Aviva Premiership Round Five

by **Ozzy3213** Tue 30 Sep - 7:46

First topic message reminder :

Four rounds gone, and there has been no let up in the entertainment served up in the Aviva Premiership this season. Round four began at the Kassam Stadium on Friday night, where London Welsh were in the game for an hour before capitulating and giving up another big score to a Gloucester side who barely got out of second gear. Saturday afternoon saw three games, with Saints vs. Bath being the TV pick. The champions showed why they are the champions in this one, dominating the early part of the game against a Bath side buoyed by the result the week before, and by the time Bath got into the game, it was a little too late and a losing bonus point was all they could muster. Slightly earlier in the day, Saracens marked their first game of the season at Allianz Park with a try bonus point win over Sale, and London Irish backed up a good performance last week against Saracens by beating a beleagured Tigers team at Welford Road for just the second time in the last 91 years. On Sunday, Exeter Chiefs maintained their good start to the season, living off of numerous errors from and out of form Quins side to pick up a comfortable win at home, and Wasps bagged a try bonus point against a Falcons side who showed plenty of endeavour, but lacked in the execution department.

Prediction wise, it was a bumper week for me, with 6 from 6, which meant my acca with the man at Corals came in, and I picked up a couple of yellow caps in the SuperBru leagues. So here's the table after round 4:-

POS	TEAM	P	W	D	L	F	A	DIFF	TF	TA	TBP	LBP	PTS
1.	Saracens	4	4	0	0	149	79	+70	14	10	2	0	18
2.	Northampton Saints	4	3	0	1	135	60	+75	17	6	3	1	16
3.	Bath Rugby	4	3	0	1	151	77	+74	17	10	2	1	15
4.	Exeter Chiefs	4	3	0	1	133	59	+74	13	6	1	1	14
5.	Wasps	4	2	0	2	106	94	+12	12	9	1	2	11
6.	London Irish	4	2	0	2	89	93	-4	7	9	1	2	11
7.	Gloucester	4	2	0	2	108	115	-7	12	14	1	1	10
8.	Leicester Tigers	4	2	0	2	79	104	-25	7	10	1	1	10
9.	Harlequins	4	2	0	2	59	113	-54	5	9	0	0	8
10.	Sale Sharks	4	1	0	3	112	111	+1	15	10	2	1	7
11.	Newcastle Falcons	4	0	0	4	63	126	-63	8	14	0	1	1
12.	London Welsh	4	0	0	4	44	197	-153	6	26	1	0	1

So, on to this weeks fixtures, and here they are;-

Friday 3rd October 2014 19:45 Bath Rugby vs. Saracens

What should be the game of the round is first up this week, and it's likely to prove to be a fiesty affair. Going by last seasons meetings between these two sides there is clearly no love lost and I'll be amazed if there aren't a few cards in this one. If there are, those 10 minute periods where one team is not at full strength could be crucial, and it will be the most clinical of the two sides who will win. Saracens will want to protect their unbeaten record, but Bath, having lost to Saints will have a point to prove and are at home. This is a massive test for them, and will tell us a lot about whether they are genuine title contenders or not. I think they'll pass the test, and pick up a narrow win, with Saracens bagging a losing bonus point.

Saturday 4th October 2014 15:00 Harlequins vs. London Welsh

Quins are desperate for a cohesive performance, to give them something to build on, and Welsh are just desperate for anything they can get from games right now. It's no good Justin Burnell whinging about referees and level playing fields, he needs to sort out that defence, which has been quite frankly appalling and barely Championship standard so far this season. His team will need to show real heart and desire against a Quins side who will undoubtedly be targeting 5 points here. I just can't see it to be honest, and thing Quins will cruise to victory in this one and leave Welsh rooted firmly to the bottom of the table.

Saturday 4th October 2014 15:00 London Irish vs. Northampton Saints

As ever with my own team I don't know who to call this one. Heart as always says 'we got this' but the head says Saints are the strongest side in the league and this one could well be a struggle. Having lost away at Wasps, Saints will not want a second slip up in the opening block of games, and will be very focused going in to this one. Irish will be confident having taken 6 points from the last two games against Sarries and Tigers. Tactics will have to be spot on for Irish, as the game plans deployed against their two previous employments will not get the job done against Saints. Almost as an emotional insurance I am going to tip Saints here, with us getting a losing bonus point, but on SuperBru and in my acca, I have to back my team.

