Rabo 12-13 predicted league by poll - Part 1 review each team with changes and expectations

Step one we will review key players lossed and injured, new signings of note, focus, expectations for each team. (if people could do their team it would be great as I know a little about a lot but not enough for any team.

Step two is we will vote on who we expect to be the top 4
Step three the remaining 8 teams we vote for places 5-8

At the end of the season we can review how we did and see how well our teams did.

If you put them in I will enter them to the OP

Blues
Out
In
Injuries
Expectation

Connacht
Dragons

Edinburgh: (thanks CP10)

Players/Staff In:


WP Nel (tighthead)
Izak van der Westhuizen (Lock) - arrives after the Currie Cup
Richie Rees from (scrumhalf)
John Yapp (prop)
Perry-John Parker (Lock)
Dimitri Basilaia (No 8)
Greig Tonks (Full back)
Ben Atiga (centre)
Mike Penn (Winger)
Neil Back (Defense coach)


Looking forward to seeing Nel, Rees and Atiga.

Players/Staff Out:


Kyle Traynor (prop)
Andrew Kelly (Hooker)
Jack Gilding (prop)
Esteban Lozada (Lock)
Alan MacDonald (Openside)
Mike Blair (scrumhalf)
Phil Godman (flyhalf)
Jim Thompson (Full back)
Chris Paterson (Full back)


Blair is the only loss, others weren't up to standard or really haven't progressed.

Injuries:


Ben Cairns - Oct
Steve Lawrie - Oct



Big investment in the squad with an increase in budget from £3.5m to £4.2m so the expectation is high:


Minimum Semi Finals in RaboDirect Pro 12
Minimum Quarter Finals in Heineken Cup




Edinburgh Squad 2012/13

Props: G Cross, A Jacobsen, L Niven, J Yapp, WP Nel, R Hislop

Hookers: R Ford, S Lawrie, A Walker

Locks: S Cox, PJ Parker, S Turnbull, G Gilchrist, I van der Westhuizen

Back row: D Basilaia, D Denton, R Grant, S McInally, R Rennie, N Talei

Half Backs: A Black, C Leck, R Rees, G Laidlaw, H Leonard

Centres: B Atiga, B Cairns, N De Luca, J Houston, J King, M Scott

Wing: L Jones, M Penn, S Visser, T Visser, J Farndale

Full-backs: G Tonks, T Brown
Glasgow
Leinster

Munster (thanks Staggy)

Players/Staff Out:

Tomas O'Leary (scrumhalf)
Lifeimi Mafi (centre)
Denis Fogarty (hooker)
Tom Gleeson (centre)
Peter Borlase (tighthead)
John Hayes (prop)
David Wallace (openside)
Denis Leamy (blindside)
Mick O'Driscoll (second row)
Darragh Hurley (loosehead)
Jerry Flannery (hooker)
Declan Cusack (flyhalf)
Tony McGahan (head coach)
Jason Holland (backs coach)
Shaun Payne (team manager)


Players/Staff In:

CJ Stander (backrow)
James Downey (centre)
Casey Laulala (centre)
Sean Dougall (backrow)
Barry O'Mahony (Clontarf)
Rob Penney (head coach)
Simon Mannix (backs coach)
Niall O'Donovan (team manager)


Injuries:

Dave Foley - injured til August
Duncan Williams - injured til August
Johne Murphy - injured til August
Paul O'Connell - injured til August
Niall Ronan - injured til September
Ian Nagle - injured til November
Felix Jones - injured til November
Troy Smith - injured til November


Expectation:

Minimum Semi Finals in RaboDirect Pro 12
Minimum Quarter Finals in Heineken Cup


Munster Squad 2012/13

Props: BJ Botha, D Kilcoyne, J Ryan, S Archer, M Horan, W du Preez, C Condon, A Cotter.

Hookers: D Varley, M Sherry, S Henry,

Locks: D Ryan, P O'Connell, D O'Callaghan, I Nagle, D Foley,

Back row: P Butler, S Dougall, B Holland, P O'Mahony, N Ronan, J Coughlan, T O'Donnell, Dave O'Callaghan, B O'Mahony, C Stander

Scrumhalf: P Stringer, C Murray, D Williams, C Sheridan

Flyhalf: R O'Gara, I Keatley, S Deasy

Centre: C Lualala, J Downey, D Barnes, JJ Hanrahan, T Smith, I Dineen

Wing: K Earls, D Howlett, J Murphy, S Zebo

Full-backs: F Jones, D Hurley, S Scanlon, L O'Dea

Ospreys

Players out 2012–2013
Huw Bennett to Lyon
Tommy Bowe to Ulster
Barry Davies to London Welsh
Ken Dowding to Bridgend
Dai Flanagan to Pontypridd
Cai Griffiths to London Irish
Paul James to Bath
Chauncey O'Toole to The Rock (Canada)
Gareth Owen to Scarlets
Sonny Parker to London Welsh
Kristian Phillips to Scarlets
Rory Pitman to Rotherham (finished last season on loan to the South Wales Scorpions)
Tom Prydie to Newport Gwent Dragons (finished last season on loan to Wasps)
Nikki Walker to Worcester
Shane Williams to Mitsubishi Dynaboars
Craig Cross Released
Ben Thomas Released
Matt Torrance Released
Stefan Watermeyer Released
Mefin Davies Retired / Coach of Swansea RFC


