Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Off Topic => Sports Arena => Topic started by: cheltenhamlion on October 18, 2015, 06:48:56 PM
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Premiership season off and running. Great win for Worcester against Northampton. Gloucester won away with Billy 36 kicking them from all angles.Shaping up to be a season where anyone can neat anyone.
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Worcester certainly aren't going to be whipping boys judging by their performance on Friday night.
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You bunch of bloody glory hunters, some of our teams are six games into the season already
Drive On Lyd
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Extraordinarily, Gloucesters pack made an impression Friday. Short at centre still though.
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Extraordinarily, Gloucesters pack made an impression Friday. Short at centre still though.
Is Trinder broken again? I'm very worried he's going to go the way of JSD and be one of those players who lights up 9-10 games a season looking every bit like an England international but never stays fit enough to get a good run at it.
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No Trinder. Again. Billy 36 kicked ten goals though.
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Saracens at home for Gloucester tonight.
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Saints look like they're properly prepared this week after looking like they were still in pre-season last week, I think Newcastle might get a bit of a tonking tomorrow.
I really hope Glaws can give Sarries a kicking as well. A few defeats might stop England from picking pretty much every Englishman in their squad.
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Joseph out for 3 months.
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I really hope Glaws can give Sarries a kicking as well. A few defeats might stop England from picking pretty much every Englishman in their squad.
Not so far. Saracens just strangle the fun out of the game. And so far Gloucester are not much more imaginative.
I notice that Hodgson gets selected as fly half ahead of Farrell. I read recently that this is not unusual. I think Farrell is an okay player but surely the England fly half should be selected ahead of a player i thought had retired?
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I really hope Glaws can give Sarries a kicking as well. A few defeats might stop England from picking pretty much every Englishman in their squad.
Not so far. Saracens just strangle the fun out of the game. And so far Gloucester are not much more imaginative.
I notice that Hodgson gets selected as fly half ahead of Farrell. I read recently that this is not unusual. I think Farrell is an okay player but surely the England fly half should be selected ahead of a player i thought had retired?
That's been my biggest complaint about Farrell all along, he can clearly kick from a tee but the rest of his game (at 10) looks like a rookie trying to find his feet. Not watching the game as we have guests but I'm not remotely surprised that Sarries are killing the game, that's their game plan.
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How long has 36 been Glawster's main kicker?
I'm surprised that last week's 29 was the club record or did they just mean professional/league era?
I'd have thought that 'The Boot' would have kicked more than that at some point.
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Saints look like they're properly prepared this week after looking like they were still in pre-season last week, I think Newcastle might get a bit of a tonking tomorrow.
I really hope Glaws can give Sarries a kicking as well. A few defeats might stop England from picking pretty much every Englishman in their squad.
Saints 42-16 Newcastle.
As I suspeced, they looked much more like themselves today (based on what the people I know who are at the game have said), Burrell was superb apparently.
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The salary cap debate is raging but seems to have gone under the radar with the World Cup going on. Basically two clubs have been cheating the salary cap and used their lawyer s to find loop holes in the rules and the premier league rugby have made everyone sign confidentiality agreements. I've no idea who the two teams are but after my BATH I am watching Robin Hood who started off fighting the SARACENS.
Fucking cheats.
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The salary cap debate is raging but seems to have gone under the radar with the World Cup going on. Basically two clubs have been cheating the salary cap and used their lawyer s to find loop holes in the rules and the premier league rugby have made everyone sign confidentiality agreements. I've no idea who the two teams are but after my BATH I am watching Robin Hood who started off fighting the SARACENS.
Fucking cheats.
Were's this been reported? The bit about the salary cap, not your bath etc.
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A response from Glaws:
Gloucester Rugby are fully supportive of the Salary Cap and believe its existence and effectiveness is crucial to ensure a level playing field across the Aviva Premiership. It also reinforces the Aviva Premiership's position as the most competitive league in the world whilst protecting the long-term financial wellbeing of clubs. The agreed levels of the salary cap going forward ensures that English clubs also have the ability to compete with Europe's elite.
As a club, we always try to operate with the highest integrity and we are fully committed to making the Salary Cap work and as such, in light of current questioning, would like to communicate that Gloucester Rugby is not one of the clubs to which Premiership Rugby referred within its statement as being involved in conversations relating to access to information and to commercial contracts where there were differences of opinion as to the inclusion or not in a salary cap.
Gloucester Rugby will be making no further comment on the matter.
Read more at http://www.premiershiprugby.com/news/37068.php#HCAWCg3igvRRejT9.99
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And Bath have released similar. Saints?
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The salary cap debate is raging but seems to have gone under the radar with the World Cup going on. Basically two clubs have been cheating the salary cap and used their lawyer s to find loop holes in the rules and the premier league rugby have made everyone sign confidentiality agreements. I've no idea who the two teams are but after my BATH I am watching Robin Hood who started off fighting the SARACENS.
Fucking cheats.
