Edinburgh V Wasps

Strong Edinburgh team again - hopefully see a bit more fluency than last week's rubbish performance.

Good to see Graham back and I like the look of that midfield. Cockers continues to rotate which is good to see. That back row has plenty power, aggresion and skill - great opportunity for Hanning.

I can't imagine Wasps overly care about this game so I we should have enough to win, then put out a mixed team next week in advance of the 1872 double header.

15. Rob Miller, 14. Zach Kibirige, 13. Malakai Fekitoa, 12. Michael Le Bourgeois, 11. Josh Bassett, 10. Lima Sopoaga, 9. Dan Robson (c), 1. Zurabi Zhvania, 2. Tommy Taylor, 3. Kieran Brookes, 4. Theo Vukasinovic, 5. Tim Cardall, 6. Jack Willis, 7. Nizaam Carr, 8. Sione Vailanu.

Replacements:
16. Tom Cruse, 17. Tom West, 18. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 19. Brad Shields, 20. Thomas Young, 21. Ashley Johnson, 22. Will Porter, 23. Jimmy Gopperth,

Edinburgh should win at a canter, with Wasps injury and form woes.

Pretty strong from Wasps actually. We don't have two former All Blacks!

About as strong as Dai Young was able to name, but I expect the lineout to be an absolute shambles with 5 locks missing injured.

The big news for us is having Groom back and on the bench. Once he's back up to speed we can bin Henry and get back to having Groom starting with Shiel on the bench. And just in time to ruin the weegie fans Christmas too

Sheesh, never thought anyone would rest their hopes on Nic Groom.

LondonTiger wrote:Sheesh, never thought anyone would rest their hopes on Nic Groom.

Such is our frustration with Pyrgos.

Groom fits the Edinburgh style well - it's a shame he's been injured the last month.

Edinburgh should sign that Wasps 12. Great name, and it would give Jimbo some much needed new material.

Pyrgos the undroppable continues!!

Decent side. Taylor at 12 is good, and we know that Johnstone is a difficult player for oppositions to deal with. Pleased to see Graham back, although Hoyland perhaps unlucky not to get a start. Kinghorn was good against Munster though, and Duhan is awesome.

Close to first choice pack. Mata probably needs a rest.

Say it quietly, Big Bill has not really been on great form since coming back from Japan. I would say Hainning is being picked over Mata on form!

Still plenty of season left to find his legs again, they ran him into the ground last year, so hopefully he will last the whole way this time.

BigGee wrote:Say it quietly, Big Bill has not really been on great form since coming back from Japan. I would say Hainning is being picked over Mata on form!

Still plenty of season left to find his legs again, they ran him into the ground last year, so hopefully he will last the whole way this time.

I would agree!

To be fair he's only played twice since he came back - he'll need time.

Can’t find the siding stream. All I’m getting is a gif

Not sure if Agen are in your group, but they're currently being slaughtered by BB.

yeah Edinburgh scraped a draw against them two weeks ago BB ain’t a shabby outfit right now

Kinghorn just burned half the wasps team there

VdM mk2 is just a unit.

Quite a dominant display by Edinburgh.

mikey_dragon wrote:Quite a dominant display by Edinburgh.

Apart from the standard utter brain fart from Shoeman. He’s just too hot headed

Pretty awesome challenge from AJ, but also illegal.

Good score, a result of winning collisions and patience.

Johnson (wasps) needs taken off before he kills someone. He’s flew off his feet three times the last three mins and twice he’s gone bundling into a ruck without arms. Utterly dangerous play

Thumping bonus point win - congrats Edinburgh.

Sounds like a good Edinburgh win! Who were the standouts?

VDM, Schoeman, Kinghorn and both starting locks, from what I saw anyway.

I found a feed that was single camera and ref mike and ambient. Really enjoyed being able to hear what was said without inane commentators

Edinburgh dominated up front and the backs used the platform well. Edinburgh made good ground with mauls and smashed 'em in the scrums. tidy game from Hickey. VDM was an menace and Darcy Graham looked sharp Watson everywhere being a bloody nuisance

Good defensively as well - Both with the forwards and in the backs

The media are giving a big thumbs up to George Taylor at 12. Done little wrong this season, and brings huge physical intensity to the centres and real go forward. A great new option to have.

Sounds like Kinghorn had another strong game as well. When can we start admitting that on form he is ahead of Hogg....

I just said the same thing about Kinghorn on the Scotland thread!

Big decision to make for Cockers whether to bring Matt Scott back.

I think he will keep rotating and giving Taylor the opportunities he needs, he is still pretty inexperienced at the end of the day but looks like the coming man.

As physicsl as Scott but with better hands you would have to say.

Could be an outside bet for summer tour!

Didn't see the game, chaps, but well done to Edinburgh.

Not at all confident about the return leg at the Ricoh, either!

Rinsure wrote:Didn't see the game, chaps, but well done to Edinburgh.

Not at all confident about the return leg at the Ricoh, either!

Do you think Wasps will care much about it?

You could really do with a win, but I suspect the focus will be on the return to league business after!

There's an argument either way.

We could try and build some momentum at home, and field a strong (hah) side, or - as you suggest - rest players in advance of the visit of Harlequins the following week.

Given form, league and pool positions, a win at home has to be a priority. The fans are frustrated and becoming disaffected and disillusioned, and being rolled at home yet again will only add to the feeling.

That said, no idea which way we'll go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhm9EXtRk7o&feature=em-uploademail

Highlights

James haskell is finished with the Jungle, could he be slotted back in at 6?

RDW wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhm9EXtRk7o&feature=em-uploademail

Highlights

Ta. I'll check 'em out in a bit.