Remaining Squad

Ryan Bevington (L.Prop)
Duncan Jones (L.Prop)
Dan Suter (L.Prop)

Scott Baldwin (Hooker)
Richard Hibbard (Hooker)

Aaron Jarvis (T.Prop)
Adam Jones (T.Prop)
Joe Rees (T.Prop)
Will Taylor (T.Prop)

Ian Evans (Lock)
Ian Gough (Lock)
Alun Wyn Jones (Lock)
James Goode (Lock)
Rhodri Hughes (Lock)
Jack Jones (Lock)
Lloyd Pears (Lock)

Jonathan Thomas (B.Flanker)
James King (B.Flanker)
Tom Smith (B.Flanker)

Sam Lewis (O.Flanker)
Justin Tipuric (O.Flanker)

Morgan Allen (Number 8)
Joe Bearman (Number 8)
George Stowers (Number 8)
Ryan Jones (Number 8)
Dan Baker (Number 8)

Tom Habberfield (Scrum-half)
Kahn Fotuali'i (Scrum-half)
Rhys Webb (Scrum-half)
Tom Grabham (Scrum Half)

Dan Biggar (Fly-half)
Sam Davies (Fly-half )
Matthew Morgan (Fly-half)

Ashley Beck (Centre)
Andrew Bishop (Centre)
Tom Isaacs (Centre)
Ben John (Centre)

Hanno Dirksen (Wing)
Eli Walker (Wing)
Luke Morgan (Wing)

Richard Fussell (Fullback)
Ross Jones (Fullback)

Injuries:
Eli Walker / End of October / Shoulder Injury

General opinion:
A lot of players may of left but truth be told many of them such as Shane Williams and Tommy Bowe we barely saw last season due to injury and World Cups etc. Looking at that list you'd have to say that most of them were either dead wood, or were players that needed to leave to play first team rugby.

I guess the only real loss was Gareth Owen but he has been badly injured for so long you'd have to think there is a reason why the Ospreys chose not to continue his rehabilitation.

I still think the Ospreys have a lot of good depth, though should sign another winger at least, maybe Lee Rees from Llandovery seeing as the Scarlets have no interest in him.

League expectation:
Bearing in mind the Dragons have been stripped of all but 2 of their decent players. the Scarlets basically don't have a front 5, and the Blues look in a mess, I'd expect the Ospreys to be the best placed Welsh club and expect them to finish in the top 4 in the league.

Europe expectation:
Were in a pool with Leicester and Toulouse, personally I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility to qualify, but I don't think we will win the pool and you'd have to say finishing as one of the best 2 runners ups looks a tough task especially as if we do beat Toulouse and / or Leicester you won't expect it to be by a lot of points.


Shifty



Scarlets
Treviso
Ulster
Zebre

Munster:

Players/Staff Out:

• Tomas O'Leary (scrumhalf)
  
• Lifeimi Mafi (centre)
  
• Denis Fogarty (hooker)
  
• Tom Gleeson (centre)
  
• Peter Borlase (tighthead)
  
• John Hayes (prop)
  
• David Wallace (openside)
  
• Denis Leamy (blindside)
  
• Mick O'Driscoll (second row)
  
• Darragh Hurley (loosehead)
  
• Jerry Flannery (hooker)
  
• Declan Cusack (flyhalf)
  
• Tony McGahan (head coach)
  
• Jason Holland (backs coach)
  
• Shaun Payne (team manager)
  

Players/Staff In:

• CJ Stander (backrow)
  
• James Downey (centre)
  
• Casey Laulala (centre)
  
• Sean Dougall (backrow)
  
• Barry O'Mahony (Clontarf)
  
• Rob Penney (head coach)
  
• Simon Mannix (backs coach)
  
• Niall O'Donovan (team manager)
  

Injuries:

• Dave Foley - injured til August
  
• Duncan Williams - injured til August
  
• Johne Murphy - injured til August
  
• Paul O'Connell - injured til August
  
• Niall Ronan - injured til September
  
• Ian Nagle - injured til November
  
• Felix Jones - injured til November
  
• Troy Smith - injured til November
  

Expectation:

• Minimum Semi Finals in RaboDirect Pro 12
  
• Minimum Quarter Finals in Heineken Cup
  

Munster Squad 2012/13

Props: BJ Botha, D Kilcoyne, J Ryan, S Archer, M Horan, W du Preez, C Condon, A Cotter.

