Premiership Rugby Round 22 - it's all in the motion

Today, 7:45pm
Bristol - Sale
Gloucester-Bath

Tomorrow, 3;00pm
Harlequins-Falcons
Saints-Saracens

The day after, 3;00pm
Leicester-Exeter

Why oh why are the Friday and Saturday games on at the same time?  Don't the people who run the Premiership know this hurts tv ratings?  Another reason we need a massive shake-up.  Top to bottom.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpPeQyT36Tg

STARTING XV
15 Freddie Steward [70]
14 Chris Ashton [25]
13 Matt Scott [63]
12 Dan Kelly [53]
11 Anthony Watson [14]
10 Handré Pollard [12]
9 Jack van Poortvliet [63]
1 James Cronin [14]
2 Julián Montoya (c) [41]
3 Dan Cole [307]
4 George Martin [56]
5 Cameron Henderson [34]
6 Hanro Liebenberg [82]
7 Tommy Reffell [97]
8 Jasper Wiese [58]

REPLACEMENTS
16 Charlie Clare [76]
17 Tom West [8]
18 Joe Heyes [121]
19 Eli Snyman [33]
20 Olly Cracknell [22]
21 Ben Youngs [299]
22 Jimmy Gopperth [15]
23 Harry Potter [64]

Exeter Chiefs team news
15 Stuart Hogg
14 Tom Wyatt
13 Sean O’Brien
12 Solomone Kata
11 Olly Woodburn
10 Joe Simmonds
9 Will Becconsall
1 Nika Abuladze
2 Jack Yeandle (capt)
3 Josh Iosefa-Scott
4 Jack Dunne
5 Jonny Gray
6 Aidon Davis
7 Christ Tshiunza
8 Sam Simmonds

Replacements
16 Jack Innard
17 Scott Sio
18 Marcus Street
19 Mike Williams
20 Rus Tuima
21 Stu Townsend
22 Harvey Skinner
23 Rory O’Loughlin

Bloody Hell. I take the day off to work in the garden, it's 86°F and it's only 12:30. Already put down mulch and dirt. Need to get this stuff done. How am I going to stay awake to:
(1) Watch the Rugby at 2:45pm (neither of today's games seem like must-watch tv)
and
(2) Listen to my wife's very positive suggestions about moving a rock or a bush 2 feet to the right.

Just hope you don't move it and she then decides she preferred it where it was ...

Heaf wrote:Just hope you don't move it and she then decides she preferred it where it was ...

So...you know her.

Underhill Alert:
Bath was boring and looked moribund until Underhill came on with about 20 minutes to go.  Took over the game and, at least to me, was the clear difference enabling Bath to come from behind, dominate the last 20, and win by 9 on the road.

doctor_grey wrote:

Heaf wrote:Just hope you don't move it and she then decides she preferred it where it was ...

So...you know her.

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS vs SARACENS
Saturday 15 April 2023
cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, Kick-off: 3pm

US
15 George Furbank
14 James Ramm
13 Fraser Dingwall
12 Rory Hutchinson
11 Tommy Freeman
10 Fin Smith
9 Alex Mitchell
1 Alex Waller
2 Sam Matavesi
3 Trevor Davison
4 David Ribbans
5 Alex Moon
6 Courtney Lawes
7 Lewis Ludlam (c)
8 Juarno Augustus

Replacements:
16 Tom Cruse
17 Ethan Waller
18 Paul Hill
19 Alex Coles
20 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto
21 Sam Graham
22 Tom James
23 Tom Collins

Not considered for selection: Emmanuel Iyogun, Matt Proctor, Ollie Sleightholme and Robbie Smith.

