Sale Sharks v Glasgow Warriors European Champions Cup Saturday 18th January 2020

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Sale Sharks v Glasgow Warriors
European Champions Cup 6th Round
AJ Bell Stadium
Salford

Saturday 18th January 2020
KO 17.30
Live on BT Sport

Well the final round of the cup and somewhat to all of the supporters surprise after losing at home to La Rochelle, Glasgow are still in with a shout at qualification, albeit a fairly tenuous one.

We need one of the other likely group runners up to slip up at the final hurdle, most likely Saints playing in Lyon or Sarries losing at home to Racing. Neither of those are impossible scenarios but you probably would not be betting the mortgage on that happening. Gloucester losing to Toulouse away is probably a more predictable result and it is hard to see Ulster not getting anything from their game at home to Bath and so the are likely to make it through as well.

The good thing for Glasgow is that we won't know the final reckoning until sunday, so all we can do is go out and try and win the game and it should ensure that we go into it fully loaded as we also need a try BP to give us any chance at all. So that almost guarantees for us fans going to watch it, that it is likely to be an entertaining game to watch.

It is not exactly clear what is in the game for Sale, other than pride as they are already out, nor what kind of a team they will put out. They certainly went easy in their away trip to France last weekend so could bring back some first choice players, but they do also have big league games coming up, notably against Exeter, so won't be likely to risk anyone either,

From Glasgow's perspective, they should not be assuming that Sale will roll over and die and so need to pick a team that can win and win well. The good performance against Exeter last weekend will make selection easier, assuming everyone is fit following that game. There is a good break coming up for the Pro 14 players, so we can probably take more of a chance on this must win game. Glasgow have been slowly building some form over the past few weeks and look a lot more back to their old selves but I would still make a few tweaks from the Exeter team to ghive us our best shot.

I hope we see something like this:

1. Keeble
2, Brown
3. Fagerson Z
4. Gray
5. Cummings
6. Wilson
7. Gordon
8. Fagerson M
9. Horne G
10. Hastings
11. Seymour
12. Johnson
13. Jones H
14. Steyn
15. Bryce

Subs

Seuili
Turner
Nicol
Harley
Flockhart
Price
Horne P
Niko

Seymour and Keeble limped off during the game last week and so I guess might be doubtful. Matt Fagerson also went off early and I am not sure why, it seemed like it might have been a tactic to try and contain the Exeter pack with Harley adding his physicality.

Anyway that is a half decent team if we can get it out and we may at least be able to do our bit and leave the rest to the gods of rugby to decide!

Glasgow will look back on the La Rochelle home game with a lot of regret. Even if they make it through they'll be away to Leinster which isn't much of a reward!

This is s massacre

What a massacre, that’s not a bad Sale team there are some big names in there especially in the backrow.

Big win. Pardon my ignorance but does this mean Glasgow are through to the last 8?

They need both racing and Toulouse to win to qualify.

Good win, may or may not be enough

Good to see us back to our best though

Glasgow are another team where the international break has come at a bad time - been on great form recently.

RDW wrote:Glasgow are another team where the international break has come at a bad time - been on great form recently.

Hope you went easy on our new prop..

He got hooked early days, not z great night for any Sale players

Probably did him a favour

BigGee wrote:He got hooked early days, not z great night for any Sale players

Probably did him a favour

We are hoping big things from him this season.

Fingers crossed for the other results to go your way

RDW wrote:Glasgow are another team where the international break has come at a bad time - been on great form recently.

Great for Scotland though.

We’re dark horses after all

Its also come too late for Europe at least, and probably the pro14.

Also I'll believe we're dark horses only if we beat Ireland...

Racing keeping us in with a chance, have come back fro 14-0 down and it is now 17-14 Sarries. Racing not even playing well yet!

and Racing score a third try, made from a FR break

21-17 Sarries

Looks like Will Skelton might have just shoulder barged Glasgow a lot closer to the last 8. You’ve got to feel for his team mates when he does something like that.

