Season 6 Homepage II

by SirJohnnyEnglish Mon 18 Nov 2013, 4:31 pm

First topic message reminder :

Breaking News: Falcons get back amongst the playoff contenders with a win over rivals Sale while the top two begin to draw away from the rest of the pack.

Season 6 Homepage II - Page 16 Aviva-Premiership-Trophy-e1306508139154

2012/2013 – Leicester Tigers
2011/2012 – Newcastle Falcons
2010/2011 - Newcastle Falcons
2009/2010 – Saracens
2008/2009 - London Irish

POS	Aviva Premiership	PLAYED	WON	DREW	LOST	P F	P A	P D	T F	T A	TBP	LBP	POINTS
1	Leicester Tigers	12	10	0	2	305	268	37	34	23	1	2	43
2	London Wasps #	12	10	0	2	300	266	34	30	23	1	2	42
3	Northampton Saints #	12	7	1	4	300	293	7	29	28	1	4	34
4	Sale Sharks #	12	6	3	3	307	294	13	31	26	1	3	32
5	Gloucester	12	6	1	5	294	279	15	28	25	1	5	31
6	Newcastle Falcons	12	5	3	4	290	293	-3	25	27	0	4	30
7	Harlequins #	12	5	2	5	304	297	7	31	27	2	5	29
8	London Irish #	12	5	1	6	301	280	21	32	26	1	6	27
9	Worcester Warriors #	12	3	3	6	274	297	-23	24	28	0	5	22
10	Saracens	12	3	1	8	247	273	-26	21	25	1	7	22
11	Exeter Chiefs	12	1	2	9	267	288	-21	21	28	0	9	17
12	Bath Rugby #	12	2	1	9	253	312	-59	23	35	0	7	13

Links

Fixture List
Released/Championship/National League/Academy Bidding
Foreign Transfers
Budgets
European Homepage
Anglo Welsh Homepage

Welcome to Season 6 of the Aviva Premiership fantasy rugby game. Below are the rules of the game which must be adhered to. If there are any situations that arise in the course of the game which are not covered by the rules, a final decision will be made by the RFU (SJE) as to how the situation will be resolved.

Senior Squads wrote:
The maximum squad size is 40 senior players. If a team has more than 40 players in their squad then they will be fined £1 million per player over the permitted amounts per day for the first seven days. If after 7 consecutive days a team still has more than the permitted number of players then the team will be fined £2 million per player per day, and fined 1 league point per player per day for the next seven days. If after this time a team still has more than the permitted number of players in their squad, the RFU (me) will remove players at its discretion to bring them back under the permitted numbers. There will be no right of appeal to players being removed.

Be aware that all tier one international matches which are played during the season will count in the game, and players selected in the match day 23's for those matches will not be eligible to play for their clubs on that weekend, therefore you must give due consideration to the make-up of your squad.

Academy Rules wrote:
Each team will be allowed to have an academy squad of 20 players. Players who are in the academy must be born on or after 1st September 1991.

Any player, who is at any Premiership club in real life, either in their senior, academy or AASE squads, can be bid for on the domestic bidding page. Players who are at your own club in real life and are coming through the academy system must be bid for if you want them in your own academy.

Transfers wrote:

Domestic (other AP Teams)
Each team has a budget to use in the purchase of players. Domestic transfers between AP clubs, regardless of nationality of player, should be negotiated between the respective managers, and then confirmed on the Domestic Transfer Confirmation Page.
Domestic (Championship and below)
Each team may during the season purchase no more than 5 players from the Championship or the National Leagues. These players must be bid for on the Domestic Transfer Bidding page, and each bid will be considered by me on its own merits before being accepted or rejected. No bid will be accepted until a minimum of 24 hours has elapsed from the time the bid was made, in order to afford other managers the opportunity to make a counter bid.
Foreign
To make a foreign transfer (i.e. from any club outside of the AP, regardless of whether the player is English) a bid should be made on the Foreign Transfers Page, which will be considered by me against the posted guidelines for purchase prices before being accepted or rejected. No bid will be accepted until a minimum of 24 hours has elapsed from the time the bid was made, in order to afford other managers the opportunity to make a counter bid.