Were's this been reported? The bit about the salary cap, not your bath etc.
It's pretty common knowledge as far as I'm aware and I think it's a bold move to mention your bathing habits, however utterly correct they may be. Whichever clubs were involved though it would test the patience of a saint to know that the clubs weren't being thrown to the tigers. Especially if it were to turn out that the clubs involved happen to be ones that England have taken lots of players from.
It would less of a pisstake if this wasn't the 3rd time in 6 years that one of those clubs has been reported and investigated for breaching the cap and yet they still remain uncharged. Even more frustrating is that if you're going to fucking cheats at least have the decency to play decent rugby rather than percentage-based bullshit.
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Northampton and Saracens my guess. Saracens definitely. The boring cheating bastards.
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Northampton and Saracens my guess. Saracens definitely. The boring cheating bastards.
It's not northampton, they're right on the limit though, they had a few people leave the last few years because they couldn't afford to keep them.
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Northampton and Saracens my guess. Saracens definitely. The boring cheating bastards.
It's not northampton, they're right on the limit though, they had a few people leave the last few years because they couldn't afford to keep them.
So it it's not saints, bath or Gloucester, then who is the second team? Wasps?
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I was pretty certain it was Bath, there's strong rumours suggesting that, if not I'd guess at Leicester but it would be a 'best guess'.
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Bath have released a statement claiming to be under the cap, after adjustments for the 2014/5 season.
All very well but the season in question was the 2013/4 season and what are the "adjustments"?
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Bath have released a statement claiming to be under the cap, after adjustments for the 2014/5 season.
All very well but the season in question was the 2013/4 season and what are the "adjustments"?
That's an admission if ever I've seen one.
They let a fair few go that summer so i rrckon that is their 'adjustment'.
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I would have said if not Northampton then the London based clubs. Leicester make a fortune so I don't believe it is them.
Anyhow, from what I saw at the weekend, Worcester won't be pushovers or fighting relegation this year. Take your pick from Irish or Newcastle to finally be replaced by Bristol.
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Is anyone else bored of constantly hearing about Sam Burgess? England's entire World Cup campaign was overshadowed by him. Now it's this constant will he, won't he return to League. It's not anything against him personally, although I think he owes it to Bath to stay. It's just really dull now.
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The bessie mates with Russell Crowe bit is tedious as well.
A story I have probably told here before, but I like to think I was on part responsible for Crowe twatting someone with his phone back in 2005 or whenever it was.
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So Burgess has gone back then. Got to say that has been one of the poorest affairs I can remember in English Rugby Union. The administrators take blame for bringing him across with such a fanfare. The England coaching team take blame for having him anywhere near the squad. Burgess takes blame for letting Bath down and not giving it a proper go.
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Agreed.
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This despite Bruce Craig claiming he'd see out his contract and that he'd had no contact with rugby league over the last few days. Do we still believe his salary cap denials as well?
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I feel for Bath and Burgess over this to be honest, whatever he says he's gone because he was made a bit of a scapegoat for the world cup performance. I hold the England management team fully responsible and unless they're all replaced I think they might have burned some bridges with Bath over this.
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But Burgess has legged it at the first bump in the road, 1 year in to a 3 year deal. Quitter.
I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled the "family reasons" and personal problems excuse out like the MPs do for resigning.
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With Villa not playing until Sunday, this weekend will give me a chance to see The Mighty Lyd in action.
Four wins in a row and now flying up National 3 South West
http://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/competitions/south-west-division/
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But Burgess has legged it at the first bump in the road, 1 year in to a 3 year deal. Quitter.
I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled the "family reasons" and personal problems excuse out like the MPs do for resigning.
Oh I agree on that but I can understand why when he's been largely singled out as the main reason for England's worst ever world cup showing. For me England have let him down badly and in turn he's let Bath down badly, I just hope that Lancaster and his coaches are really pressed over the fact that they created this situation when in truth no one would've batted an eyelid if they'd left him out and said he just wasn't ready.
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Oh there's no doubt he's a bit of sideshow to our World Cup failure. The reality is that the coaching staff completely abandonned the consistency of selection they'd lauded over the last few years and unsurprisingly we fell apart. Burgess is a bit of a symptom, but he's not the cause. He should have stuck it out though.
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Oh I agree on that but I can understand why when he's been largely singled out as the main reason for England's worst ever world cup showing.
Has he ? Really ? I don't see that. Most people see Lancaster "building" a side for four years and then tossing it all away in week 2 of the tournament as the problem. And playing with no true 7 at a time when the top sides in the world have 2 or 3.
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Oh I agree on that but I can understand why when he's been largely singled out as the main reason for England's worst ever world cup showing.
Has he ? Really ? I don't see that. Most people see Lancaster "building" a side for four years and then tossing it all away in week 2 of the tournament as the problem. And playing with no true 7 at a time when the top sides in the world have 2 or 3.
Sorry I mean his inclusion in the squad/team rather than him personally, the whole 'building a side and then tossing it away' has largely revolved around his place.
