Prem Round 3

First topic message reminder :

Harlequins Starting XV

1. Joe Marler
2. Jack Walker - Captain
3. Wilco Louw
4. George Hammond
5. Irne Herbst
6. Jack Kenningham
7. Will Evans
8. Archie White

9. Lewis Gjaltema
10. Marcus Smith
11. Cadan Murley
12. Lennox Anyanwu
13. Joe Marchant
14. Nick David
15. Tyrone Green

Impact Players
16. George Head
17. Santiago Garcia Botta
18. Simon Kerrod
19. Dino Lamb
20. Matas Jurevicius
21. Danny Care
22. Tommy Allan
23. Luke Northmore

Dombrandt is a big loss at 8 and Botta can be a bit up and down while Kerrod is reverting to TH for the first time in a while, but allowing for injury and international absence it's a good team. Sandy Park is always a tough place to visit, though, so at this point I'd be happy to come away with a BP.

Wow - another knock-on not considered advantage over after about half a dozen phases ... some strange refereeing again by Dickson

Wel Phil Cokasaniga looks another good signing for the Tiger's

Not saying the YC wasn't right but why didn't they spend as much time looking at the possible slap into touch at the start of the match that could have been a YC and PT?

Geordie wrote:Wel Phil Cokasaniga looks another good signing for the Tiger's

Yes very annoying ...

Well Falcons are simply an embarrassment.

Saints scrum has lost them the match but Dickson is still dire - clear in from the side by Tigers before that last disallowed try ...

So proud of Wuss today, really hoping this isn’t the last time I get to watch them.

Maybe we need to just get relegated and replaced by a club that will actually try and I can go back to watching my local team.

Heaf wrote:Not saying the YC wasn't right but why didn't they spend as much time looking at the possible slap into touch at the start of the match that could have been a YC and PT?

I completely get Dickson not asking to see it after his lineman said he thought it was a genuine attempt. Tmo at fault there mistaking 2 handed as automatically not being a slap.

Heaf wrote:Saints scrum has lost them the match but Dickson is still dire - clear in from the side by Tigers before that last disallowed try ...

Dickson was pretty generous to Saints in their 22 for much of the game when he finally snapped he was a bit card happy. Liebenburg was frustrated and asking how many penalties fairly early given the ill-discipline on show.

Dickson is a frustrating ref but thought he was more consistent than he has been in previous seasons.

Saints tired and Tigers ran rampant. The scrum, the kicking game and the hard carries all sapped the legs of the Saints players. As soon as the Tigers carriers started getting over the gain line then Tigers could start moving the ball around and offloading. Discipline for Saints got worse as they got tired and once on the wrong side of Dickson it unravelled quickly with Tigers able to just play more physical as the game went on.

RiscaGame wrote:Biggar was asking for a deliberate knock on, not the hit.

Ah thanks, that makes more sense. Still wrong and he should wind his neck in once the ref has checked with the TMO.

Biggar should wind his neck in most of the time!

No 7&1/2 wrote:Biggar should wind his neck in most of the time!

Agreed though he played very well and after he left the field the lack of leadership with both him Lawes gone was really noticeable for Saints.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Biggar should wind his neck in most of the time!

Agreed though he played very well and after he left the field the lack of leadership with both him Lawes gone was really noticeable for Saints.

More the impact of scrums for me.

No 7&1/2 wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Biggar should wind his neck in most of the time!

Agreed though he played very well and after he left the field the lack of leadership with both him Lawes gone was really noticeable for Saints.

More the impact of scrums for me.

For me, it's about the three YCs. Saints get pinged a lot, most of it earned by our front row. I think the game turned on those YCs.

I get why Biggar shouldn’t talk to refs. But he did have a point about the knock on maybe, from his POV. But it was always going to be classed as a wrap. It wouldn’t have made a difference, but I get people chasing marginal gains. Dan Cole tried claiming a forward pass for Saints try when he tried chasing back. For no reason. It’s the same thing.

