Aviva Premiership Round One Discussion Thread

[Ozzy3213]

First topic message reminder :

It's here folks, the Aviva Premiership season starts on Saturday. Rivalries will be renewed, and everyone will have an opinion on everything. Here is a discussion thread for Round One, with the fixtures listed. As teams are announced I will add them to the thread. I shall save my predictions until I start seeing line ups, as at this stage of the season nobody has any form with which to base a guess on. best of luck to all, but most importantly...



COME ON YOU IRISH

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London Wasps vs. Harlequins
Preview

London Wasps
1 Tim Payne 2 Tom Lindsay 3 Fabio Staibano 4 Joe Launchbury 5 Marco Wentzel 6 James Haskell 7 Jonathan Poff 8 Billy Vunipola; 9 Joe Simpson 10 Nick Robinson 11 Tom Varndell 12 Andrea Masi 13 Elliot Daly 14 Christian Wade 15 Hugo Southwell

Replacements: 16 T Rhys Thomas 17 Simon McIntyre 18 Zak Taulafo 19 Tom Palmer 20 Ashley Johnson 21 Nic Berry 22 Tommy Bell 23 Chris Mayor

Harlequins
15. Mike Brown 14. Tom Williams 13. Matt Hopper 12. Jordan Turner-Hall 11. George Lowe 10. Nick Evans 9. Danny Care; 1. Joe Marler 2. Joe Gray 3. James Johnston 4. Olly Kohn 5. George Robson 6. Maurie Fa'asavalu 7. Chris Robshaw 8. Nick Easter

Replacements: 16. Rob Buchanan 17. Mark Lambert 18. Will Collier 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Tom Guest 21. Karl Dickson 22. Ben Botica 23. Ross Chisholm

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Exeter Chiefs vs. Sale Sharks
Preview

Exeter Chiefs
15 Phil Dollman 14 Josh Tatupu 13 Ian Whitten 12 Jason Shoemark 11 Matt Jess 10 Ignacio Mieres 9 Will Chudley; 1 Brett Sturgess 2 Chris Whitehead 3 Craig Mitchell 4 Tom Hayes 5 Aly Muldowney 6 Tom Johnson 7 James Scaysbrook 8 Richard Baxter

Replacements: 16 Simon Alcott 17 Ben Moon 18 Chris Budgen 19 James Hanks 20 James Phillips 21 Kevin Barrett 22 Gareth Steenson 23 Luke Arscott

Sale Sharks
15. Rob Miller 14. Will Addison 13. Johnny Leota 12. Sam Tuitupou 11. Corne Uys 10. Nick Macleod 9. Dwayne Peel; 1. Eifion Lewis-Roberts 2. Joe Ward 3. Vadim Cobilas 4. Richie Gray 5. Fraser McKenzie 6. James Gaskell 7. David Seymour (c.) 8.Andy Powell

Replacements: 16. Marc Jones 17. Ross Harrison 18. Tony Buckley 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Richie Vernon 21. Cillian Willis 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Jordan Davies.

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Gloucester vs. Northampton Saints
Preview

Gloucester
15. Jonny May 14. Charlie Sharples 13. Mike Tindall 12. Billy Twelvetrees 11. James Simpson-Daniel 10. Freddie Burns 9. Dan Robson; 1. Nick Wood 2. Darren Dawidiuk 3. Rupert Harden 4. Tom Savage 5. Alex Brown (capt) 6. Matt Cox 7. Akapusi Qera 8 Ben Morgan

Replacements: 16. Dan Murphy 17. Huia Edmonds 18. Shaun Knight 19. Will James 20. Sione Kalamafoni 21. Dave Lewis 22. Henry Trinder 23. Martyn Thomas

Northampton Saints
15. Ben Foden 14. Ken Pisi 13. George Pisi 12. Dominic Waldouck 11. Vasily Artemyev 10. Ryan Lamb 9. Lee Dickson; 1. Soane Tonga'uiha 2. Dylan Hartley 3. Brian Mujati 4. Samu Manoa 5. Christian Day 6. Phil Dowson 7. Tom Wood 8. GJ Van Velze

Replacements: 16. Mike Haywood 17. Alex Waller 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Mark Sorenson 20. Rhys Oakley 21. Martin Roberts 22. Stephen Myler 23. Luther Burrell

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Worcester Warriors vs. Bath Rugby
Preview

