Gallagher Premiership - End of Season run-in (Play-Offs)

15. Mat Protheroe; 14. Tom Pincus, 13. Piers O’Conor, 12. Sam Bedlow, 11. Alapati Leiua; 10. Callum Sheedy (co-capt), 9. Andy Uren; 1. Jake Woolmore, 2. Harry Thacker, 3. John Afoa, 4. Ed Holmes, 5. Chris Vui, 6. Steve Luatua (co-capt), 7. Dan Thomas, 8. Nick Haining.

Replacements: 16. Nick Fenton-Wells, 17. James Lay, 18. Lewis Thiede, 19. George Smith, 20. Jordan Crane, 21. Harry Randall, 22. Ian Madigan, 23. Siale Piutau.

Unavailable: Tom Lindsay (illness), Will Capon (shoulder), Shaun Malton (groin), Joe Latta (eye), John Hawkins (elbow), Sam Jeffries (ankle), James Dun (knee), Will Hurrell (shoulder), Ryan Edwards (shoulder), Charles Piutau (calf), Luke Morahan (shoulder), Aaron Chapman (knee).

Home advantage, a weather forecast in Tigers favour, Piutau injured and Lam rotating his squad.

Please Tigers, just please...

Things arent looking good for Falcons! Shipped 3 tries already.

Coming back into it now - suggestion of a knock-on before the last try but the officials happy with it ...

That looks like it for Falcons now unfortunately ...

Well BT went with the wrong game. Sale Vs Bath was awful. Doubt Bath fans will be disappointed to see the back of Blackadder after that farce, to have that team and be completely incompetent against a Sale team that got into good positions only to fluff their lines (again and again and again).

The really annoying thing about Bath (well one thing) is the fact they are wasting all the talent they nicked from London Irish ...

Anyone in here think Willgriff John could step up and play international rugby? He's a big lump. I remember him a little from his Cardiff days although don't recall him making much of an impact - he would have been one of a few given the coaches they had at the time though.

Damn it Falcons, really needed you guys to beat Saints, and the tbp really has screwed us.

Gonna be tough to get that 4th spot back from Saints now, injuries have come at just the wrong time for Quins along with a loss in form and composure. Need desperately ro get something from Exeter.

mikey_dragon wrote:Anyone in here think Willgriff John could step up and play international rugby? He's a big lump. I remember him a little from his Cardiff days although don't recall him making much of an impact - he would have been one of a few given the coaches they had at the time though.

No. He's a solid pro but nothing more. Will be second choice next season behind Cooper-Wooley.

Falcons are gone Yappy.

Hopefully this season out will rebuild us.

Coaching changes must happen. Maybe even Dean...

GeordieFalcon wrote:Falcons are gone Yappy.

Hopefully this season out will rebuild us.

Coaching changes must happen. Maybe even Dean...

Still fingers crossed for ring fencing Gf. Last season you boys were class, and this season youve taken some great scalps in Europe. Just that terrible start to the Prem has left you with too much to do now, and it was always going to be tough as your tiny squad makes competing over the course of the season difficult.

Like Wuss and Sale have done you need a couple of xfactor play makers at either 9/10/15 and a bit more depth. The rest is there.

One of the big problems has been 10 and 12.

Neither flood or Matavesi offer any running threat at all. I think we've missed Socino there..and that's been overlooked.

We need to get some heavy duty carriers in the pack and a few more creative players in the midfield.

Very close loss for Quins, another desperate story of what could have been on another day
So many close chances at the line and only 2 points in it.

yappysnap wrote:Very close loss for Quins, another desperate story of what could have been on another day
So many close chances at the line and only 2 points in it.

Quins were certainly all over Exeter in that second half. Smith must be kicking himself for the two misses.

Another week another poor performance from Tigers. Allowing the game to slip away, Bristol only went ahead with the final score that won the game for them. I'm looking forward to the squad rebuild next summer.

Yea I bet you cant wait for the season to end and a chance for a change Sam. Like ive said Tigers remind me of us last season. At your lowest ebb now, but hopefully thatll be the catalyst for change next season.

