Premiership at the Half-Way Point

We are now half-way through the Premiership season, and are also in the midst of the holiday season.  So this is a good time to take a few minutes to, put down your cup (bowl?) of holiday cheer and assess the Premiership season so far.  

There are certainly a number of business issues which are of great significance.  Foremost is the investigation into potential salary cap violations.  If any club is found guilty the results could be catastrophic for those clubs and far reaching for the league.  We also need to see the impact of the new Euro competition on the Premiership, if there is any impact at all.  Wasps saved themselves from insolvency but had to relocate to Coventry.  Only time will tell if that postponed their demise or if there will be a rebirth.  And, of course, the on-going studies of concussion and illegal PEDs.  Finally, we have to look at the qualification for promotion.  Clearly, an issue.  

Looking at the Rugby side of the Premiership, we have a very interesting season under way.  Saints are first, but only just.  Bath are looking increasingly strong and are right there.  Are Saracens playing poorly?  Or doing what good teams do and continue to win despite being off their best?  Exeter seem about right in fourth, really good but appearing to lack that killer instinct or that singular game breaker.  Leicester at fifth and sitting just fine. Ready for their accursed and annual second half charge up the table?  Is it coincidental they have players coming back from injury about now as well?  

Who knows what to make of Wasps?  Are they really good, or maybe just Goode enough?   Not sure what to make of Sale either.  Braid is a very good leader, but I am not sold on Cipriani.  After that we have Gloucester.  Lots of good players, but they just don’t seem to fit together.  Should be better.  London Irish and Newcastle simply need more good quality players though I get the feeling neither is really that far off.

Then we get to London Welsh.  The only good thing which can be said is they have 11 more matches to try and gain a victory.   Shame because the other eleven clubs are truly competitive with each other.  

So, what do you think?  Especially about your own clubs?

Ouch. We're so poor that we're just forgotten about it seems.

Well from a Falcons point of view...despite being second bottom most fans are HUGELY encouraged now but by no means taking anything for granted or increasing their expectations too much.

We are recording wins, we are playing a high risk entertaining style of rugby and the youngsters coming in look made for the prem and higher....and are mixing very well with the old pros like Alex Tuilagi who is finally looking fit and the best winger in the league Sinotti Sinotti....etc

We will cause a few upsets before the season is over that's for sure.

However our scrums are a big issues and not having a reliable kicker (something Socino was supposed to be when we signed him) has cost us wins and draws (last weekend v Sarries for an example).

We desperately need a top class LH (preferably English) but whether we bring one in i'm not sure. Dean feels we are well ahead of his 5 year plan so he may choose to work with improving what we have - which considering Vickers is 33 and Eric Fry is utter gash would not be my choice.

We could also do with a class number 10. Clegg is a big ?? at this level and whilst Catterick is coming in and actually looking like he may have something i'm not sure if he is the answer (yet) but worth watching.

ALl in all happy. We have closed the gap on our closest rivals and I would hope with some momentum we can actually climb above them ensuring LW being so dire aren't the reason we are still up.

yappysnap wrote:Ouch. We're so poor that we're just forgotten about it seems.

Sorry, mate.  I guess I didn't put down my cup of holiday cheer. Sometimes it is hard to count all the way to 12............

With LW being so poor (sorry LW fans) this season surely the battle for relegation is already over but would Worcester who are currently top of the Championship be anymore competitive?

What to make of Wasps?

Easy. Not putting in 80 minute performances, although we have been getting better of late. We have attacking threats all over the field but all too often indiscipline costs us promising field position.

Getting Launchbury back will improve us at the breakdown. B. Davies has been fantastic though, and he and Launchbury will be a good lock partnership. Myall and Gaskell are handy back ups though.

We still have to go to the top two, but we have most of our rivals for a top four finish at home (I'd you can call Coventry 'home')


I think we could finish 5th but the main thing is qualifying for the main European cup.

Slightly you'd have thought. Bristol should have come up they at least had been cultivating a squad capable of putting up a fight.

Tigers are lucky to be where they, are we've been playing total rubbish for most of the season. Mauger can't arrive soon enough to help create a semblance of attacking play. We tend to thrive in the second half of seasons but I think we'll struggle this year as Saints and Bath just look too strong.

formerly known as Sam wrote:Slightly you'd have thought. Bristol should have come up they at least had been cultivating a squad capable of putting up a fight.