Hookers: D Varley, M Sherry, S Henry,

Locks: D Ryan, P O'Connell, D O'Callaghan, I Nagle, D Foley,

Back row: P Butler, S Dougall, B Holland, P O'Mahony, N Ronan, J Coughlan, T O'Donnell, Dave O'Callaghan, B O'Mahony, C Stander

Scrumhalf: P Stringer, C Murray, D Williams, C Sheridan

Flyhalf: R O'Gara, I Keatley, S Deasy

Centre: C Lualala, J Downey, D Barnes, JJ Hanrahan, T Smith, I Dineen

Wing: K Earls, D Howlett, J Murphy, S Zebo

Full-backs: F Jones, D Hurley, S Scanlon, L O'Dea

Thanks for the Info.

When is Howlett back I hear it is early enough.

He is already back in training from what I gather and is expected to be ready for the game against Stade Rochelais at the start of August.

Has O'Dea played full back? I like what I saw of him as a winger, showed he could score tries despite limited chances. 4 tries in around ten games isn't bad.

Thomond - that's copied and pasted from Munster Wesbite so they must think that he is a winger.

But they listed him him as a full back?

Sorry I typed it wrong. I meant they must think he is a fullback.

They listed him there.

Edinburgh:

Players/Staff In:

• WP Nel (tighthead)
  
• Izak van der Westhuizen (Lock) - arrives after the Currie Cup
  
• Richie Rees from (scrumhalf)
  
• John Yapp (prop)
  
• Perry-John Parker (Lock)
  
• Dimitri Basilaia (No 8)
  
• Greig Tonks (Full back)
  
• Ben Atiga (centre)
  
• Mike Penn (Winger)
  
• Neil Back (Defense coach)

Looking forward to seeing Nel, Rees and Atiga.

Players/Staff Out:

• Kyle Traynor (prop)
  
• Andrew Kelly (Hooker)
  
• Jack Gilding (prop)
  
• Esteban Lozada (Lock)
  
• Alan MacDonald (Openside)
  
• Mike Blair (scrumhalf)
  
• Phil Godman (flyhalf)
  
• Jim Thompson (Full back)
  
• Chris Paterson (Full back)

Blair is the only loss, others weren't up to standard or really haven't progressed.

Injuries:

• Ben Cairns - Oct
  
• Steve Lawrie - Oct

Big investment in the squad with an increase in budget from £3.5m to £4.2m so the expectation is high:

• Minimum Semi Finals in RaboDirect Pro 12
  
• Minimum Quarter Finals in Heineken Cup

Edinburgh Squad 2012/13

Props: G Cross, A Jacobsen, L Niven, J Yapp, WP Nel, R Hislop

Hookers: R Ford, S Lawrie, A Walker

Locks: S Cox, PJ Parker, S Turnbull, G Gilchrist, I van der Westhuizen

Back row: D Basilaia, D Denton, R Grant, S McInally, R Rennie, N Talei

Half Backs: A Black, C Leck, R Rees, G Laidlaw, H Leonard

Centres: B Atiga, B Cairns, N De Luca, J Houston, J King, M Scott

Wing: L Jones, M Penn, S Visser, T Visser, J Farndale

Full-backs: G Tonks, T Brown

What do you expect the starting XV to be?

Brednan I think the article is going to be too long if you try to put them all in.

Ospreys

Players out 2012–2013
Huw Bennett to Lyon
Tommy Bowe to Ulster
Barry Davies to London Welsh
Ken Dowding to Bridgend
Dai Flanagan to Pontypridd
Cai Griffiths to London Irish
Paul James to Bath
Chauncey O'Toole to The Rock (Canada)
Gareth Owen to Scarlets
Sonny Parker to London Welsh
Kristian Phillips to Scarlets
Rory Pitman to Rotherham (finished last season on loan to the South Wales Scorpions)
Tom Prydie to Newport Gwent Dragons (finished last season on loan to Wasps)
Nikki Walker to Worcester
Shane Williams to Mitsubishi Dynaboars
Craig Cross Released
Ben Thomas Released
Matt Torrance Released
Stefan Watermeyer Released
Mefin Davies Retired / Coach of Swansea RFC


Remaining Squad

Ryan Bevington (L.Prop)
Duncan Jones (L.Prop)
Dan Suter (L.Prop)

Scott Baldwin (Hooker)
Richard Hibbard (Hooker)

Aaron Jarvis (T.Prop)
Adam Jones (T.Prop)
Joe Rees (T.Prop)
Will Taylor (T.Prop)

