Prem Round 7

One big piece of news ahead of team announcements and everything else: Friday at the Stoop will be Joe Marler's last game for Quins.

Following his international retirement earlier this month, he's decided that it's finally time to hang up his boots after one last hurrah. Expect the Stoop to be very loud, and I wouldn't be surprised if Joe refuses to be subbed until he physically can't give anything more (a prospect that should cause some concern for Bristol fans, who may remember the outcome the last time that happened).

End of an era.

He'll leave the field on the 78th minute to a well deserved standing ovation no doubt.

HARLEQUINS v BRISTOL BEARS

Friday 29 November (19:45)
Twickenham Stoop
Live on TNT Sport

15. Tyrone Green (79)
14. Rodrigo Isgro (2)
13. Oscar Beard (61)
12. Luke Northmore (71)
11. Cadan Murley (117)
10. Jarrod Evans (22)
9. Will Porter (28)

1. Joe Marler (285)
2. Jack Walker (70)
3. Simon Kerrod (109)
4. Irne Herbst (54)
5. Dino Lamb (98)
6. Jack Kenningham (56)
7. Will Evans (96)
8. Alex Dombrandt (C) (141)

Impact Players
16. Nathan Jibulu (21)
17. Fin Baxter (56)
18. Titi Lamostiele (6)
19. Joe Launchbury (27)
20. James Chisholm (155)
21. Danny Care (381)
22. Jamie Benson (11)
23. Nick David (56)

Strong team for Quins with Smith, CCS and Anyanwu the most notable absences.

Bristol Bears team face Harlequins at The Stoop on Friday night (7.45pm KO, live on TNT Sports):

15. Rich Lane (42 apps)
14. Jack Bates (42 apps)
13. Kalaveti Ravouvou (12 apps)
12. Benhard Janse van Rensburg (31 apps)
11. Gabriel Ibitoye (48 apps)
10. AJ MacGinty (43 apps)
9. Kieran Marmion (32 apps)

1. Jake Woolmore (157 apps)
2. Gabriel Oghre (24 apps)
3. Max Lahiff (94 apps)
4. James Dun (40 apps)
5. Joe Owen (19 apps)
6. Santiago Grondona (3 apps)
7. Fitz Harding (c) (79 apps)
8. Viliame Mata (debut).

System players: 16. Harry Thacker (119 apps), 17. Yann Thomas (117 apps), 18. Lovejoy Chawatama (3 apps), 19. Steven Luatua (135 apps), 20. Benjamin Grondona (10 apps), 21. Oscar Lennon (11 apps), 22. Joe Jenkins (18 apps), 23. Benjamin Elizalde (5 apps).

Unavailable: Ellis Genge, Sam Grahamslaw, George Kloska, Joe Batley, Josh Caulfield, Steele Barker, George Taylor, Kofi Cripps, Harry Randall, Sam Wolstenholme, James Williams, Noah Heward, Deago Bailey, Max Malins.

Looks like strong team for Bristol too, but some big names on that unavailable list.

Seems very sudden for Marler to retire from club Rugby as well.  For no reason I can recall, I thought he was going to play out the season.  On the other hand, having had to be the one to tell some athletes their professional careers are over, it is always gratifying for me to see someone who has played sport well at the highest level go out on their own terms.  Presumably he has some media position on offer?

doctor_grey wrote:Seems very sudden for Marler to retire from club Rugby as well.  For no reason I can recall, I thought he was going to play out the season.  On the other hand, having had to be the one to tell some athletes their professional careers are over, it is always gratifying for me to see someone who has played sport well at the highest level go out on their own terms.  Presumably he has some media position on offer?

He was in the O2 tent at Twickenham on Saturday giving a speech (I wasn't allowed in because I am not an O2 customer) but people I met were. He is likely to be in demand for personal appearances - he's VERY popular amongst the fans. Wouldn't surprise me at all that he has some media stuff lined up.

doctor_grey wrote:Seems very sudden for Marler to retire from club Rugby as well.  For no reason I can recall, I thought he was going to play out the season.  On the other hand, having had to be the one to tell some athletes their professional careers are over, it is always gratifying for me to see someone who has played sport well at the highest level go out on their own terms.  Presumably he has some media position on offer?

Marler's been running a successful podcast for about 5 years, and been doing live events in the same format for 2 or 3; he's also been an occasional pundit and guest on tv and other podcasts. His media career is ready to take off.

My best guess is that the trigger for retiring immediately was that he realised he was struggling to maintain the fitness standards required and rather than struggle on trying to cover it (or recover) he would rather bow out on his own terms. That's consistent with the choices he's made in the past - he's previously withdrawn from England when he felt that either physically or mentally he couldn't give 100% and now it's reached that point for Quins.

I hope and suspect he still has one last big performance to give - when he first retired from England he played 80 minutes away against the Boks and told the substitute loosehead to eff off.