Saturday 4th October 2014 15:15 Gloucester vs. Leicester Tigers

I heard someone say yesterday that Kingsholm is the last place Tigers will want to be going at the moment, but I actually think the opposite. Yes it's an intimidating atmosphere and tough place to go, but actually in their current plight, other than running in tries for fun against Welsh, a tough one like this is just what they need. They will have to front up, and for all that Gloucester have improved on last season, they have been a little hit and miss so far, and are work in progress rather than the finished article. James Hook will need to improve on Fridays performance, and if he does they have a sparkling back line that can hurt Leicester, but the Tigers back line is none to shabby either, and there pack has enough in it to compete. It's a tough call, but I can't see Tigers losing 3 on the bounce, and I think they'll nick this one on the road.

Sunday 5th October 2014 14:00 Sale Sharks vs. London Wasps

Sale haven't played terribly this season, but results haven't gone their way. Wasps have looked decent both in victory and defeat, and will have genuine ambitions to finish in the top 6, if not the top 4. The breakdown will be the key here. Wasps back row have been excellent, and given quick ball to Simpson and Goode and with the pace they have outside of them they will hurt teams. Sale have to slow this down and make this a dog fight, as they don't have the firepower to win a shootout. Steve Diamond is no fool though, and he will know exactly how he wants his team to play. Wasps are probably favourites, but I'm going with Sale to dig this one out at home, Wasps to get the losing bonus point.

Sunday 5th October 2014 15:00 Newcastle Falcons vs. Exeter Chiefs

Exeter are my surprise package this season. I genuinely thought their recruitment hadn't be great and they would be in that 7th to 10th group in the final shake up. So far, new boy Thomas Waldrom, and academy graduates Sam Hill and Henry Slade are putting in performances that mean their sights will be set a whole lot higher than that. Falcons are struggling. In some ways, it's difficult to see why, as there is definitely some talent there. They are very difficult to predict on this early in the week, as nobody has any clue what side Dean Richards will send out, and this has to be part of the issue. I think it's 20 games without a win now, and they know they need to break that sequence soon if they are to put some distance between them and Welsh. On paper, this is a Chiefs win, but I just have a feeling that Falcons might up it for this one and cause an upset. There, I've said it, Falcons win, losing bonus point for the Chiefs!

Ozzy's redicted table after round 5:

Northampton Saints 20, Bath Rugby 19, Saracens 19, Exeter Chiefs 15, Leicester Tigers 14, Harlequins 13, Wasps 12, London Irish 12, Sale Sharks 11, Gloucester 11, Newcastle Falcons 5, London Welsh 1.

by Hound of Harrow Thu 2 Oct - 9:45

Bathman_in_London wrote:
Ozzy3213 wrote:When is the EPS announced? Is it likely to have any bearing on team selections for this and next week?

I think I read it was after this batch of AP games? I may be wrong but it certainly won't disrupt this weekend.

Announced on 22nd October - i.e. after the first round of European games.

by Hound of Harrow Thu 2 Oct - 9:49

Ozzy3213 wrote:Confidence may be an issue with Short. He lost his place at Saracens and went on loan to Wasps, where I suspect he was behind Varndell and Wade. I hope Smithy sticks with him as if he can bag a couple of tries and get some confidence I reckon he could be pretty decent for us.

Short was signed as cover for the injured Wade. Pretty sure he was on loan at Bedford at the time.

by beshocked Thu 2 Oct - 10:01

Ozzy I agree. Short like any winger needs tries for a confidence boost.

He's not really scored many since his glory try in 2011.

There are other wingers still looking for their first try this season, he's in good company. Wink

by **Ozzy3213** Thu 2 Oct - 11:30

Roll on tomorrow and the team announcements at lunchtime.

I would imagine for us there might be a couple of changes in the pack, but I would be surprised if we make any changes to the back line.