There will be a summer foreign transfer window, which will run as follows.

Structured Window

No cash will be used and each team will get effectively free transfers by way of a draft, which will run 12th, 11th, 10th …… 1st, 12th, 11th,10th… 1st place side. This will run from 10th June 2013 until all teams have had their two picks.

Open Window

Open transfer window, teams have unlimited bids provided they have the financial resources to cover them. Teams may only bid for one player at a time.

Player Releases wrote:
Managers may choose to release players from their clubs, for which they will be offered compensation

Compensation will be paid as follows

£2 million – current international (must have played international rugby in the previous 12 months)
£1.5 million – former international
£1m – top flight experience
£0.5m – other

All released players will be deemed to have joined a Championship side and can be bid for on the Domestic Transfer Bidding page.

Retirements wrote:
There will be no compensation for retiring players. Should a player who retires decide to come out of retirement and play again, then he will automatically go back to the club who he was playing for in the game when he retired.

Fixtures wrote:
There will be 22 Aviva Premiership games per season, plus the play offs. There will also be Heineken Cup, Amlin Challenge Cup and Anglo Welsh Cup matches. These games will take place once a week. A match thread will be put up every Monday. Home teams must be named by midnight on Tuesday. Away teams must be named by midnight on Wednesday. Both teams must provide tactics by midnight on Thursday. Predictions will be open from 00:01 hours on Friday and remain open until 20:00 hours on Saturday. Managers will post the scores that they think will happen from these games (apart from games in which they are involved). An average of all predictions will be taken, and then 0.5 points added to each teams score for each prediction that had them as the winner, and that will then be the final score.

Managers are asked to provide detail as to why they have predicted a result. To be considered a descriptive prediction this must be a full 3 lines long when entered into the text box. If you are not providing a descriptive prediction you will be restricted to predicting a 1 point win either way.

Teams wrote:
When naming your team, not only should you put the starting XV and replacements, but also tactics that your team will employ. Results will be affected by the tactics described.

In addition, each team must have the following:-

At least 10 England qualified players in your match day 23, and at least 4 of those must be in your starting XV.

At least 2 props and 1 hooker on the bench.

All players must be eligible (not injured or banned).

Failure to comply with these rules will result in forfeiting the match and a 1 league point deduction.

If you fail to submit a team for a match, then the other team will be automatically awarded a 30-0 bonus point win. If both teams fail to submit a team, then it will be scored as a 0-0 draw.

Injuries and Suspensions wrote:
Injuries in this game do NOT reflect real life, they will be generated by me.

Players banned in real life will be ineligible for selection in this game for the duration of the ban.

Inclusion of injured/banned players will result in them being replaced by players on the bench, and the bench not having eight players, which may result in punishment if it concerns the front-row.

Punishment for fielding an ineligible player will be loss of one match point for a first offence, two for a second offence and so on.

Financial Rewards wrote:
There will be no rewards for the result of an individual match, instead the managers will receive cash for predicting.

£2m for descriptive predictions
£0.25m for scores on the doors predictions
If you fail to predict without first advising me that you are unable to do so that week, you will be fined £1m for a first offence, £2m for a second offence, £3m for a third offence etc.

AP finishing positions.

Champions: 8m
Runners Up: 6m
Playoff Semi Finalist Losers: 5m
5th: 4m
6th: 3.5m
7th: 3m
8th: 2.5m
9th: 2m
10th: 1.5m
11th: 1m
12th: 0.5m

Heineken Cup

Losing Quarter Finalists - £2 million each
Losing Semi Finalists - £3 million each
Runners Up - £4 million
Champions - £5 million

Amlin Challenge Cup

Losing Quarter Finalists - £1 million each
Losing Semi Finalists - £2 million each
Runners Up - £3 million
Champions - £4 million

Anglo-Welsh Cup

Losing Semi Finalist - £1 million each
Runners Up - £2 million
Champions - £3 million

If your budgets falls below minus £10 million for any reason, the administrators (ozzy3213) will step in and players from within your squad will be released for the relevant financial compensation in order to bring your budget back above minus £10 million.

by Sgt_Pooly Sun 19 Jan 2014, 2:08 pm

Can't see Dagg at 13.