Tigers are lucky to be where they, are we've been playing total rubbish for most of the season. Mauger can't arrive soon enough to help create a semblance of attacking play. We tend to thrive in the second half of seasons but I think we'll struggle this year as Saints and Bath just look too strong.

But they didn't LW beat them and whilst they have been shockingly poor, in the system the Aviva employs they deserved to get promotion.

bedfordwelsh wrote:With LW being so poor (sorry LW fans) this season surely the battle for relegation is already over but would Worcester who are currently top of the Championship be anymore competitive?

If they don't change 25 of their players before coming up and so don't have to learn how to play as a team at the same time as dealing with all the other difficulties of being newly promoted, yes. Worcester shouldn't need too many additions and also have an academy they're making use of.

True Bedford they did I just meant that on paper Bristol should have won it and got promoted.

Worcester will need to hold onto their key players and reinforce wisely but they should be in a better position to provide meaningful competition than LW have so far this season. Worcester were never as bad as LW have been.

formerly known as Sam wrote:True Bedford they did I just meant that on paper Bristol should have won it and got promoted.

Worcester will need to hold onto their key players and reinforce wisely but they should be in a better position to provide meaningful competition than LW have so far this season. Worcester were never as bad as LW have been.

I think you hit the nail on its head. In the past, with Rotherham the only exception, teams which were promoted made a least a semblance of a run at staying up. The system might not be really broken, but this clearly shows it ain't working perfectly either.

Now it looks like Bristol and Worcester are both making a serious run at promotion. Shame that Leeds/Yorkshire isn't making a good go at it.

My half-term report card:

Northampton A
Top of the table and look as they have the depth of quality in the squad to survive without their usual 6Ns blip. Will have been disappointed with their performance against Exeter but in general are grinding out wins when not on top form. When on form they are devastating.


Bath A+
Seem, on the domestic front anyway, to have survived a back row crisis. The form of many players is giving Head Coach Mike Ford some real selection issues - in a good sense. More was expected from them last season, but this year they are starting to gel. Will be interesting to see how they cope during the 6 nations during which time they face Saracens, Saints, Chiefs and Sale. In mnost areas they have the depth to cope with any international call-ups - but the loss of George Ford could be problematical.

Saracens B
started the season like a team eager to avenge what they felt to be an unfair defeat at Twickenham in May. However since the Euro game v Clermontg they have been misfiring and limping their way to wins. They are however in 3rd place and all is not doom and gloom.


Exeter Chiefs A-
There poor run towards the end of last season and little prominence in the recruitment markek led many pundits to believe Exeter would more likely be near the bottom than the top of the table. However that was to ignore the effect of an extra years experience for the young lads, and to under-rate the signing of Thomas Waldrom (who even Chiefs fans were viewing as a back up player back in May). Losing their last two matches has taken a little of the gloss of the first half of the season, but do not be surprised to see them come bouncing back and stay in Top 4 contention.


Leicester C-
With the return of some key players the set piece has solidified. Started the season unable to defend, that seemed to be improving but then showed an inability to attack. Suddenly scoring tries again, but also conceding. There have been too many poor performances and the position in the table is misleading. Lucky to be where they are - but perhaps primed for a decent second half. Unlikely to lose many players to the 6Ns, they have 4 very winnable games in that period.


Wasps B+
When they are good, they are very very good. When they are bad - well they are even worse than Andy Goode's hair.  A powerfull back row keep making ground while the afore mentioned Goode is having a real Indian summer. Add the pace and guile they have available in the outside backs then should their front 5 hold together they will feel they can keep the pressure on the sides above them. If nothing elses they will be interesting to watch as they bed down in Coventry.


Sale B+
A team that continues to be more than the sum of their parts. A strong driving lineout is always ready to capitalise on territory, and Cipriani and his powerful centres are playing well. unlikely to make Top 4, they will be doing their utmost to stay get into the top half of the table.


Harlequins D
8th in the table is not what Quins players or fans are used to. Worse than this though has been some spineless performaces (Europe excepted, which does not count for this report) that must have been causing COS to pull out what hair he has left. Decent performance against Saints - yet never looked like winning. Things have to improve in the second half of the season - or ECC is out of reach.


Gloucester C-
Odd team this season, veer from sublime to ridiculous within the same game. Despite the recruitment, the tight 5 does not look strong enough to compete with the strongest teams and the back line that has been badly hit by injuries and International call-ups has misfired. They are better than last season, but not by much and hard to see how much progress is being made by Humphreys and the coaches as they seek to rebuild the team.


