Cooper-Woolley
4. Bradley Davies
5. Kearnan Myall
6. Thomas Young
7. George Smith ©
8. Nathan Hughes

16. Carlo Festuccia
17. Tom Bristow
18. Lorenzo Cittadini
19. James Cannon
20. Alex Rieder
21. Jamie Stevenson
22. Jimmy Gopperth
23. Rob Miller

London Irish:

15 Andrew Fenby, 14 Topsy Ojo*, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ciaran Hearn*, 10 Theo Brophy Clews, 9 Scott Steele, 1 Tom Smallbone, 2 David Paice*, 3 Halani Aulika*, 4 Matt Symons, 5 Elliott Stooke, 6 Ofisa Treviranus*, 7 Luke Narraway* (c), 8 Rob McCusker*

Replacements: 16 Gerard Ellis, 17 Tom Court*, 18 Leo Halavatau, 19 Ian Nagle, 20 Joe Trayfoot, 21 Darren Allinson, 22 Shane Geraghty*, 23 Christian Lewis-Pratt

CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE LONDON IRISH

15 Phil Dollman 14 Olly Woodburn 13 Ian Whitten 12 Sam Hill 11 James Short 10 Gareth Steenson 9 Will Chudley 1 Ben Moon 2 Jack Yeandle (capt) 3 Moray Low 4 Jonny Hill 5 Geoff Parling 6 Don Armand 7 Julian Salvi 8 Thomas Waldrom

16 Luke Cowan-Dickie 17 Alec Hepburn 18 Tomas Francis 19 Ollie Atkins 20 Kai Horstmann 21 Dave Lewis 22 Will Hooley 23 Michele Campagnaro

Newcastle Falcons vs Northampton Saints:

15.Simon Hammersley, 14. Alex Tait, 13. Chris Harris, 12. Adam Powell, 11. Marcus Watson, 10. Andy Goode, 9. Michael Young; 1. Rob Vickers, 2. Scott Lawson, 3. Taione Vea, 4. Mouritz Botha, 5. Sean Robinson, 6. Mark Wilson, 7. Will Welch (c), 8. Ally Hogg.

Replacements: 16. George McGuigan, 17. Alex Rogers, 18. Kensuke Hatakeyama, 19. Josh Furno, 20. Nili Latu, 21. Sonatane Takulua, 22. Craig Willis, 23. Juan Socino.

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS TEAM TO PLAY NEWCASTLE

15 Ben FODEN
14 Jamie ELLIOTT
13 Luther BURRELL
12 Harry MALLINDER
11 James WILSON
10 Stephen MYLER
9 Lee DICKSON (capt)
1 Alex WALLER
2 Mikey HAYWOOD
3 Kieran BROOKES
4 James CRAIG
5 Christian DAY
6 Jamie GIBSON
7 Tom WOOD
8 Sam DICKINSON

16 Reece MARSHALL
17 Ethan WALLER
18 Gareth DENMAN
19 Victor MATFIELD
20 Teimana HARRISON
21 Tom KESSELL
22 JJ HANRAHAN
23 George PISI

Saracens team to face Gloucester Rugby

15 Ben Ransom (58)
14 Mike Ellery (16)
13 Duncan Taylor (82)
12 Brad Barritt (c) (159)
11 Chris Wyles (194)
10 Charlie Hodgson (123)
9 Richard Wigglesworth (143)
1 Rhys Gill (154)
2 Schalk Brits (160)
3 Petrus Du Plessis (118)
4 Hayden Smith (57)
5 Jim Hamilton (37)
6 Michael Rhodes (14)
7 Will Fraser (70)
8 Jackson Wray (129)

Replacements

16 Jared Saunders (27)
17 Titi Lamositele (11)
18 Juan Figallo (24)
19 Jacques Burger (109)
20 Kelly Brown (121)
21 Ben Spencer (65)
22 Nils Mordt (55)
23 Marcelo Bosch (56)

Great effort LT

Has Mafi played for Bath before this? He was so impressive in the world cup

Predictions - Leicester, Saracens, Sale, Bath, Exeter, Newcastle

That Wasps backline. Yikes, Bath better hope their forwards turn up or it could be a long day at the office chasing that lot round the pitch. Jackson showed real form early season and got the backline firing interesting that he got dropped whilst in form and Gopperth was played solidly until he found form and is now dropped.

BamBam wrote:Great effort LT

TY. Always interesting visiting the sites of different clubs, and the quality of Websites varies quite significantly. What I learned today is that sarries appear to have hired strippers for their home match with Quins in April.

Saints website is terrible because they cut me off the background photo by one person...

Scottrf wrote:Saints website is terrible because they cut me off the background photo by one person...

Well, tigers did publish a pic with me in it, but just my bald spot.

formerly known as Sam wrote:That Wasps backline. Yikes, Bath better hope their forwards turn up or it could be a long day at the office chasing that lot round the pitch. Jackson showed real form early season and got the backline firing interesting that he got dropped whilst in form and Gopperth was played solidly until he found form and is now dropped.

