Ospreys season thread 2014-15

by The Saint Wed Aug 27, 2014 1:44 am

First topic message reminder :

Will Ospreys be worst team in Wales 2014-15?

Outside of some fairly decent signings (Bernardo, Matavesi, Roberts), and their inspiring captain (AWJ) the Ospreys squad looks very average and the first team could struggle to be within the top 6 of the Guinness Pro12. Squad: http://www.ospreysrugby.com/Teams/Squad/Ospreys. Do Ospreys fans believe little was done when Ryan/Adam Jones, Hibbard declared intentions to move? I think the current squad has potential, but the current coaches will neither develop them or get the best out of them when it comes to the field of play, I think Tandy is the worst pro rugby coach in Wales and quite possibly all of Europe. The departures of the senior players will do little to help either.

Dragons have a slightly better squad this term and are lead by a good coaching panel, as are the Scarlets and Blues. The Blues also have built quite a formidable squad and look the most likely to be winning silverware this season. This is why I can see Ospreys being the worst performing team in the 2014/15 season. To go from the team most likely to win silverware for a No. of years to potentially the worst is unforgivable.

by Guest Sat Jan 17, 2015 9:01 am

Wasn't it Dragons home game at the MS last time??? Shouldn't it be rotated a bit?

by Cardiff Dave Sat Jan 17, 2015 9:07 am

Griff wrote:Wasn't it Dragons home game at the MS last time??? Shouldn't it be rotated a bit?

Drags should play their home games at home, end of.

by Guest Sat Jan 17, 2015 9:19 am

Griff wrote:Wasn't it Dragons home game at the MS last time??? Shouldn't it be rotated a bit?

It was a Dragons home game for the past two years or whatever it was. It continues to be so. That was always the agreement and why a lot of Dragons fans weren't too happy with it.

by bedfordwelsh Sat Jan 17, 2015 5:58 pm

In principle I have always thought the idea was a good one but it would be fair to rotate whose 'home' game it is.

by VinceWLB Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:15 pm

Apparently O's have signed Zebre Brendon Leonard for next season, good astute signing imo.

by The Saint Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:30 pm

Former All Black and practically a one-man team at Zebre. Probably affordable too, brilliant signing.

by Guest Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:49 pm

That is a fantastic signing

by The Saint Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:51 pm

Rev, rumour has it they've signed Richie Rees too.

Just kidding.

by maestegmafia Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:54 pm

The Saint wrote:Rev, rumour has it they've signed Richie Rees too.

Just kidding.

Martin Roberts heading out of Swansea and into Gwent?

by Guest Sun Jan 18, 2015 12:46 am

Agree than Leonard is a great signing. Have been very impressed by him for Zebre. Webb will have to be on his toes to keep him out of the team.

by maestegmafia Sun Jan 18, 2015 5:48 am

Griff wrote:Agree than Leonard is a great signing. Have been very impressed by him for Zebre. Webb will have to be on his toes to keep him out of the team.

That will be very good for Webb. I think he learned a lot from having another good scrum half there a couple of seasons ago.

by wayne Sun Jan 18, 2015 6:04 am

VinceWLB wrote:Apparently O's have signed Zebre Brendon Leonard for next season, good astute signing imo.

Do you have a link to this Vince, or if not where did the rumour come from

by VinceWLB Sun Jan 18, 2015 6:11 am

It's from the usually reliable onrugby.it: http://www.onrugby.it/2015/01/17/leonard-saluta-le-zebre-e-litalia-il-suo-futuro-si-chiama-ospreys/

Says he wanted to leave Italy last year already but move to Toulouse failed, this time a contract with the Ospreys has apparently already been signed.

by wayne Sun Jan 18, 2015 6:18 am

VinceWLB wrote:It's from the usually reliable onrugby.it: http://www.onrugby.it/2015/01/17/leonard-saluta-le-zebre-e-litalia-il-suo-futuro-si-chiama-ospreys/

Says he wanted to leave Italy last year already but move to Toulouse failed, this time a contract with the Ospreys has apparently already been signed.

