Aviva Premiership - Round 20 - The Home Stretch

League Table

	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Bonus Pts	Points
1	Saracens	19	15	1	3	440	280	5	67
2	Leicester	19	13	1	5	445	282	9	63
3	Harlequins	19	12	0	7	473	399	8	56
4	Northampton	19	12	0	7	404	390	6	54
5	Gloucester	19	11	1	7	439	386	8	54
6	Bath	19	9	1	9	402	362	10	48
7	London Wasps	19	9	0	10	451	435	11	47
8	Exeter	19	9	1	9	438	377	8	46
9	Worcester	19	5	1	13	357	425	11	33
10	London Irish	19	6	1	12	386	514	4	30
11	Sale	19	5	1	13	317	520	4	26
12	London Welsh	19	4	0	15	337	519	7	18

Fixtures

Fri 12th Apr 13
19:45 Sale Sharks v Gloucester Rugby ESPN


Sat 13th Apr 13
14:15 Harlequins v Bath Rugby ESPN
15:00 Exeter Chiefs v London Irish


Sun 14th Apr 13
15:00 London Welsh v Northampton Saints
15:00 Saracens v Worcester Warriors
15:45 Leicester Tigers v London Wasps Sky



Preview

6 AP sides entered European 1/4 finals, but just 1 progressed to semis. Wasps anf tigers may be able to find some solace in their own performances in matches they were not favourites for the win. Bath, Gloucester and Quins will have been disappointed not just with defeats, but also with the manner of the defeats. All 5 teams are still in the mix for play-off or HC spots so will need to bounce back quickly.


The round opens on ESPN with struggling Sale hosting a misfiring Gloucester team. Both teams need the win and in the end it could come down to who wants it more. Gloucester have the attacking ability to really punish any Sale defensive frailties - yet Fridays in Salford are not easy. I have no idea how to call this. Logic suggests Gloucester fighting for a play-off spot should be too strong, yet their performances since the 6Ns finished has seen more bad than good. I am prevaricating, every time I decide who will win I think ah but.....

On Saturday two of the losing teams from last week meet at the Stoop, live on ESPN. Since winning the LV cup, Quins have lost 3 matches in a row. On Saturday they completely failed to support each other, in attack or defence. They shoul dhave had a right rollicking this week as that display showed a real lack of pride and respect for each other, not something I expected to say about Quins. Quins have to get back to attacking and defending in groups, constantly changing the focus of attacks and looking to move the ball quickly. Bath need this win if they are to believe they can push for a European spot and will arrive in Twickenham with a much bigger pack. In the end it may come down to which teams 10 plays better - but will the DoRs go for old or young options? Whilst I have been saying this for the last couple of weeks, Quins should have too much skill and cohesion.

Exeter host a London Irish team that have little to play for. Half of the LI team are leaving and the club look safe from relegation. Rob Baxter's elevation to England management for the summer tour have led to rumours he may be looking to move on permanently. Whilst he may be ambitious he is also devoted to the Chiefs cause. Exeter can steal a march on Bath and Wasps, who both have tricky away fixtures, in the fight for HEC spot.

London Welsh have to win to maintain any hope of avoiding relegation (unless courts help). Northampton are not a team who will give much to a "weaker" side. LW have to start well as if Saints open up a lead they could pulverise them. It is unlikely to be pretty, but Saints really should be able to bash and bosh their way to 4 tries and the 5pts they need in the fight for play-offs.

Saracens face Worcester at Aliianz Park. We can expect to see rather a lot of squad rotation from Sarries - even so they should record the win that would guarantee a home semi with some ease.

Tigers will be hurting following Sundays defeat at Toulon. Marcos Ayerza's fractured clavicle sees him join Louis Deacon and Miles Benjamin on the "out for the season" list. For me Ayerza is the best LH in the premiership and his absence is a major loss for us - but should not be critical to matters this week. Tigers will look to use the power of the pack to deny Wasps atatcking opportunities, while using their strong running game to score the tries that will move them closer to a home semi. Wasps have shown regularly that they can score tries - only Tigers have scored more in the AP - yet they concede points by the bucketload too.