Jackson was due to start last week Sam but got called up last minute for Scotland. I prefer to use the word rotated & with Cips returning next season that is 3 quality FHs to keep happy.

Shame Wasps can't play on Sarries carpet every week as I think we would be favorite for most games. A wet windy afternoon at the Rec is a different proposition. Mullan out after injury in training which is shame as Wilson seems to be struggling a bit at the moment.
Banahan at 13 may struggle against the pace of Daly.

What's the betting that after having to watch Quins get humped by Leicester tonight Glos will then go out and be utterly Poopie against Saracens just to make last weeks result feel even worse

That Saints backline has been tearing up defences in the last couple of weeks, started to really click. Mallinder seams to have made a big difference to the cohesion and penetration.

Falcons have improved somewhat over the last few weeks as well, so it will be interesting, but I think Saints pack will provided sufficient clean ball for them to get a win.

Well, tore up the LI defence

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:That Wasps backline. Yikes, Bath better hope their forwards turn up or it could be a long day at the office chasing that lot round the pitch. Jackson showed real form early season and got the backline firing interesting that he got dropped whilst in form and Gopperth was played solidly until he found form and is now dropped.

Jackson was due to start last week Sam but got called up last minute for Scotland. I prefer to use the word rotated & with Cips returning next season that is 3 quality FHs to keep happy.

Shame Wasps can't play on Sarries carpet every week as I think we would be favorite for most games. A wet windy afternoon at the Rec is a different proposition. Mullan out after injury in training which is shame as Wilson seems to be struggling a bit at the moment.
Banahan at 13 may struggle against the pace of Daly.

Yeah I saw that Jackson was a late withdrawal last weekend. He played well off the bench for Scotland. Do you think Wasps will attempt to keep all three flyhalfs happy or will one be sacrificed and another youngster brought in to be third choice?

formerly known as Sam wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:That Wasps backline. Yikes, Bath better hope their forwards turn up or it could be a long day at the office chasing that lot round the pitch. Jackson showed real form early season and got the backline firing interesting that he got dropped whilst in form and Gopperth was played solidly until he found form and is now dropped.

Jackson was due to start last week Sam but got called up last minute for Scotland. I prefer to use the word rotated & with Cips returning next season that is 3 quality FHs to keep happy.

Shame Wasps can't play on Sarries carpet every week as I think we would be favorite for most games. A wet windy afternoon at the Rec is a different proposition. Mullan out after injury in training which is shame as Wilson seems to be struggling a bit at the moment.
Banahan at 13 may struggle against the pace of Daly.

Yeah I saw that Jackson was a late withdrawal last weekend. He played well off the bench for Scotland. Do you think Wasps will attempt to keep all three flyhalfs happy or will one be sacrificed and another youngster brought in to be third choice?

I think & hope we keep all 3 particularly if Cips does manage to break into the EPS as that would just leave JG as a permanent. A shame that we are losing Alex Losowski to Sarries as he is an academy product (& his Dad played at Wasps) & he has great potential.

yappysnap wrote:What's the betting that after having to watch Quins get humped by Leicester tonight Glos will then go out and be utterly Poopie against Saracens just to make last weeks result feel even worse

Thats almost guaranteed. The one thing we're consistent with is our inconsistency!

LondonTiger wrote:NORTHAMPTON SAINTS TEAM TO PLAY NEWCASTLE

15 Ben FODEN
14 Jamie ELLIOTT
13 Luther BURRELL
12 Harry MALLINDER
11 James WILSON
10 Stephen MYLER
9 Lee DICKSON (capt)
1 Alex WALLER
2 Mikey HAYWOOD
3 Kieran BROOKES
4 James CRAIG
5 Christian DAY
6 Jamie GIBSON
7 Tom WOOD
8 Sam DICKINSON

16 Reece MARSHALL
17 Ethan WALLER
18 Gareth DENMAN
19 Victor MATFIELD
20 Teimana HARRISON
21 Tom KESSELL
22 JJ HANRAHAN
23 George PISI

I am very concerned about Saints trip up north to face Newcastle.


Clearly, Saints are the underdog.

HongKongCherry wrote:

yappysnap wrote:What's the betting that after having to watch Quins get humped by Leicester tonight Glos will then go out and be utterly Poopie against Saracens just to make last weeks result feel even worse

Thats almost guaranteed. The one thing we're consistent with is our inconsistency!

I know HKC.


It pains me

Saints really need 10 points from this week and next.

Quins/Tigers free on BTshowcase(freeview ch 59)

JDV starting.

Burns out and Bryant starting too, eek

Burns is on the bench along with Smith not out.

Sorry, meant out of the starting line up

Not seen much of Bryant, what type of 10 is he Welly?

He plays 12 also.

He is a distributing 10 I not 100% sure on his kicking though.