Worcester Warriors
15 Chris Pennell 14 Josh Drauniniu 13 Alex Grove 12 Josh Matavesi 11 David Lemi 10 Andy Goode 9 Shaun Perry; 1 Matt Mullan 2 Aleki Lutui 3 John Andress 4 James Percival 5 Dean Schofield 6 Chris Jones 7 Sam Betty 8 Semisi Taulava

Replacements: 16 Ollie Hayes 17 Ceri Jones 18 James Currie 19 Craig Gillies 20 Matt Kvesic 21 Jonny Arr 22 Joe Carlisle 23 Ben Howard

Bath Rugby
15. Nick Abendanon 14. Tom Biggs 13. Dan Hipkiss 12. Matt Banahan 11. Kyle Eastmond 10. Olly Barkley 9. Michael Claassens; 1. Paul James 2. Lee Mears 3. David Wilson 4. Stuart Hooper (c) 5. Dominic Day 6. Carl Fearns 7. Francois Louw 8. Ben Skirving

Replacements: 16. Ross Batty 17. Nathan Catt 18. Kane Palma-Newport 19. Dave Attwood 20. Will Skuse 21. Mark McMillan 22. Ollie Devoto 23. Jack Cuthbert

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Saracens vs. London Irish
Preview

Saracens
15 Alex Goode 14 Chris Ashton 13 Joel Tomkins 12 Brad Barritt 11 Chris Wyles 10 Charlie Hodgson 9 Richard Wigglesworth; 1 Mako Vunipola 2 Schalk Brits 3 Petrus du Plessis 4 Steve Borthwick 5 Mouritz Botha 6 Kelly Brown 7 Will Fraser 8 Ernst Joubert

Replacements: 16 Jamie George 17 Rhys Gill 18 Carlos Nieto 19 Eoin Sheriff 20 Jackson Wray 21 Neil de Kock 22 Nils Mordt 23 James Short

London Irish
15. Tom Homer 14. Topsy Ojo 13. Jonathan Joseph 12. Sailosi Tagicakibau 11. Marland Yarde 10. Steve Shingler 9. Tomás O’Leary; 1. Max Lahiff 2. Scott Lawson 3. Leo Halavatau 4. George Skivington 5. Bryn Evans (Captain) 6. Jamie Gibson 7. Ofisa Treviranus 8. Jon Fisher

Replacements: 16. Brian Blaney 17. Halani Aulika 18. Cai Griffiths 19. Kieran Low 20. Declan Danaher 21. Alex Gray 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Jack Moates

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London Welsh vs. Leicester Tigers
Preview

London Welsh
15 Tom Arscott 14 Phil MacKenzie 13 Sonny Parker 12 Hudson Tonga'uiha 11 Joe Ajuwa 10 Gordon Ross 9 Jonah Holmes; 1 Franck Montanella 2 Neil Briggs 3 Paulica Ion 4 Jonathan Mills 5. Kirill Kulemin 6 Ed Williamson 7 Lee Beach 8 Daniel Browne.

Replacements: 16 Greg Bateman 17 Tom Bristow 18 Arthur Joly 19 Martin Purdy 20 Alfie To'oala 21 Nick Runciman 22 Seb Jewell 23 Nick Scott

Leicester Tigers
15. Geordan Murphy 14. Scott Hamilton 13. Manu Tuilagi 12. Anthony Allen 11. Vereniki Goneva 10. Toby Flood 9. Micky Young; 1. Lugovi'i Mulipola 2. Tom Youngs 3. Dan Cole 4. Rob Andrew 5. Geoff Parling 6. Steve Mafi 7. Julian Salvi 8. Thomas Waldrom

Replacements: 16. George Chuter 17. Boris Stankovich 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Brett Deacon 20. Jordan Crane 21. Sam Harrison 22. George Ford 23. Matt Smith

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[Cumbrian]

Northampton:


15 Ben FODEN
14 Ken PISI
13 George PISI
12 Dom WALDOUCK
11 Vasily ARTEMYEV

10 Ryan LAMB
9 Lee DICKSON

1 Soane TONGA'UIHA
2 Dylan HARTLEY (capt)
3 Brian MUJATI
4 Samu MANOA
5 Christian DAY
6 Phil DOWSON
7 Tom WOOD
8 GJ VAN VELZE

Replacements
16 Mike HAYWOOD
17 Alex WALLER
18 Paul DORAN JONES
19 Mark SORENSON
20 Rhys OAKLEY
21 Martin ROBERTS
22 Stephen MYLER
23 Luther BURRELL

[Cumbrian]

Sale Sharks:

15.Rob Miller, 14.Will Addison,13.Johnny Leota, 12.Sam Tuitupou,11.Corne Uys, 10.Nick Macleod,9. Dwayne Peel,

1.Eifion Lewis-Roberts,2.Joe Ward, 3.Vadim Cobilas ,4.Richie Gray, 5.Fraser McKenzie , 6.James Gaskell ,7.David Seymour (capt.), 8.Andy Powell.