Cheers, thanks for that Vince, I never wanted Roberts to be signed, he has been petulant for a number of years, not so much this year, he is not physical enough for me, doesn't take on the opposition enough around the fringes, and takes miles too long to deliver from ruck and maul, Leonard if he can reproduce his past form would be an excellent addition to our squad.

by Guest Sun Jan 18, 2015 8:01 am

maestegmafia wrote:
Griff wrote:Agree than Leonard is a great signing. Have been very impressed by him for Zebre. Webb will have to be on his toes to keep him out of the team.

That will be very good for Webb. I think he learned a lot from having another good scrum half there a couple of seasons ago.

Yes definitely. I think Webb has pushed on so well because he had to battle with Fotuali’i who was a class act. All too often players with no competition become complacent and standards drop.

by wayne Sun Jan 18, 2015 8:23 am

Griff wrote:
maestegmafia wrote:
Griff wrote:Agree than Leonard is a great signing. Have been very impressed by him for Zebre. Webb will have to be on his toes to keep him out of the team.

That will be very good for Webb. I think he learned a lot from having another good scrum half there a couple of seasons ago.

Yes definitely. I think Webb has pushed on so well because he had to battle with Fotuali’i who was a class act. All too often players with no competition become complacent and standards drop.

Griff agree entirely, the number of arguments I've had in my area about having overseas and prominent Welsh players at each of the Regions,who have mentored upcoming stars is ridiculous, Webb first came into our squad when Marshall was here and he did a good job with him, then that prat Phillips took over and Rhys went backwards, when Fotuali'i came his battle with Rhys was good in the first year, and Rhys declined a bit in the 2nd, but when Kahn left, Rhys has come really good, Marty Hollah did a fantastic job with Tips coming through, if you have the right type of character in an established player it can benefit in more ways than one.

by Guest Sun Jan 18, 2015 8:54 am

Yes I agree Wayne. I've never been one for foreigners for foreigners sake. But proven operators, even if they're not household names in Wales, can be great for our regional squads. The likes of Hollah, Marshall, Fotuali'i (to a certain extent) were all decent players beforehand. What I really hate is the buying of players from overseas 'on potential' because then they're surely no more or less likely to be a success than local talent and we have to not only pay their wages but pay to babysit them, develop them, etc. We can do that with local boys too! But established players can hit the ground running (although I know they don't always come good). Leonard should be a good 'un I feel.

by maestegmafia Sun Jan 18, 2015 8:58 am

Matevasi and Arhip were probably two of the best recent signings performance wise this season.

I agree a player of Leonard's calibre could be instrumental. Though part of me would like to see us sign a lock who could inspire a new generation and partner AWJ.

by Guest Sun Jan 18, 2015 9:10 am

Yes, those two have done well. I've been impressed with Hassler too, and Tyler Ardron seems pretty good too.

Speaking purely from my experience as a Dragons fan (and maybe this is because we've had (alledgedly) less money/been a bit tighter than the Ospreys historically) but we seem to need to go through around 10 'unknown'/up 'n coming players/ overseas journeymen to unearth a gem. Landman has been a superb find for us. Stankovich has (until injury) been as good as expected too and our pack has been transformed. But for these 2 I can probably name 10 duds that went before them (not all in the same position). My point being that the Ospreys have got a decent history of picking the right guys to do the job, with some duds along the way. For the other regions we seem to get a higher % of duds unfortunately! But we're all much more likely to have success if we go for the established, ex international players than the up n coming guys. Let's say 75% chance vs 50/50 for the unknown players. But selecting the right ones is the hard bit...

by maestegmafia Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:38 am

Well as I am sure you are well aware reading this forum, everyone has a different opinion, including those doing the hiring and firing... For every golden apple there are several Sam Norton Knights.

by bedfordwelsh Sun Jan 18, 2015 4:55 pm

Yeah if you are going to sign a foreigner then that is ok but he has to not only bring that X factor with him but also be able to pass his knowledge/experience on to the younger players not only in his specific position but also the squad in general.

by maestegmafia Sun Jan 18, 2015 7:13 pm

bedfordwelsh wrote:Yeah if you are going to sign a foreigner then that is ok but he has to not only bring that X factor with him but also be able to pass his knowledge/experience on to the younger players not only in his specific position but also the squad in general.

