Aviva Premiership - Round 20 Preview

First topic message reminder :

Just 3 rounds to go and, Gloucester aside, clubs are nor concentrating only on this.

Positions:

Saints 67pts
Saracens 61pts
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Bath 61pts
Exeter 58pts
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Leicester 55pts
Wasps 53pts
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Sale 48pts
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Quins 43pts
Gloucester 38pts
Irish 37pts
Falcons 26pts
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Welsh 1 point



Fixtures:


Fri 24th Apr 15

19:45 Bath   v   London Irish BT Sport
Bath host their feeder club in the opening fixture of Round 20. On paper they have the easiest run-in of the top clubs, but their set piece will have to perform better than it did in Newcastle and Dublin if they are to cash in fully. Irish have little to play for other than pride and their form has been hot and miss. Bath should have the form and the class to win at a canter. An upset may be too much to ask for, but the other teams vying for a home play-off semi will hope Irish can defend stoutly and deny Bath a TBP.



Sat 25th Apr 15

14:00 Sale Sharks v   Harlequins
Not the sort of fixture that a stuttering Quins team will be relishing. If they are to have any realistic chance of making the Champions Cup (via play-off) they simply have to win this match. The last thing quins needed was to be struggling with injuries. they will need every ounce of effort and inspiration they can get from Robshaw and Care to stand any chance.

15:00 Gloucester  v   Newcastle Falcons
Gloucester will be focussing on next week, Falcons on next season. For any at the game I hope this means they have an entertaining one.

15:00 Leicester      v   London Welsh
Leicester struggled to get the four tries at the Kassam earlier. Surely they will find it easier at home?

15:15 Northampton v   Saracens BT Sport
Huge, possibly season defining, fixture. Saints looked nailed on for top spot in the table when the 6 nations ended. after two thumpings, confidence will not be high and defeat to the team they beat in last years final will suddenly have them worrying about facing an away semi. Mallinder and Doreen gave the guys a week off and will hope the batteries have been recharged. Biggest worry for Saints has been the poor form of their biggest names. Corbisiero and Hartley are struggling, while Manoa has been off colour. Throw in misfiring half backs and centres and it has been a struggle. The last team they would wish to face in this state are Sarries - who will be buoyed by this fixture being at a "neutral" venue. Performance wise Sarries have been a shadow of their Barnet selves away from home, but in general have found a way to win. Unless Saints can rerun to something approximating to their early season form the Sarries juggernaut should prevail.


Sun 26th Apr 15

14:00 Wasps  v   Exeter BT Sport

With consecutive home matches against the two teams directly above them, Wasps are still masters of their own destiny. Win both and Wasps could find themselves back in the Top 4. Exeter need to put any Challenge Cup disappointment firmly behind them. With two tricky away fixtures in a row (Sarries next week) they could find themselves dropping from 4th to 6th before the final round. Both sides like to throw the ball around, so this has all the makings of a classic. Probably instead we will get a nervy penalties only game.

Yea I've seen quite a bit of him this season and have enjoyed watching Wasps in general. His passing has certainly improved but it's still relatively poor when you compare it to the other top scrum halls we have available.

Good point about his game management, it's another area he's lacking in. Now and again he'll score a cracker like at the weekend but too often he gets caught out and spends a long time at the bottom of rucks.

I like a scrum half to get the ball away fast with a good pass and be a threat around the fringes, Simpson certainly had the latter in abundance.

Robson doesn't have a very strong pass, in fact passing is probably his weakest attribute. He emulates Danny Care in that he has to take at least one step and he has a tendency to fire a pass at head height. Nevertheless, his passing has vastly improved and he will be a gem of a player for Wasps, but don't expect an excellent delivery.

Better than Simpson though surely HK? I'd have him a level ahead and his kicking from hand is pretty impressive too.

HongKongCherry wrote:Robson doesn't have a very strong pass, in fact passing is probably his weakest attribute. He emulates Danny Care in that he has to take at least one step and he has a tendency to fire a pass at head height. Nevertheless, his passing has vastly improved and he will be a gem of a player for Wasps, but don't expect an excellent delivery.

Yes I'm sure Robson will be a success at Wasps.

I'm confident Simmo will be a good tutor for him to strengthen his passing

Haha

Hala'ufia's disciplinary hearing today. I had not realised he had done something similar earlier in the season:

http://www.rugbydump.com/2014/10/3923/hard-hitting-chris-halaufia-crunches-but-then-slaps-scott-wilson

5 week ban.

The man is a tool

His rap sheet is enormous and for a cowardly attack he gets a mere 5 weeks? How many people does he have to injure before action is taken? The guy is a disgrace and should be banned indefinitely.

To put that five week ban into perspective, Delon Armitage was handed a twelve week ban - reduced to eight weeks - for allegedly mouthing off at Leicester supporters after a game.