Quins had so many opportunities that they wasted, nit just Smiths kicks but intercepts and silly passes thrown at bad times. We are a team lacking a bit of confidence, we dont have the swagger a team has when theyve won a few and are comfortable, the players are trying a little too hard at times and going off script. We just need a win then things will settle. Only two games left though so its all moo.

yappysnap wrote:Yea I bet you cant wait for the season to end and a chance for a change Sam. Like ive said Tigers remind me of us last season. At your lowest ebb now, but hopefully thatll be the catalyst for change next season.

Time to ditch the dead wood and rejig the coaching capabilities with a new man at the helm (or woman anyone to drag us back to the Tigers never die attitude). Don't normally look forward to a summer of no rugby but am this year. Made worse by me missing virtually the entire season for my own club through injury as well (not a season to have your Saturdays free again).

LondonTiger wrote:Current Standings:


Exeter 81pts     (Saracens, Northampton)
Saracens 72      (Exeter, Worcester)
Gloucester 61    (Newcastle, Sale) 
Northampton 51 (Worcester, Exeter)
Harlequins 51    (Leicester, Wasps)
Sale 48             (Bristol, Gloucester)
Wasps 47           (Bath, Harlequins)
Bath 46             (Wasps, Leicester)
Bristol 45           (Sale, Newcastle)
Worcester 41      (Northampton, Saracens)
Leicester 39       (Harlequins, Bath)
Newcastle 30      (Gloucester, Bristol)

How will the rest of the season pan out? Everything being equal:

Sarries will host Gloucester in one play-off
Exeter will host the 4th place team. Technically anyone from Northampton down to Bristol could pinch that last spot. It will go down to the last game and perhaps the winner of Quins/Wasps pinching it (assuming both win this weekend). Saints have a tricky last fixture so have to win this weekend. Bath and Bristol are probably playing for a top 6 spot realistically but can put a major dent in other teams aspirations.

Falcons are all but down.

Tigers have been completely declawed.

The battle for the top six, and fourth place, is huge. So many teams in with a shout, so many permutations.

Wearing a Wasps hat, the game against Bath at the Rec next Sunday is huge. Win that, and we're maybe looking at a last day showdown with Quins for fourth. A TBP would be, well, a bonus! Lose it and fourth is gone, and we could be looking at finishing seventh if other results go against us. Just a huge game.

Quins are away at Welford Road, and while you might think they should take that one, I have a hunch that Tigers will be up for it and it will be a tight, niggly encounter.

Bristol v Sale is another one with big implications for both sides in terms of top 6 ramifications. I rather fancy Bristol to win their remaining games, and finish sixth, which would be remarkable.

It's all so tight, and brilliant as a result.

Quins are at home against us. We did beat them at WR (along with home game against Scarlets one of our only decent performances)

LondonTiger wrote:Quins are at home against us. We did beat them at WR (along with home game against Scarlets one of our only decent performances)

Oops, you're right. My bad! I'd expect you to win, then, which makes it tougher for Wasps!

Hijacking the thread for a minute to ask if anyone has some good suggestions for watching rugby at Bath!

https://www.606v2.com/t68700-a-beginner-s-guide-to-bath

LondonTiger wrote:Quins are at home against us. We did beat them at WR (along with home game against Scarlets one of our only decent performances)

I fully expect us to lose this game, we seem to be in a funk atm and even if we play well can't manage to control enough to get the W

The battle at prop will be interesting in Quins vs Tigers.

Genge has been in poor form since the 6 Nations and will need a good performance against Sinckler.

Marler and Cole have getting on for 150 test appearances between them so that's always going to be an interesting scrum battle. 

Marler is rumoured to be considering making himself available for the RWC which adds another layer as well.

I hadnt heard tjat rumour KC? He has been in fine form though so it would be a boost for England definitely.

king_carlos wrote:The battle at prop will be interesting in Quins vs Tigers.

Genge has been in poor form since the 6 Nations and will need a good performance against Sinckler.

Marler and Cole have getting on for 150 test appearances between them so that's always going to be an interesting scrum battle. 

Marler is rumoured to be considering making himself available for the RWC which adds another layer as well.

Is he really? I haven't heard this but that would be a great boost. He's been playing phenomenally well.

