Aviva Premiership - Round 16

First topic message reminder :

Table



Fixtures

Fri 11th Mar 16
19:45 Harlequins v  Bath Rugby Twickenham Stoop BT Sport
Both teams are misfiring. Both teams need to win. Both teams struggling at 10. Both teams have been looking as if they do not care. Home advantage should be crucial.


Sat 12th Mar 16
13:45 Wasps  v  Leicester Tigers Ricoh Arena BT Sport
Massive crowd expected as 2nd meet 3rd. Wasps are a real enigma, when they are good they are excellent (see large wins over Toulon, Leinster and Saracens) yet when they are not good they are woeful. Get on top of Wasps up front and their backs can struggle to function. allow the backs space to move and they can dazzle. Not sure Leicester have enough to repeat last seasons win at the Ricoh. especially with the current front row problems.

14:00 Northampton Saints  v  Sale Sharks Franklin's Gardens
Jury still out on whether Saints are starting to discover last seasons league form. Win over leaders Sarries will fill them with confidence, but with key players missing they will need to play at least as well this week. Diamond is getting exasperated by Cipriani's kicking woes - but to win this game they need the spark he provides.

14:00 Worcester Warriors  v   Gloucester Rugby Sixways
The tractor boy derby. Both sides won last week. Both sides inconsistent. Only Mystic Meg can call this.

15:00 Exeter Chiefs  v   Newcastle Falcons Sandy Park
Falcons looked tired and underpowered against Worcester. Unless they improve significantly they could be blown away.

20:00 London Irish  v   Saracens Red Bull Arena BT Sport
Both sides short of form, and neither needs this journey to New York. Whichever team has been able to prepare the best shoudl win.

beshocked wrote:I said who will Americans root for, not the Irish. Talking mainly about Americans with no tenuous link to Ireland. Though I guess we should expect the majority of the crowd of be of Irish links, tenuous or otherwise.

Everyone over here thinks they are Irish. And st Patrick's day is HUGE! So they will be supporting Irish, without a doubt and who can blame them

killer938 wrote:doctor_grey

Be careful, I know a lot of Irish guys who absolutely hate when Americans say Patty's instead of Paddy's. I am not Irish so cannot comment personally but this is what I have been informed of.

You are absolutely right! I stand corrected. Actually I am sitting at the moment........

But, in mitigation, I have been co-opted by the local gentry here in America, and even the faux Irish over here refer to it as Saint Patty's day. Even some of the Irish expats in my club have been brought over to the dark side.........

formerly known as Sam wrote:LT what concerns me as much as the scrum is our handling errors which Wasps will gleefully exploit given he opportunity. That and the fact we can't put together and 80 minute display. The Chiefs were there to be put to the sword last week but we let them back into the game, their second try was soft very much so in respect of Bell's attempted tackle.

Only plus sides are that our kick chase looked so much stronger last week and the return of Owen Williams should give us a big tactical and physical boost in the midfield.

JDV and Youngs could be a smoke screen, just in case it's a late fitness test scenario or am I clutching at straws?

It doesn't sound like it's a smokescreen. If JDV were a smokescreen then I don't think they'd have made a point of Smith coming back. He literally ran himself ragged for the first half of the season given his excellent form and our lack of centres. I feel that they wanted to give him longer off but with JDV failing to shake of niggles and Manu recalled we are probably going back to Smith/Betham partnership from early in the season.

As for Tom Youngs, I'd love it if he were fit as he makes such a difference to our pack. He seems to lift guys and the aggression of the entire pack goes through the roof, as does the quality of our tight play. However from what I've heard from a few guys his back isn't looking great. My uncle saw him at a game a couple of weeks back and said he seemed in a fair bit of pain just moving around, I've heard similar from a few others.

The lack of much update since the injury other than repeated 'not fit for the weekend' and no mention of whether he is in training or doing contact etc doesn't tend to bode well. Especially for a hooker who has had back problems before. It's a real worry heading into the QF with Stade.

