Aviva Premieship Round 16 Preview

Fri 28th Feb 14

19:45 PR Bath Rugby  v   Saracens BT Sport
Well, how do you judge form? Is it results, or is it performance? Saracens shock defeat to London Irish was only their second AP defeat this season. However a team that was running in tries for fun has failed to secure a TBP since they hammered Leicester at the end of last year. Mutterings about performance levels and missed tackles sees some oddly pessimistic Sarries fans. The away team should have a strong lineup on display, with only Owen Farrell likely to be held back by England (BillyV would have been held back – but is now injured).

Bath should see Davey Wilson released to gain more match fitness – and the front row will see the first of some interesting confrontations. ath will hope to have a clear edge here to set up scrum dominance and give a strong back row licence to really play. Sarries will be hoping they can get to work in the line-out. A variety of hookers for Bath this season have struggled at times to hit their jumpers – and Borthwick is still a significant threat in this area.

In the backs things get interesting. Bath will hope to have Ford available and are sweating on injuries to a few players.  Meanwhile on the wings both Strettle and Ashton will be looking to get back into try scoring form.

This is a crucial match for both teams – a Bath win will give them belief that a Home Play-off semi is not an impossible dream. An away win for Saracens and suddenly Recwatchers will be looking nervously over their shoulders. Should Saracens play well the should win, however perform as they have in the last month and we can expect to see the points staying in the spa town.

Bath 8/10, Sarries 11/10 with the bookies


Sat 1st Mar 14

15:00 PR Exeter Chiefs  v   London Irish
The Chiefs have lost 7 of their last 8 AP matches. They have obtained LBPs in 5 of those defeats, but at times a real lack of composure has hurt them. You could say the same about the Irish team that was narrowly beaten last weekend by Leicester, a defeat that ended the little winning streak that has done so much to ease relegation fears.
Can anyone explain what is going on down at Sandy Park? At times Exeter look awesome, then suddenly a switch gets flicked and they look lacklustre and shambolic. They seem to veer from the sublime to the ridiculous several times per match. they will need to make sure the scrum is firing, as this has been a weakness for LI all season. Further injuries to props cannot have helped.
This could be a highly entertaining match, as both teams like to run with the ball. Marland Yarde will be hoping to get a start this week as he comes back from injury and looks to pressure Nowell and May for their England shirts. Tom Johnson knows that a strong performance in this game could well see him in the matchday squad for England v Wales.

Exeter strong favourite on Betfair


15:00 PR Harlequins  v   Worcester Warriors
As Worcester desperately seek a first league win of the season, they will be glad that their visit to the Stoop sees the 2012 Champions missing vital players all the way down the spine of their team. Quins need their front 5 to man up and provide a platform for their backs to utilise. Worcester need to find some resolve, they have the players to worry a stuttering Quins side, but do they have the belief.

Quins massive favourites on Betfair


15:00 PR London Wasps  v   Sale Sharks
Wasps have lost their last 3 matches in a row, though have secured LBPs. In fact they seem highly proficient at just losing matches - 8 LBPs in 9 AP defeats this season. As a team, they have suffered injuries in the back 3 and seem to be getting little direction from half back. Against a stout, but unflashy Sale side - you can expect to see them struggle again. Wasps really need a win to keep hopes of top flight Euro action alive.
Sale still believe they can reach the top 4. They have to win matches like this on the road if that dream - or indeed decent Euro action, is to be realised. For this they need their forwards to be strong, and Cipriani to perform well against his former club.

Bookies unable to separate the two teams


15:15 PR Northampton Saints  v   Gloucester Rugby BT Sport
Saints should still be top of the table at the end of this weekend, as they seek to gain revenge for their only league defeat of the season. In seasons gone by, they have struggled during international windows, but that has not been the case this season. Up front the young guys have really developed nicely, Samu Manoa is as usual excellent and the form of Callum Clark has been incredible. At No8 Dickinson will be hoping to put in the sort of performance that could get him into the England squad for the remaining 6Ns matches. Behind the scrum Myler has been Mr Consistency while real flair is provided by the Pisi boys. they will be missing a shedload of players - yet still look strong.
Gloucester - apparently last week saw a hugely improved performance, which was needed. To call their front 5 powder puff would be no exaggeration, and you can see them being blown away again. Their talented backline needs some ball - and will be desperate for the arrival of Hibbard and Afoa next season. However there is this season still to finish.