Sale Sharks Starting XV:  

15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Rob du Preez, 12. Luke James, 11. Arron Reed, 10. George Ford, 9. Gus Warr, 1. Bevan Rodd, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ernst van Rhyn, 5. Hyron Andrews, 6. Tom Curry, 7. Ben Curry , 8. Dan du Preez.  

Replacements:  

16. Tadgh McElroy, 17. Si McIntyre, 18. James Harper, 19. JL du Preez, 20. Tom Burrow, 21. Sam Dugdale, 22. Raffi Quirke, 23. Will Addison.

15 Freddie Steward [93]
14 Anthony Watson [22]
13 Izaia Perese [5]
12 Solomone Kata [23]
11 Ollie Hassell-Collins [29]
10 Handré Pollard [36]
9 Jack van Poortvliet [78]

1 Nicky Smith [6]
2 Charlie Clare [101]
3 Joe Heyes [146]
4 George Martin [68]
5 Tom Manz [9]
6 Hanro Liebenberg [113]
7 Tommy Reffell [120]
8 Olly Cracknell [48]

REPLACEMENTS

16 Archie Vanes [17]
17 James Cronin [39]
18 Dan Cole [328]
19 Jed Holloway*
20 Emeka Ilione [25]
21 Ben Youngs [319]
22 Jamie Shillcock [32]
23 Will Wand [5]

I'd expect this to be tight.

Being heavily depleted at lock - Chessum, Henderson and Wells - wont help Tigers but Sale are missing Hill and Bamber too. Montoya is a massive absentee for Tigers. Having Martin back is big in that regard. We lack carriers at the best of times.

AOF vs Smith and Heyes vs Rodd will be interesting. I'd expect Heyes to get the better of Rodd in the scrum.

6-2 split for Sale. Clearly looking to make it physical.

Nearly full strength in the backs for Sale but missing Nayacalevu. I think Tigers have close to fully fit backs as well. So well matched there.

I'm really happy to see Ilione in the 23. I want him to play more and more.

It looks really even across the park to me. Should be a good game.

Best news Borthwick could receive based on the Autumn internationals, Alex Mitchell is back and on the bench for tomorrow. Just in time to get himself fully match fit and ready for the 6N.

Saints have a lot of talent on the bench, Iyogun, Pollock, Mitchell, Dingwall and Ramm form the backbone of a very exciting bench and with that back three, pace in abundance.

15 George Furbank (c)
14 George Hendy
13 Tom Litchfield
12 Rory Hutchinson
11 Ollie Sleightholme
10 Fin Smith
9 Tom James

1 Tom West
2 Curtis Langdon
3 Trevor Davison
4 Chunya Munga
5 Alex Coles
6 Angus Scott-Young
7 Tom Pearson
8 Juarno Augustus

Replacements:
16 Craig Wright
17 Emmanuel Iyogun
18 Luke Green
19 Tom Lockett
20 Henry Pollock
21 Alex Mitchell
22 Fraser Dingwall
23 James Ramm

Gloucester:

15 Santi Carreras,
14 Christian Wade,
13 Max Llewellyn,
12 Seb Atkinson,
11 Ollie Thorley,
10 Gareth Anscombe,
9 Caolan Englefield;

1 Val Rapava-Ruskin,
2 Jack Singleton,
3 Afo Fasogbon,
4 Arthur Clark,
5 Freddie Thomas,
6 Jack Clement,
7 Lewis Ludlow (c),
8 Zach Mercer.

Replacements:
16 Seb Blake,
17 Ciaran Knight,
18 Kirill Gotovtsev,
19 Matias Alemanno,
20 Ruan Ackermann,
21 Charlie Chapman,
22 Chris Harris,
23 Josh Hathaway.

Bristol are so fun to watch.

I think it took 20 minutes for the first penalty to be awarded? Must be close to a record.

That is one of the worst penalty misses I've ever seen from Connon.  He's missed two relatively easy kicks.   Could/should be 11 up here.

Is this really Falcons?! What have you done with my team???

Cumbrian wrote:Is this really Falcons?! What have you done with my team???

ssshhh. just for now...

Going to be harder this half, playing into a really strong wind.

In the meantime, Bristol are taking Quins out to the woodshed.  Bristol, more or less, had the better of play in the first half which was offset by two longer range typical Quins strikes. Unfortunately for Quins their defense is terrible, especially out wide.  And Bristol is taking advantage in the second half. 17-45 with 20 minutes to go...

I think I will jinx Falcons and switch over and watch their game with Saracens.

We could do this you know!

Cumbrian wrote:We could do this you know!

It ain't over until the fat lady sings?

Quins v Bristol fantastic watch, breathless stuff and some cracking tries although one of most skillful was Mata try off the tap penalty. So well worked
Ibitoye though, he is box office

Hang on...

