EPCR - Round 1 (Games without a thread)

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 1:54 pm

Bath v Toulouse - Saturday 13:00

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
AR1: John Lacey (Ireland)
AR2: Eddie Hogan-O'Connell (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Broadcasters: BT Sport beIN Sports

Exeter v Munster - Saturday 15:15

Referee: Jérome Garcès (France)
AR1: Ludovic Cayre (France)
AR2: Jonathan Dufort (France)
TMO: Eric Briquet Campin ()
Broadcasters: BT Sport

Gloucester v Castres - Sunday 13:00

Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
AR1: Manuel Bottino (Italy)
AR2: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)
Broadcasters: BT Sport beIN Sports

Lyon v Cardiff - Sunday 13:00

Referee: JP Doyle (England)
AR1: Ian Tempest (England)
AR2: Wayne Falla (England)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
Broadcasters: beIN Sports BT Sport

Toulon v Newcastle - Sunday 15:15

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
AR1: Craig Evans (Wales)
AR2: Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Broadcasters: BT Sport beIN Sports

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 1:54 pm

BATH RUGBY

15. Freddie Burns,
14. Semesa Rokoduguni,
13. Jackson Willison,
12. Jamie Roberts,
11. Darren Atkins,
10. Rhys Priestland (c),
9. Chris Cook,
1. Nathan Catt,
2. Tom Dunn,
3. Henry Thomas,
4. Dave Attwood,
5. Luke Charteris,
6. Tom Ellis,
7. Francois Louw,
8. Zach Mercer.

Replacements:

16. Jack Walker ,
17. Jacques van Rooyen,
18. Anthony Perenise,
19. Elliott Stooke,
20. Sam Underhill,
21. Max Green,
22. Max Wright,
23. Tom Homer,

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 1:54 pm

TOULOUSE

15. Thomas Ramos,
14. Cheslin Kolbe,
13. Sofiane Guitoune,
12. Maxime Mermoz,
11. Maxime Médard,
10. Zack Holmes,
9. Sébastien Bézy,
1. Lucas Pointud,
2. Leonardo Ghiraldini,
3. Charlie Faumuina,
4. Florian Verhaeghe,
5. Joe Tekori,
6. Francois Cros (c),
7. Rynhardt Elstadt,
8. Jerome Kaino.

Replacements:

16. Julien Marchand,
17. Clément Castets,
18. Maks Van Dyk,
19. Pierre Gayraud,
20. Selevasio Tolofua,
21. Louis Madaule,
22. Antoine Dupont,
23. Romain Ntamack,

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 1:55 pm

Mercer v Kaino could be interesting. Roberts returns from injury.

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 1:56 pm

EXETER CHIEFS

15. Phil Dollman,
14. Jack Nowell,
13. Henry Slade,
12. Ian Whitten,
11. Santiago Cordero,
10. Gareth Steenson (c),
9. Stu Townsend,
1. Ben Moon,
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie,
3. Harry Williams,
4. Dave Dennis,
5. Sam Skinner,
6. Dave Ewers,
7. Don Armand,
8. Matt Kvesic.

Replacements:

16. Jack Yeandle,
17. Alec Hepburn,
18. Tom Francis,
19. Ollie Atkins,
20. Tom Lawday,
21. Jack Maunder,
22. Joe Simmonds,
23. Sam Hill,

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 1:57 pm

MUNSTER RUGBY

15. Mike Haley,
14. Andrew Conway,
13. Dan Goggin,
12. Rory Scannell,
11. Keith Earls,
10. Joey Carbery,
9. Duncan Williams,
1. Dave Kilcoyne,
2. Niall Scannell,
3. Stephen Archer,
4. Jean Kleyn,
5. Tadhg Beirne,
6. Peter O'Mahony (c),
7. Chris Cloete,
8. CJ Stander.