Bath team isn't their best.

Despite missing a ton of players (1st choice at 15, 14, 12, 11, 10, 9, 7, 6, 2, 1), we have a few back (Lowe, Dickson, Twomey and OLH on the bench) so I think we might be able to win, and reverse this horrible slide. Of course, aside from Devoto at 10, if Bath click they could still spank us

Basically LT summed up our match very well

Having Lowe back makes me very happy. As does Twomey on the bench, think he was arguably our best player before his injury!

Worried about that Bath backrow without Robshaw or Clifford

Would love to see Marchant get a run out

CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE NEWCASTLE FALCONS

15 Phil Dollman 14 Olly Woodburn 13 Henry Slade 12 Sam Hill 11 Ian Whitten 10 Gareth Steenson 9 Will Chudley 1 Ben Moon 2 Jack Yeandle (capt) 3 Harry Williams 4 Lewis Stevenson 5 Geoff Parling 6 Don Armand 7 Julian Salvi 8 Thomas Waldrom

16 Elvis Taione 17 Alec Hepburn 18 Carl Rimmer 19 Ollie Atkins 20 Dave Ewers 21 Dave Lewis 22 Will Hooley 23 Max Bodilly

SLADE IS BACK! Oh god I hope he's fully fit, please lord let him come back into form quickly.

Leicester Tigers (v Wasps, away, Saturday 1.45pm)
15 Mathew Tait
14 Adam Thompstone
13 Peter Betham
12 Matt Smith
11 Vereniki Goneva
10 Freddie Burns
9 Jono Kitto
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Harry Thacker
3 Logovi'i Mulipola
4 Mike Fitzgerald
5 Dom Barrow
6 Tom Croft
7 Lachlan McCaffrey
8 Ed Slater (c)

Replacements
16 Michael van Vuuren
17 Ellis Genge
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Graham Kitchener
20 Mike Williams
21 George Tresidder
22 Owen Williams
23 Telusa Veainu

Wasps’ Team to play Leicester Tigers
15. Rob Miller
14. Christian Wade
13. Charles Piutau
12. Siale Piutau
11. Frank Halai
10. Jimmy Gopperth
9. Dan Robson
1. Simon McIntyre
2. Ashley Johnson
3. Jake Cooper-Woolley
4. James Cannon
5. Kearnan Myall
6. Thomas Young
7. George Smith ©
8. Sam Jones

Replacements
16. Edd Shervington
17. Matt Mullan
18. Phil Swainston
19. Will Rowlands
20. Nathan Hughes
21. Jamie Stevenson
22. Alex Lozowski
23. Brendan Macken

Unavailable for selection through injury:

James Gaskell (foot), Alapati Leiua (knee), Andrea Masi (Achilles), Joe Simpson (ankle), Guy Thompson (toe)

Unavailable for selection – RBS 6 Nations:

Lorenzo Cittadini (Italy), Bradley Davies (Wales), Elliot Daly, James Haskell, Joe Launchbury (England)

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS TEAM TO PLAY SALE
Aviva Premiership Round 16
Franklin’s Gardens
Saturday, March 12th, 2016
Kick off 2:00pm
15 Ben FODEN
14 Ken PISI
13 George PISI
12 Luther BURRELL
11 Tom COLLINS
10 Stephen MYLER
9 Lee DICKSON (capt)
1 Ethan WALLER
2 Mikey HAYWOOD
3 Paul HILL
4 James CRAIG
5 Christian DAY
6 Jamie GIBSON
7 Tom WOOD
8 Teimana HARRISON

16 Reece MARSHALL
17 Alex WALLER
18 Gareth DENMAN
19 Victor MATFIELD
20 Jon FISHER
21 Kahn FOTUALI’I
22 JJ HANRAHAN
23 Harry MALLINDER