Ian Evans (Lock)
Ian Gough (Lock)
Alun Wyn Jones (Lock)
James Goode (Lock)
Rhodri Hughes (Lock)
Jack Jones (Lock)
Lloyd Pears (Lock)

Jonathan Thomas (B.Flanker)
James King (B.Flanker)
Tom Smith (B.Flanker)

Sam Lewis (O.Flanker)
Justin Tipuric (O.Flanker)

Morgan Allen (Number 8)
Joe Bearman (Number 8)
George Stowers (Number 8)
Ryan Jones (Number 8)
Dan Baker (Number 8)

Tom Habberfield (Scrum-half)
Kahn Fotuali'i (Scrum-half)
Rhys Webb (Scrum-half)
Tom Grabham (Scrum Half)

Dan Biggar (Fly-half)
Sam Davies (Fly-half )
Matthew Morgan (Fly-half)

Ashley Beck (Centre)
Andrew Bishop (Centre)
Tom Isaacs (Centre)
Ben John (Centre)

Hanno Dirksen (Wing)
Eli Walker (Wing)
Luke Morgan (Wing)

Richard Fussell (Fullback)
Ross Jones (Fullback)

Injuries:
Eli Walker / End of October / Shoulder Injury

General opinion:
A lot of players may of left but truth be told many of them such as Shane Williams and Tommy Bowe we barely saw last season due to injury and World Cups etc. Looking at that list you'd have to say that most of them were either dead wood, or were players that needed to leave to play first team rugby.

I guess the only real loss was Gareth Owen but he has been badly injured for so long you'd have to think there is a reason why the Ospreys chose not to continue his rehabilitation.

I still think the Ospreys have a lot of good depth, though should sign another winger at least, maybe Lee Rees from Llandovery seeing as the Scarlets have no interest in him.

League expectation:
Bearing in mind the Dragons have been stripped of all but 2 of their decent players. the Scarlets basically don't have a front 5, and the Blues look in a mess, I'd expect the Ospreys to be the best placed Welsh club and expect them to finish in the top 4 in the league.

Europe expectation:
Were in a pool with Leicester and Toulouse, personally I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility to qualify, but I don't think we will win the pool and you'd have to say finishing as one of the best 2 runners ups looks a tough task especially as if we do beat Toulouse and / or Leicester you won't expect it to be by a lot of points.

Staggy I think I'm going to have to trim them down.

Will probably copme back and trim what I have

Hifty - I thought James Goode went to Falcons or something.

Shifty, I think you are giving the Ospreys a major disservice with your expectations, afterall this is the side that finished last season very strong, the only players of note they will be missing next season are Paul James, Shane Williams and Tommy Bowe, for Paul James there is Bevington who is more than an able deputy and Tommy Bowe hardley played last season and Shane Williams did not have his best season. I think that with the forwards the Ospreys have at their disposal they can compete and beat any side in Europe, and now the young backs are one season more mature than last season and will know what to expect. The one person who I would be more worried if he went or got injured, I know I am going to raise eyebrows with this, is Dan Biggar, for me he has matured a lot and was the real steady eddie of the side, slotting kicks over under pressure and his kicking out of hand has improved ten fold. The Ospreys still have the nucleas of the side they had last year and they seem to be sprinkling a lot more young tallent in as well, so I would not be surprised if they defended their league title and at least got to the quarter finals of Europe.

I agree with you Dowlais.

I think after years of "underachieving" that ironically they could have a very good year having trimmed away so many of those "Galacticos".

red_stag wrote:I agree with you Dowlais.

I think after years of "underachieving" that ironically they could have a very good year having trimmed away so many of those "Galacticos".

Stag, I am quite aware of the astute signings Munster have made as well, they have identified problem area's and have moved to resolve them, I expect Munster to be "much" better than they were last season and would not mind putting a sneaky fiver on them winning the HC although to do so they would have to sacrifice the Rabbo as I still do not quite think they have a strong enough squad for both, they have enough players but not enough quality, unlike Leinster of course who have so much quality they just steamroller everything in their sight.

Dowlais,

I don't follow. I'm not talking about Munster. I agree with your post regarding the Ospreys.

The reason I have put "inverted commas" around underachieving is that I dont think that they have done as badly as some make out in recent years.

I am just saying that I think your team "Munster" have done awfully well during the off season with regards to their astute signings and that I expect them, along with the Ospreys, to be a very much improved side next season.

Oh right cheers. I think so too.

In 2011 I could really see precious little light at the end of the tunnel.

Our starting team had Horan, Flannery, Hayes, O'Callaghan, Leamy, Wallace, Quinlan, O'Leary and we had that fat lump Tuitupou in the centre. We have undergone a simply massive change over the last 18 months and brought in some young Irish local guys who have pride in the shirt.