A potential Marler return was mentioned by commentary in passing during Chiefs vs Quins. He'd be in with a very good chance on current form. Set-piece and defensive solidity along with more opportunity to rotate Mako during the pool stage would be difficult to turn down.

Ben Moon has played very well but with due respect Marler is a better player than Moon or Hepburn.

Genge meanwhile has shown very average form since the 6 Nations.

Suggestions that this weekend's Top of the Table fixture is likely to be more second string than first.

Exeter have looked a bit heavy legged in recent weeks with suggestions they have been putting in a pre-season style training block and will taper for the play-offs. This has seen a lot of rotation in recent weeks with Baxter also saying he is not willing to risk any players with knee and lower leg issues on Sarries plastic pitch (nor for Shield Game at Falcons). This means that Nowell and Sam Simmonds, both back in full training, will have to wait till R22 to make comebacks.

McCall meanwhile has stated that the most important thing at the moment is making sure the team is in the right place for the Champions Cup final and will rest players accordingly.

Telusa Veainu starts at full-back for Leicester Tigers at Harlequins on Friday after successfully recovering from a foot injury.
Tonga international Veainu made his return as a replacement in the home game against Bristol Bears last Saturday and is brought into the starting line-up as Tigers travel to the Twickenham Stoop in Round 21 of the Gallagher Premiership season.
Clayton Blommetjies, who made his club debut against Bristol, is ruled out by illness as Sam Aspland-Robinson comes into the backline to start against his former club.
The only change in the forward pack is the inclusion of Mike Williams in the back row alongside Guy Thompson and Sione Kalamafoni. England international prop Ellis Genge makes his 50th Premiership appearance for the club this weekend.
Brendon O’Connor and George Worth are added to the replacements for the trip to The Stoop.
Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy said: “We’ve had good spells in games but we’ve not put together a full 80-minute performance and we’ve been working on our resilience and belief. Quins are a good team, we obviously know Paul Gustard well and they are trying to cement their spot near the top of the table so we know it will be a big challenge.”

Leicester Tigers (v Harlequins, away, Friday 7.45pm)

15 Telusa Veainu
14 Sam Aspland-Robinson
13 Matt Smith
12 Matt Toomua
11 Jonny May
10 George Ford  (c)
9 Sam Harrison
1 Ellis Genge
2 Tatafu Polota-Nau
3 Dan Cole
4 Will Spencer
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Mike Williams
7 Guy Thompson
8 Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements
16 Jake Kerr
17 Facundo Gigena
18 Joe Heyes
19 Mike Fitzgerald
20 Brendon O’Connor
21 Ben White
22 George Worth
23 Jordan Olowofela

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Gabriel Ibitoye, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Charlie Walker, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care; 1 Joe Marler, 2 Elia Elia, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Mat Symons, 5 James Horwill, 6 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Chris Robshaw, 8 Jack Clifford.

Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Nic Auterac, 18 Will Collier, 19 Stan South, 20 Semi Kunatani, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 James Lang, 23 Ross Chisholm.

Oh man we are so screwed. This could get nasty, well for us. Yappy and other Quins boys will have a great time.

Not sure what our record defeat to Quins is, but this could exceed it.

Have faith LT, you friendly local neighbours need you to win to help them get the 4th spot. If not for yourselves, do it for the boys in black, gold and green.

I can't see us getting much out of Chiefs away unless they have their mind and squad somewhere else, so we need Quins, possibly Sale and Wasps to lose at least one game to give us a good chance. Luckily our points difference is well above the others

formerly known as Sam wrote:

Leicester Tigers (v Harlequins, away, Friday 7.45pm)

15 Telusa Veainu
14 Sam Aspland-Robinson
13 Matt Smith
12 Matt Toomua
11 Jonny May
10 George Ford  (c)
9 Sam Harrison
1 Ellis Genge
2 Tatafu Polota-Nau
3 Dan Cole
4 Will Spencer
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Mike Williams
7 Guy Thompson
8 Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements
16 Jake Kerr
17 Facundo Gigena
18 Joe Heyes
19 Mike Fitzgerald
20 Brendon O’Connor
21 Ben White
22 George Worth
23 Jordan Olowofela

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Gabriel Ibitoye, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Charlie Walker, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care; 1 Joe Marler, 2 Elia Elia, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Mat Symons, 5 James Horwill, 6 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Chris Robshaw, 8 Jack Clifford.

Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Nic Auterac, 18 Will Collier, 19 Stan South, 20 Semi Kunatani, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 James Lang, 23 Ross Chisholm.

Oh man we are so screwed. This could get nasty, well for us. Yappy and other Quins boys will have a great time.

I hope so! That Quins team looks great, potentially just 3 or 4 players from full strength which is more then yoi can hope for at this end of the season. Of we want 4th place we MUST get 5 points.

... so I may be a pessamist but I can still see us throwing this away Sam. Prepare to see Tigers play the game of their season and Quins fumble it.

Here's hoping im wrong!

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:Have faith LT, you friendly local neighbours need you to win to help them get the 4th spot. If not for yourselves, do it for the boys in black, gold and green.

At least there's some small bonus in getting thumped by Quins then .

Our pack selection is terrible. The best we can hope for is that Williams pulls up in the warm up and BOC goes in at 7 with Thompson moving to 6. Shame we can't also parachute Wells in for Kitch as well. Smith will add heart to the backline but Manu's injury from the plastic pitch up north is a big loss. Toomua is so short of form he's practically useless at the minute.

formerly known as Sam wrote:Toomua is so short of form he's practically useless at the minute.

Right now he has the defence of Les Cusworth, the turning circle of Andy Goode and the speed of Darren Garforth.

LondonTiger wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:Toomua is so short of form he's practically useless at the minute.

Right now he  has the defence of Les Cusworth, the turning circle of Andy Goode and the speed of Darren Garforth.

And the handling skills of Julian White.

I think in his mind he's counting down to Australia and the RWC. If we don't have so many injuries I'd say just let him go early.

Tigers fluffing another game in the last quarter. I'm not saying Tigers deserved the win but in a poor game the chance was there. Credit to quins for taking advantage of our predictably poor maul then ruck defence for the Kunatani try.

At least the final try gave us the LBP.

Falcons now need two TBP wins having only got one TBP all season. That one TBP came in a loss against Tigers as well.

Well that was hard work!

An important win though and Tigers get an even more important lbp.

king_carlos wrote:Tigers fluffing another game in the last quarter. I'm not saying Tigers deserved the win but in a poor game the chance was there. Credit to quins for taking advantage of our predictably poor maul then ruck defence for the Kunatani try.

At least the final try gave us the LBP.

Falcons now need two TBP wins having only got one TBP all season. That one TBP came in a loss against Tigers as well.

We just didn't turn up in the second half. In the first half it was all Quins indiscipline and in the second ours. Before the last try we didn't score a point in the second half despite Quins starting with 14 whilst Clifford was in the bin.

I think losing the starting flankers early didn't help as when Quins were bringing on fresh legs in the second half we had already used ours to much less effect earlier in the game. Our pick and go game has improved with good support this week but we didn't use it enough. Too many passes from Harrison to static forwards who seemed to lack confidence to do anything with it. Toomua was useless.

Losing Thompson in particular but then Williams soon after didn't help Tigers admittedly.

Another maul penalty gave the position for the Kunatani try though.

Hopefully Olowofela is OK. He looked in some trouble when he went down.

Two teams desperately low on form and confidence just looking for a win.

Quins managed to get it no thanks to our discipline. Tigers should be pleased with the bp but both have a lot to do.

Saints could potentially need to beat Chiefs at Sandy Park to secure an away semi at Sandy Park.

Quins will travel to Wasps who might be fighting for top 4 or top 6 depending on tomorrows results.

How tight that mid table is will make the final day fascinating.

king_carlos wrote:Losing Thompson in particular but then Williams soon after didn't help Tigers admittedly.

Another maul penalty gave the position for the Kunatani try though.

Hopefully Olowofela is OK. He looked in some trouble when he went down.

Stupid and needless maul penalty as well which what was so frustrating. As Yappy said Quins discipline in the second half won the game but at half time we had only conceded to two pens to Quins seven. That went out the window as we tired.