Doesn't necesarily have to be an old player or even a foreigner.

A lad like Matevisi will be demonstrating how his attitude and commitment to the cause wins games and any young centre in the squad now will learn a great deal from him. He is doing exactly what we need.

It's a big shame that they let Adam Jones go, it is no surprise to me that we have produced so many good props while Adam was at the Ospreys.

by VinceWLB Sun Jan 18, 2015 9:14 pm

I'm a bit perplexed O's didn't retain Adam too, as they say class is permanent and i have rarely seen him going backward with the Blues this season. What are the odds Jarvis get subbed before half time tonight?
Also why did they release Jo Rees? a much much better prospect than Suter in my opinion. Some strange choices at the O's regarding props..

by bedfordwelsh Sun Jan 18, 2015 9:15 pm

Where has Rees gone didn't realise you had let him go thought he was out injured.

by maestegmafia Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:23 pm

Rees went to Worcester warriors to get more game time at the end of last season

“I’m sorry to be leaving my home region, but excited about a new opportunity at Worcester. I couldn’t have learnt my trade in a better place, with the Ospreys renowned for developing props. It’s the natural thing in rugby that you are always playing for your future, and with so many young players coming through it was important that I took my opportunity when I had it. Unfortunately, that hasn’t be the case and with others now coming into the squad my chances have been limited. This move will give me a fresh start.”

by wayne Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:08 am

VinceWLB wrote:I'm a bit perplexed O's didn't retain Adam too, as they say class is permanent and i have rarely seen him going backward with the Blues this season. What are the odds Jarvis get subbed before half time tonight?
Also why did they release Jo Rees? a much much better prospect than Suter in my opinion. Some strange choices at the O's regarding props..

Vince, we were hoping to retain Adam, and we even paid him a months wages AFTER his contract had ended, and at first he said he hadn't been paid which he later retracted, he burnt some bridges with us and his reputation took a nosedive. Rees was a bit like Craig Mitchell he wanted more game time and we needed to get rid of players to fetch our deficit down, as far as his expertise is compared to Suter, IMO Suter will never make it at Guinness level as he is too small, but we had to give him the chance, with the supposed signing of Leonard, the utmost neccessary signing for next season has to be a tighthead, unless Nicky Smiths partner at U20 level Nicky Thomas matures.

by The Saint Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:36 am

wayne I was going to say that I don't really rate Suter, the guy is constantly going backwards. Nicky Thomas does look a good prospect though. Mitchell and Rees were both quite injury prone if I remember rightly, but both could improve in the future and return home. A couple more signings and injured players returning and the Ospreys are starting to look very strong as a squad again.
Do you guys rate U20 Thornton? We (Wales) need to produce more locks.

by maestegmafia Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:38 am

Mitchell is not getting much game time at the Blues, he might be keen to move later this year?

by bedfordwelsh Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:55 am

Mitchell as never impressed me anyway but without game time these guys will always look elsewhere.

by maestegmafia Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:59 am

With james on his way back to the Ospreys he maybe used at tighthead in emergencies.

I think Mitchell is a good player, not likely to ever be deemed World class but he would be a good option for the Ospreys in Europe.

by maestegmafia Wed Jan 28, 2015 8:13 pm

Young tighthead prop Nicky Thomas signs for Gloucester.

There was a lot of hype that Thomas would be another Samson Lee. He had a similarly dramatic effect on the JWC as Lee had the previous year.

Five games for the Ospreys and he didn't really shine. Hopefully this move will be good for him.

by wayne Wed Jan 28, 2015 9:32 pm

maestegmafia wrote:Young tighthead prop Nicky Thomas signs for Gloucester.

There was a lot of hype that Thomas would be another Samson Lee. He had a similarly dramatic effect on the JWC as Lee had the previous year.

Five games for the Ospreys and he didn't really shine. Hopefully this move will be good for him.