Cheers Hugh, you b@stard.

Get in you beauty! Off the bottom of the table!

doctor_grey wrote:

Cumbrian wrote:We could do this you know!

It ain't over until the fat lady sings?  

Wow, I hear fat ladies singing everywhere!

That shot by Tizard was brutal and he should see a long ban for that.  And I don't understand why the tv broadcast kept showing it over and over.  That - could - be a ligament injury.

I also noticed after the match ended when players lined up to shake hands like usual, almost none of the Falcons even looked at Tizard, let alone shake his hand.  As it should be.  If Arnold, the Newcastle player whose knee was impacted, ends up with a long lasting injury, Tizard may have a target on his back.  Might make it difficult to get a higher level contract.

The Tizard ban should be measured in months not weeks. That's a nasty cheap shot, could be a career killer as well for poor Sammy Arnold. Hopefully Arnold has just twisted his knee and not done the full ACL. He's been a brilliant signing for Falcons, week in and week out one of if not their best player.

formerly known as Sam wrote:The Tizard ban should be measured in months not weeks. That's a nasty cheap shot, could be a career killer as well for poor Sammy Arnold. Hopefully Arnold has just twisted his knee and not done the full ACL. He's been a brilliant signing for Falcons, week in and week out one of if not their best player.

Couldn't agree more.  The knee had what appeared to be a significant inward hyperextension, which is typically what causes MCL or other ligament tears.  

As you say Sam, hopefully just twisted or sprained, but I would not be too optimistic.  Do you, or anyone, know if Tizard has a habit of playing on the edge?

And, by the way, huge congratulations to the Falcons. Their celebrations after the match shows how much that win meant to the team. Steve Diamond actually smiled afterwards (OK, his smile is a bit like the local undertaker, but still a smile is a smile)!

Just seen the Tizard red card.
At best it was a tired player not thinking but should still see a long ban.
But to me that was a player intentionally targeting a another player's knee and should be a very long ban.

Really hope Arnold isn't that bad an injury but as doc said that kind of movement of the knee is not good.

doctor_grey wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:The Tizard ban should be measured in months not weeks. That's a nasty cheap shot, could be a career killer as well for poor Sammy Arnold. Hopefully Arnold has just twisted his knee and not done the full ACL. He's been a brilliant signing for Falcons, week in and week out one of if not their best player.

Couldn't agree more.  The knee had what appeared to be a significant inward hyperextension, which is typically what causes MCL or other ligament tears.  

As you say Sam, hopefully just twisted or sprained, but I would not be too optimistic.  Do you, or anyone, know if Tizard has a habit of playing on the edge?

And, by the way, huge congratulations to the Falcons.  Their celebrations after the match shows how much that win meant to the team.  Steve Diamond actually smiled afterwards (OK, his smile is a bit like the local undertaker, but still a smile is a smile)!

I don't recall any incidents. A quick All Rugby search suggests it's his first card of any colour. Fatigue and frustration getting the better of him perhaps.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

doctor_grey wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:The Tizard ban should be measured in months not weeks. That's a nasty cheap shot, could be a career killer as well for poor Sammy Arnold. Hopefully Arnold has just twisted his knee and not done the full ACL. He's been a brilliant signing for Falcons, week in and week out one of if not their best player.

Couldn't agree more.  The knee had what appeared to be a significant inward hyperextension, which is typically what causes MCL or other ligament tears.  

As you say Sam, hopefully just twisted or sprained, but I would not be too optimistic.  Do you, or anyone, know if Tizard has a habit of playing on the edge?

And, by the way, huge congratulations to the Falcons.  Their celebrations after the match shows how much that win meant to the team.  Steve Diamond actually smiled afterwards (OK, his smile is a bit like the local undertaker, but still a smile is a smile)!

I don't recall any incidents. A quick All Rugby search suggests it's his first card of any colour. Fatigue and frustration getting the better of him perhaps.

Thanks for checking. I hadn't heard of any issues either, which is good. But that shot was exactly in the worst place. Hope we can see some medical updates soon.

Disappointing game this. Considering some lunatic decided to schedule it on the first weekend of the Bath Christmas Market, I feel owed!

Didn't see this from Sale in the first 10 minutes, Leicester could be beasted if they don't start imposing themselves. Ref seems to have turned on them though, very difficult from this position.

Heyes is lucky that the Sale player wasn't looking up, could easily have been a red.  It was so unnecessary.

Tigers have been poor. This midfield combination is a failure and we've had little interplay and no defensive organisation from him. Was the same at Exeter first game of the season. Just far too inaccurate whilst Sale have been ruthlessly clinical in the red zone.

Cumbrian wrote:Heyes is lucky that the Sale player wasn't looking up, could easily have been a red.  It was so unnecessary.

Frustrated player trying to disrupt the ruck. Stupid and clumsy. Look on his face said he knew it.