Gallagher Premiership 2019/20 pt 2

Huge blow for wasps with Fekitoa going off after scoring the opening try.

Bristol finally starting to play sheedy fjnding gaps and then willis wraps him up over the line.

Finally score after a lineout from the 5 meter scrum pen.could be a great end to this game!

No 7&1/2 wrote:Huge blow for wasps with Fekitoa going off after scoring the opening try.

I thought it would be but it doesn't seem that way. Wasps have dominated this game.

Wasps are far too good and running away with it. Defence has smothered Bristol today.

Rowlands was brilliant, it probably wasn’t that noticeable at times but he did it for the full 80. Needs to be a Wales starter in this form.

Don’t think he should have allowed Wasps try by the scrum half. He didn’t see the quick tap, and it was almost as if time stopped.

mikey_dragon wrote:Don’t think he should have allowed Wasps try by the scrum half. He didn’t see the quick tap, and it was almost as if time stopped.

I'm caught in 2 minds. Completely see your point but then the other side should wasps be penalised for Bristol not knowing what they're doing: it was the ref asking to speak to them but the other way around. I think overall it should just about stand.

Jonny Hill with a horrible clear out. Very close to a red. Could easily be cited.

That is the sort of clearout we want out of our game. Red all day long. Ref bottled it as the tmo was giving him a chance to make the right call.

100% red. Intent is clear too. He had no idea that Faletau was going to duck. Disgusting.

There you go the player who should have been off scores a try. Cheers Ref

Just not Baths day when the Commentators and Ref are giving tries before they are even scored.

2 teams ended up running away with it and well deserved winners. 2 dominant packs in different ways. Will be so interesting to see that wasps back row against a team like exeter who just keep possession no matter what. If Willis and co can influence as much as normal I think wasps will win.

Exeter's defence is just exceptional. It absolutely suffocates sides.

I expect Hill will get cited, if banned will be a loss for the final.

Wasps without Fekitoa is a loss too. That guy is class.

mikey_dragon wrote:Rowlands was brilliant, it probably wasn’t that noticeable at times but he did it for the full 80. Needs to be a Wales starter in this form.

Wasps went with the biggest second row they could and the combination of Launchbury and Rowlands really just joined in with the backrow and gave their opposite numbers a torrid time. Pat Lam may well be regretting not having Attwood in the 23 as at least an option on the bench if not a start just to have provided some extra physicality in the tight exchanges. It might be a tough watch back for the Bristol forwards because they really didn't show up.

RiscaGame wrote:100% red. Intent is clear too. He had no idea that Faletau was going to duck. Disgusting.

It's a clear out with terrible technique but the ref gets the decision spot on by the letter of the law. That is more luck than anything else on Hill's part because he's head down and hoping he doesn't take Falatau's head off. An inch lower and he misses both finals and kills his England chances. As it is he may well escape a citing.

The clear out comes from bad reffing though, Falatau is off his feet killing an Exeter break. Bath had already got away with one with Underhill cynically killed the ball 5m out. If the officials make consistently bad decisions then players take policing into their own hands and start doing things like flying into breakdowns recklessly.

Going to be a strange final; two sides that have very strong defences and make the most of every chance they get. I think Wasps back may just get the better of Chiefs in the tight. They seemed to do pretty well against Bristol's much vaunted pack, not sure their back line is quite as good as Chiefs though. Not really expecting a high scoring game, but think Chiefs will edge it by 5 points or so.

Hill will be cited, he has to be.

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:Going to be a strange final; two sides that have very strong defences and make the most of every chance they get. I think Wasps back may just get the better of Chiefs in the tight. They seemed to do pretty well against Bristol's much vaunted pack, not sure their back line is quite as good as Chiefs though. Not really expecting a high scoring game, but think Chiefs will edge it by 5 points or so.

I'd be amazed if Wasps beat Chiefs in the tight. Bristol's pack likes to play fast and loose and Wasps beat them up at the breakdown. I think Bristol may look back and regret not selecting Attwood with Wasps going for their most physical and biggest combo of Launchbury and Rowlands.

I think Wasps will try and spoil the lineout and then attack the breakdown. If they can just hold out at the scrum, maul and around the edges of the ruck they'll pack their backs to create something.

TightHEAD wrote:Hill will be cited, he has to be.

Not so sure. I agree with the officiating on the day no clear footage of contact tot he head/neck from the all the angles shown on tv & correct decision yellow card. Terrible technique with no arms used but IMO not a red.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

TightHEAD wrote:Hill will be cited, he has to be.