I wouldn't play Youngs and Farrell together tbh, Youngs and Ford maybe.

by **Ozzy3213** Sun 19 Jan 2014, 2:18 pm

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Youngs kicking is streets ahead of Care & Dickson imo but he can have off days.

Bit tough to say he's reached his limit Pete, he's only 24. 36 is a year older and he improves all the time.

I know he is still young and there is time, but for me he has not moved on from where he was 18 months ago and nor has he shown signs of improving the weaker aspects of his game. His kicking has been appalling. Watching yesterdays game showed it in stark contrast to Pienaar. When Pienaar kicked, he got massive height and accurate distance, meaning that as the Tigers player caught the ball, he had 2-3 Ulstermen absolutely smashing him and giving themselves a chance to win turnover ball. When Youngs kicked, it was too long and not high enough and the Ulster player had an easy catch and space to run into as the chasers had no chance of getting close enough to him.

by Sgt_Pooly Sun 19 Jan 2014, 4:33 pm

Pienaar is probable the best in the world along with FDP though

by Guest Sun 19 Jan 2014, 5:26 pm

Interestingly most saffers hate pienaar and complain when he plays. They think he slows the game down to much and is not
Suited to SH rugby.

Parra often criticised for slowing the game too much also. With Parra I agree but on Pienaar I don't.

If you want to play a certain way pienaar is pure class

by Sgt_Pooly Sun 19 Jan 2014, 6:29 pm

I meant at box kicking.

I don't think Pienaar is one of best in world, he rarely produces on Int stage, he lacks pace to be top draw.

by SirJohnnyEnglish Sun 19 Jan 2014, 8:12 pm

HEINEKEN

1. Northampton
2. Sale Sharks
3. Leicester
4. Harlequins
5. Clermont
6. Leinster
7. London Wasps
8. Ulster

Saints v Ulster, Sale v Wasps, Leicester v Leinster, Harlequins v Clermont

AMLIN

1. Bath
2. Exeter
3. London Irish
4. Saracens
5. Gloucester
6. Newcastle
7. Toulon
8. Worcester

Bath v Worcester, Exeter v Toulon, London Irish v Newcastle & Saracens v Gloucester

by SirJohnnyEnglish Sun 19 Jan 2014, 8:28 pm

Budgets up to date

by Guest Mon 20 Jan 2014, 2:06 pm

Anyone watch the gloucester game yesterday ?

May was sensational at 13.
It's where he started and I am a big fan of him in that position. In every team of the week I have seen and was good there against Munster also.

Massively weak position for England is 13

by Driver Mon 20 Jan 2014, 2:11 pm

Jonny May is mintage where ever he plays.

I'd play him at 7 if it meant he was on the pitch.