Maes, this has been a rumour on our forum for a few months, the point about him not shining I'm sorry to say is true, by all accounts his attitude and conditioning is terrible, the official response has said there has been a contract on the table for him since last March, which he has obviously declined, on the Forum part of the website there is talk he wanted £140000, and for somebody who started IIRC one match, we were never going to offer those sort of funds, and somebody on our forum who is normally in the know, has said we have signed an experienced tight head for next season, so Nicky at best would only be 3rd choice. With the financial position we are in we wouldn't offer that kind of money to anybody who would be at best 3rd choice in any position.

by maestegmafia Thu Jan 29, 2015 5:22 am

It's interesting to see the way his time at the Ospreys has panned out. I don't know whether the contract at Gloucester RFC is what he was wanting or just an improved offer from the Ospreys.

I wish him well. It's a shame things didn't work out.

£140k for an in experienced player is a lot of money

by wayne Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:45 am

maestegmafia wrote:It's interesting to see the way his time at the Ospreys has panned out. I don't know whether the contract at Gloucester RFC is what he was wanting or just an improved offer from the Ospreys.

I wish him well. It's a shame things didn't work out.

£140k for an in experienced player is a lot of money

Maes, somebody who says he is a relative of Thomas has come on the board tonight and has said, he has not gone because of the money, he has gone because of the playing opportunity, which he feels he hasn't with us, this could be a mistake of the Halfpenny or Sanjay proportions, we have only 2 Guinness level props this season and one of them is injured. NOT GOOD.

by maestegmafia Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:57 am

We need to hang on to as many good players as we can but the kids has had opportunities and as we know he hasn't delivered.

Hopefully he will develop well with Game time at Gloucester.

To me sounds like there is a large amount of agent medling involved.

by The Saint Thu Jan 29, 2015 11:00 am

Looked a promising player, one of the ones you should try to hold on to, can't see him getting THAT MUCH game time at Glaws. Hopefully they help turn him into a really good prop, then we'll DC him, £280,000.

by maestegmafia Thu Jan 29, 2015 11:11 am

Looked promising at youth level in the JWC not at regional level though.

by maestegmafia Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:15 pm

Ospreys finally confirmed the signing of former AB, Brendon Leonard, on a three-year deal.

by Jhamer25 Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:54 pm

maestegmafia wrote:We need to hang on to as many good players as we can but the kids has had opportunities and as we know he hasn't delivered.

Hopefully he will develop well with Game time at Gloucester.

To me sounds like there is a large amount of agent medling involved.

Can I just ask what chances he has had though; im not sure myself but from looking at his stats it looks like he has only come off the bench two or three times in the LV games. I though it was the complete opposite that he hasn't been given the chance and hence why he would be peed off. I have heard there are issues with his conditioning but still when the Ospreys pick a player like Suter over him who neither has the scrummaging ability, strength or size to be a guiness pro 12 prop I would go somewhere else

by wayne Tue Feb 03, 2015 7:36 am

Another shocking day injury wise, for us,Bernardo our SA 2nd row injured himself, early in the game on Saturday and is out for a few months at least, and then it was announced that both Eli Walker and Sam Parry are out for about 6 to 8 weeks, Eli with cartilage trouble that needed surgery and Sam with ankle problems that doesn't need surgery. Unless Baldwin is allowed back to us we are down to our 5th choice L/H, 3rd choice Hooker, who is just out of age grade rugby, for away games against Edinburgh and Glasgow and home games against Leinster and Munster. Not looking good.

by The Saint Tue Feb 03, 2015 9:45 am

No strength in depth, a point raised earlier in the season... Feel sorry for Walker, his career has been one constant injury. wayne, did I read before that you had brought/were bringing in 2nd row cover? Some south sea islander, or did I imagine that...

by wayne Tue Feb 03, 2015 9:48 pm

The Saint wrote:No strength in depth, a point raised earlier in the season... Feel sorry for Walker, his career has been one constant injury. wayne, did I read before that you had brought/were bringing in 2nd row cover? Some south sea islander, or did I imagine that...