RDW wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhm9EXtRk7o&feature=em-uploademail

Highlights

Great pace from Kinghorn and VDM. Add in Graham and we really do have gas. Just need the inside backs to learn how to best use them.

I think Bennet is adding an extra dimension to Edinburgh's backline since his return, he reads the game very well.

Round 2

​Club centurion an Scotland international prop WP Nel returns from injury to make his first appearance of the season as Edinburgh Rugby make nine changes for tomorrow’s Challenge Cup round-four match against Wasps at the Ricoh Arena (Saturday 14 December, kick-off 3pm)
Six of those changes come in the pack as Head Coach Richard Cockerill names a revamped tight-five for the match-up with the English Premiership side.
Props Rory Sutherland and Nel, hooker Michael Willemse, and locks Sam Thomson and Lewis Carmichael all get the nod, while Fijian No. 8 Viliame Mata is reinstated into the starting line-up.
In the backline, scrum-half Nic Groom – named captain – makes his first start in over a month, as winger Jamie Farndale and fullback Damien Hoyland are both selected in a rotated back-three.
Ahead of the fixture, Head Coach Richard Cockerill, said: “We’ve made a number of changes to the starting line-up, but we travel to Wasps with a really strong squad, with plenty of experience in key positions.
“WP comes back from injury to make his first appearance of the season, and his knowledge and understanding at tighthead will be vital. The same for Nic [Groom] at scrum-half who captains the side – his leadership is really important.
“We were obviously happy with large parts of our play in the win over Wasps last Friday night, but we know that they’ll be a different beast at home, and we’re ready for that.
“We’ve enjoyed a good week of training and we’re excited for the challenge of going on the road and facing an extremely talented Wasps outfit.”
A new-look back-three sees Scotland star Darcy Graham retain his place on the flank as Farndale and Hoyland are named at wing and fullback respectively.
Centres George Taylor – a try-scorer against Wasps last weekend – and James Johnstone both keep their place in the starting line-up, while stand-off Simon Hickey joins Groom at half-back after contributing 11 points with his boot last Friday night.
An all-new tight-five sees Willemse pack down alongside Sutherland and Nel in the front-row, with Carmichael and Thomson both named at lock.
The inclusion Mata at No.8 is the only alteration to an otherwise unchanged back-row as Scotland stars Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie complete the pack.

Edinburgh Rugby team to face Wasps at the Ricoh Arena in the Challenge Cup

Saturday 14 December (kick-off 3pm)

15. Damien Hoyland (69)

14. Darcy Graham (25)

13. James Johnstone (44)

12. George Taylor (13)

11. Jamie Farndale (6)

10. Simon Hickey (26)

9. Nic Groom (5) CAPTAIN

1. Rory Sutherland (78)

2. Michael Willemse (9)

3. WP Nel (134)

4. Sam Thomson (5)

5. Lewis Carmichael (38)

6. Jamie Ritchie (65)

7. Hamish Watson (102)

8. Viliame Mata (64)

[size]

Replacements: 16. Stuart McInally (139) 17. Jamie Bhatti (8) 18. Simon Berghan (71) 19. Ben Toolis (114) 20. Magnus Bradbury (70) 21. Charlie Shiel (12) 22. Jaco van der Walt (46) 23. Mark Bennett (28)
Unavailable: Eroni Sau, Cameron Fenton, John Barclay, Rory Darge, Luke Crosbie, Matt Scott, Chris Dean, Fraser McKenzie[/size]

FFS Boss, we are not all blind as a bat.

Wasps (First-team appearances)

15 Matteo Minozzi (4)
14 Marcus Watson (37)
13 Malakai Fekitoa (7)
12 Jimmy Gopperth (85)
11 Josh Bassett (111)
10 Lima Sopoaga (33)
9 Will Porter (14)
1 Ben Harris (52)
2 Tommy Taylor (56)
3 Jeff Toomaga-Allen (8)
4 Tim Cardall (10)
5 Charlie Matthews (20)
6 Ashley Johnson (195)
7 Thomas Young (105)
8 Nizaam Carr (46)

Replacements
16 Gabriel Oghre (12)
17 Tom West (15)
18 Biyi Alo (3)
19 Theo Vukasinovic (3)
20 Ben Morris (22)
21 Sam Wolstenholme (6)
22 Jacob Umaga (14)
23 Juan de Jongh (54)

It was a lazy copy and paste from the ER website LT!

That's a strong Wasps team and Edinburgh have done a lot of rotating. There are still some strong units in the Edinburgh team but if Wasps can't beat that team at home then they really are in trouble!

I suspect Edinburgh will win this.

It's a fully loaded Edinburgh bench so if we're in with a shout with 20 to go I think we'll get the win too.

Happy to see the rotation, it's a strong looking pack and the backs aren't bad either. Not saying that'll mean anything, but it's just nice looking at a team with that amount of rotation and not being 100% certain it'll be a total horsing. Small victories.

Yeah, not a full strength Wasps side, but a pretty strong one. Missing Robson and Willis, notably; not injured, so rested I presume.

It's at home, we're putting out a good side - and yet I have zero confidence in us.

EWT Spoons wrote:Happy to see the rotation, it's a strong looking pack and the backs aren't bad either.  Not saying that'll mean anything, but it's just nice looking at a team with that amount of rotation and not being 100% certain it'll be a total horsing. Small victories.

Agreed - it's refreshing that squad rotation doesn't fill us with dread!

After moaning about the lack of opportunities for Scottish Looseheads its good to see one starting and one on the bench - Sutherland really needs to take this opportunity, i think he's a better scrummager than Bhatti so if he can do well here he'll get a more even split of time with Schooie!

I really rate Sutherland but he doesn't seem to get much of a chance.

He could make a late push for the 6N if he can get some games.