Prem Round 8

Friday
Harlequins v Sale (19.45)

Saturday
Bristol v Gloucester (14.00)
Bath v Exeter (15.00)
Saracens v Northampton (16.30)

Snday
Leicester v Newcastle (15.00)

STARTING XV

15 Mike Brown [14]

14 Freddie Steward [75]

13 Matt Scott [69]

12 Dan Kelly [65]

11 Ollie Hassell-Collins [9]

10 Handré Pollard [18]

9 Ben Youngs [305]

1 Francois Van Wyk [39]

2 Julián Montoya (c) [45]

3 Dan Cole [313]

4 Harry Wells [182]

5 Ollie Chessum [46]

6 Hanro Liebenberg [94]

7 Tommy Reffell [104]

8 Jasper Wiese [64]

REPLACEMENTS

16 Charlie Clare [87]

17 James Whitcombe [42]

18 Will Hurd [32]

19 Sam Carter [8]

20 Matt Rogerson [9]

21 Tom Whiteley [14]

22 Jamie Shillcock [10]

23 Solomone Kata [4]

Newcastle Falcons v Leicester Tigers (Sunday, 3pm, Mattioli Woods Welford Road, live on TNT Sports)

15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Tom Penny, 12 Matias Moroni, 11 Louis Brown, 10 Louie Johnson, 9 James Elliott; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 Jamie Blamire, 3 Eduardo Bello, 4 John Hawkins, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 6 Pedro Rubiolo, 7 Sam Cross, 8 Callum Chick (captain).

Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Phil Brantingham, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Tim Cardall, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Brett Connon, 23 Oliver Spencer.

Little bit of rotation from Tigers. Not sure Brown deserves to be rotated in but we are short on wingers and Bassett is getting the week off. Glad Heyes gets a breather as well. Bench lacks impact but hopefully we don't need it.

Saints side for their yearly drubbing by Sarries:

15 George Furbank (c)
14 Tom Seabrook
13 Tommy Freeman – 50th Premiership appearance
12 Fraser Dingwall
11 Ollie Sleightholme
10 Fin Smith
9 Tom James

1 Ethan Waller
2 Sam Matavesi
3 Trevor Davison
4 Chunya Munga
5 Alex Coles
6 Courtney Lawes
7 Tom Pearson
8 Sam Graham

Replacements:
16 Curtis Langdon
17 Alex Waller
18 Elliot Millar Mills
19 Temo Mayanavanua – Northampton Saints debut
20 Angus Scott-Young
21 Alex Mitchell
22 Tom Litchfield
23 George Hendy

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:Saints side for their yearly drubbing by Sarries:

15 George Furbank (c)
14 Tom Seabrook
13 Tommy Freeman – 50th Premiership appearance
12 Fraser Dingwall
11 Ollie Sleightholme
10 Fin Smith
9 Tom James

1 Ethan Waller
2 Sam Matavesi
3 Trevor Davison
4 Chunya Munga
5 Alex Coles
6 Courtney Lawes
7 Tom Pearson
8 Sam Graham

Replacements:
16 Curtis Langdon
17 Alex Waller
18 Elliot Millar Mills
19 Temo Mayanavanua – Northampton Saints debut
20 Angus Scott-Young
21 Alex Mitchell
22 Tom Litchfield
23 George Hendy

I think the back row of Lawes, Pearson, and Graham will be very good.  

You think giving Freeman his runs at OC is more about Freeman or Hutchinson?  Or Sleightholme?  Or maybe just depth and options?

Can anyone work out that last offside call after the maul went down?

Interesting game this afternoon (or evening, wherever you are).  At the half Quins 10 - Sale 3.  Sale look better, Quins maybe a bit more street smart.  But, clearly, the sequence of the half was late on when Sale spent quite a few phases (maybe a dozen or more) dead nuts right on the Quins line and couldn't muscle their way over.  Literally inches away.  When they finally tried to do something (anything?) different they ended up mucking it up.  They had advantage and ended up taking the 3.  But it showed Sale really without a Plan B and Harlequins with some physicality I didn't think they had.  Don't know what that means but very interesting.  

On a different subject, it has been quite a long time (pre-Covid) since I took in a game at Der Schtup (The Stoop for the uninitiated).  Always liked it there and almost always a good crowd.  Anyone been there recently?

Heaf, I'm with you on the maul.

We could ref these games from our armchairs

Jonny Hill really isn't the sharpest tool in the draw. Sale get CSS into touch and he starts sticking his forearm into a prone players throat. They then concede a try in the next phase, it is just brainless.

Hill is an absolute prat who shpuld not be back in the England squad.

CCS having a game to show why people are talking about him...athletic and physical and took a good lineiut there to set up the try.

Marler having a cracker...SB must he trying to talk him pout of retiring.

Murley kick chase has been good aswell as rhe rest of his game. Will please SB.

Will Evans also playing well

Cumbrian wrote:Jonny Hill really isn't the sharpest tool in the draw.  Sale get CSS into touch and he starts sticking his forearm into a prone players throat.  They then concede a try in the next phase, it is just brainless.

How the hell is a forearm to the neck not a yellow, at the minimum?

Weak ref - defo YC for that at least

doctor_grey wrote:

Cumbrian wrote:Jonny Hill really isn't the sharpest tool in the draw.  Sale get CSS into touch and he starts sticking his forearm into a prone players throat.  They then concede a try in the next phase, it is just brainless.

How the hell is a forearm to the neck not a yellow, at the minimum?  

Arguably a more deliberate high shot than many that are shown yellow for.