Sale Sharks: 15. Mike Haley, 14. Tom Arscott, 13. Sam James, 12. Sam Tuitupou, 11. Will Addison, 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Peter Stringer, 1. Ross Harrison, 2. Tommy Taylor, 3. Vadim Cobilas, 4. Bryn Evans, 5. Andrei Ostrikov, 6. Cameron Neild, 7. David Seymour, 8. TJ Ioane

Replacements: 16. Neil Briggs, 17. Eifion Lewis Roberts, 18. Brian Mujati, 19. Jonathan Mills, 20. Magnus Lund, 21. Chris Cusiter, 22. Joe Ford, 23. Mark Jennings

Warriors
15 Chris Pennell
14 Bryce Heem
13 Wynand Olivier
12 Ryan Mills
11 Cooper Vuna
10 Tom Heathcote
9 Francois Hougaard
1 Val Rapava Ruskin
2 Niall Annett
3 Nick Schonert
4 Donncha O'Callaghan
5 Darren Barry
6 Phil Dowson
7 Carl Kirwan
8 GJ van Velze (C)

Replacements
16 Ben Sowrey
17 Na'ama Leleimalefaga
18 James Johnston
19 Dan Sanderson
20 Sam Betty
21 Luke Baldwin
22 Ryan Lamb
23 Andy Symons

Gloucester Rugby:
15. Rob Cook; 14. Charlie Sharples, 13. Bill Meakes, 12. Billy Twelvetrees (capt), 11. David Halaifonua; 10. James Hook, 9. Willi Heinz; 1. Nick Wood, 2. Richard Hibbard, 3. John Afoa; 4. Tom Savage, 5. Jeremy Thrush; 6. Sione Kalamafoni, 7. Matt Kvesic, 8. Ross Moriarty

Replacements:
16. Darren Dawidiuk, 17. Yann Thomas, 18. Paul Doran-Jones, 19. Mariano Galarza, 20. Lewis Ludlow, 21. Callum Braley, 22. Henry Trinder, 23. Steve McColl

Newcastle Falcons v Exeter Chiefs - 12/3/2015 - KO 15:00

15 Alex Tait, 14 Giamba Venditti, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Mike Delany, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 1 Alex Rogers, 2 George McGuigan, 3 Mike Cusack, 4 Mouritz Botha, 5 Callum Green, 6 Mark Wilson, 7 Will Welch, 8 Nili Latu

Replacements 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 19 Richard Mayhew, 20 Ally Hogg, 21 Michael Young, 22 Andy Goode, 23 Tom Penny

Fantastic to see Slade back, hope he gets through the game (or the 50 or so mins I expect he will have) unscathed.

Finally we have dropped Mickey " kick kick kick kick kick kick " Young!!!!!!!

Tukulua is a far better player...and physical.

Teams been switched around quite a bit...

Sinoti coming back for you could be massive.

It could SB.

So could big Callum Green, he was the rock in the engine room since he joined. It also means Wilson is back out on the flanks.

Delaney and Socino back also.

But they'll all be rusty.

GeordieFalcon wrote:It could SB.

So could big Callum Green, he was the rock in the engine room since he joined. It also means Wilson is back out on the flanks.

Delaney and Socino back also.

But they'll all be rusty.

Look to build a good performance against chiefs with a changed team, what's your next game after that? Unfortunately at home, I don't think you'll beat chiefs but a good performance and shooting for a LBP would be a good outcome?

If any of you watch the LI-Saracens match, please keep an eye out for my club, Morris Rugby. Our usual colours are either red, black, or red and black, depending on which piece of kit a person chooses to wear.

SirBurger wrote:Sinoti coming back for you could be massive.

It could go both ways. For me he is outstanding going forward, but his defensive alignment is quite shocking.

I am lost as to why we are playing the failed Burrell - Pisi partnership again. Pisi has lost a bit of pace and can't get outside his man anymore. Burrell was looking like the Burrell who played so well for England at 13 a couple of years ago, Prince Harry was keeping everything under control at 12, doing the smashing as well as distributing and offering a second kicker.