London Irish C
Neither better, nor worse than last season. There have been promising performances, and a win at Welford Rd, but equally some that have left fans in despair. Looking at the players available 10th is perhaps the best you would expect.


Newcastle B-
Clear signs of progress, but still reach the mid-way point in 11th spot. Lots of ifs and maybes at some games, the biggest weakness has been the lack of a consistent goal kicker. Much has been made of LH issues, but without a goal kicker they will continue to lose games that they feel they should have won.


London Welsh F

Like the long-form report card!

I actually predicted Bath to have a great season but in terms of expectations the team that has most impressed me is Exeter, and I think the most disappointing would be Glaws (again measured in expectations). I thought Quins would struggle more than they have.

I can't believe that Glaws haven't been better with the recruitment they made, and the backs they already had. I'd probably give them a D.

Exeter, well, hats off to Rob Baxter. I can still only name a couple of their players and yet each time I see them play they are an outstanding unit, and consistent with it. They've even made Moray Low look decent!

Harlequins E
Injuries aside the team have for the first half of the season been a shambles. Defense has been very good throughout which is the one saving grace and the only reason we're probably above Gloucester but otherwise all is not well.

It's been coming for the last two seasons; we've slowly been worked out game plan wise, lost key players either to other clubs or to Int call ups and injuries and recruited poorly in their places. We've probably been naive and relied a little too much on the academy boys picking up where weathered Premiership pro's left off and are paying the price for that too.

I'm really dissapointed with our position now, if we were 6th I could see us mounting a real fight back, but from 8th I fear it'll be a bridge too far. Hopefully we'll get RCC rugby next season at least, but even that's looking dodgy. Next game against Welsh is massive, we just have to get those 5 points and then all the players work their nuts off after that.

Oh and for those that can't recal here's the table:

Northampton Saints ..11 9 0 2 43
Bath Rugby        ......11 9 0 2 42
Saracens              .  11 7 1 3 34
Exeter Chiefs       .... 11 7 0 4 33
Leicester Tigers        11 6 1 4 31
Wasps                .....11 6 0 5 30
Sale Sharks .............11 6 0 5 30
Harlequins ...............11 5 0 6 24
Gloucester Rugby .....11 4 0 7 21
London Irish .............11 3 0 8 16
Newcastle Falcons ....11 3 0 8 15
London Welsh ...........11 0 0 11 1

Who did LW get their 1 point against??

As a Saints fan I am concerned about our position at the top of the table.  Not just because Bath are right there and are real good, with Sarries, Exe, and Leicester just a hair below.  But more because we have a small squad and seem to just get by when injuries or Internationals hit.  The plus side is Saints have good talent throughout the squad.  The usual going to sleep for portions of matches has come back a little this season and is a concern.  

On the positive side, I am happy Corbs has rehabbed properly and is slowly being brought back into the match day squad.  Jamie Elliott always seems to score the clinching try in big matches.  Our interchangeable scrum-halves keep things consistently moving forwards.  Our pack is always a maul away from making something good happen.  Unlike England, we know our best centre combination, and it works very well.  And that big bloke on the wing is playing much better this season.  

Key Players

1. Samu Manoa.  No real debate here.  Plays every position from 4 – 8 at a very high level and, critically, is available during most of the International windows.  Is great at the breakdown, tackles well, runs well, even passes well (for a forward).  Truly one of the best players in the Premiership.  Will be a huge hole to fill for next season which cannot be filled by one person alone.  
2. Stevie Myler.  Can play an aggressive attacking style or the territory game.  Keeps the attack moving forward with quick flat passes, miss passes to the right player, can run a bit, kicks through a lot and well, and defends well (for a 10, average for a Rugby player).   Kicks his goals extremely well.  It always seems his conversions are from touch and he still makes most of them.  Does everything a 10 needs to do.  

3. James Wilson.  From being a player brought over from NZ to backup Foden at fullback, he has developed himself into a terrific all-around back.  Has spent time at every back position from 10-15.  Has decent speed, but a great step, and sees the gap early on.  Nice passes, very good on the counter-attack.  Not a bad defender either.  Exactly the type of player every team needs to keep the train rolling at a high level.  