THEM
01 Eroni Mawi
02 Tom Woolstencroft
03 Christian Judge
04 Callum Hunter-Hill
05 Hugh Tizard
06 Nick Isiekwe
07 Toby Knight
08 Jackson Wray (C)
09 Ruben de Haas
10 Manu Vunipola
11 Alex Lewington
12 Olly Hartley
13 Duncan Taylor
14 Rotimi Segun
15 Alex Goode (c)

Bench:
16 Theo Dan
17 Robin Hislop
18 Marco Riccioni
19 Nathan Michelow
20 Ben Earl
21 Ivan Van Zyl
22 Josh Hallett
23 Ben Harris

Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Tom Foley and Wayne Falla
No.4: Jonathan Healy
TMO: David Rose

Sarries sending a B side to the Gardens. Should be an easy 5 points for Saints. I'm sure LI etc will be delighted with that move.

doctor_grey wrote:Underhill Alert:
Bath was boring and looked moribund until Underhill came on with about 20 minutes to go.  Took over the game and, at least to me, was the clear difference enabling Bath to come from behind, dominate the last 20, and win by 9 on the road.

Agreed. I just hope he can stay fit for a run. It's easy to forget he's the same age as Willis. Still young really. At his best few are as good in contact defensively as Underhill. He's got the rare ability that flankers such as Dusautoir had to complete run of the mill tackles in phase play with such dominance that they are as impactful on play as a jackal turnover but with far smaller risk of being pinged in the process.

Miles Reid is a cracking openside too I'd add. Bath are well stocked in the back row.

king_carlos wrote:Miles Reid is a cracking openside too I'd add. Bath are well stocked in the back row.

Need one of their 8s to stay fit for an extended period but otherwise they have good options there. 'Szyslak' is a very good backrow for them, he's been a bright spark in their couple of real dire seasons.

formerly known as Sam wrote:Sarries sending a B side to the Gardens. Should be an easy 5 points for Saints. I'm sure LI etc will be delighted with that move.

  .... It was bad enough that Ms Hodnett robbed us of 3 points that could be crucial, then helped Saints out v Sale, but this is taking the p ... let's see what sort of side they put out against us ...

Heaf wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:Sarries sending a B side to the Gardens. Should be an easy 5 points for Saints. I'm sure LI etc will be delighted with that move.

  .... It was bad enough that Ms Hodnett robbed us of 3 points that could be crucial, then helped Saints out v Sale, but this is taking the p ... let's see what sort of side they put out against us ...

Never over-estimate Saints at critical junctures.....

To be fair every team in the league has been robbed by a bad Claire Hodnett decision at some point.

Even Saints ability to implode surely can't overcome the gap in talent between them and the Sarries B side.

formerly known as Sam wrote:To be fair every team in the league has been robbed by a bad Claire Hodnett decision at some point.

Even Saints ability to implode surely can't overcome the gap in talent between them and the Sarries B side.

Hoping you are right, but...

I'm playing Rugby today and will be safely insulated from watching or receiving updates live. Will check out the carnage later this afternoon.

formerly known as Sam wrote:To be fair every team in the league has been robbed by a bad Claire Hodnett decision at some point.

Even Saints ability to implode surely can't overcome the gap in talent between them and the Sarries B side.

Agree she's made a lot of shockers - but the LI one was an indisputable 3 point loss as a pen at that point was kick the ball out and win the match ... unfortunately I can't see Saints blowing this one as hard as they might try ...

Well that was an unexpected start from Sarries ...

Saints almost reply immediately but drop the ball over the line ...

And the ubiquitous red card ends the game after less than 10 minutes ...

Awful tackle. How on earth has Smith not gone for an hia?

Complete mystery but happens all the time somehow - surely most head contacts deemed high impact and therefore red should result in an HIA for the other player?

I'd suggest anything that the ref thinks starts with a red should result in one. Ita like rugby has forgotten why that tackle has to be red to begin with.

Saints making really hard work of this - they should be out of sight against Sarries B down to 14 ...

Pretty entertaining game for a neutral (shame about the red card though).  Saints making far too many handing mistakes, if they calm down and show some composure, they could nail Sarries in this one.

I don't see how Saints can lose this at this point - I reckon the selection is a deliberate ploy to end up with Saints in the play-offs as Sarries fancy their chances more against them than Irish who are a bit of a bogey team for them ... next week's selection will be telling ...