For me, and before seeing the selected teams:

Sale 1pt Glaws 4pts
Quins 4pts Bath 0pts
Exeter 5pts LI 0pts
LW 0pts Saints 5pts
Sarries 5pts Worcester 0pts
Leicester 5pts Wasps 0pts

LondonTiger wrote:For me, and before seeing the selected teams:

Sale 1pt Glaws 4pts
Quins 4pts Bath 0pts
Exeter 5pts LI 0pts
LW 0pts Saints 5pts
Sarries 5pts Worcester 0pts
Leicester 5pts Wasps 0pts

agree with most of that but can see
Tigers 5pts Wasps 2pts
or
Tigers 4pts Wasps 2pts

Glaws haven't beaten Sale away for 9 years. We never beat them at the County Ground. I believe we will win, but I have thought that on numerous occasions before...

I feel Irish will be closer to Chiefs, but will lose and Chiefs won't get the TBP. Other than that I'm with you LT

I wouldn't be surprised if Quins lose this, but then i'm feeling pessimistic at the moment.

LondonTiger wrote:

Exeter host a London Irish team that have little to play for. Half of the LI team are leaving and the club look safe from relegation. Rob Baxter's elevation to England management for the summer tour have led to rumours he may be looking to move on permanently. Whilst he may be ambitious he is also devoted to the Chiefs cause. Exeter can steal a march on Bath and Wasps, who both have tricky away fixtures, in the fight for HEC .

"Rumours" from nefarious Irish posters on this site, otherwise bunkum!

yappysnap wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if Quins lose this, but then i'm feeling pessimistic at the moment.

Losing would quite likely see you drop out of the Top 4. That would be a shame as in so many ways the Quins model is an admirable one.

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:

Exeter host a London Irish team that have little to play for. Half of the LI team are leaving and the club look safe from relegation. Rob Baxter's elevation to England management for the summer tour have led to rumours he may be looking to move on permanently. Whilst he may be ambitious he is also devoted to the Chiefs cause. Exeter can steal a march on Bath and Wasps, who both have tricky away fixtures, in the fight for HEC .

"Rumours" from nefarious Irish posters on this site, otherwise bunkum!

I thought its was an iffy Scottish poster?

Ha, ha, just cos Stag, Nefarious_lurcher and Rava posted under my name, doesn't mean it was Scots, LT!!!

Pulling a George Galloway on us?

yappysnap wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if Quins lose this, but then i'm feeling pessimistic at the moment.

So would I be if I were you, 'Quins are riding a tobaggan at the moment

Jimpy wrote:

yappysnap wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if Quins lose this, but then i'm feeling pessimistic at the moment.

So would I be if I were you, 'Quins are riding a tobaggan at the moment

You're meant to tell me that i'm being ludicrously pessimistic!

yappysnap wrote:

Jimpy wrote:

yappysnap wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if Quins lose this, but then i'm feeling pessimistic at the moment.

So would I be if I were you, 'Quins are riding a tobaggan at the moment

You're meant to tell me that i'm being ludicrously pessimistic!

If only that were true....

Too long speaking to London Tiger the pessimisms rubbing off.

Takes me back to the good old days of being a Quins fan.

yappysnap wrote:Too long speaking to London Tiger the pessimisms rubbing off.

Takes me back to the good old days of being a Quins fan.

Oh man, he's like Marvin the paranoid android, a real mood hoover.

I do the best I can.

Sale team, just one change form squad that drew with LI, with Will Addison replacing Amesbury (who had a torrid time defensively) on the wing.

