AP Round 17

First topic message reminder :

Apologies for delay.

Points Situation

60 Northampton
48 Saracens, Exeter, Wasps
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47 Bath, Leicester
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43 Sale
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35 Gloucester, Harlequins
28 London Irish
24 Newcastle
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1 London Welsh



Fixtures

Fri 6th Mar 15

19:45 BATH RUGBY  v   SALE SHARKS Recreation Ground BT Sport

Bath have failed to win a match since the 6Ns started, and have won just one of their five AP matches in 2015. This bad run of form has led them to drop from a safe 2nd in the table to outside the top 4. While they have perhaps the easiest run in of any of the sides pushing for the play-offs, they need to start winning soon. Would they wish to face Sale, who beat them at the Rec last season? Perhaps not. Sale are at full strength, while Bath have real issues with Ford away. Homer has to start kicking his goals and DeVoto has to give Eastmond time and space. while I look forward to the first collision between Burgess and Leota, it is the back row match up that really interests me. Bath have recalled Garvey and moved Fearns to no8 creating a massive back row. Sale however have countered by recalling Seymour for Beaumont and effectively fielding 3 guys comfortable at openside. Bath should win, Sale with Cipriani looking to impress will not lie down.


Sat 7th Mar 15

15:00 EXETER CHIEFS  v   LONDON WELSH Sandy Park
Chiefs to move back to second in the table.

15:00 HARLEQUINS  v   LONDON IRISH Twickenham Stoop
Irish will really fancy this match. Quins, like bath, have yet to win during the 6Ns. they created plenty of chances last week against Saints but failed to score the points they should and were outmuscled by the table toppers. London Irish have struggled up front at times and certainly in the games against my team lacked fluency behind the scrum. However they do, like Quins, look to play at a high temp and if the conditions are good we may have a free-flowing game with lots of breaks and lots of errors.


15:15 GLOUCESTER RUGBY  v   NORTHAMPTON SAINTS Kingsholm BT Sport Preview
Saints have not been playing well, but have been grinding out wins. Glaws coudl expect to see Hibbard and Laidlaw available and will provide a threat. With Lawes, Corbs and Wood all looking to show form and fitness I just expect Saints to power through this.



Sun 8th Mar 15

14:00 WASPS  v   SARACENS Ricoh Arena BT Sport
Shoudl be fascinating. Simplistically this can be viewed as Wasps attack against Saracens defence. Saracens have not been in great form, and have lost a lot of games away from home. To win this they need to deny Wasps any space and force them, into pushing things from behind the gainline. The tackling of the back row will be crucial as they look to stem Hughes and Johnson. Wasps could have the edge at scrum time, which will make Sarries job even harder, but Sarries need to make this a physical armwrestle. Both teams are proficient at the driving maul, so defensive tactics at line-out time could be intriguing.


15:00 NEWCASTLE FALCONS  v   LEICESTER TIGERS Kingston Park
This is the easiest of Tiger's three remaining away fixtures and one they simply have to win. Falcons are much improved from the team we saw at Welford Road and are now scoring tries against the best defences. I woudl certainly not put Tigers up as among the best defence - yet strangely no team has conceded less tries than them. Scoring tries has been a real issue in theg League, so for me it has been heartening to hear Falcons fans bemoaning their defence. Can Falcons pack provide sufficient platform for their exciting backs to prosper?

LondonTiger wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:I'm certainly not complaining about the result Beshocked, we played well but failed to convert our numerous chances.

Yea some do like to bleat more than others about injuries.

At times you really remind me of Jimpy. Both with very strident views and at times aggressive and dismissive of anyone who disagrees or rates a player you do not. (He does it more often admittedly)

Two teams created numerous chances in that game, but as with your strident views on the games you had with LI you seem to only seem to only acknowledge one team.

I would argue that Falcons played better in defence - turning us over 11 times in your own 22 - than in attack where you got close but then coughed the ball up.

You're right to a point, but I'm at least capable of writing more than 'yawn....' whenever I'm struggling to think of a suitable rebuttal to someone else's argument.

And calling Falcons "rubbish" is a great example of your debating skills.....

Sgt Pooly I don't disagree. I am just saying that some teams are more streetwise which is what makes them "better"/higher up the table. It's not pretty but it's effective.