Lovely try

Sale have been incredibly disappointing in this game, haven't really shown anything at all.

Nick David is a cracking winger aswell....is he EQ?

I almost changed my Superbru pick from Quins to Sale when I saw Collier had to pull-out during the warm-up

You know....I'm not rhe biggest Smith fan..but I'm watching this game thinking is it time to just give him the 6n...withba strong back line and let him see how he goes.

Will Joseph looking good also...England have a dilema..Lawrence v Joseph for 13.

Geordie wrote:Will Joseph looking good also...England have a dilema..Lawrence v Joseph for 13.

Slade has been superb this season too.

Geordie wrote:Nick David is a cracking winger aswell....is he EQ?

Born in Redditch. Played England age grade.

Smith's played well but I'm trying to work out how well. Carpenter has had an absolute horror show at fullback and gifted Quins a try and lots of territory. It's meant their whole back three have been all over the shop as the wingers have no confidence in him. Every time Quins kicked it's been panic stations unless Ford took it.

Smith's swagger is definitely back after a couple of tough games which definitely bodes well for Quins and England.

Cumbrian wrote:

Geordie wrote:Will Joseph looking good also...England have a dilema..Lawrence v Joseph for 13.

Slade has been superb this season too.

He has.....but he's never 'done it ' for England. Let's not go back when we have 20-23 year olds playing very well.
.what an endorsement that was from Marler about the young sale prop...wow.

To be fair, at halftime this is not how I thought the second half was going to happen. Sale had a boatload of nothing.

Geordie wrote:

Cumbrian wrote:

Geordie wrote:Will Joseph looking good also...England have a dilema..Lawrence v Joseph for 13.

Slade has been superb this season too.

He has.....but he's never 'done it ' for England.  Let's not go back when we have 20-23 year olds playing very well.
.what an endorsement that was from Marler about the young sale prop...wow.

Watched him for the U20s last year, he and the other prop that played alongside him, Afolabi Fasogbon (Now at Gloucester) were two of the positives from a frustrating campaign.

England have some great young players coming through potentially....and some front rows...thankfully

Geordie wrote:England have some great young players coming through potentially....and some front rows...thankfully

Can they scrummage?

doctor_grey wrote:

Geordie wrote:England have some great young players coming through potentially....and some front rows...thankfully

Can they scrummage?

I guess it is relative, they are very competent for their age and look good against their contemporaries. Indeed Asher Opoku-Fordjour hasn't looked out of place at premiership in his cameos. At this point I guess it is all about how he develops, I'm hoping that someone at the top of the game is watching him because we desperately need some fresh blood at no.3. It would be good if he has been to that 'front five' camp that the RFU organised.

Cumbrian wrote:

doctor_grey wrote:

Geordie wrote:England have some great young players coming through potentially....and some front rows...thankfully

Can they scrummage?

I guess it is relative, they are very competent for their age and look good against their contemporaries.  Indeed Asher Opoku-Fordjour hasn't looked out of place at premiership in his cameos.   At this point I guess it is all about how he develops, I'm hoping that someone at the top of the game is watching him because we desperately need some fresh blood at no.3.  It would be good if he has been to that 'front five' camp that the RFU organised.

Been waiting to see how he goes at senior level and he didn’t disappoint. Probably too early to just throw him in at international level, but I hope England have a plan to get him there.

doctor_grey wrote:

Geordie wrote:England have some great young players coming through potentially....and some front rows...thankfully

Can they scrummage?

Asher Opoku-Fordjour certainly looked good at the scrum last night. Didn't budge and inch against Marler and then seemed to get some joy against the replacement loosehead. For a 19 year old who was only called up to the bench late on due to an injury it's a very impressive performance.

How has Goode managed to get himself on tv

Very 1 way traffic.

Alfie Barbeary looking more and more like a character from the old Harry Enfield "Scousers" sketch.

Didn't expect basketball scores from today's first two matches. Exe did rather give away the store late on, but still.

Hopefully Saints can make it a trifecta....

Saracens looking very flat so far. 6 points isn't a comfortable lead against them, but if Saints close out the half they can be pretty chuffed with their control so far.

Saracens getting off lightly for Goode playing from the ground for the second time today.

Ridley is generally having a decent game, but being a bit generous to them around the breakdown. It's a bit harsh to penalise for taking the 9 when the 9 himself engaged in the ruck first

What is happening at the Stone X, am I dreaming?

Saints have been good so far, but slighly worried for them, I think Sarries have upped the intensity noticeably.

Brilliant try for Saints, they are a really good watch when things click.

Surely Hendy didn't move off the mark, he caught the ball and was immediately wrapped up in the maul. Should have been a Saints scrum. Insult to injury now that Sarries have got the penalty.

It's all about managing the clock now. Sarries mess up their lineout and Saints take more yards and more seconds away

Good score for Sarries, big kick this...

6 point game. Can Saints hold out?

Great result, and levels the table up nicely. 4 points between the top 6 teams

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:What is happening at the Stone X, am I dreaming?

Did you have any doubts?

Bah humbug - Saints messed up my 15 game correct pick streak on Superbru ...

Still can't get used to seeing Mike Brown in a Tigers shirt...

Copying this from somewhere else, but thought this was interesting:
For the time Saracens have been at the Stonex/Allianz stadium, they have only lost 13 matches, Saints have won 5 of those.

Correct call for playing the ball on the floor.

Game of mauls so far. And how many Newcastle can butcher.

Moroni not exactly covering himself in glory this half.