by Driver Mon 20 Jan 2014, 4:03 pm

15. Alex Goode (Saracens)
A classy game from the fullback who gave us a lesson in counter-attacking. His footwork was superb and he carved the Connacht defence open a number of times. If he keeps playing like this then he could oust Mike Brown from his England shirt.
14. David Strettle (Saracens)
It’s quite hard to overlook a winger who scores a hat-trick in the Heineken Cup. Strettle did what every good winger should do and that’s support his players and take his chances when he gets the ball. Honourable mention to Ollie Lindsay-Hague.
13. Duncan Taylor (Saracens)
The Scottish centre was a bit of an unsung hero for Saracens during their demolition of Connacht. He attacked well, tackled hard and was involved in most of Sarries’ tries. Should be pushing for that Scotland 13 jersey. Mention to Jonny May who scored a beauty for Gloucester.
12. Wesley Fofana (Clermont Auvergne)
Clermont’s game against Racing wasn’t really one for the backs but Fofana looked electric every time he got the ball. The French international made eight carries for a total of 78 metres, including one superb counter-attack which nearly led to a try.
11. Simon Zebo (Munster)
Came off the bench early doors for the injured Keith Earls and looked sharp. He was always hungry for the ball, ran well and scored a try. Made 11 carries for 49 metres in 55 minutes.
10. Charlie Hodgson (Saracens)
This was the type of match that Hodgson thrives upon. His kicking off the tee was uncharacteristically poor but he attacked quickly, took the ball to the gain-line and he kept Connacht guessing all game.
9. Ruan Pienaar (Ulster)
The maestro was at it again on Saturday. Scored all of his side’s 22 points and his management of the game was superb as always. Has the South African been the player of the Heineken Cup so far?
1. Cian Healy (Leinster)
Comes back weeks early from his shoulder injury and helps Leinster dominate the Ospreys’ scrum. Healy looked like a man possessed, he carried hard and tackled hard for the 50 minutes that he was on the pitch. Honourable mention to Mako Vunipola.
2. Damien Varley (Munster)
The hooker’s throwing in was brilliant, only missing his target once during the match and his defensive work was excellent, especially the choke tackle. Honourable mention to Quins’ Dave Ward again.
3. Martin Moore (Leinster)
Alongside Healy and Sean Cronin, Moore helped to shatter the Ospreys’ front-row. He made a number of telling tackles in a performance that was mature beyond his years.
4. George Kruis (Saracens)
Kruis was in Connacht’s face all game and his efforts were quite rightly rewarded with a try. He came into the backline to act as a linkman and he stole ball in the lineout. A solid performance.
5. Leone Nakarawa (Glasgow Warriors)
He produced some typical Fijian offloading which probably wasn’t needed in the sodden conditions but his work in the loose was outstanding. He carried 14 times for 26 metres, beat eight defenders and made 10 tackles.
6. Gerhard Vosloo (Clermont Auvergne)
Two tries for the South African in the type of physical slug-fest that he absolutely loves. He looked like a stereotypical number six, making a nuisance of himself at the breakdown and tackling well. Honourable mention to Rhys Ruddock.
7. Chris Henry (Ulster)
Henry covered every blade of grass in a superb display that saw him make 20 tackles as well as carrying a number of times. Honourable mentions to Tom Wood and Chris Fusaro.
8. Steffon Armitage (Toulon)
This was a weekend for number 8s with Nick Williams brilliant against Leicester and Fritz Lee showing some wonderfully consistent form, but Armitage just takes it. He’s not a natural eight but you couldn’t tell as he carried 11 times for 30 metres, made 17 tackles and stole a huge amount of ball.

by Guest Mon 20 Jan 2014, 4:43 pm

Wow that's satires heavy. Very different from these http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_9125333,00.html
http://www.rugbyworld.com/news/blogs/heineken-cup-round-six-team-of-the-week/

by Guest Mon 20 Jan 2014, 4:44 pm

Sarries heavy sorry

by Guest Mon 20 Jan 2014, 5:44 pm

Stooke rewarded for his great form with a call up to Saxons.

Best forwards prospect we have had for many a day at glos. Been great against oconnel and some other serious operators

by **Ozzy3213** Mon 20 Jan 2014, 6:01 pm

Steffon getting the plaudits for his performance at 8 in a couple of those teams of the round. Wink

by Guest Mon 20 Jan 2014, 6:17 pm

He does well there when they play him
There Pete. I prefer a more traditional 8 but it works for them

by Guest Mon 20 Jan 2014, 6:18 pm

Sale sign hines who postpones retirement

by Sgt_Pooly Mon 20 Jan 2014, 6:22 pm

I'm not a big fan of Steffon at 8. He's a decent 7 though, I don't think he's Int class

by LukeLovesLuka Mon 20 Jan 2014, 6:22 pm

Hines a hell of a signing

by Sgt_Pooly Mon 20 Jan 2014, 6:23 pm

Some coup that, even at his age

by Guest Mon 20 Jan 2014, 6:27 pm

David lemi and luke narraway are negotiating terms with bristol. Lands down seriously backing the team.