Saints were pitiful the first half of the year, Harry comes into the side, it clicks instantly. Saints backline are scoring big time; 4 straight wins I think, Pisi comes back and we look stodgy again and its left to the pack to win the games.

I know Mallinder is young and it would be foolish to over play him, but he hardly featured in the first half of the season so he hasn't been overplayed.

Apparently his mum did not like seeing her little boy getting pummeled by those nasty oafs on other teams, and withdrew marital rights until the situation was rectified.

Agree. The Burrell-Pisi partnership is done and dusted. We need someone else to slot in at 12 and move Burrell out to 13. Do you know when James Wilson is healthy again? We cold put the uninspiring JJ at 12 with Wilson as backup?

Doc,

Wilson is healthy and played a couple of weeks ago, nor sure why he is not on the bench, offers far more cover than JJ.

Young Harry has been the form 12 though, he frightens the opposition with his size and speed. The same sort of weight as Burrell but quicker, good offload (well he is 6'5"), can kick well, good reserve place kicker and more importantly can pass and pass intelligently to put people into space.

I know it has got out of hand and has been a bit of a long running joke on here (started by you), but he really does have everything when looking for a 12. When was the last time you saw a genuine 12 that was just as comfortable at full back or wing with the differing skills those positions require.

Agree completely about Prince Harry (future England and Lions captain).  I was operating from the premise Jim was giving Prince Harry (future England and Lions captain) the weekend off.  His skill set, size and speed really is impressive, more so considering he is only 19.  

I didn't realize Wilson had returned.  He is certainly more flexible and capable than JJ.  I think we now understand why Munster allowed him to walk.

Decent enough quins squad, Lowe and Sloan a nice partnership....but I can't help but feel our terrible lack of leadership while England players are away is going to cost us. Feels a bit like we've given up on the season.

Quins up 8-0 at Bath. Sloan try

Bath are a bit crap really

Come on Healy, admit your little whinge was incorrect

Enjoyable first half but it is like watching 2 lower league teams where mistakes and poor defense make the game open.

Isn't that this season for most teams?

HongKongCherry wrote:Enjoyable first half but it is like watching 2 lower league teams where mistakes and poor defense make the game open.

That's a bit harsh, quins have played well. Bath not so much.

Taxi for Ford?

Frak

I am drunk, or this is amazing

Bath'd be much better with Burgess at 6

Got home to this pleasant surprise...

Walker really pushing for the EPS. Blistering pace

Easter still unbeliveable

ref unbelievable

Easter is so so good.

So good.

Him and Andy Goode both prove why brains and temperament will always beat gym bunnies.

Walker top try scorer in the Prem, from about 10 appearances.

Twomey on

and now off :/

Mafi try for Bath

dodgy decision for that attempt at a try

That clip of Twomey on the bike like he just fancies some exercise!!

In all seriousness he's extremely unlucky to cop that yellow for a build up of offences.

I've only just got in, were Walkers tries exceptional then I take it? I've always thought he should be a fantastic player but the odd outstandingly poor defensive errors always seem to halt his progress.

king_carlos wrote:That clip of Twomey on the bike like he just fancies some exercise!!

In all seriousness he's extremely unlucky to cop that yellow for a build up of offences.

I've only just got in, were Walkers tries exceptional then I take it? I've always thought he should be a fantastic player but the odd outstandingly poor defensive errors always seem to halt his progress.

Showed great pace

Feck, we haven't actually won this yet...

nathan wrote:

king_carlos wrote:That clip of Twomey on the bike like he just fancies some exercise!!

In all seriousness he's extremely unlucky to cop that yellow for a build up of offences.

I've only just got in, were Walkers tries exceptional then I take it? I've always thought he should be a fantastic player but the odd outstandingly poor defensive errors always seem to halt his progress.

Showed great pace

He always has! Hopefully he keeps regularly showing more to his game than that.