No strength in depth? You don't half talk some twaddle on times, we have had 15-20 players out at very significant times this season and are still TOP of the League, these injuries take it to a new level, yes we have a Fijian who played his first game on Saturday, we will be without AWJ, Steenkamp, Bernardo, King, Thornton, Hughes, Beard all the players we have had in the 2nd row this season, iirc the only player available to us who has played there before this season is Ardron, this injury to Eli is different to the others, they are normally hamstring related, this is cartilage, we are down to Otten and Dwyer (army boy) at hooker, and we are missing Smith, Duncan, Bevington and Jarvis in the prop department, against those 4 teams if all those players are NOT available I cannot see us getting more than about 4 or 5 points, and it will mean any play off hopes dashed and even RCC qualification in doubt IMO.

by The Saint Tue Feb 03, 2015 10:11 pm

wayne wrote:
The Saint wrote:No strength in depth, a point raised earlier in the season... Feel sorry for Walker, his career has been one constant injury. wayne, did I read before that you had brought/were bringing in 2nd row cover? Some south sea islander, or did I imagine that...
No strength in depth? You don't half talk some twaddle on times, we have had 15-20 players out at very significant times this season and are still TOP of the League, these injuries take it to a new level, yes we have a Fijian who played his first game on Saturday, we will be without AWJ, Steenkamp, Bernardo, King, Thornton, Hughes, Beard all the players we have had in the 2nd row this season, iirc the only player available to us who has played there before this season is Ardron, this injury to Eli is different to the others, they are normally hamstring related, this is cartilage, we are down to Otten and Dwyer (army boy) at hooker, and we are missing Smith, Duncan, Bevington and Jarvis in the prop department, against those 4 teams if all those players are NOT available I cannot see us getting more than about 4 or 5 points, and it will mean any play off hopes dashed and even RCC qualification in doubt IMO.

Is that across the season? True you are top of the league for now. We'll see your supposed strength in depth when you play the aforementioned games. You need to get short of Jarvis and Duncan IMO - all the other props offer something different to one another and have some good experience (including Paul James who is coming in next season). Those two do not.

by wayne Wed Feb 04, 2015 12:18 am

The Saint wrote:
wayne wrote:
The Saint wrote:No strength in depth, a point raised earlier in the season... Feel sorry for Walker, his career has been one constant injury. wayne, did I read before that you had brought/were bringing in 2nd row cover? Some south sea islander, or did I imagine that...
No strength in depth? You don't half talk some twaddle on times, we have had 15-20 players out at very significant times this season and are still TOP of the League, these injuries take it to a new level, yes we have a Fijian who played his first game on Saturday, we will be without AWJ, Steenkamp, Bernardo, King, Thornton, Hughes, Beard all the players we have had in the 2nd row this season, iirc the only player available to us who has played there before this season is Ardron, this injury to Eli is different to the others, they are normally hamstring related, this is cartilage, we are down to Otten and Dwyer (army boy) at hooker, and we are missing Smith, Duncan, Bevington and Jarvis in the prop department, against those 4 teams if all those players are NOT available I cannot see us getting more than about 4 or 5 points, and it will mean any play off hopes dashed and even RCC qualification in doubt IMO.

Is that across the season? True you are top of the league for now. We'll see your supposed strength in depth when you play the aforementioned games. You need to get short of Jarvis and Duncan IMO - all the other props offer something different to one another and have some good experience (including Paul James who is coming in next season). Those two do not.

Not that many over the whole season, but IIRC we have always had between 5 and 10 strategic injuries over the whole season, those figures I posted earlier are for about 8 to 10 matches, even though some are LV games, if it wasn't for our front row injuries I doubt we would have seen very little of Duncan, as for Jarvis he joined us as a predominately a L/H and we converted him to a T/H, as was found out by Gatland a year or so ago he is better there, also forgot about Peers, I know you don't rate him but he does a decent job at Regional level in the 2nd row.

by The Saint Wed Feb 04, 2015 6:49 am

So how many injured back then were in the first team? How many injured players missed just 1-2 games? Also, given the fact you believe you'll get minimal points and fall out of the top 6 in the Pro12 during the upcoming fixtures, it's baffling how you can say I'm talking twaddle about your strength in depth; in the same flipping post as well!

by wayne Wed Feb 04, 2015 7:57 am

The Saint wrote:So how many injured back then were in the first team? How many injured players missed just 1-2 games? Also, given the fact you believe you'll get minimal points and fall out of the top 6 in the Pro12 during the upcoming fixtures, it's baffling how you can say I'm talking twaddle about your strength in depth; in the same flipping post as well!