Heard today that peel has signed to join even if bristol are not promoted

by Sgt_Pooly Mon 20 Jan 2014, 6:33 pm

Heard Lemi was signing.

I really hope they don't get promoted

by Guest Mon 20 Jan 2014, 6:43 pm

Bristol are one of the great clubs of England and a club with history.

For me the AP should always have Bristol in it. I know it's old fashioned but I have very little time for Worcester and falcons as they have been manufactured.

I have slightly more time for
Falcons than worcester as they did have some pedigree in the late 70s

by Sgt_Pooly Mon 20 Jan 2014, 6:45 pm

I just don't like what they're doing, have they signed any English players yet?

by stnick88 Mon 20 Jan 2014, 11:36 pm

Be hilarious if they didnt get promoted.

by Driver Mon 20 Jan 2014, 11:45 pm

anonmattyt wrote:Bristol are one of the great clubs of England and a club with history.

For me the AP should always have Bristol in it. I know it's old fashioned but I have very little time for Worcester and falcons as they have been manufactured.

I have slightly more time for
Falcons than worcester as they did have some pedigree in the late 70s

All we've done is change our name and strip?

Produced endless amounts of England players , Hot bed of rugby in north east. Think we're a bigger club in England than Bristol

by Fluxy Tue 21 Jan 2014, 4:22 pm

So clubs will have bigger salaries caps next season. Almost £5m now

by Driver Tue 21 Jan 2014, 4:48 pm

I have six players who arn't involved with the EPS or Saxons in my full team.

Crazy.

by Driver Tue 21 Jan 2014, 4:51 pm

How do people see Saxons lining up?

Waller , Ward , Collier , Kitchener , Kruis , Gibson , Clark , Ewers , Lewis , Burns , Benjiman , Hill , Daley , Rokodugoni , Tait

Me thinks Clark could captain them this weekend.

by Guest Tue 21 Jan 2014, 4:53 pm

Driver wrote:
anonmattyt wrote:Bristol are one of the great clubs of England and a club with history.

For me the AP should always have Bristol in it. I know it's old fashioned but I have very little time for Worcester and falcons as they have been manufactured.

I have slightly more time for
Falcons than worcester as they did have some pedigree in the late 70s

All we've done is change our name and strip?

Produced endless amounts of England players , Hot bed of rugby in north east. Think we're a bigger club in England than Bristol

Don't think you would find anyone who would say historically that Newcastle are a bigger club than BrIstol.

Manufactured = they were a struggling club and because of a desire for all newcastle pro sport teams to be owned by same people they were bought by someone with money. They won the first premiership purely due to cash.

Not saying whether it's right or wrong but Newcastle in the professional era are a manufactured side.

Personally I think it's good to have clubs in the North. Sale have a fantastic history and along with Newcastle have produced lots of great players for England and club rugby.

Would love to see another northern club in the prem also at Worcesters expense but not if it meant bristol not being in the league.

Strong northern teams = a better England team so I am for it.

by Guest Tue 21 Jan 2014, 4:54 pm

If Kitchener injured could well
See stooke start. Especially as it's at kings holm and will bring in the crowd

by Driver Tue 21 Jan 2014, 4:57 pm

I think we need a Yorkshire club in the premier league to be honest. Could do with adding Leeds and Rotherham to it and sealing relegation off.

by Guest Tue 21 Jan 2014, 5:11 pm

Would hate to see the end of relegation although I can see benefits.

Just think if you are bottom you should be relegated. Think it kills the other divisions if no promotion. Look at super league which is arguably poorer than it's ever been and that is saying something.

by Driver Tue 21 Jan 2014, 5:16 pm

Super League have bought relegation back as of 2015.