Replacements 16.Marc Jones, 17.Ross Harrison, 18.Tony Buckley, 19.Kearnan Myall, 20.Richie Vernon, 21.Cillian Willis,22.Danny Cipriani ,23.Jordan Davies.

Poor effort on EQP front.

[yappysnap]

Couple of interesting points in that Quins team. Lowe on the wing and Hopper at 13 could be a master stroke, they were two of our best players last season and Lowe showed before his injury on the summer tour that he can be a threat from the wing, Hopper adds a very different spark to the centres which will keep the opposition guessing.

Clegg not even in the 23, does this mean they trust Botica more? Or they just want to give him a taste straight away and see how he goes? Maybe Clegg will be starting soon instead of benching.

Looking at that team I am psyched for tomorrow!!

[Ozzy3213]

Jayzus I am excited now.

I wanted Losi at 12, I said it in the week on here and on The Craic and BS has only gone and done it.

I think it is a statement about how we want to play this year. Sa has been signed to play there, and Ansbro was used there in pre season. Brian clearly wants a 12 who can attack the gainline and draw defenders before getting tha ball away in the offload. He is not setting us up to play a kicking game and give the ball to the opposition loads, and all I can say is "Amen to that"!!!

I cannot wait for tomorrow now. I am super excited by our backline. If our pack can get us any sort of decent ball we have the players from 9-15 to really cause Saracens some problems.

[yappysnap]

I hope that plan works for your boys Ozzy! Could well be the perfect way to beat Saracens unless they've actually practiced some attacking moves themselves...

Does Losi have any distribution skills? Or will it just be the 10 missing him out on wider attacks?

[Cumbrian]

Wasps team:

1 Tim Payne
2 Tom Lindsay
3 Fabio Staibano
4 Joe Launchbury
5 Marco Wentzel
6 James Haskell
7 Jonathan Poff
8 Billy Vunipola
9 Joe Simpson
10 Nick Robinson
11 Tom Varndell
12 Andrea Masi
13 Elliot Daly
14 Christian Wade
15 Hugo Southwell (c)
Replacements
16 T Rhys Thomas
17 Simon McIntyre
18 Zak Taulafo
19 Tom Palmer
20 Ashley Johnson
21 Nic Berry
22 Tommy Bell
23 Chris Mayor

[Ozzy3213]

yappy, his passing is ok, but he's not really known for his distribution skills. I would suggest he will be used in a SBW role taking the ball off the 9/10's shoulder and hitting the gainline attempting to offload.

He generally carries with one hand and has an amzing fend off which if he can use in the midfield areas and draw the outside defender in to cover, he could create some real space for JJ and the rest outside him to exploit.

When I suggested it as a possibility in the week, my thinking was what would Sarries be more worried about at 12, what I have described above, or Geraghty as a second playmaker.

[Bathite]

BATH TEAM

A couple of interesting points

Eastmond gets his first start on the wing, Banahan at 12 again, Hipkiss fit, Donald and Heathcote out, so Barkley at 10 and young Devoto on the bench.

Day starts ahead of Attwood, Caldwell misses out completely. Devoto, Skuse, KPN and Catt on the bench represent some great young talent

15. Nick Abendanon
14. Tom Biggs
13. Dan Hipkiss
12. Matt Banahan
11. Kyle Eastmond
10. Olly Barkley
9. Michael Claassens

1. Paul James
2. Lee Mears
3. David Wilson
4. Stuart Hooper ( c )
5. Dominic Day
6. Carl Fearns
7. Francois Louw
8. Ben Skirving

Replacements
16. Ross Batty
17. Nathan Catt
18. Kane Palma-Newport
19. Dave Attwood
20. Will Skuse
21. Mark McMillan
22. Ollie Devoto
23. Jack Cuthbert

[Bathite]

Playing against Worcs:

Perry and Goode must be the oldest 9/10 in the league! Worcs backline looks so much blunter without the Williams sisters

15 Chris Pennell
14 Josh Drauniniu
13 Alex Grove
12 Josh Matavesi
11 David Lemi
10 Andy Goode
9 Shaun Perry

1 Matt Mullan
2 Aleki Lutui
3 John Andress
4 James Percival
5 Dean Schofield (c)
6 Chris Jones
7 Sam Betty
8 Semisi Taulava

Replacements
16 Ollie Hayes
17 Ceri Jones
18 James Currie
19 Craig Gillies
20 Matt Kvesic
21 Jonny Arr
22 Joe Carlisle
23 Ben Howard

[bluestonevedder]

Any news on how long Lowe will be out for?