It had almost passed me by that Geraghty is an ex Saints player. Hopefully he will raise his game even further against his old team in this one.

by Geordie Thu 2 Oct - 11:49

He's started the season very well Ozzy. Theres a glaring problem position in the England backline....is he playing his way into Lancasters mind? Or is he just enjoying his rugby and should be left alone with Irish.

by **Ozzy3213** Thu 2 Oct - 12:09

I'd be happy for England to leave him alone to be honest and just let him play. I'm not really sure what Lancaster wants at 12 really, a playmaker or a bosher. If he wants the latter then Shane is definitely not his man. I can't see him being picked if I'm honest. There is a group of about 40-50 players that Lancaster has used or had around the EPS and Saxons, and he needs to get that down to 30 in the next year, so to come in from outside that I think you are going to have to be doing something absolutely special.

by **Ozzy3213** Thu 2 Oct - 12:23

Henson starting at 15 for Bath tomorrow night apparently.

by Welly Thu 2 Oct - 12:36

Bath: 15 Gavin Henson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 George Ford, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Guy Mercer, 6 Alafoti Fa'osiliva, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper (c), 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Paul James
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Dominic Day, 20 David Sisi, 21 Micky Young, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Anthony Watson

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Chris Wyles, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alistair Hargreaves (c), 4 George Kruis, 3 James Johnston, 2 Jamie George, 1 Rhys Gill
Replacements: 16 Scott Spurling, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Kieran Longbottom, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 Ben Ransom

Good to see Watson in there.

Plenty of EQP in both teams.

by **Ozzy3213** Thu 2 Oct - 13:05

18 EQP for Bath and 14 for Saracens. Pretty good. Is it an average of 13 across the season for the RFU payment?

by HammerofThunor Thu 2 Oct - 13:07

15 in the 23 I think.

by Bathman_in_London Thu 2 Oct - 13:47

The Bath half backs are both very young and inexperienced compared to the Sarries ones, I just wonder if they struggle to break down the defensive wall if they will run out of ideas.

I'm glad to see there are plenty of EQP's in the Bath squad, loads of youngsters on the bench too, which bodes well for the future.

by Welly Thu 2 Oct - 13:50

HammerofThunor wrote:15 in the 23 I think.

that's what I got.

by beshocked Thu 2 Oct - 13:58

Saracens haven't put out the strongest team they can field.

Two areas I think Bath can exploit - centres and frontrow.

On the other hand I feel that Saracens can potentially unsettle the inexperienced half back combo as bathman in london mentions.

Plus Henson at full back.

by Bathite Thu 2 Oct - 15:56

Are you suggesting that Sarries are resting players or just highlighting that some are injured/unavailable? Who is missing?

Whilst Cook is inexperienced, I don't think that the same can be said about Ford and it is these two's partnership that has been key to our success so far.

Henson at full back certainly a weakness though, as is the back row.

Beshocked, will Wyles and Taylor really be 12 and 13 respectively? I would expect them to be the other way round, no?

by bluestonevedder Thu 2 Oct - 16:03

Good to see big old Sisi on the bench for Bath!

Mercer's getting a nice string of starts with Louw out. How's he performing?

by beshocked Thu 2 Oct - 16:14

Bathite wrote:Are you suggesting that Sarries are resting players or just highlighting that some are injured/unavailable? Who is missing?

Whilst Cook is inexperienced, I don't think that the same can be said about Ford and it is these two's partnership that has been key to our success so far.

Henson at full back certainly a weakness though, as is the back row.

Beshocked, will Wyles and Taylor really be 12 and 13 respectively? I would expect them to be the other way round, no?

Highlighting that I don't think Saracens are putting out their strongest team with the players available.

I prefer Barrington to Gill and Tompkins to Wyles in the centres. Wyles is not a centre in my opinion and greatly weakens the team in that area.

Tompkins is inexperienced but he's very talented and it's been mentioned that he played well vs Sale. Smacks of conservatism which could cost Sarries dear. He's probably not starting because he's more of a flair player (rare for a Saracens player).

I like Barrington - disappointing to see he didn't get the nod.

Of course it's not Saracens best team when you have about 6 potential starters missing - Mako,Brits,Fraser,Bosch,Barritt,Farrell but neither is it's Bath's best team. I am not making excuses - Bath have their fair share of absentees too.

As for Ford - he's been playing well but he's not a big guy, if I was the likes of Burger and Billy I would look to physically impose themselves on him.

You mention the backrow - it's a very strong looking Sarries one. Bath's backrow will need to gain at least parity if Bath are going to stand a chance.

by Bathite Thu 2 Oct - 19:20

bluestonevedder wrote:Good to see big old Sisi on the bench for Bath!

Mercer's getting a nice string of starts with Louw out. How's he performing?