Nasty cheap shot, deserved a red

Sarries season has just ended on all fronts over the course of this weekend

tigertattie wrote:Sarries season has just ended on all fronts over the course of this weekend

Hold your horses, its only HT

Must be infuriating for the vast majority of Saracens players. Their domestic season was over yesterday, Europe was what they had left. One idiot smacks someone high.
If Saracens get back into it then you have to say it’s one of the all time best team performances given the circumstances. I think it’s right they’ve been relegated but the vast majority of players are faultless but it’s them and their families that will be looking at moving homes and schools.

There’s also the part of my brain to that stopped maturing at 12 years old loving Brian O’Driscoll saying third.

Well we are out now officially but I am not going to blame Saints, Sarries or Racing for that. We messed up a pool we should have qualified from and have got no-one to blame but ourselves!

I was almost starting to look at hotel prices in Clermont though!

Hopefully we can maintain our form now though and at least make the Pro 14 play offs. That will have to do for us.

And the Glasgow social media brigade are out in force saying Nigel Owens cheated them out of a place in the QFs!

Losing to La Rochelle at home was a dreadfully poor result at the time. Equally last week was a game that slipped away. The team that won the Pro12 is gone now. Less than a third of the players that were there on that final will be at the club next year.
Hastings needs to grow into Russell's boots. I don't think he can become what Russell is, Russell's ability to do what is unexpected is incomparable and can't be taught or learnt. However Hastings can become what Russell isn't. The game today showed his limitations. Racing were ahead, their opposition down to 14 men and in a fragile emotional state. That second half was screaming for Russell to turn the screw. To hit the corners again and again. Pinning Sarries in their own half. Building the pressure. Making them desperate. Tiring them out and, at the right time, finishing them off. Instead Russell went missing. In the first half Russell showed Farrell how to play creatively at fly-half. In the second-half, Farrell showed how to win at fly-half. Hastings needs to grow into a more sensible player than Russell and alter the question in the mind of the Scotland coach, like Farrell did with Jones and Cipriani, from whether or not Scotland can play without Russell to whether or not they can afford to play with him.

Random loon wrote:Nigel Owens is a joke of a referee, best ref in the world, do me a favour, cost Glasgow the pro 14 last season against Leinster, there should be an inquiry into his officiating

I didn't see anything too controversial from him. Dont agree with how he sees things at rucks as he tends to be a little too lenient for my taste.

Just watching the game again now I am back home. It all looks pretty much as it did live to be honest, total domination from Glasgow and they did not take their foot off the throat even when home and dry.

One thing I did notice was that the Sale replacement wing, another young lad, Tom Roebuck who is currently playing in the England age groups, was born in Inverness. Always worth keeping an eye on someone like him for future reference. especially as a winger, where we don't seem to be churning them out atm

Gus Ware, the replacement SH also looked decent when he came on, he played U18s for Scotland, was at Dollar Academy at the time, then switched to the England set up as well. His brother plays for Ayr in the Super 6.

Yeah really hoping that our academy set up let’s us keep hold of these youngsters a bit better. So many players like Zack Mercer find an easier route to pro rugby dan saff and their allegiance can easily switch, especially when clubs get paid more from the RFU when players are still EQ.

You can't blame these kids for keeping their options open and thete is no doubt that if you are based in England being EQ is an advantage to you while becomming established.

They may still come back to us at a later stsge and that is fine as well.

Plenty of other life choices don't need to be made at 18 years old, choosing who you might play rugby for should be one of them if you have those options.

Exactly.

It’s just a shame that some of these players would, if they were asked and were honest, rather play for Scotland, but pro rugby is a game of chance and you need to snap up that chance wherever it comes from

These youngsters make the sensible decision and move to England where there are much more roads into pro rugby.

I can sit here and hand on heart say I’d never play for England, but I’m not looking for a career in rugby. These guys need to take the opportunity wherever it may come from.

Scotland is lacking behind the other home nations in this respect. Hopefully the academies and the super 6 will start to bridge the gap. On time will tell