So how many back then were in the first team Hassler, Beck,Walker, Smith, Baker, Tipuric, Bevington, Steenkamp Ardron, Jarvis out of our first 23 squad for many matches,plus AWJ, Biggar, Webb, Baldwin, King, Matavesi for a few matches, plus Duncan, Bearman, Peers, Bishop, John, Lewis, Allen for anything from one or two games to ten, out of our fringe players.
You were talking twaddle because we are top even though we had lost those players for a number of matches, and we are missing these extra players for our squad when we are playing decent teame like Glasgow and Edinburgh away and Leinster and Munster at home, not rubbish like Dragons and Treviso who we would probably beat with the team we now have available.
If we had our full compliment available this would be close to our first team squad
15 Evans
14 Hassler missing
13 Beck
12 Matavesi
11 Walker missing
10 Biggar
9 Webb missing
8 Baker missing
7 Tipuric missing
6 King probably missing
5 AWJ missing
4 Steenkamp or Bernardo missing
3 Arhip
2 Baldwin missing
1 Smith missing
16 Parry missing
17 Bevington missing
18 Jarvis missing
19 Peers missing
20 Ardron
21 Roberts
22 Davies
23 Dirksen
Don't forget the fringe players, some are still missing including the likes of Allen, Bearman and Bishop.

by The Saint Wed Feb 04, 2015 8:17 am

But wayne, there were all missing at different points in the season. Most first team injuries were for 1-2 games as mentioned, bar the likes of Beck and now long term absentees like Beck, Smith (which I knew of anyway). Who counts fringe/3rd choice players? Every team would have 20-30 injuries regularly if they counted all of those guys. Also, Steenkamp has yet to play for you so how can he be established is a starter? He's probably twice the player Peers is though. Earlier in the season when I spoke of the lacking depth I pointed to specific positions, that hasn't really changed regardless of injuries. If Jarvis is first or second choice then that IS some lack of strength in depth. Him and Bevington (who is no great loss IMO) are good 3rd choice players at best, yet right now they're ranked much higher. The first choice players that are a great loss Smith (played a lot of games for you, injured in euro cup), Baker (same as Smith, but injured before euro cup), Hassler (played often in both competitions, got injured in the period between end of first round of euro cup and domestic duty I think?), Beck (back from long-term injury, playing now), Tipuric (I count two games that he missed), Matavesi (must have missed that one, couldn't have been long or significant, playing now and has played almost all games), Walker (walking injury, played in some big games), Dirksen (long-term injury, back playing regularly now) - this is just off the top of my head, without actually delving into the archives. The rest of the low-down players on your list...I could probably count on one hand between them how many games they've missed this season. See how you're exaggerating your injury list?

I don't think with the team you now have available you would beat the Dragons team that beat Stade Francais. Also, you made changes going into the game against Treviso and suffered an embarrassing loss, yet you're saying you could beat Treviso right now... This loss was just last week. Next time I'd consider engaging the brain before sending silly comments like that.