Mercer has been brilliant so far this season and really taken his chance in the absence of Louw and Garvey and with us letting Gilbert go

by Bathite Thu 2 Oct - 19:23

beshocked wrote:
Bathite wrote:Are you suggesting that Sarries are resting players or just highlighting that some are injured/unavailable? Who is missing?

Whilst Cook is inexperienced, I don't think that the same can be said about Ford and it is these two's partnership that has been key to our success so far.

Henson at full back certainly a weakness though, as is the back row.

Beshocked, will Wyles and Taylor really be 12 and 13 respectively? I would expect them to be the other way round, no?

Highlighting that I don't think Saracens are putting out their strongest team with the players available.

I prefer Barrington to Gill and Tompkins to Wyles in the centres. Wyles is not a centre in my opinion and greatly weakens the team in that area.

Tompkins is inexperienced but he's very talented and it's been mentioned that he played well vs Sale. Smacks of conservatism which could cost Sarries dear. He's probably not starting because he's more of a flair player (rare for a Saracens player).

I like Barrington - disappointing to see he didn't get the nod.

Of course it's not Saracens best team when you have about 6 potential starters missing - Mako,Brits,Fraser,Bosch,Barritt,Farrell but neither is it's Bath's best team. I am not making excuses - Bath have their fair share of absentees too.

As for Ford - he's been playing well but he's not a big guy, if I was the likes of Burger and Billy I would look to physically impose themselves on him.

You mention the backrow - it's a very strong looking Sarries one. Bath's backrow will need to gain at least parity if Bath are going to stand a chance.

Ok fair enough, so just Tompkins and Barrington are starting from the bench, fairly normal squad rotation then. Is Wyles a much better defender? There should be a plot to tie down Ford/Eastmond axis, that's where our magic has come from, so maybe they thought his epxerience and positioning was a better option?

Everyone targets Ford's channel defensively, no news there, but he tends to do ok to be fair.

by Sgt_Pooly Thu 2 Oct - 19:48

Tompkins is very raw defensively, he fell off tackles for fun in the U20 WC, Wyles is an upgrade imo.

by TJ Thu 2 Oct - 19:57

How is Kelly Brown doing for Sarries? Don't break him please - I want him playing for Scotland again

by Welly Fri 3 Oct - 12:15

Big bad Brad thorn to make his first Tigers start.

Leicester Tigers (vs Gloucester Rugby, away, Saturday 3.15pm)
15 Mathew Tait
14 Blaine Scully
13 Vereniki Goneva
12 Seremaia Bai
11 Miles Benjamin
10 Owen Williams
9 Ben Youngs (c)
1 Michele Rizzo
2 Leonardo Ghiraldini
3 Fraser Balmain
4 Brad Thorn
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Robert Barbieri

Replacements
16 Neil Briggs
17 Tom Bristow
18 Tiziano Pasquali
19 Sebastian De Chaves
20 Jordan Crane
21 David Mele
22 Freddie Burns
23 Matt Smith

by **LondonTiger** Fri 3 Oct - 12:19

Just 6 EQP in that starting XV Sad

I know that injury has deprived us of 7 EQP first teamers, while rotation sees a couple more drop to the bench, but still that is a touch depressing.

by Dubbelyew L Overate Fri 3 Oct - 12:20

Exeter team to face Falcons

15 Phil Dollman
14 Tom James
13 Henry Slade
12 Ian Whitten
11 Matt Jess
10 Gareth Steenson
9 Will Chudley
1 Ben Moon
2 Jack Yeandle (capt)
3 Tomas Francis
4 Don Armand
5 Damian Welch
6 Dave Ewers
7 Ben White
8 Thomas Waldrom

16 Elvis Taione
17 Carl Rimmer
18 Moray Low
19 Ryan Caldwell
20 Kai Horstmann
21 Haydn Thomas
22 Sam Hill
23 Chrysander Botha

A few changes - Jack Nowell's knee isn't risked on the artificial pitch, so Tom James comes in, with Botha on the bench. Hill is rotated with Whitten, and Armand gets his first start of the season, with Caldwell back in the XXIII. Haydn Thomas has recovered from his concussion a fortnight ago and returns as a substitute.

by Welly Fri 3 Oct - 12:21

Don't care about EQP amount ATM TBH.