Saints strong favourites with the bookies.


Sun 2nd Mar 14

14:00 PR Newcastle Falcons  v   Leicester Tigers BT Sport
When these two met earlier in the season, DoR Dean Richards virtually gifted his former team 5 points by selecting a weakened lineup. He will have seen Leicester's iffy form and surely will not do that again. The Falcons pack has improved markedly as the season has progressed (are the lineout failings still present?) and will be hoping to gain something close to parity with the East Midlanders. If selected Keiron Brookes will hope to show tigers what they let go and strengthen his place back in Falcon's fans hearts.
It is behind the pack that things get interesting. Both sides have struggled to show any fluency this season, with Falcons really struggling to score the points they should with the possession they have. Tigers may include Manu Tuilagi on the bench (his only appearance this season was a strong showing in the reverse fixture) and Cockerill has some tough decisions at 10 and 12. Dan Bowden was a late call up against his former team last week (no reason given for Allens late withdrawal) and did well. Inside him, Williams was solid.

Leicester clear favourites with the bookies

Remaining write-ups coming

Saracens starting XV vs Bath; 15. Alex Goode; 14. David Strettle, 13. Joel Tomkins, 12. Brad Barritt, 11. Chris Wyles; 10. Charlie Hodgson, 9. Neil de Kock; 1. Mako Vunipola, 2. Schalk Brits, 3. James Johnston, 4. Steve Borthwick ©, 5. George Kruis, 6. Jackson Wray 7. Jacques Burger , 8. Ernst Joubert.

Replacements; 16. Jamie George, 17. Richard Barrington, 18. Matt Stevens, 19. Eoin Sheriff, 20. Kelly Brown, 21. Richard Wigglesworth, 22. Duncan Taylor, 23. Marcelo Bosch.

ath Rugby team to face Saracens

15. Nick Abendanon
14. Anthony Watson
13. Ollie Devoto
12. Kyle Eastmond
11. Matt Banahan
10. George Ford
9. Peter Stringer
1. Paul James
2. Ross Batty
3. Anthony Perenise
4. Dominic Day
5. Dave Attwood
6. Alafoti Fa'osiliva
7. Francois Louw ( c )
8. Leroy Houston

Replacements

16. Eusebio Guinazu
17. Nathan Catt
18. Juan Pablo Orlandi
19. Ryan Caldwell
20. Guy Mercer
21. Micky Young
22. Gavin Henson
23. Semesa Rokoduguni

"Bath 8/10, Sarries 11/10 with the bookies"


I'm confused, who does that make favourite?


Good write up LT. Wilson and Garvey are significant losses for us. Lineout has indeed been a weakness and with old favourite back at the Rec, this disadvantage could be driven home.

I may try and beat my one right prediction this week.

 If Sarries and Bath have a 10 all draw I would be very happy.

Bath marginal favourites Bathite on those odds

I think that makes Bath very marginal favourites.

To be honest I think it's Joubert that is more likely to target the Bath lineout.

No Wilson makes me more confident at scrum time. As to how that area goes - who knows? Neither Mako or Johnston are technical geniuses in the scrum but both have shown the ability to cause opposition scrums problems. Notably Toulouse. A lot could hinge on how Luke Pearce interprets proceedings.

Set piece vs Exeter was very good even with Borthwick not starting.

LondonTiger wrote:
Sat 1st Mar 14

15:00 PR Exeter Chiefs  v   London Irish
The Chiefs have lost 7 of their last 8 AP matches. They have obtained LBPs in 5 of those defeats, but at times a real lack of composure has hurt them. You could say the same about the Irish team that was narrowly beaten last weekend by Leicester, a defeat that ended the little winning streak that has done so much to ease relegation fears.
Can anyone explain what is going on down at Sandy Park? At times Exeter look awesome, then suddenly a switch gets flicked and they look lacklustre and shambolic. They seem to veer from the sublime to the ridiculous several times per match. they will need to make sure the scrum is firing, as this has been a weakness for LI all season. Further injuries to props cannot have helped.
This could be a highly entertaining match, as both teams like to run with the ball. Marland Yarde will be hoping to get a start this week as he comes back from injury and looks to pressure Nowell and May for their England shirts. Tom Johnson knows that a strong performance in this game could well see him in the matchday squad for England v Wales.