That'll do it.

Fair play to Sarries not lying down yet - if they hadn't had the red card Saints could be sweating by now

No 7&1/2 wrote:I'd suggest anything that the ref thinks starts with a red should result in one. Ita like rugby has forgotten why that tackle has to be red to begin with.

Just remembering the Genge card last night - looked like a deliberate shoulder to the head but was only yellow as supposedly low danger - don't think the recipient would have agreed with that ...

Oh that yellow won't help ...

You gotta love ribbans. Don't know why he's ignored at international level.

Sarries B with 13 men score - if Saints end up playing the first team in the quarters I don't see them having much chance ...

If they end up playing 15 they may not have much chance.

To be fair, Saracens put out the kids, get an early red card and they leave the home of their potential knockout opponents with a LBP (could/ should have been two). That has got to give them a psychological edge moving forward.

No 7&1/2 wrote:You gotta love ribbans. Don't know why he's ignored at international level.

He started the game Vs Ireland. How's that ignored?

Saints should be ashamed of that performance - ruined my prediction on Superbru - 21 points clear all good - then they managed to ship a boatload - what is it with Saints in the last quarter of matches?

formerly known as Sam wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:You gotta love ribbans. Don't know why he's ignored at international level.

He started the game Vs Ireland. How's that ignored?

For so so long and only brought in at the last moment following injury. I do think he's been ignored for a lot of his time available and hence moving.

[quote="No 7&1/2"][quote="formerly known as Sam"][quote="No 7&1/2"]You gotta love ribbans. Don't know why he's ignored at international level.[/quote]

He started the game Vs Ireland. How's that ignored?[/quote]

For so so long and only brought in at the last moment following injury. I do think he's been ignored for a lot of his time available and hence moving.[/quote]

That's somewhat overlooking injury and suspension that mainly ruined his chances before this season. He played a bit in the AIs and played a bit in the 6N. What hampered him in the 6N was that he didn't cover the backrow.

There were plenty of chances for Jones to pick him, he just didn't.

Heaf wrote:Saints should be ashamed of that performance - ruined my prediction on Superbru - 21 points clear all good - then they managed to ship a boatload - what is it with Saints in the last quarter of matches?

Well, I'm glad I didn't watch live.  When I got home after playing yesterday afternoon (NY time) - in an interesting metaphor - I was sore, in pain really, and tired:  Then I had dinner, grabbed a pint from the fridge and turned on a replay of the Saints match.  Unsurprisingly, my pain levels went through the roof.  Watching Saints can sometimes feel like being waterboarded for two hours.  

They blew three EZ tries in the first half alone.  I don't like how Saints can go numb in matches, which some players are very good at (my mid-field for instance) but I don't care about anything that happens in garbaaage time.  So Sarries late tries don't confront me none (as George Thorogood would put it).  But that first half was like eating my mother-in-law's pot roast.  Back in ancient Rome they used to say "We who are abut to eat Janice's Pot Roast salute you"....  Could say the same thing about being a Saints supporter.  

On the other hand, Lawes looked good.

I'd be more worried about garbage time if I was a Saints supporter.

Sarries came close to scoring and going within 7 with still about 5 mins on the clock from what I can recall - if they had scored then I wouldn't have been surprised to see a draw.

From being 21 points clear with an extra man for most of the match (and 2 for 10 mins), which should have meant Sarries would be flagging, that would have been a disaster ...

Some finish.

Quick start by Tigers but Chiefs getting the momentum now ...

Not a good 5 mins from Steward - kick straight to touch then a pass into touch. Now Chiefs end up in a good attacking position as a result ....

Tigers defence holding up well - a couple of times Chiefs have been repelled after getting in close ...

Then Pollard misses a pen I could have kicked ...

But luckily gets a second chance

That's a lovely couple of offloads.

What the hell was that - Tigers gift Chiefs a try ...

Is Pollard trying to lose this? Misses a sitter, gifts Chiefs one try then tries to give them another ....