by HongKongCherry Fri 3 Oct - 12:21

Glaws' line up
Rob Cook; Charlie Sharples, Henry Purdy, Billy Twelvetrees (capt), Jonny May; James Hook, Greig Laidlaw; Nick Wood, Richard Hibbard, John Afoa; Tom Savage, Tom Palmer; Sione Kalamafoni, Matt Kvesic, Ben Morgan

Replacements:
Aleki Lutui, Yann Thomas, Sila Puafisi, Elliott Stooke, Ross Moriarty, Dan Robson, Mark Atkinson, Tom Isaacs

by Bathite Fri 3 Oct - 12:22

LondonTiger wrote:Just 6 EQP in that starting XV :(

I know that injury has deprived us of 7 EQP first teamers, while rotation sees a couple more drop to the bench, but still that is a touch depressing.

Burns dropped?

by Welly Fri 3 Oct - 12:22

although the fact that Glaws have the same amount of Tiger academy players in there XV as Leicester is a bit weird

by Welly Fri 3 Oct - 12:24

Bathite wrote:
LondonTiger wrote:Just 6 EQP in that starting XV

I know that injury has deprived us of 7 EQP first teamers, while rotation sees a couple more drop to the bench, but still that is a touch depressing.

Burns dropped?

I believe the plan was to drop burns last week but 12 shortage stopped that.

Cockers wanted Williams to get game time @ 10 before the Champions cup game, so he could get a idea on who to pick.

by HongKongCherry Fri 3 Oct - 12:25

Welly wrote:although the fact that Glaws have the same amount of Tiger academy players in there XV as Leicester is a bit weird

Perhaps they felt their paths were blocked by all the non-EQP! Wink

by Welly Fri 3 Oct - 12:27

HongKongCherry wrote:
Welly wrote:although the fact that Glaws have the same amount of Tiger academy players in there XV as Leicester is a bit weird

Perhaps they felt their paths were blocked by all the non-EQP!

Ironically there positions at the time of leaving had EQP players in them.

by **LondonTiger** Fri 3 Oct - 12:27

Yeah - pretty sure that Williams would have been at 10 last week, but for centre issues.

Due to his ban, Burns got a head start on him, but William's excellent form last season will have accrued brownie points.

We can now expect Williams to play against Quins next Friday too as Cockers weights up his options for Ulster's visit.

by **LondonTiger** Fri 3 Oct - 12:28

Welly wrote:
HongKongCherry wrote:
Welly wrote:although the fact that Glaws have the same amount of Tiger academy players in there XV as Leicester is a bit weird

Perhaps they felt their paths were blocked by all the non-EQP!

Ironically there positions at the time of leaving had EQP players in them.

Indeed, though of course one of those was a glaws youth product.

by Welly Fri 3 Oct - 12:29

LondonTiger wrote:
Welly wrote:
HongKongCherry wrote:
Welly wrote:although the fact that Glaws have the same amount of Tiger academy players in there XV as Leicester is a bit weird

Perhaps they felt their paths were blocked by all the non-EQP!

Ironically there positions at the time of leaving had EQP players in them.

Indeed, though of course one of those was a glaws youth product.

It's starting to get confusing now. Wink

by HongKongCherry Fri 3 Oct - 12:32

Welly wrote:
LondonTiger wrote:
Welly wrote:
HongKongCherry wrote:
Welly wrote:although the fact that Glaws have the same amount of Tiger academy players in there XV as Leicester is a bit weird

Perhaps they felt their paths were blocked by all the non-EQP!

Ironically there positions at the time of leaving had EQP players in them.

Indeed, though of course one of those was a glaws youth product.

It's starting to get confusing now.

Yet none of them come from our respective feeder clubs Newcastle and Bath Wink

by **LondonTiger** Fri 3 Oct - 12:51

London Welsh: 15. Seb Jewell, 14. Seb Stegmann, 13. Nic Reynolds, 12. Tom May* (C), 11. Nick Scott, 10. Olly Barkley*, 9. Piri Weepu*, 1. Ricky Reeves, 2. Koree Britton, 3. Taione Vea*, 4. Dean Schofield*, 5. James Down, 6. Peter Browne 7. Lachlan McCaffrey, 8. Ollie Stedman.

Replacements: 16. Nathan Morris, 17. Pablo Henn*, 18. Eddie Aholelei*, 19. Ben Pienaar, 20. Chris Hala’ufia*, 21. Rob Lewis, 22. Tristan Roberts, 23. Rhys Crane.