Not so sure. I agree with the officiating on the day no clear footage of contact tot he head/neck from the all the angles shown on tv & correct decision yellow card. Terrible technique with no arms used but IMO not a red.

I often forget that incidents only get cited now if judged to be a red card offence. By the letter of the law that clearout didn't make contact with the head/neck as you say so Hill may well get away with it.

Still a terrible technique and the type clearout that rugby needs out the game. It was only through luck that it he didn't make contact with the head.

Chiefs have depth at lock with Skinner and Kirsten both on the bench at the weekend but having Hill and Gray in the row gives them such strength in the lineout. Both are excellent jumpers and in the maul on both attack and defence. If Hill is available for the final I expect them to put Rowlands and Launchbury under pressure.

No citing made. 1 of those where the law is there to prevent that sort of clear out ie out of control and potentially dangerous. Misses a suspension by luck. But I suppose they've gone with these strict thresholds on contact.

Terrible decision not to cite Hill. That was a neck breaker and only avoided by a split second. Lucky he ducked.

TightHEAD wrote:Terrible decision not to cite Hill. That was a neck breaker and only avoided by a split second. Lucky he ducked.

Lucky he was in the process of going off his feet to kill the ball and cynically stop a Chiefs attack.

Hill was a very lucky boy on the day but I'm unsure what they'd cite him for? Reckless play is about the only one. I thought the ref got the decision spot on by the letter of the law.

If it's not a red card offence by the letter of the law then can they cite him?

Can reckless play be cited if not a red card offence?

I'm genuinely asking as shown by my posts above the citing procedures are something I don't really make much effort to keep up to date on.

As mentioned on another post, a Covid outbreak has caused Wasps to cancel training this week. 4 players and 3 coaching staff have tested positive.

Just award it to Chiefs and be done with this season.

LondonTiger wrote:As mentioned on another post, a Covid outbreak has caused Wasps to cancel training this week. 4 players and 3 coaching staff have tested positive.

Bears on standby to play in the final. That’s not right...

From local Coventry rag

‘With a Premiership final to prepare for on Saturday, October 24 against Exeter Chiefs, the next round of testing is due to take place on Tuesday, October 20.
However, with the results landing 24 hours later, it could leave Wasps with just a few days to assemble a squad for the Twickenham final.
CoventryLive understands Wasps immediately sought advice about acquiring an extra round of testing that has been successful. Players will be tested on Saturday, with the results available on Sunday or Monday morning.‘
Fingers crossed for Wasps

Fingers crossed indeed. Purely for the great game it'll turn out. Before the covid outbreak I was fancying wasps to nick this as I think exeter struggle against teams that contest the breakdown hard. Bit difficult to judge now though given I don't know who has been affected in the squad. The extended rest may help some of the guys given the hard fought match exeter have been through.

mikey_dragon wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:As mentioned on another post, a Covid outbreak has caused Wasps to cancel training this week. 4 players and 3 coaching staff have tested positive.

Bears on standby to play in the final. That’s not right...

Agreed. Fingers crossed Wasps make it to the final and everyone is ok out Coventry way. That's from a Tigers fan as well.

Wasps have the capability to score from anywhere and are great at pushing the boundaries at the breakdown. The Rowlands and Launchbury combination has given them an engine room that means for once they don't seem massively vulnerable in the tight. Having said that they'll be given a going over in that area by Exeter. 

I will go out in a limb and predict that Willis will either be man of the match lor sin binned during this one. He blurs the line at the breakdown a little too readily and Wasps will be under a lot of pressure in the red zone because of how Exeter play. If Willis gets it just right he'll be a hero, just wrong and a sin bin up front could really damage Wasps.

Rowlands and Launchbury against Hill and Gray will be a great matchup in a game full of matchups.

An important one for England as well. If Itoje is going to lead the lineout partnering Launchbury then the latter will presumably need to jump more than he usually has for England. If Jones goes for a like-for-like replacement for Kruis then Hill is probably front runner.

The final could have a pretty direct effect on England selection.

Simmonds vs Willis - They might be fighting for a single spot in the Autumn International squad as well

Joe Simmonds vs Umaga

Slade vs Fekitoa - Any news on his fitness?

Hogg vs Minozzi

Maunder vs Robson - If as rumoured Robson is recalled to the England squad then Maunder may be a medium/long term challenger

LCD vs Taylor - I expect LCD to be the more prominent player but it will be a chance for Taylor to show that he can still push the England squads following his injuries

I can't wait for this game and hope it goes ahead with full squads.