Team Cameron Shepherd, Will Addison, Johnny Leota, Sam Tuitupou, Mark Cueto, Nick Macleod, Dwayne Peel, Alasdair Dickinson, Marc Jones, Henry Thomas, Kearnan Myall, Andrei Ostrikov, Dan Braid, David Seymour Captain, James Gaskell

Replacements Tommy Taylor, Ross Harrison, Tony Buckley, Tom Holmes, Richie Vernon, Nathan Fowles, Danny Cipriani, Tom Brady

Anyone know what has happened to Rob Miller?

Gloucester make a handfull of changes to the team that lost so dissappointingly to Biarritz. Robson, 36, Cook and Monahan all return while Ben morgan makes a welcome appearance on the bench.

Rob Cook; Jonny May, Mike Tindall (capt), Billy Twelvetrees, Shane Monahan; Freddie Burns, Dan Robson; Nick Wood, Huia Edmonds, Dario Chistolini; Lua Lokotui, Will James; Tom Savage, Akapusi Qera, Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements:

Koree Britton, Dan Murphy, Yann Thomas, Ben Morgan, Andy Hazell, Dave Lewis, Henry Trinder, Charlie Sharples

LondonTiger wrote:Gloucester make a handfull of changes to the team that lost so dissappointingly to Biarritz. Robson, 36, Cook and Monahan all return while Ben morgan makes a welcome appearance on the bench.

Rob Cook; Jonny May, Mike Tindall (capt), Billy Twelvetrees, Shane Monahan; Freddie Burns, Dan Robson; Nick Wood, Huia Edmonds, Dario Chistolini; Lua Lokotui, Will James; Tom Savage, Akapusi Qera, Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements:

Koree Britton, Dan Murphy, Yann Thomas, Ben Morgan, Andy Hazell, Dave Lewis, Henry Trinder, Charlie Sharples

I like the look of that team and we have some strong options on the bench. It's great that Morgan is back for the run in as we've missed his added grunt in the scrum, although K has more than made up for his ball carrying ability! We are weak at TH with our 3rd choice starting and a converted LH as back up. But Dickinson is not a tough scrummager, so we may be OK.

Can we break our 9 year duck?? We really should do with that team.

CHIEFS TEAM TO FACE LONDON IRISH

15 Luke Arscott
14 Jack Nowell
13 Phil Dollman
12 Jason Shoemark
11 Matt Jess
10 Gareth Steenson
9 Haydn Thomas
1 Brett Sturgess
2 Jack Yeandle
3 Hoani Tui
4 Dean Mumm
5 Damian Welch
6 Ben White
7 James Scaysbrook
8 Richard Baxter (capt)

16 Chris Whitehead
17 Carl Rimmer
18 Craig Mitchell
19 Aly Muldowney
20 Dave Ewers
21 Will Chudley
22 Henry Slade
23 Ian Whitten

Tigers v Wasps Lineups.

Cockers makes just the one forced change. Wasps missing a shed load of players either through injury or being rested.

15 Mathew Tait
14 Niall Morris
13 Manusamoa Tuilagi
12 Anthony Allen
11 Adam Thompstone
10 Toby Flood (c)
9 Ben Youngs
1 Logovi'i Mulipola
2 Tom Youngs
3 Dan Cole
4 Ed Slater
5 Geoff Parling
6 Tom Croft
7 Julian Salvi
8 Jordan Crane

Replacements
16 Rob Hawkins
17 Fraser Balmain
18 Martin Castrogiovanni
19 Graham Kitchener
20 Thomas Waldrom
21 Sam Harrison
22 George Ford
23 Matt Smith


15 Elliot Daly
14 Christian Wade
13 Chris Bell (c)
12 Charlie Hayter
11 Tom Varndell
10 Nick Robinson
9 Charlie Davies
1 Zak Taulafo
2 Tom Lindsay
3 Will Taylor
4 James Cannon
5 Tom Palmer
6 Ashley Johnson
7 Jonathan Poff
8 Billy Vunipola