Replacements:

16. Rhys Marshall,
17. James Cronin,
18. John Ryan,
19. Billy Holland,
20. Tommy O'Donnell,
21. Neil Cronin,
22. JJ Hanrahan,
23. Sam Arnold,

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 1:57 pm

If Armand can impress against a strong Munster back row, can Eddie Jones continue to ignore him?

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 2:00 pm

GLOUCESTER RUGBY

15. Jason Woodward,
14. Charlie Sharples,
13. Billy Twelvetrees,
12. Mark Atkinson,
11. Tom Marshall,
10. Danny Cipriani,
9. Callum Braley,
1. Josh Hohneck,
2. Franco Marais,
3. Fraser Balmain,
4. Tom Savage,
5. Gerbrandt Grobler,
6. Freddie Clarke,
7. Jake Polledri,
8. Ben Morgan (c).

Replacements:

16. Henry Walker,
17. Val Rapava Ruskin ,
18. Ciaran Knight,
19. Todd Gleave,
20. Matt Banahan,
21. Ben Vellacott,
22. Owen Williams,
23. Tom Hudson,

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 2:00 pm

CASTRES OLYMPIQUE

15. Armand Batlle,
14. Martin Laveau,
13. Robert Ebersohn,
12. Florian Vialelle,
11. Taylor Paris,
10. Julien Dumora,
9. Ludovic Radosavljevic ,
1. Tudor Stroe,
2. Jody Jenneker,
3. Paea Fa'anunu,
4. Christophe Samson,
5. Loic Jacquet,
6. Mathieu Babillot (c),
7. Baptiste Delaporte,
8. Alex Tulou.

Replacements:

16. Paul Sauzaret,
17. Tapu Falatea,
18. Wilfrid Hounkpatin,
19. Steve Mafi,
20. Yannick Caballero,
21. Yohan Le Bourhis,
22. David Smith,
23. Rory Kockott,

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 2:01 pm

Glaws injury issues highlighted by Banahan covering back row on the bench.

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 2:02 pm

LYON

15. Charlie Ngatai,
14. Toby Arnold,
13. Rudi Wulf,
12. Thibaut Regard,
11. Noa Nakaitaci,
10. Lionel Beauxis,
9. Jean-Marc Doussain,
1. Alexandre Menini,
2. Mickael Ivaldi,
3. Francisco Gomez Kodela,
4. Felix Lambey,
5. Hendrik Roodt,
6. Julien Puricelli (c),
7. Patrick Sobela,
8. Loann Goujon.

Replacements:

16. Jeremie Maurouard,
17. Raphael Chaume,
18. Clément Ric,
19. Manuel Carizza,
20. Carl Fearns,
21. Dylan Cretin,
22. Quentin Delord,
23. Pierre-Louis Barassi,

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 2:03 pm

CARDIFF BLUES

15. Gareth Anscombe,
14. Owen Lane,
13. Garyn Smith,
12. Willis Halaholo,
11. Jason Harries,
10. Jarrod Evans,
9. Tomos Williams,
1. Rhys Gill,
2. Kristian Dacey,
3. Dillon Lewis,
4. Macauley Cook,
5. Josh Turnbull,
6. Olly Robinson,
7. Ellis Jenkins (c),
8. Josh Navidi.

Replacements:

16. Kirby Myhill,
17. Brad Thyer,
18. Dmitri Arhip,
19. Rory Thornton,
20. Samu Manoa,
21. Lloyd Williams,
22. Rey Lee-Lo,
23. Aled Summerhill,

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 2:03 pm

Not the strongest looking match.

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 2:04 pm

RC TOULON

15. Daniel Ikpefan,
14. Josua Tuisova,
13. JP Pietersen,
12. Anthony Belleau,
11. Julian Savea,
10. Francois Trinh-Duc,
9. Eric Escande,
1. Jean Baptiste Gros,
2. Guilhem Guirado,
3. Marcel Van Der Merwe,
4. Swan Rebbadj,
5. Romain Taofifenua,
6. Jean Monribot,
7. Stephane Onambele Mbarga,
8. Raphael Lakafia (c).