As other posters have said the interpretation at the breakdown is key to both sides but I'd back Exeter either way. The starting XVs are both quality but Chiefs will have the stronger bench. Chiefs are noticeably stronger in the front row and on the wing as well I think. I really like the Wasps recruitment on the wing as having value for money players like Kibirige, Bassett and Watson has allowed them to strengthen elsewhere - centre in particular. Kibirige has been really good all season but Nowell and O'Flaherty are really good players.

Got to say if Hill isn't brought into the England squad then something is definitely up. He should be the partner for Itoje, on form he is streets ahead of the competition. Could be the most niggly lock combination we've had for some time. Should be a good tight combination and able to do a bit in the loose. What's not to like.

I agree Chiefs have the edge on the wing with Nowell. Not sure on O'Flaherty, he tends to have some panicky moments in otherwise composed performances. He'll make a great break but if the cover defence gets to him he doesn't seem to make great choices. Saw it a couple of times at the weekend, streaking away on the break doesn't slow down to facilitate the pass, hesitates instead of kicking and then gets tackled. The Wasps wings get in behind and they have the confidence to go with it.

Hill has been in the England squad before when fit hasn't he?

Just understandably behind Lawes, Kruis, Itoje and Launchbury.

king_carlos wrote:Hill has been in the England squad before when fit hasn't he?

Yes.

king_carlos wrote:Hill has been in the England squad before when fit hasn't he?

Just understandably behind Lawes, Kruis, Itoje and Launchbury.

Tour to SA, didn't get a game if I remember rightly.

He's added to his game since the resumption, seems to be a much better ball carrier than we've seen before. Has bulked up a little. On current form I'd have him over a number of those that were previously above him in the pecking order. Probably helps that Lawes is injured and Kruis is in Japan.

Sounds like Bristol are in line for the final: another 4 players have been confirmed with covid. Probably best to call this now and let bristol know. I think if they do it'll be a very one sided final though.

The first 4 players testing positive at Wasps were Academy guys living in the same house. All depends who these new cases are but it doesn't look good.

More tests on Tuesday, after which a decision will be taken.

https://www.wasps.co.uk/news/update-from-wasps-concerning-covid-19-testing/

Confirmed wasps can play.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Confirmed wasps can play.

Good news. They deserve to be there. Hopefully the lack of preparation hasn't hit them too hard and they aren't going to miss first team players because of the Covid tests. The final should be a show piece event.

Great news, hope it's a good final. Go Rowlands .

mikey_dragon wrote:Great news, hope it's a good final. Go Rowlands .

Will you change your mind if Chiefs give Dollman a spot on the bench as a final send off?

Lee Blackett says that four of the players ruled out due to Coronavirus probably would have been in the matchday squad, not great, but a lot better than it could have been.

11 missing in total is a blow. I hope Wasps are able to put together a credible squad for this game and that the losses aren't too key. We all want to see the Willis/Young backrow combination for starters.

Blackett will have earned his money if he can get a win here. 4 first team squad members could hit then really hard. Their back row is a big point of difference so he wont want to see any of shield willis or young be unavailable. Realistically this may be a bridge too far anyway now.

Wayne Barnes is now out of the final. Not as bad as 11nplayers out but it's a miss for the match as he's the outstanding ref around. No one announced to replace him, hope it's Pearce.

Maxwell-Keyes; very much a step down but a young ref on the rise.

McIntyre, Brookes, Shields and Barbaery are the 4 first teamers affected. Clearly a big impact to the scrum so they'll be in for a very tough day. Shields has been very impressive at 8 in tandem with Youngs and Willis as well (Willis the younger is now in).

Real shame for Barbaery, very early stages to his career but he looks to the manor born.

No 7&1/2 wrote:McIntyre, Brookes, Shields and Barbaery are the 4 first teamers affected. Clearly a big impact to the scrum so they'll be in for a very tough day. Shields has been very impressive at 8 in tandem with Youngs and Willis as well (Willis the younger is now in).

Real shame for Barbaery, very early stages to his career but he looks to the manor born.

Isn't West the better scrummager but McIntyre the better all rounder? Brookes isn't a particularly good prop so losing him won't be a massive blow though his one big carry every five phases will be missed. Hits what they've got on the bench though so the second half could be tough.

I'd have liked to see Barbeary come off the bench in this one, shame he's out. He could make something out of nothing ball in hand. Be tough to do that against Chiefs mind.

The Rowlands/Launchbury, Willis/Young and Umaga/Gopperth combinations were the key ones in the Wasps side so good to see they are all there.