[LondonTiger]

Any news on how long Lowe will be out for?

George Lowe? He is on the wing tomorrow.

[yappysnap]

yappy, his passing is ok, but he's not really known for his distribution skills. I would suggest he will be used in a SBW role taking the ball off the 9/10's shoulder and hitting the gainline attempting to offload.

He generally carries with one hand and has an amzing fend off which if he can use in the midfield areas and draw the outside defender in to cover, he could create some real space for JJ and the rest outside him to exploit.

When I suggested it as a possibility in the week, my thinking was what would Sarries be more worried about at 12, what I have described above, or Geraghty as a second playmaker.

He was a flanker wasn't he? So he should be quite good at that role. If your 10 can bring him in to the game well and he has the timing then that could work very well.

And yep that'd be better than Geraghty! Don't see him as a 12 he's a 10 or nothing.

[yappysnap]

Any news on how long Lowe will be out for?

George Lowe? He is on the wing tomorrow.

I think he meant the flanker

[bluestonevedder]

Any news on how long Lowe will be out for?

George Lowe? He is on the wing tomorrow.

Blimey, thanks LT. Heck of a lunch, and now I'm lacking big time.

[Ozzy3213]

That's all the teams named then folks, any predictions?

I am going with…

Quins to beat Wasps by less than 7 in a high scoring affair.
Sharks to beat the Chiefs by less than 7 in a tight affair at Sandy Park.
Gloucesters backline to sparkle and beat the Saints by less than 7.
Bath to have too much for Worcester and win by more than 7.
Tigers to run riot against Welsh and win by very much more than 7 and with a TBP.

[LondonTiger]

I will stick with the predictions i made on the SB competition:

Quins by 9
Chiefs by 6
Saints by 9
Warrior by 6
Sarries by 13

[Ozzy3213]

Not predicting on the Tiggers LT?

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

I will stick with the predictions i made on the SB competition:

Quins by 9
Chiefs by 6
Saints by 9
Warrior by 6
Sarries by 13

+1

And Tigers by 21

[ChequeredJersey]

Never predo on your own team- dangerous!

[yappysnap]

I will stick with the predictions i made on the SB competition:

Quins by 9
Chiefs by 6
Saints by 9
Warrior by 6
Sarries by 13

+1

And Tigers by 21

+1

[Ozzy3213]

I haven't on here CJ, but I have done on SuperBru.

Gone with a heart prediction on there.

[BigTrevsbigmac]

Wasps team:

1 Tim Payne
2 Tom Lindsay
3 Fabio Staibano
4 Joe Launchbury
5 Marco Wentzel
6 James Haskell
7 Jonathan Poff
8 Billy Vunipola
9 Joe Simpson
10 Nick Robinson
11 Tom Varndell
12 Andrea Masi
13 Elliot Daly
14 Christian Wade
15 Hugo Southwell (c)
Replacements
16 T Rhys Thomas
17 Simon McIntyre
18 Zak Taulafo
19 Tom Palmer
20 Ashley Johnson
21 Nic Berry
22 Tommy Bell
23 Chris Mayor

Strong looking bench & I'm glad Dai has kept faith with a few of the young lads Billy V, Daly & Launchbury who did Wasps proud last year.
Launchbury could well figure in the 6Ns at lock. Great to have strength in depth at last! Looks like we have 4 lads still coming back from injury but should be back for selection next week ( Bell,Jones,Thomas & Bailey)

[ChequeredJersey]

I really like the look of that Wasps team. Should be a good match

[bluestonevedder]

Wasps team:

1 Tim Payne
2 Tom Lindsay
3 Fabio Staibano
4 Joe Launchbury
5 Marco Wentzel
6 James Haskell
7 Jonathan Poff
8 Billy Vunipola
9 Joe Simpson
10 Nick Robinson
11 Tom Varndell
12 Andrea Masi
13 Elliot Daly
14 Christian Wade
15 Hugo Southwell (c)
Replacements
16 T Rhys Thomas
17 Simon McIntyre
18 Zak Taulafo
19 Tom Palmer
20 Ashley Johnson
21 Nic Berry
22 Tommy Bell
23 Chris Mayor

Strong looking bench & I'm glad Dai has kept faith with a few of the young lads Billy V, Daly & Launchbury who did Wasps proud last year.
Launchbury could well figure in the 6Ns at lock. Great to have strength in depth at last! Looks like we have 4 lads still coming back from injury but should be back for selection next week ( Bell,Jones,Thomas & Bailey)

Cracking looking Wasps team that. Some serious carrying capacity in the backrow with Haskell and Vunipola- Poff for the groundwork. Glad to see Launchberry in the second row again- I think that's where his future lies, and England have got so many backrow options aty the moment. THe fact he's keeping Palmer on the bench is a real statement.

Exciting looking backline too, and eagerly wait to see Simpson's form. Masi at centre should be interesting too.

CANNOT WAIT for this weekend's rugby to start!!

[gowales]

Show's what a fully fit squad can do!

[HongKongCherry]

I'm very pleased to see 14 of the starting 15 for Glaws being English. It's going to be a very tough start against Saints. At this stage yo can't go on form, so purely on a biased view Glaws will win by 6.

Chiefs will beat Sale by less than 7.
Quins will beat Wasps by 11.
will beat Wuss by 5.
Tigers will beat Oxford by 19.
And the shock of the round will be Irish beating Sarries by 2.

[HammerofThunor]

Really happy to see that Wasps side. I was critical of the foreign players Young brought in and I'm perfectly happy to say I was wrong (so far). Hopefully they can have a good season injury-wise to show what they're really capable of.

Can't wait

[Driver]

Newcastle: 15 Luke Fielden, 14 Andrew Higgins, 13 Alex Crockett, 12 Tane Tu’ipulotu, 11 Ryan Shortland, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Chris Pilgrim, 1 Jonny Golding, 2 Rob Vickers, 3 Oliver Tomaszczyk, 4 Sean Tomes, 5 James Hudson, 6 Ally Hogg, 7 Will Welch (c), 8 Taiasina Tu’ifua

Reps: 16 Matt Thompson, 17 James Hall, 18 Scott MacLeod, 19 Richard Mayhew, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 James Fitzpatrick, 22 Waisea Luveniyali

Not too bad for a championship side.....

[HammerofThunor]

Certainly not shabby but technically off topic

[nathan]

not looking good for quins at the minute or Wasps are looking pretty good.

[Cumbrian]

Quins look like they are still on the coach! They've literally had no ball!

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

Noty sure whats worse...Quins performance so far or Danny Cares new haircut

[ChequeredJersey]

Holy ****!

[Cumbrian]

Wade and Varndell are (being made to) look deadly.

[LondonTiger]

Care's hair is bad, but Lowe's defence worse.

I wonder whether Wasps were paid yseterday. If not that would explain why Wade passed that ball back to Varndell. Unable to buy the drinks for a hat trick - and they way Wasps are passing there will be more chances.

[nathan]

thats more like the offloading game we saw last year.

[Cumbrian]

Great hands and great try by Quins, they needed that!

[nathan]

has one for fans stole the mic? :p

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

Worse than both is the silly billy on the PA

[LondonTiger]

I wish I could get over my intense dislike of tom williams, as that was good support play.

[ChequeredJersey]

So... Not going to be a low scoring match then!

[Cumbrian]

30 points scored in the first 20 minutes, the AP is back with a bang.

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

Quins are lucky they havent been warned/carded for repeated infringement

[nathan]

brilliant try by Wade there. I agree with the commentators in that Wade could be a top class wing.

[Cumbrian]

Wade looks like he could score a hat-full here.

[nathan]

Am i watching a game of 7s?

[ChequeredJersey]

Defence bleeding tries. Hopper 13 and Lowe wing experiment not going that well

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

Ity should be noted with Wade though that this is ideal conditions for him, a wide pitch, and Wasps game plan is all about him and varndell getting the ball....englands gameplan is about ensuring noone outside Tuilagi gets a touch

[nathan]

Care losing it again. Ref needs a word with him to calm him down.

[nathan]

i don't think that TMO knew he was going to be on TV! lol

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