Replacements
16 Nathan Morris
17 Simon McIntyre
18 Lorenzo Romano
19 Alex Rae
20 Matt Everard
21 Joe Simpson
22 Tommy Bell
23 Jack Wallace

http://www.skysports.com/rugbyunion/match_preview/0,,11069_55292_1,00.html

Saracens: 15 Chris Wyles, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Joel Tomkins, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Neil De Kock, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Kelly Brown (c), 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 George Kruis, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 John Smit, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Carlos Nieto, 19 Eoin Sheriff, 20 Justin Melck, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Alex Goode, 23 Duncan Taylor.

Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Josh Drauniniu, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 David Lemi, 10 Danny Gray, 9 Jonny Arr, 8 Semisi Taulava, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Neil Best, 5 Chris Jones, 4 James Percival (c), 3 John Andress, 2 Ed Shervington, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Aleki Lutui, 17 Ceri Jones, 18 Rob O'Donnell, 19 Dean Schofield, 20 Jake Abbott, 21 Paul Hodgson, 22 Joe Carlisle, 23 Jon Clarke.

Hard to see anything other the Leicester and Sarries wins this weekend. I think Exeter will beat LI as well as Saints beating LW.

I think Sale will run Glaws close, and the Quins game will be tight as well.

funnyExiledScot wrote:Hard to see anything other the Leicester and Sarries wins this weekend. I think Exeter will beat LI as well as Saints beating LW.

I think Sale will run Glaws close, and the Quins game will be tight as well.

As I thought, Cockerill has picked his strongest possible side and will be aiming for a MUST 5 points here.

rpt post

Teams so good they were posted twice

oops.

Sorry.

Harlequins have announced the team to play Bath Rugby tomorrow in round 20 of the Aviva Premiership, kick-off 2.15pm at the Twickenham Stoop.There are four changes to the starting line-up that lost to Munster in last week's Heineken Cup quarter-final.

Sam Smith starts on the left wing, partnering Mike Brown and Tom Williams in the back three. In the centres, Matt Hopper is named alongside George Lowe.

In the forwards, Joe Gray starts at hooker, with Tom Guest partnering captain Chris Robshaw and Nick Easter in the back-row.

Luke Wallace and Ugo Monye are named among the replacements.

Harlequins team

15. Mike Brown
14. Tom Williams
13. George Lowe
12. Matt Hopper
11. Sam Smith
10. Nick Evans
9. Danny Care

1. Joe Marler
2. Joe Gray
3. James Johnston
4. Olly Kohn
5. George Robson
6. Tom Guest
7. Chris Robshaw (C)
8. Nick Easter

16. Rob Buchanan
17. Mark Lambert
18. Will Collier
19. Charlie Matthews
20. Luke Wallace
21. Karl Dickson
22. Ben Botica
23. Ugo Monye

Got to say i'm disappointed to see Buchanan rotated, also don't like the Hopper/Lowe combo. We have one of the most difficult attacking styles to play and how can the backs master that if we keep swapping centre's!!!!!!

No surprise that Mo is out of the squad, he's been poor all season. It's just a shame that he was dropped a match too late.

Good to see Wallace on the bench at least, he should have started last week and being honest should be in there this week as well.

Monye on the bench is bizarre. Chisholm cover the back three far better and was looking class a few weeks back. Don't know why he isn't starting and Williams benched to get a kick up the arse.

We may win this game but we could just as easily lose and to be honest with some of the selections we'll only have our selves to blame.

Chiefs vs Irish

Exeter: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Phil Dollman, 12 Jason Shoemark, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Haydn Thomas, 8 Richard Baxter (c), 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Ben White, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Hoani Tui, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Brett Sturgess.
Replacements: 16 Chris Whitehead, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Craig Mitchell, 19 Aly Muldowney, 20 Dave Ewers, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Ian Whitten.