Newcastle are still going through the development stage with Dean Richards - next season will be the real test. Don't be too disheartened.

Though saying that if Newcastle want to get more respect as a side they need to win more matches. Simple really.

To be honest I was caught in the bravado when Saracens played Newcastle - it was closer than I thought it would be - I did underestimate Newcastle.

Ideally I would like to see a team that plays an exciting brand of rugby and win the game but sometimes that's not possible. Certainly when defences these days are so strong.


Jimpy all teams have injuries. It's just certain teams bang on about them more than others.

Tigers are where they are because they are more streetwise team than many. Why should anyone be surprised that Tigers are where there are? Tigers have been one of the most consistent sides in the AP. Tigers find a way to win even when playing poorly because that's what they do.

I can't disagree with that Beshocked. I'm encouraged by our play this season and with some good signings I believe we can kick on to mid table.

We haven't got the budget of the bigger sides so need to be smarter.

Sgt Pooly we'll see. Exeter don't have the budget of the so called "bigger" sides but it hasn't stopped them being currently in 2nd.

That Exeter team has been making shockwaves since they've come into the AP. They have now beaten every team in the AP at least once.

What Newcastle need like any team is confidence and belief they can beat anyone. Saying you can do it is different to actually doing it.

Do the current Newcastle side genuinely believe they can beat the likes of Leicester and Saracens? Getting close is promising I guess but notching up that win is a different matter.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:And calling Falcons "rubbish" is a great example of your debating skills.....

It is, at least, factually correct...

Alright, it probably isn't.

It's a hurdle we need to get over but at least we're going for it and coming close. Dominating the big sides for even parts of games is a huge improvement from previous seasons.

We've pushed Saints, Saracens and Tigers close in the last month or so. The next challenge is getting the wins as you said.

beshocked wrote:Sgt Pooly I don't disagree. I am just saying that some teams are more streetwise which is what makes them "better"/higher up the table. It's not pretty but it's effective.

Newcastle are still going through the development stage with Dean Richards - next season will be the real test. Don't be too disheartened.

Though saying that if Newcastle want to get more respect as a side they need to win more matches. Simple really.

To be honest I was caught in the bravado when Saracens played Newcastle - it was closer than I thought it would be - I did underestimate Newcastle.

Ideally I would like to see a team that plays an exciting brand of rugby and win the game but sometimes that's not possible. Certainly when defences these days are so strong.


Jimpy all teams have injuries. It's just certain teams bang on about them more than others.

Tigers are where they are because they are more streetwise team than many. Why should anyone be surprised that Tigers are where there are? Tigers have been one of the most consistent sides in the AP. Tigers find a way to win even when playing poorly because that's what they do.

If you read the Tigers' forums you wouldn't think so - for example, Tigers ran the clock down when awarded a penalty, at home, versus Sale, already having 3 tries with 2 minutes to go in the match... they should have kicked for touch and tried a driving maul (Sale were down to 14 men at the time). That isn't streetwise, what difference that extra point would make when you look at the table....

Jimpy I am talking about getting the win - not getting the extra try bonuses. That's a different thing.

Saracens have been equally wasteful in not chasing the try bonus point.

18 points up vs Bath at home, 3 tries in the bag, 20 minutes to go, playing well, instead of going for the corner they took 3 points. Consequently they threw away the try bonus opportunity. That could be costly.

Leicester and Saracens are still more streetwise than most other sides even though they still have a bit of work to do with their decision making!

One things for sure...taking a pummeling in the scrum isn't doing us any favours.

I think we need a new scrum coach actually...the lack of good props is an issue but the whole pack is part of the scrum....and its just not working at the moment.

Our performances have been far better this season, and with a bit more experience we can hopefully start converting the chances we are now creating.

Still a work in progress but its great to see.

Also this is done on less finance than many of the other clubs. Dean is very astute at finding players who perform well for him and who are not expensive. ....although ill hold my judgment on Eric Fry...

Who is Eric Fry?

Every one is taking about him!

Don't ask Yappy

yappysnap wrote:Who is Eric Fry?

Every one is taking about him!

The latest incarnation of the cookie monster

A prop...that cant.