It has it's benifits , I think a play off between bottom of prem and top of champ would work better.

by Driver Tue 21 Jan 2014, 5:17 pm

European player of year shortlist

Steffon Armitage – Sheer power and dynamism. The Toulon back row, who has featured at No 8 this season, won 13 turnovers in the Heineken Cup pool stage – only Justin Tipuric of Ospreys with 15 has more.
Miles Benjamin – Back from injury, and making waves in Europe. The strong-running wing scored four tries in four games for Leicester Tigers in their push to the quarter-finals – only Chris Ashton (7) and Naipolioni Nalaga (5) have more – and made eight clean breaks.
Sean Cronin – Another dynamic contender with six clean breaks to his name for Leinster in the pool stage – no other Heineken Cup hooker has made more than three this season. His success rate for line-out throwing is 86%.
Jean-Marc Doussain – The multi-talented Toulouse playmaker has a total of 15 defenders beaten which is the best for an out-half. He has also landed 13 of his 14 shots at goal.
Matt Giteau – The gifted Australian made 53 tackles for Toulon in the pool matches – the best for a centre. Giteau also scored two tries for last season’s Heineken Cup champions and came up with three assists.
Alex Goode – The in-form Saracens full-back, who scored a brilliant individual try against Connacht in Round 6, is the third highest metre-maker in the Heineken Cup to date with 459 and also ranks third for defenders beaten with 21.
Cian Healy - Despite playing only 188 minutes in Europe this season, just five props have made more metres than the Leinster powerhouse who has carried for 77 metres. Healy has also beaten seven defenders, ranking him second among the Heineken Cup props.
Fritz Lee – With 53 carries, 36 out of 38 tackles made and two tries in his four matches for Clermont, the rugged, hard-running New Zealander has been the find of the European season at No 8.
George North – His 434 metres gained in the pool stage puts him in the Heineken Cup top-five metre makers. North’s irresistible combination of pace, balance and power will be a massive asset to Northampton Saints as they pursue more European silverware in the Amlin Challenge Cup.
Paul O’Connell – Quite simply Munster’s talisman during the two-time champions’ drive to yet another Heineken Cup quarter-final. Without the inspirational second row, the Irish province’s chances of winning a third European title are massively diminished.
Peter O’Mahony – If O’Connell is the brain, O’Mahony is the heart. A superb all-round back row, Munster’s abrasive captain has scored two tries and made 35 out of 39 tackles during the pool stage.
Louis Picamoles – The powerhouse Toulouse No 8 leads the Heineken Cup statistics in two categories this season with 84 carries and 27 defenders beaten. Picamoles’ total of 300 metres gained is also the best of any forward in the tournament.
Ruan Pienaar – A class act in Ulster’s 100% pool stage performance. The brilliant South African led the No 1 seeds to a Ravenhill quarter-final with a total of 54 points including two tries.
Sitiveni Sivivatu - With the highest total of clean breaks (14) and the second-best individual performance in metres gained (510), the outstanding former New Zealand wing has once again been one of the players of the tournament.
Jonny Wilkinson - The Heineken Cup’s top points-scorer with 73 going into the knockout stage. Only three out-halves have made more tackles (37) than the evergreen Toulon captain.

by Guest Tue 21 Jan 2014, 5:46 pm

Driver wrote:Super League have bought relegation back as of 2015.

It has it's benifits , I think a play off between bottom of prem and top of champ would work better.

Play off would be decent. Super league needed to bring it back as the standard has become so low. Super large almost unwatchable

by Guest Wed 22 Jan 2014, 7:46 am

Papers talking of Joe marler being converted to th

by SirJohnnyEnglish Wed 22 Jan 2014, 10:03 am

Driver wrote:European player of year shortlist

Louis Picamoles – The powerhouse Toulouse No 8 leads the Heineken Cup statistics in two categories this season with 84 carries and 27 defenders beaten. Picamoles’ total of 300 metres gained is also the best of any forward in the tournament.

And people have been telling me hes been out of form all season Wink

by Sgt_Pooly Wed 22 Jan 2014, 10:48 am

Marler has struggled at LH this season never mind converting to TH!

by Guest Wed 22 Jan 2014, 10:49 am

SirJohnnyEnglish wrote:
Driver wrote:European player of year shortlist

Louis Picamoles – The powerhouse Toulouse No 8 leads the Heineken Cup statistics in two categories this season with 84 carries and 27 defenders beaten. Picamoles’ total of 300 metres gained is also the best of any forward in the tournament.