Exeter strong favourite on Betfair

In a word, LT, no.

So near and yet so far, on several occasions this season, not to mention being 'unlucky' with TMO decisions too often this season. Exe seem to have gone slightly off the boil and I can only hope that Rob Baxter and his coaching team can sort this out for the final 7 matches of the AP run-in,starting with Saturday. Looking back at the first half against Cardiff in the Heino seems like a lifetime away for Chiefs fans, but that is what we want to see back on display at Sandy Park again. Unusually for ROb B, this week he has upped the ante for the players with a "this is a must win game" chat for the squad.

I hope Williams and Bowden stay at 10/12 for us LT. They looked an improvement on Flood and Allen in attack and Bowden looked really fired up in defence, really haven't seen that side of him since he joined. Allen has looked quiet of late which probably has a lot to do with Flood's dire form but it would be harsh to change the midfield after a decent outing away at LI.

Sarries and Bath have got strong sides out, that game should be a real corker.

Bowden has been fired up in defence in every game I have seen him play against LI - probably not a co-incidence.

What I really want to see is Ben Youngs running with the ball. He seems to have been a spark free zone since returning from the Lions, just passing or kicking. Maybe last weeks snipe in the corner will help, but if he is offering a threat then the 10s job becomes much easier.

I would also quite like Salvi to have a rest and maybe give Matera a run out. Jools was looking rather battered by the end of last weeks game.

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:
Sat 1st Mar 14

15:00 PR Exeter Chiefs  v   London Irish
The Chiefs have lost 7 of their last 8 AP matches. They have obtained LBPs in 5 of those defeats, but at times a real lack of composure has hurt them. You could say the same about the Irish team that was narrowly beaten last weekend by Leicester, a defeat that ended the little winning streak that has done so much to ease relegation fears.
Can anyone explain what is going on down at Sandy Park? At times Exeter look awesome, then suddenly a switch gets flicked and they look lacklustre and shambolic. They seem to veer from the sublime to the ridiculous several times per match. they will need to make sure the scrum is firing, as this has been a weakness for LI all season. Further injuries to props cannot have helped.
This could be a highly entertaining match, as both teams like to run with the ball. Marland Yarde will be hoping to get a start this week as he comes back from injury and looks to pressure Nowell and May for their England shirts. Tom Johnson knows that a strong performance in this game could well see him in the matchday squad for England v Wales.

Exeter strong favourite on Betfair

In a word, LT, no.

So near and yet so far, on several occasions this season, not to mention being 'unlucky' with TMO decisions too often this season. Exe seem to have gone slightly off the boil and I can only hope that Rob Baxter and his coaching team can sort this out for the final 7 matches of the AP run-in,starting with Saturday.  Looking back at the first half against Cardiff in the Heino seems like a lifetime away for Chiefs fans, but that is what we want to see back on display at Sandy Park again.  Unusually for ROb B, this week he has upped the ante for the players with a "this is a must win game" chat for the squad.

Should be an interesting game. We lacked accuracy and composure at times against Tigers, and were poor off the tee, but still ended up almost winning the game, but for a butterfingers moment from Treviranus. If we keep the intensity we have shown since the turn of the year, and manage to find the accuracy that we did against Saracens, then I fancy us to extend the Chiefs miserable run. That said, if we can't kick straight our basic end up like they were first half of the season, then we could well get humped!!! Got to love being a London Irish fan, it's a rollercoaster ride!!!   

               
 

Got a bad feeling about facing the Chiefs this weekend. I know teams are always fired up, but they will see this as a great chance to end their losing run.

I know we are a better side away from home these days and don't tend to crumble like we used to, but something tells me it might be a long day at the office. The conditions at Sandy Park can be tricky at the best of times and once their pack gets into the game they have tended to blow us away in recent encounters.

Anyway, I hope I'm wrong.

I agree on Salvi, he needs a rest, especially, with the big game vs Clermont coming up. Give Matera the game vs the Falcons he's a big boy he won't be intimidated.

Partly agree on Ben Youngs he has been well short of his sparkling best. He looked much better against LI there was much more of him looking to create attacks. I think Williams being more happy to step up and take on some of the kicking duties meant Youngs wasn't our our only tactical kicking option and allowed him to look at his attacking game.

Please let us have some centres fit.