Owolofela looked like a broken collarbone or popped shoulder so he's done for the season.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

king_carlos wrote:Losing Thompson in particular but then Williams soon after didn't help Tigers admittedly.

Another maul penalty gave the position for the Kunatani try though.

Hopefully Olowofela is OK. He looked in some trouble when he went down.

Stupid and needless maul penalty as well which what was so frustrating. As Yappy said Quins discipline in the second half won the game but at half time we had only conceded to two pens to Quins seven. That went out the window as we tired.

Owolofela looked like a broken collarbone or popped shoulder so he's done for the season.

It's been a tough season for Olowofela but in a stronger side I think he will kick on. Tigers lack of front foot ball and poor defence means that sides have isolated him a fair bit. He looks like a player still finding his best position.

Well Saints have done just about al they can this week, 38-10 at the moment with 5 tries to Saints a minute to go. They will go back to 4th by one point. They will need to pick up something at Sandy Park I think. Wasps don't have a lot to play for so will they give Quins a hard time?

Sad to see Falcons down but as a Tigers fan naturally a moment of relief.

Hard luck GF, Sarge, Cumbrian, et al. Hopefully the reliable Falcons academy sees you come straight back up with a few youngsters having gained important game time.

king_carlos wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

king_carlos wrote:Losing Thompson in particular but then Williams soon after didn't help Tigers admittedly.

Another maul penalty gave the position for the Kunatani try though.

Hopefully Olowofela is OK. He looked in some trouble when he went down.

Stupid and needless maul penalty as well which what was so frustrating. As Yappy said Quins discipline in the second half won the game but at half time we had only conceded to two pens to Quins seven. That went out the window as we tired.

Owolofela looked like a broken collarbone or popped shoulder so he's done for the season.

It's been a tough season for Olowofela but in a stronger side I think he will kick on. Tigers lack of front foot ball and poor defence means that sides have isolated him a fair bit. He looks like a player still finding his best position.

I think he's lacking confidence which isn't being helped by being so isolated in the backfield for the first half of the season and having no attacking platform throughout. Hopefully a decent pre season will see him come back next season with more attacking intent. He's certainly improved under the high ball this season.

king_carlos wrote:Sad to see Falcons down but as a Tigers fan naturally a moment of relief.

Hard luck GF, Sarge, Cumbrian, et al. Hopefully the reliable Falcons academy sees you come straight back up with a few youngsters having gained important game time.

The academy is irrelevant if Dean refuses to usenthen and continues these appalling tactics.

One very peed off falcon fan. Amongst many.

Wasps on the end of a couple of tough calls today ... not sure about the forward pass that ruled out a wonder try and the last Bath try was very suspect ...

LondonTiger wrote:My current predicted finishing positions:

Exeter 89
Saracens 81
Gloucester 64
Quins 59
=============
Sale 55
Saints 50
-----------------------
Bristol 50
Leicester 50
Bath 49
Wasps 47
Newcastle 41
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Worcester 37

OP has been amended. The bit above shows just how poor my predictive abilities were, especially in expecting some form for Tigers and Falcons in the last 6 rounds.

I now think the table will finish:

Exeter
Saracens
Gloucester
Harlequins
Northampton
Sale
Bristol
Bath
Wasps
Leicester
Worcester
Newcastle

Mako Vunipola to miss the end of the season having torn his hamstring last week.

LondonTiger wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:My current predicted finishing positions:

Exeter 89
Saracens 81
Gloucester 64
Quins 59
=============
Sale 55
Saints 50
-----------------------
Bristol 50
Leicester 50
Bath 49
Wasps 47
Newcastle 41
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Worcester 37

OP has been amended. The bit above shows just how poor my predictive abilities were, especially in expecting some form for Tigers and Falcons in the last 6 rounds.

I now think the table will finish:

Exeter
Saracens
Gloucester
Harlequins
Northampton
Sale
Bristol
Bath
Wasps
Leicester
Worcester
Newcastle

I expect Sarries to put out a B side Vs Wuss and lose whilst Tigers will continue to be awful and lose to Bath. So can't see us leapfrogging Wuss.