RiscaGame wrote:I get why Biggar shouldn’t talk to refs. But he did have a point about the knock on maybe, from his POV. But it was always going to be classed as a wrap. It wouldn’t have made a difference, but I get people chasing marginal gains. Dan Cole tried claiming a forward pass for Saints try when he tried chasing back. For no reason. It’s the same thing.

Yeah I have less issue if he was attempting to claim the knock on as the tackle was so clearly legal protests about that were ridiculous. Dickson did have to repeat that it was a legal tackle too many times for my taste though. I've got no problem with asking the officials to take a look at something but once they have that's pretty much where it should finish, bar reasonable questions around the explanation.

Cole's forward pass question to the AR were more optimistic than anything else, did make me chuckle.

doctor_grey wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Biggar should wind his neck in most of the time!

Agreed though he played very well and after he left the field the lack of leadership with both him Lawes gone was really noticeable for Saints.

More the impact of scrums for me.

For me, it's about the three YCs.  Saints get pinged a lot, most of it earned by our front row.  I think the game turned on those YCs.

Yeah the ill-discipline definitely cost you, the waves of pressure from Tigers as Saints tired just left you increasingly up against it. Liebenburg the Tigers captain was asking how many penalties Saints were allowed to concede in the 22 by the end of the first half so Dickson was fairly restrained in keeping his card in his pocket until the final quarter.

The decision making from Saints to keep playing and keep the ball on the field even though they were tired and Tigers were on top was an odd one. Tigers have a very good fitness set up and won a lot of games late on last season with help from that (including the semi final). I'd have thought Saints leaders would have been instructing the kickers to get the ball off the park and slow the game down a bit more. Saints are explosive enough as is they don't need massive amounts of ball in play time.

Well Chiefs up fir this one.

Yep - Quins disallowed try was a close one.

I'd have given that heaf.

What's the law on simultaneous foot in touch AND try placement?

Quins tackling as bad as us today...

Geordie wrote:I'd have given that heaf.

What's the law on simultaneous foot in touch AND try placement?

TMO said foot in touch first but I disagree as it looked simultaneous to me too ... not sure what the law is about simultaneous ...

Geordie wrote:Quins tackling as bad as us today...

Yep that last try was shocking defence ...

Not impressed with Quins' scrum half so far, he has been really slow and indecisive, which isn't helping with Quins being really under pressure in defence.

These water breaks are boiling my pi$$ too. Just what the game needs, to be even slower.

Heaf wrote:

Geordie wrote:I'd have given that heaf.

What's the law on simultaneous foot in touch AND try placement?

TMO said foot in touch first but I disagree as it looked simultaneous to me too ... not sure what the law is about simultaneous ...

Closest I can find is a clarification of simultaneous placement for try and touch-in-goal - that was ruled as a goal-line drop-out so I assume if the touch is outside of in-goal area, as in this case, it would be ruled as in touch so line-out - so looks like correct decision in this case.

Ah right.. cheers Heaf.

Anyanwu should have taken it, but that was another rubbish pass from the scrum half, he looks awful.

Bad mistake

Seen some big comebacks before but not sure Quins will be able to pull one off against Chiefs based on what we've seen so far ...

Not with Ewers and that pack doing a demolition job. Ewers is a wrecking ball.

Surely Care needs to come on now

Here we go again ...

Well there's a game on now lol.

Been some crazy matches lately ...

Oooerr ...

Great watch this, defences do seem optional though!

Wow....

I wonder if Northmore will be in the England squad tomorrow.

I really like that Anywanyu. Yes he made a few mistakes in the first half but he could be a very good 12. Power to break the tackle but has vision to pass or kick well also ...

So Marchant is hooker now. Is that Eddie's new request

Looks like the ball has well and truly fallen off Chiefs' wrecking crane ...

If they could stop scoring now that would be nice as I have Chiefs by 1 on Superbru

Oh - forgot about the conversion ....

Heaf wrote:If they could stop scoring now that would be nice as I have Chiefs by 1 on Superbru

That was a mental finish! He was so cool with it...

OK now Chiefs need an unconverted try please

Holy moly

Phew ...

Now miss the kick please ....