Bathite wrote:"Bath 8/10, Sarries 11/10 with the bookies"


I'm confused, who does that make favourite?


Good write up LT. Wilson and Garvey are significant losses for us. Lineout has indeed been a weakness and with old favourite back at the Rec, this disadvantage could be driven home.

That makes Bath odds-on favourites i.e. the amount you win is less than the stake (stake 10 to win 8) whereas for Sarries the amount you win is more than the stake (stake 10 wins you 11) … you obviously get your stake back also if you win. There's tax to pay also of course but that doesn't affect the odds.

ChequeredJersey wrote:Please let us have some centres fit.

And a forward pack that has more grit then the local U10's! That's my biggest dissapointment, just how poor our forwards are with a couple of absentees. Guys like Wallace, Kennedy, PDJ should be jumping at this opportunity for uninterrupted first team game time but all look pap. Two of those three i'd be happy to sack off at the end of the season and get in some championship guys at a third of the cost, can't be any worse.

I think we'll beat Wuss but it'll be a depressing game and without the tbp.

Oh and I'm going to be conservative and say all home wins except Tigers.

Bath will deny Sarries a lbp
Exeter will just beat LI but it'll be close
Quins will gift Wuss a lbp and almost throw the game away
Wasps will finally click and beat Sale in a high scorer
Saints will muller Glos
Tigers will huff and puff but just do enough to grab a win at Falcons

CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE LONDON IRISH

15 Luke Arscott
14 Matt Jess
13 Ian Whitten
12 Phil Dollman
11 Tom James
10 Henry Slade
9 Dave Lewis
1 Ben Moon
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
3 Hoani Tui
4 Dean Mumm (capt)
5 Damian Welch
6 Tom Johnson
7 Ben White
8 Dave Ewers

16 Greg Bateman
17 Carl Rimmer
18 Alex Brown
19 Don Armand
20 Kai Horstmann
21 Haydn Thomas
22 Gareth Steenson
23 Fetu’u Vainikolo

First AP start for LC-D; young Henry preferred to Steeno

The Glaws team is announced and once again the injury curse of Ryan Mills has struck again. I do genuinely fear for his future, he is an exceptionally gifted player but just can't string any games together. On form I think we're staring with the wrong Burns brother and it is about time Freddie sorted his game out. Given his destination, surely a performance against Saints would be very well received across the board?!

Glaws really should lose this, but I'd expect there to be a element of doubt with Saints. We beat them at FG last year at a similar time and we're the only side to beat them this year - that is the hope I am clinging on to...

Rob Cook; Charlie Sharples, Henry Trinder, Mike Tindall (capt), Martyn Thomas; Freddie Burns, Dan Robson; Yann Thomas, Huia Edmonds, Rupert Harden; Elliott Stooke, James Hudson; Sione Kalamafoni, Matt Kvesic, Gareth Evans

Replacements:

Darren Dawidiuk, Dan Murphy, Sila Puafisi, Will James, Matt Cox, Jimmy Cowan, Billy Burns, Shane Monahan

Leicester Tigers (v Newcastle Falcons, away, Sunday 2pm)
15 Mathew Tait
14 Blaine Scully
13 Manusamoa Tuilagi
12 Dan Bowden
11 Vereniki Goneva
10 Owen Williams
9 Ben Youngs
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Tom Youngs
3 Logovi'i Mulipola
4 Louis Deacon
5 Ed Slater (c)
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Pablo Matera
8 Jordan Crane

Replacements
16 Neil Briggs
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Sebastian De Chaves
20 Thomas Waldrom
21 David Mele
22 Toby Flood
23 Adam Thompstone

Great to see Matera starting.

 Bowden and tuilagi adds some real attacking threat in the midfield.

 Really happy with that squad.

Could listen to Rob Baxter talk sense all day:

The Chiefs have faced the top three sides in the Premiership on successive weekends, losing all of them. Baxter hopes that run will help the players improve their game in the coming months and years. “If we react positively to the month we’ve had, which has been tough on us fixture wise, it will be a very important month for us down the line,” he said. “That’s what I’m going to keep ramming home to the players. A tough month, a tough run of fixtures or a tough run of results can do two things – they can make you feel sorry for yourself or they can make you stronger."