Chris Hala'ufia signed on a two week loan from Scarlets is set to feature against Quins

by **LondonTiger** Fri 3 Oct - 13:54

London Irish: Fenby; Lewington, Mulchrone, Geraghty, Short; Noakes, O'Leary; Court, Paice, Aulika; Skivington (capt), Sinclair; Low, Cowan, Narraway.
Replacements: Stevens, Parr, Halavatau, Leo, Guest, Allinson, Sheridan, Ojo.
Northampton: Foden; K Pisi, G Pisi, Burrell, North; Myler, Dickson; A Waller, Haywood, Ma'afu; Lawes, Craig; Clark, Fisher, Manoa
Replacements: McMillan, E Waller, Denman, Dowson, Harrison, Fotuali'i, Hooley, Wilson

TOL replaces the injured Steele as Irish looik to do an East Midlands double. Saints pack someway from full strength as skipper Hartley (back) joins england colleagues wood (also back) and Corbisiero (shoulder) on the physio's table.

Saints defensive structure in midfield can fall apart, which a resurgent gewraghty will look to exploit. As last week for Irish this is as good a chance as they will get to bet a supposed top team.

by Geordie Fri 3 Oct - 16:12

Falcons for Exeter

1.Kieran Brookes
2. Scott Lawson
3. Scott Wilson
4. Calum Green
5. Dom Barrow
6. Mark Wilson
7. Will Welch (c)
8. Ally Hogg.

9 Ruki Tipuna
10. Juan Pablo Socino
11. Noah Cato
12. Adam Powell
13. Gonzalo Tiesi
14. Sinotti Sinotti
15.Alex Tait,

Replacements 16. Rob Hawkins, 17. Alex Rogers, 18. Oliver Tomaszczyk, 19. Josh Furno, 20. Richard Mayhew, 21. Mike Blair, 22. Rory Clegg, 23. Tom Catterick

Brookes continues at bloomin LH. Hey Richards heres an idea....if Fry is no good which is blatantly obvious....BUY A F&%KING LH!!

Welch is captain but is not offering much...Saull has been outstanding in the A games...yes its the A games...but what the hell he should be getting a shot off the bench.

Likewise Helleur at centre.

Hogg needs a couple of big performances as well....he's not been setting the world on fire.

We shall see how it goes but I expect a defeat again. Exeter will be looking for maximum points which is worryingly becoming the norm so early in the season

by Sgt_Pooly Fri 3 Oct - 16:16

On a plus there's some continuity GF, nice to see it in the back line. Watching Socino I'm unsure he'll ever make a 10, his distribution is plain awful. I seen Smithy say his handling and distribution were crisp, he must be watching somebody else imo.

by Geordie Fri 3 Oct - 16:21

Yeah very true Sgt...we need a FH...Socino is a quality 12 who can back up 10. But we have been calling for a FH since we were in the championship.

I was critical of Gopperth at times but he was still a country mile above Godawful and Clugg.

by **Ozzy3213** Fri 3 Oct - 17:13

LondonTiger wrote:
London Irish: Fenby; Lewington, Mulchrone, Geraghty, Short; Noakes, O'Leary; Court, Paice, Aulika; Skivington (capt), Sinclair; Low, Cowan, Narraway.
Replacements: Stevens, Parr, Halavatau, Leo, Guest, Allinson, Sheridan, Ojo.
Northampton: Foden; K Pisi, G Pisi, Burrell, North; Myler, Dickson; A Waller, Haywood, Ma'afu; Lawes, Craig; Clark, Fisher, Manoa
Replacements: McMillan, E Waller, Denman, Dowson, Harrison, Fotuali'i, Hooley, Wilson

TOL replaces the injured Steele as Irish looik to do an East Midlands double. Saints pack someway from full strength as skipper Hartley (back) joins england colleagues wood (also back) and Corbisiero (shoulder) on the physio's table.

Saints defensive structure in midfield can fall apart, which a resurgent gewraghty will look to exploit. As last week for Irish this is as good a chance as they will get to bet a supposed top team.

Steele not playing is a blow. He gets the ball away a fair bit quicker than TOL, which has given Noakes and Geraghty time and space to work in. There is also a question mark as to whether or not it will be Halavatau or Geoff Cross on the bench. Teamsheet says Halavatau, but the blurb with it suggests Cross. Squad announcement video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5GDvo1iXcM&list=UUQYMvGMgRj8Yjbdv72hOgXA ... also says Geoff Cross.