And people have been telling me hes been out of form all season

Apart from Sarries the other teams in the group were dross Whistle

To be fair until recently he had been poor in top 14 but has been good of late.

He is such a big man that he can get out of shape quite easily if picking up knocks. Looks fully fit now. That short list from the group stages had Alex Goode on it also SJE!!!

by Sgt_Pooly Wed 22 Jan 2014, 10:51 am

Goode has been fantastic in the HC.

It's a purely HC based list I think, that's why Benjamin is in. 4 tries in 4 games yet he's not done a great deal in the AP.

by LukeLovesLuka Wed 22 Jan 2014, 12:22 pm

How did Benjamin beat Nalaga to the list?

by Sgt_Pooly Wed 22 Jan 2014, 2:06 pm

Yea Nalaga has been in great form this season

by Sgt_Pooly Wed 22 Jan 2014, 7:13 pm

Watson to play for Saxons on the wing.

http://www.rfu.com/news/2014/january/news-articles/220114_watson_saxons

by Sgt_Pooly Thu 23 Jan 2014, 9:21 am

Saxons:

15 Elliot Daly (London Wasps)
14 Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
13 Matt Hopper (Harlequins)
12 Sam Hill (Exeter Chiefs)
11 Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby)
10 Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby)
9 Joe Simpson (London Wasps)

1 Alex Waller (Northampton Saints)
2 Jamie George (Saracens)
3 Tom Mercey (Northampton Saints)
4 Charlie Matthews (Harlequins)
5 George Kruis (Saracens)
6 Calum Clark (Northampton Saints, captain)
7 Luke Wallace (Harlequins)
8 Dave Ewers (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements
16 Dave Ward (Harlequins)
17 Nathan Catt (Bath Rugby)
18 Scott Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)
19 Elliott Stooke (Gloucester Rugby)
20 Sam Dickinson (Northampton Saints)
21 Dave Lewis (Exeter Chiefs)
22 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
23 Rob Miller (Sale Sharks)

Thought Lewis would start over Simpson (Simpson has been dreadful this season) but overall a great young side.

by Guest Thu 23 Jan 2014, 1:33 pm

Good side and has made me purchase a ticket to go and watch. George has been great this year. Great basics and good in the loose. Wallace could really emerge

by Sgt_Pooly Thu 23 Jan 2014, 1:49 pm

Yea I really like the side.

George has a good all round game, him and Waller will really get at the Wolfhounds in the scrum. Not overly impressed with Mercy this season but we have little choice at TH.

I heard Brookes wasn't called up as a favour to Falcons. Wilson is only in so he doesn't get capped by the Jocks.

by Fluxy Thu 23 Jan 2014, 1:58 pm

Does Wilson have scottish ancestry? Was under the impression he was solely english.

Kind of disappointed that Collier wasn't involved as a view from my team on here. I have no EQ players involved in this saxons 23!

by Driver Thu 23 Jan 2014, 2:03 pm

Was born in Berwick Fluxy so could play for either.

I have 4 involved. Thought Lewis might have got the nod at 9. Simpson and Burns will either work or fall to bits.

The O2 wolfhounds

15. Felix Jones (Shannon/Munster)
14. Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
13. Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht)
12. Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
11. Craig Gilroy (Dungannon/Ulster)
10. Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
9. Isaac Boss (Terenure College/Leinster)
1. David Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster)
2. Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
3. Martin Moore (Lansdowne/Leinster)
4. Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
5. Dan Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster)
6. Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary's College/Leinster) (capt)
7. Tommy O'Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster)
8. Robin Copeland (Cardiff Blues)

Replacements:
16. Richardt Strauss (Old Wesley/Leinster)
17. Jack McGrath (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
18. Stephen Archer (Cork Constitution/Munster)
19. Robbie Diack (Malone/Ulster)
20. Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
21. Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht)
22. Ian Keatley (Young Munster/Munster)
23. Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)

by Fluxy Thu 23 Jan 2014, 2:06 pm

see that pack for me is actually really quite strong.

by Driver Thu 23 Jan 2014, 2:25 pm

It's a good Irish side throughout.

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