by wayne Wed Feb 04, 2015 8:41 am

The Saint wrote:But wayne, there were all missing at different points in the season. Most first team injuries were for 1-2 games as mentioned, bar the likes of Beck and now long term absentees like Beck, Smith (which I knew of anyway). Who counts fringe/3rd choice players? Every team would have 20-30 injuries regularly if they counted all of those guys. Also, Steenkamp has yet to play for you so how can he be established is a starter? He's probably twice the player Peers is though. Earlier in the season when I spoke of the lacking depth I pointed to specific positions, that hasn't really changed regardless of injuries. If Jarvis is first or second choice then that IS some lack of strength in depth. Him and Bevington (who is no great loss IMO) are good 3rd choice players at best, yet right now they're ranked much higher. The first choice players that are a great loss Smith (played a lot of games for you, injured in euro cup), Baker (same as Smith, but injured before euro cup), Hassler (played often in both competitions, got injured in the period between end of first round of euro cup and domestic duty I think?), Beck (back from long-term injury, playing now), Tipuric (I count two games that he missed), Matavesi (must have missed that one, couldn't have been long or significant, playing now and has played almost all games), Walker (walking injury, played in some big games), Dirksen (long-term injury, back playing regularly now) - this is just off the top of my head, without actually delving into the archives. The rest of the low-down players on your list...I could probably count on one hand between them how many games they've missed this season. See how you're exaggerating your injury list?

I don't think with the team you now have available you would beat the Dragons team that beat Stade Francais. Also, you made changes going into the game against Treviso and suffered an embarrassing loss, yet you're saying you could beat Treviso right now... This loss was just last week. Next time I'd consider engaging the brain before sending silly comments like that.

So a game that had no significance on the table was embarrassing was it, if there was anything on that game we would beat them and your shower, we had 20 to 22 players that were missing over the AI period not only first team squad but also players that would have taken their places, that were injured that was why we had to play the 2 Thomas's 5th and 6th choice. It is not just the first choice injured or away it is the back ups as well, these players are missing and we are still top, it is the extras that will hurt us, as for my statement about us dropping out of the top 6, if you look at my posts about how we will perform BEFORE most games, you'll see I'm a pessimist and invariably proved wrong, I wouldn't be surprised to be again.

by The Saint Wed Feb 04, 2015 10:17 am

Any loss to teams considered minnows is embarrassing, and it was in the euro cup which is before the AI period. I know Treviso used to be pretty good, but they've gone backwards and rightfully carry the minnows tag again. I only really said it so you could realise what a daft comment that was! You're hit pretty hard at LH and TH though just a little less so, that we know. What we also now know, is your depth is poor, a point raised earlier in the season. I wouldn't be surprised either as you're always wrong...however I think you might be on to something this time.

by wayne Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:31 pm

The Saint wrote:Any loss to teams considered minnows is embarrassing, and it was in the euro cup which is before the AI period. I know Treviso used to be pretty good, but they've gone backwards and rightfully carry the minnows tag again. I only really said it so you could realise what a daft comment that was! You're hit pretty hard at LH and TH though just a little less so, that we know. What we also now know, is your depth is poor, a point raised earlier in the season. I wouldn't be surprised either as you're always wrong...however I think you might be on to something this time.

,
You are the one embarrassing yourself, the game against Treviso we lost was a dead rubber AFTER the Northampton game which ensured we were already out a couple of weeks ago, we rested Evans, Biggar, Webb and AWJ who had played practically every game for us this season when available and for the Internationals, we were also missing through injury Bishop, Baker, Bevington, Bearman, Hassler, Duncan, Nicky Smith, Spratt, Steenkamp and Peers, 6 of which would be in our first team squad, the match you are referring to we won 42-7, even in that match we were missing 6 players who would be in our first choice 23, when you are talking about a lack of depth are you talking about 4th, 5th and 6th choice selections, every team at least within the Guinness has a lack of depth if they had to select those choices, when teams have to submit squads for the RCC and the lesser competition, they have to have 10 front row players, I'd presume they would be 6 props and 4 hookers, so our 2 LHs wouldn't be in our normal squad.
To go back to the original point, for the 4 matches coming up, we'll be without AWJ, Steenkamp, Bernardo, King, and Peers and 2 out of Thornton, Hughes, and Beard who will be with the U20s, we'll be left with The Fijian Cavubati, one of the U20s and possibly King if he is allowed back, we have used Ardron in the past but because of call ups and injuries he will have to stay in the back row. As I said in my initial post these new injuries will seriously impede our points gathering potential. AS IT WOULD ANY TEAM IN THE GUINNESS LEAGUE not just us.

by Sponsored content