I'm undecided as to whether I am confident for this one or not. Have been a London Irish fan for too long to get carried away by the recent good results.

by Sgt_Pooly Fri 3 Oct - 17:40

How's Auterac been getting on Bath fans? I remember him being a big old unit, I was surprised Sarries let him go.

by Guest Fri 3 Oct - 18:43

Bath - Saracens

Clash of the money bags this week. Should have plenty of physicality and will be a close run thing. Saracens to take it at the end after exploiting a huge gap in defence caused by the stitching on Ford's coin purse coming loose and Gav stopping to nick his gold. Not that we'll see any of this with the camera trained on Bruce Craig, but it will happen because I've told you it will, so drop it ok?

Saracens by 5

Harlequins - London Welsh

Expect to see the proud dragon to huff and puff for half an hour or so and force plenty of errors from Quins as they appear slightly fearful of the fire-breathing beast. Normal service will be resumed when Quins realise the only thing coming out of the mouth of this monster is the smell of a putrid fart. From then on Quins to run the show with their pathetic girly rugby. You know what I'm on about, the passing, the offloads and the intelligent running lines. Everything we hate to see.

Quins by 37

Irish - Saints

Last week's great cheaters will no doubt try the same shady tactics this week, and who can blame them when it allowed them to rob a victory from the rightful champions? Unfortunately (yeah right) for them, the dark lord and his followers are just too powerful for anyone at the minute and should cope, even with a couple of injuries in the pack. God, why are Saints fans always banging on about injuries?

Anyway, both to lose by 50

Gloucester - Leicester

A resurgent Gloucester (ok it's been on hold but it's coming) against the champions elect. Easiest match of the week to predict for me, with Leicester dishing out a devastating moral victory on Gloucester. No idea how the score board will end up, not important.

Leicester by 15 injuries to 4

Sale - Wasps

Wasp fans to protest their club's imminent move to Coventry by turning up in Sale colours and cheering enemy on. Sale to be so blown away by having more than a dozen or so supporters that they smash Wasps by 20. Except they won't win because Wasps will win and their fans won't switch teams. What are you even on about?

Wasps by 8

Newcastle - Chiefs

Chiefs by 16

by Heaf Fri 3 Oct - 18:48

Made an early start on the Whisky

Fuzzy? Funny though Smile

by Bathite Fri 3 Oct - 19:24

Sgt_Pooly wrote:How's Auterac been getting on Bath fans? I remember him being a big old unit, I was surprised Sarries let him go.

Made some very impressive appearances off the bench. Really turning some heads at the Rec. He is massive! Only about 21 and has the club jerk record already apparently. Keep an eye out tonight.

by HammerofThunor Fri 3 Oct - 19:58

Good reactions from Eastmond and Joseph. Eastmond has got such a wicked acceleration.

by **LondonTiger** Fri 3 Oct - 20:31

Bath seem to be getting away with murder, high challenges, no arm challenges, late hits with Sarries being picked up for everything (except Kelly Brown and the invisibility cloak he has borrowed from McCaw).

Greg Garner is quite possibly the worst ref I have ever seen and has achieved the impossible and made be feel sorry for chris Ashton.

by Sgt_Pooly Fri 3 Oct - 20:34

Small wins the "worst ref accolade" hands down

by **Ozzy3213** Fri 3 Oct - 20:36

LondonTiger wrote:Bath seem to be getting away with murder, high challenges, no arm challenges, late hits with Sarries being picked up for everything (except Kelly Brown and the invisibility cloak he has borrowed from McCaw).

Greg Garner is quite possibly the worst ref I have ever seen and has achieved the impossible and made be feel sorry for chris Ashton.

Garner always favours the home side! Wink

by Bathite Fri 3 Oct - 20:39

LondonTiger wrote:Bath seem to be getting away with murder, high challenges, no arm challenges, late hits with Sarries being picked up for everything (except Kelly Brown and the invisibility cloak he has borrowed from McCaw).

Greg Garner is quite possibly the worst ref I have ever seen and has achieved the impossible and made be feel sorry for chris Ashton.

Still a bit bitter?

by Bathite Fri 3 Oct - 20:45

If Roko isn't in the EPS we have missed a massive opportunity

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