Replacements:

16. Anthony Etrillard,
17. Xavier Chiocci,
18. Sébastien Taofifenua,
. ,
20. Malakai Fekitoa,
21. Hugo Bonneval,
22. Anthony Meric,
23. Florent Vanverberghe,

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 2:04 pm

NEWCASTLE FALCONS

15. Alex Tait,
14. Tom Arscott,
13. Tom Penny,
12. Johnny Williams,
11. Sinoti Sinoti,
10. Joel Hodgson,
9. Micky Young,
1. Sami Mavinga,
2. Kyle Cooper,
3. David Wilson,
4. Will Witty,
5. Glen Young,
6. Mark Wilson (c),
7. Gary Graham,
8. Nemani Nagusa.

Replacements:

16. George McGuigan,
17. Adam Brocklebank,
18. Logovi'i Mulipola,
19. Ryan Burrows,
20. Callum Chick,
21. Tane Takulua,
22. Brett Connon,
23. Pedro Bettencourt,

by **LondonTiger** Fri 12 Oct 2018, 2:04 pm

Falcons seem to be resting some players.

by BamBam Sat 13 Oct 2018, 11:34 am

Interesting to see Channel 4 putting a preview show on this morning ahead of their live coverage of Bath v Toulouse

Decent guests too, Habana and Heaslip, features with Freddie Burns being promoted

Good to see them promoting their coverage, even if they're calling it the Heineken Cup!

by lostinwales Sat 13 Oct 2018, 1:32 pm

Good game to watch so far

by TightHEAD Sat 13 Oct 2018, 1:47 pm

Shoulder to head no use of the arms! Surely that’s a Red

by formerly known as Sam Sat 13 Oct 2018, 1:47 pm

Kaino sin binned for a high tackle that didn't make contact with the head. Ref said reckless which I'm sure you could argue for as he makes little effort to get low and then throws Roberts to the floor but I think the ref is swayed by the fact Roberts has to leave the field more than the tackle itself. Just looked like an absolute beast of a hit.

by lostinwales Sat 13 Oct 2018, 1:49 pm

formerly known as Sam wrote:Kaino sin binned for a high tackle that didn't make contact with the head. Ref said reckless which I'm sure you could argue for as he makes little effort to get low and then throws Roberts to the floor but I think the ref is swayed by the fact Roberts has to leave the field more than the tackle itself. Just looked like an absolute beast of a hit.

I thought it looked like shoulder to face. But it was high and arms were lagging a long way behind everything else.

by TightHEAD Sat 13 Oct 2018, 1:50 pm

It was a Red, player safety is paramount, it was a dirty cheap shot.

by TightHEAD Sat 13 Oct 2018, 1:54 pm

Are Toulous eating olives at half time?

by Artful_Dodger Sat 13 Oct 2018, 1:54 pm

I don't actually think it was high. Andrew Brace certainly likes his cards though, so hmph.

by TightHEAD Sat 13 Oct 2018, 1:55 pm

Clear as daylight listening to Nigel Owens, it was a Red card offence.

by formerly known as Sam Sat 13 Oct 2018, 1:57 pm

He was pushing the line but the shoulder clearly hits the cheat first. If it had hit the head first you'd have seen Roberts head snap back with the force. Roberts head follows the movement of his body in the impact.

Roberts carried high and hard into contact and Kaino stepped up and smashed him. As the ref said reckless, hard to argue as he makes little effort to dip.

Watching the replay the left arm is always wrapped, the right is a little slow. The throw to the floor makes it look worse as Roberta is clearly suffering on the way down. Penalty at most for me.

by formerly known as Sam Sat 13 Oct 2018, 1:58 pm

TightHEAD wrote:Clear as daylight listening to Nigel Owens, it was a Red card offence.