Newcastle Falcons for Tigers:
Feckin Phil Godman is back in !!!!!!! Easy win for tigers then. I dont know whats going through Deans head picking this guy all the time. He's utter tripe!

1 Rob Vickers
2 Scott Lawson
3 Kieran Brookes
4 Scott MacLeod
5 Fraser McKenzie
6 Will Welch (c)
7 Andy Saull
8 Mark Wilson

9 Mike Blair
10 Phil Godman
11 Lee Smith
12 Adam Powell
13 Gonzalo Tiesi
14 Noah cato
15 Alex Tait,

Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Gary Strain, 18 Oliver Tomaszczyk, 19 Sean Tomes, 20 Chris York, 21 Warren Fury, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 Danny Barnes

A lot of these games could go either way particularly the Bath and Wasps games, but I'm expecting both away sides to sneak these matches.  

There are also other games that should be very clear wins with Quins and Tigers romping home.  Only the most one-eyed Glaws supporter would not include Saints in that line up

Which leaves Chiefs to win by a try.

Liking the look of the Tigers team other than Waldrom in the bench. He's been off the pace for a while, would rather see Mafi get a go.

Was thinking that Sam.

 have De Cheves and Mafi bench with Gibson covering 8 like the Ulster game.

 Mind you Mafi has been involved in 6 of the 7 games played since he has been back in January. (granted many from the bench)

London Irish team to face Exeter Chiefs:

15. Topsy Ojo *; 14. Alex Lewington; 13.Eamonn Sheridan; 12. James O’Connor*; 11. Marland Yarde*; 10. Shane Geraghty*; 9. Darren Allinson; 1. John Yapp*; 2. David Paice*; 3. Jamie Hagan*; 4. George Skivington (Captain); 5. Nic Rouse; 6. Kieran Low*; 7. Blair Cowan; 8. Ofisa Treviranus*

Replacements: 16. Mike Mayhew; 17. Matt Parr; 18. Leo Halavatau; 19. Jebb Sinclair*; 20. Ian Gough*; 21. Gerard Ellis; 22. Ian Humphreys; 23. Ed Hoadley

Three personnel changes in the starting XV and a couple of positional ones. Yapp in for Parr at loosehead, and Topsy and Marland into the back three, with Fenby dropped entirely and iHumph benched. JOC to inside centre and Shane to outside half.

Hell of an exciting backline, loads of strike runners. Guess it depends as always how well the pack holds up and if they can get a platform to play from.

I'd have Slater covering 8. He's played there before and is enough of a beast to cope. No Smith and Allen again. No news on either. Interesting one there.

Allen was a knee injury cockers said he was 90% fit but who knows.

 Hard to drop Bowden when he played so well last week.

 and Thompstone adds more cover on the bench.

Harlequins team to play Worcester Warriors


Harlequins have announced the team to play Worcester Warriors in Round 16 of the Aviva Premiership at The Stoop on Saturday, kick-off 3:00pm.
There are three changes to the side that played Gloucester Rugby last weekend. Current England U20 centre and 2013 IRB Junior World Cup winner Harry Sloan makes his Premiership debut for the club, partnering the returning Jordan Turner-Hall in the centre.

Ugo Monye, Sam Smith and Ollie Lindsay-Hague continue in the back three.

In the forwards, behind an unchanged front five, Maurie Fa'asavalu moves to openside flank in place of Luke Wallace who picked up a knock last week. Tom Guest stars on the blindside with Nick Easter continuing as captain at number 8.

Harlequins are attempting to break two Guinness World Records at the match in aid of Sport Relief. The first is to set the largest gathering of people wearing Jester hats and the second is to break the record for the most consecutive passes. More information on how you can get involved in breaking these records can be found here.

Harlequins Team
15. Ollie Lindsay-Hague
14. Sam Smith
13. Harry Sloan
12. Jordan Turner-Hall
11. Ugo Monye
10. Ben Botica
9. Karl Dickson

1. Mark Lambert
2. Joe Gray
3. Kyle Sinckler
4. Nick Kennedy
5. George Robson
6. Tom Guest
7. Maurie Fa'asavalu
8. Nick Easter (C)

16. Dave Ward
17. Darryl Marfo
18. Paul Doran Jones
19. Charlie Matthews
20. Joe Trayfoot
21. Sam Stuart
22. Louis Grimoldby
23. Paul Sackey

I think I'm right in saying that Smith has started a game in every backs position other than 10 and 12 for Tigers. There are few jobs he can't do. Admittedly he is definitely a club level player but he is always reliable. He should have stuck at 15 in my opinion as he's great under the high ball, quick enough and doesn't miss tackles. Plenty of power in those legs to develop a kicking game from but he wanted to play centre.