4. Calum Clark.  Yes, understand everyone’s concerns.  But as has been reported recently, he has had only one yellow card in the past three years (a professional foul, not for dirty play).  He is managing his internal demons very well and is delivering on his promise as a youngster.  Quietly going about his business as one of the best 7s in the league, he is terrific at the breakdown and makes his tackles.  He carries well and plays the Saints offloading game with aplomb.  Does everything a 7 needs to do, and does it very well.

5. Mrs. Waller.  OK, she is not a player, but any local mum which can give us two terrific young front row players deserves respect.      

6. Dylan Hartley.  The good and the bad.  One of the best Hookers in world Rugby, but needs to understand he has little leeway from the referees.  Saints (and England) need him on the pitch and there is not much more needs be said.

yappysnap wrote:Who did LW get their 1 point against??

Bath - A 4 try bonus point. Never finished a match within 7 points.

I vented my spleen in another thread so won't repeat myself other than to say Glaws have been a major disappointment after initial progress. The set piece is yet to gel and the backs have little game plan other than throw it wide as quickly as possible. Some positives have been the good form of Savage, Kvesic and May and most notably Laidlaw who has in the most part been excellent. Whilst Afoa, Hibbard and Hook have not been a disappointment they have not excelled either.

D-

LondonTiger wrote:My half-term report card:

London Irish C
Neither better, nor worse than last season. There have been promising performances, and a win at Welford Rd, but equally some that have left fans in despair. Looking at the players available 10th is perhaps the best you would expect.

I'd have us C-/D+.  On paper we have a stronger pack than last season, and although we don't have the spark in the backs that Yarde and JOC could provide, there should be enough given a decent platform, to at least play some good rugby.  Overall we have underachieved, and seriously contributed to our own downfall in a few of games, notably against Quins and Gloucester.  Given their proximity to us in the table, had we not shot ourselves in the foot in those games (missed tackles for the Quins tries, and shambolic lineout costing us against Gloucester) and instead picked up the wins, we'd be above them in the table in 8th.  It's small margins in this league, and we've let ourselves down in a few games, so whilst possibly 10th is about right for us, the opportunity has been there for us to be up in 8th.  

The second half of the season will be interesting. We have a good chance to qualify for the Challenge Cup knockout phase and with no drop ins, once there we have as good a chance as anyone of winning it.  We won't go down even if we lose every league game for the remainder of the season, and ultimately whether we finish 8th or 11th doesn't really matter, other than in terms of perception of where we are at.  It's also pretty clear that brian Smith is off at the end of the season, so retention and recruitment of players may be a bit up in the air.  I do however know that there will be a couple of announcements in the next few weeks, one of which could be who is taking over from Brian.  That may give some clues as to likely recruitment, and what next season may hold for us as a club.

As a final point I do find it interesting that most Irish fans are disappointed with what we've done so far this season, and many fear for what's ahead, whereas Falcons fans, despite being below us in the table seem upbeat about where their club is heading. I guess it comes done to perspective, and we've been on a downward curve, whilst they appear to be building. Will be interesting to see where the two clubs are come May, as at present there doesn't appear to be a lot between them.

HongKongCherry wrote:I vented my spleen in another thread so won't repeat myself other than to say Glaws have been a major disappointment after initial progress. The set piece is yet to gel and the backs have little game plan other than throw it wide as quickly as possible. Some positives have been the good form of Savage, Kvesic and May and most notably Laidlaw who has in the most part been excellent. Whilst Afoa, Hibbard and Hook have not been a disappointment they have not excelled either.

D-

As a Quins fan I can whole hearted endorse venting every chance you get HKC!

I think Glous should go after someone like Weir, get Laidlaw to have a word. He is second choice behind Russell. They also need a LH and another Lock imo.

 Laidlaw
 Weir
 May
 TT
 Trinder
 Sharples
 Hook

Gutted with where we are. Still think we will be top 6 and we have to keep aiming for top 4 until it's impossible. It's close in the mid table

bedfordwelsh wrote:With LW being so poor (sorry LW fans) this season surely the battle for relegation is already over but would Worcester who are currently top of the Championship be anymore competitive?

Based on players and the fact they were much better than Welsh last season, yes. As would Bristol and maybe Leeds

Welly we're still waiting for Galarza to make his debut as he returned injured from the 4N so he should fill the role of a decent lock. We definitely need a FH who can control the game though; Hook is an excellent player just not a FH. I fully expect Billy Burns to start against Exeter.

You think Hook is the main problem at Gloucester?  Hook is a good player, but I agree I do not like him at stand off unless there are no other options.  All season it seemed to me the talent is better than their record.