London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Guy Armitage, 12 Shane Geraghty, 11, Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Darren Allinson, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Jebb Sinclair, 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Bryn Evans, 4 George Skivington (c), 3 Leo Halavatau, 2 David Paice, 1 Max Lahiff.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alex Corbisiero, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 Kieran Low, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Jonathan Joseph, 22 Marland Yarde, 23 Jack Moates.

Carl Rimmer loses out to Sturge for the loosehead shirt, and Ben White gets the nod over Dave Ewers, both of whom are keeping the fit again TJ out of the squad. Hanksy has a knee injury, so Aly Muldowney is on the bench for possibly his final appearance in a Chiefs' shirt - he should expect a huge ovation. In the centres, Dolly partners Shoey with Whitts on the bench as Naqer's knees are given a rest

Crikey Sale demolish Glos 32-9!

What has happened to the Cherry and Whites?

Sale are definitely clear of relegation now. Bye bye Welsh.

Well done sale, hope they finish the season more than 5 points ahead of welsh. At least we can say the 5 point deduction would have no bearing.

No offense to Glaws but thank you (and well done) to Sale.

Well that was just embarrassing , total tripe! I've said all along that we are not a top 4 side this year, but I harboured some hope that we may sneak in there. However, we truly showed we are nowhere near a top 4 side with that performance.

Sorry HKC, they just looked disinterested.

LondonTiger wrote:Sorry HKC, they just looked disinterested.

I know, which makes the performance even more disappointing. We've been excellent this season for showing real grit and determination, but you'd have never known that on that showing.

Sale's win hopefully will double the north division's representation.

Goes some way to balancing the over-representation of London.

Yea those horrible London teams that have supplied finalists and Prem winners every season for over a decade, MASSIVELY over represented

Assuming Newcastle get promoted, their nearest away fixture would have been 180 miles away had Sale been relegated.

Hopefully a west country side will be displaced by another northern one next year.

I wouldnt count Glos as west country

And theres only two clubs in London

Maybe those in the middle should stop sitting on the fence and declare for the north or south

Wiki apparently counts the west country as generically the South-West. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Country

But in rugby terms, I'd chuck Wuss into the mix.

Why should midlanders declare for another region when in rugby they have their own division?

aaaaanyways, back to today's games and i'm still not too confident about that Quins team. The centre's still look a bizarre combination and I can't see our backs playing fluently unless Care and Nev have a stormer.

Yes but if i had referenced Wiki as a source for any of my HNC it would have been thrown back at me.

West country is Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. maybe west dorset at a push!

Well your going on about the North needs more and the South less. Or it will be like the HC arguements the midlands not wanting to change but wanting the north and south to

I want to see a more even spread of professional rugby across the country Kknees.

So I'll change the term West country to South West division if that helps.

So we have 3 in the "south west" 2 in London 3 in the home countys 3 midland (wuss) and 1 north

North Division : Sale (+ Newcastle (?)) 1-2
Midlands : Leicester, Northampton, Worcester 3
London : London Irish, London Wasps, (- London Welsh (?)), Saracens, Harlequins 4-5
South West : Bath, Exeter, Gloucester

yappysnap wrote:Yea those horrible London teams that have supplied finalists and Prem winners every season for over a decade, MASSIVELY over represented

2007 Gloucester 16 Leicester 44
2006 Sale 45 Leicester 20

A decade obviously means something different to Quins fans

Well, Quins halt the losing streak, and in the end it was comfortable. Not a performance that will please players or staff, but a win is a win.

Routine win for Exeter sees them move above Bath (and for now any way Wasps) into 6th spot.

LondonTiger wrote:

yappysnap wrote:Yea those horrible London teams that have supplied finalists and Prem winners every season for over a decade, MASSIVELY over represented

2007 Gloucester 16 Leicester 44
2006 Sale 45 Leicester 20

A decade obviously means something different to Quins fans

You didn't have to mention the score LT!