I wouldn't drop Bowden after last weekend he was very good, Allen is a Cockers favorite and blatantly first choice so I did wonder. Better to get them both fully fit for the end of season run in.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Newcastle Falcons for Tigers:
Feckin Phil Godman is back in !!!!!!! Easy win for tigers then. I dont know whats going through Deans head picking this guy all the time. He's utter tripe!

Looks like Deano has gone for experience over youth across the whole team. Is Lee Smith the former RL guy who was at Wasps, without ever playing, for a bit?

LondonTiger wrote:Is Lee Smith the former RL guy who was at Wasps, without ever playing, for a bit?

Yup, Falcons singed him a few weeks ago from Wakefield RL (I think it was Wakefield but could have been a different RL club).

Did better than usual last week with only the Cherries going against my picks. Wasn't even too far off on the BP's either so this week I will prove it was a one off and revert to my usual p*** poor selections.

Bath (4) vs Saracens (1)
Keep changing my mind so defaulted to home advantage being the difference. Both teams look strong, Bath back row not full strength but still decent looking.

Chiefs (4) vs Irish (1)
Chiefs not in great form and kind of want Irish to do well, think they are due some success but think home advantage will be the difference once again.

Quins (4) vs Warriors (1)
Still have a feeling that Wuss will pull off a shock against one of the bigger teams but don't think it will be this weekend. Do feel it could be a tighter game than Quins fans would like as Ryan's lot scrap for their lives.

Wasps (1) vs Sharks (4)
Wasps are another side out of form and think Sale will scrape over the line in a game that doesn't look thrilling on paper. Often these games turn out to the be the most entertaining of the round.

Saints (?) vs Cherries (?)
Felt nervous before both the Wuss & Falcons game, but not so much against Gloucester even though they beat us (with a little help  ) which means that they will probably pull off the shock of this weeks fixtures. Looking at the sides chosen I think Saints will target the scrum.

Falcons (0) vs Tigers (4)
With all due respect to Newcastle as I want them to do well being a northern team and all but this could have easily been a relegation season if not for Wuss' poor showing. Signs were promising after their showing in the championship as well. I hope they can consolidate and improve for next year. Unfortunately I think Tigers have hit their low point and will steadily improve now until the end of the season.

Bath proving to be their own worst enemy. Banahan failing to do the basics isn't helping. Sarries showing their clinical side.

Strettle is having a fine game. That kick by Barritt to put him through for the try is the kind of play we've been hoping Twelvetrees will show us for England.

Bath were a little unlikely to have the referee call advantage over earlier in the half. They were clearly playing as if he'd go back for the penalty.

Having said that, Bath looked like they got over-excited and forgot to get the points.

Bath have been throwing some unnecessary passes and giving ball away. Sarries are at their best when defending a lead it'll take a huge effort to turn this round.

That loss from Bath is good for us if we can get a bonus point win (big if). we'd be joint 3rd.

Yep they could be a good tussle for the 3/4th spot now.

True. It's interesting how much progress on the league table Tigers have made in the last few matches.

beshocked wrote:True. It's interesting how much progress on the league table Tigers have made in the last few matches.

Well it is that time of year.
Leicester really do have this annoying habit of making a run come late February.

Tigers have been playing against teams lower in the half of the table. We aren't missing as many players. We should be winning those games. Other teams around us are missing key players and playing in tough games. Has helped us out a bit. If we can carry momentum into the harder games to come then we could look good at the end of the season.

Getting Manu back for the run in will be huge for Tigers. I can see them finishing 3rd.

Ozzy3213 wrote:Getting Manu back for the run in will be huge for Tigers.  I can see them finishing 3rd.

I have a nagging feeling he'll get injured again.

Tigers will finish 5th

Listening on the old wireless and sounds like we've started reasonably well at Sandy Park. Still 0-0 though.

Sounds like we are being pap

Already being penalised so much...

Sounds like we have white line fever. We've been on their 5 metre line 3 times and blown it each time. They've been in our 22 once and lead 3-0.