Listening to Bath legends Nick Abendanon and David Flatman its a perfectly legal tackle.

by TightHEAD Sat 13 Oct 2018, 1:58 pm

Disagree with that assessment.

by **LondonTiger** Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:01 pm

That tackle completely fitted the description given of the type they are looking to eradicate that leads to head on head. It is dangerous, far more so than ones that have seen red. If they are serious about addressing this, Kaino should have been off permanently.

by **LondonTiger** Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:03 pm

formerly known as Sam wrote:
TightHEAD wrote:Clear as daylight listening to Nigel Owens, it was a Red card offence.

Listening to Bath legends Nick Abendanon and David Flatman its a perfectly legal tackle.

I will go with the refs interpretation over the players in this incident. After all the refs are the ones who have been given the instructions on what is now allowed.

by formerly known as Sam Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:13 pm

LondonTiger wrote:
formerly known as Sam wrote:
TightHEAD wrote:Clear as daylight listening to Nigel Owens, it was a Red card offence.

Listening to Bath legends Nick Abendanon and David Flatman its a perfectly legal tackle.

I will go with the refs interpretation over the players in this incident. After all the refs are the ones who have been given the instructions on what is now allowed.

The instructions have been made public. The two media employed Bath fans with have read them. I've not heard the Owens comments but I'd like to hear his logic for the red card.

I can't see how you can have a red card where there's no clear picture of contact with the head. Unless the laws are changed you can't give a red card however much Owens may want to. The referee clearly wanted to but could only give yellow as all he could find to penalise was recklessness in the tackle.

by formerly known as Sam Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:17 pm

How did miss the head butt at the breakdown. It's right in front of him, head on head that is a red card.

by Duty281 Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:19 pm

Refereeing in this game has been diabolical. The clearest headbutt, right in front of the referee, gets missed. Bloody clueless.

by Heaf Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:43 pm

Officials have been poor in 2 out of 2 so far ...

by Artful_Dodger Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:45 pm

Dear god Freddie.

by Maine man Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:46 pm

I won't moan about Billy Burns again. What were you thinking Freddie!

by Duty281 Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:47 pm

Freddie Burns can say 'hello' to every sporting gaffes video and YouTube compilation of the next fifty years.

by TightHEAD Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:47 pm

by Maine man Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:50 pm

And then to be subbed! Poor bugger. He'll be buying a few beers tonight

by TightHEAD Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:51 pm

Cut him from the team, no more chances

by Duty281 Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:53 pm

Another awful refereeing decision to end an utter farce. Black comedy.

by stub Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:54 pm

Did that game finish a couple of seconds early?

by Artful_Dodger Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:54 pm

Duty281 wrote:Another awful refereeing decision to end an utter farce. Black comedy.

Check out Brace's performance in the Ulster vs Connacht match last week, the guy is catastrophic and I am really really loath to have a pop at referees.

Freddie Burn will take a long time to recover from that.

by stub Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:55 pm

What did Freddie do?

by TightHEAD Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:55 pm

Ref was poor, but bath were worse.

by Artful_Dodger Sat 13 Oct 2018, 2:59 pm

stub wrote:What did Freddie do?

He hit the post from straight in front which would have given Bath the lead with 6 minutes to go. With about 4 minutes to go he then crossed the whitewash with a big smile on his face taking his time about grounding and even blew a kiss to the crowd only for a French winger to sneak up behind him and slap the ball out of his hands - no try. Threw the match with two moments of madness.

by stub Sat 13 Oct 2018, 3:01 pm

Thanks Artful.
Ah no! What a nightmare for him.
As said before that will be hard for him to get over.

by Pete330v2 Sat 13 Oct 2018, 3:01 pm

I feel so sorry for Freddy, I'd feel different if I was a Bath fan though.
Andrew Brace is a joke of a referee, it was clear last season and it's only gotten worse this season. Completely useless.

by Maine man Sat 13 Oct 2018, 3:05 pm

Totally agree Pete. Brace is an embarrassment. How on earth he didn't spot the Toulouse player leading with the head right in front of him I'll never know and then to blow up early.

by Heaf Sat 13 Oct 2018, 3:06 pm

Something in the water at Bath? - Tom Homer dropped one over the line a few weeks back too ...

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