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The Mighty Lyd won their fifth straight game today
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Oh I agree on that but I can understand why when he's been largely singled out as the main reason for England's worst ever world cup showing.
Has he ? Really ? I don't see that. Most people see Lancaster "building" a side for four years and then tossing it all away in week 2 of the tournament as the problem. And playing with no true 7 at a time when the top sides in the world have 2 or 3.
Sorry I mean his inclusion in the squad/team rather than him personally, the whole 'building a side and then tossing it away' has largely revolved around his place.
Between club and country they couldn't even decide upon a position for him to try and get to grips with. Him leaving is a shame - I guess in his heart of hearts he realised he wouldn't make it as an international back row forward in the next 18 months.
Talking about his departure from Bath, Sam Burgess says: "I wanted to go in and see the team, to get my point across, but Stuart Hooper, our captain, said he didn’t think I’d be well received there, which was fair enough — if that’s how he felt.
"I wanted to go and say goodbye, not just as a team-mate but as a friend, but that didn’t happen. I’ve not been back in there, but I’ve spoken to guys away from the club."
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Burgess's comments about his 'heart not being in Union' must be even more sickening for the likes of Burrell.
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Genuinely pathetic decision to disallow Burrell's try, Clancy should be ashamed when he watches that back later
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What an end to Wasps vs Bath, brilliant game that went each way and then a fantastic finish from Watson and a superb conversion by Ford, brilliant game.
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Harlequins and Gloucester was a great game.
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Harlequins and Gloucester was a great game.
Fantastic game, absolutely gutted for Trinder, I think he's going to be another Glaws player who has England regular written all over him but who never plays because of injury.
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Saints v exeter on the other had was an awful game, admittedly in terrible conditions.
From what I've seen of the Saints over the past 12-months, I cannot see what Jones sees in Alex King. Saints look too formulaic and don't seem to trust the flair of Foden and their other 'maverick' players.
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'We are top of the league. We are top of the league'
http://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/competitions/south-west-division/
Drive on Lyd
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Moseley bottom of the Championship. Looks like this is the season. Very Villa-esque.
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Zindyferrred bottom of National 1, which is good to see.
However, I still don't think that Gloucester Second XV.......sorry, Hartpury College should be allowed in the league structure.
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Very good east mids derby with some Barnes decisions turning the game. The encouragement to keep Croft in the air at the line out being the worst for me.
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Very good east mids derby with some Barnes decisions turning the game. The encouragement to keep Croft in the air at the line out being the worst for me.
I saw the 2nd half and the conditions were awful. It was almost as if having possession of the ball was a liability.
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Very good east mids derby with some Barnes decisions turning the game. The encouragement to keep Croft in the air at the line out being the worst for me.
I saw the 2nd half and the conditions were awful. It was almost as if having possession of the ball was a liability.
The conditions were awful, that's why I enjoyed the game because both sides did a great job of still trying to play and make a game of it.
I'm just frustrated that yet again Barnes is the ref for an east mids derby and yet again he gave a couple of critical decisions in favour of Leicester. The disallowed try for Hill was incredibly harsh, Burrell tackled on the ball and his arm slipped up and even then it wasn't dangerous because he never made contact with his head or neck. I think it's a shame there weren't a few more scrums as Jones was there and Waller would've wanted to put a squeeze on Cole.
Good to see Sarries drop points
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Tom Collins looks a good player. Been impressed by him in the last two matches. Lightening pace and is not afraid to take responsibility. The execution is sometimes wayward but the fact he is prepared to try something different bodes well for the lad.
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Tom Collins looks a good player. Been impressed by him in the last two matches. Lightening pace and is not afraid to take responsibility. The execution is sometimes wayward but the fact he is prepared to try something different bodes well for the lad.
Yep, looked a top player when he broke through a couple of years ago but then had a few niggles and has only just got back to level, I called him as an England player at the time and I'm sticking to that, not yet but if he stays fit I reckon he'll be right in the mix by the next world cup, only 21 so has a lot of time still. I also think Teimana Harrison (New Zealander but English father) could well force his way into things, he's looked very good in the last month or 2 and he's the little mongrel style 7 that we've been missing for so long. I was very impressed by Lachlan McCaffrey as well, he looks like a fantastic back rower, last season he showed flashes but Welsh were so far short of the standard that it was hard to stand out, think he's England qualified as well and I reckon he'd be a great option at 7 as well.
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Corbs has left saints early (he was leaving in the summer to take a year out anyway) so that'll be 18months out. He's only 27 so he'll be just about 29 at the start of the 17-18 season which is easily young enough to get back to playing at the very top I just hope he uses the break to get his injury problems properly sorted, at his best he's an immense talent and the best loosehead going but he really needs to stay fit. Letting him leave early makes sense all round though, was out until March/April anyway so by the time he was back fully fit there's maybe 3-4 games he'd have been available for and another injury picked up by rushing to get back wouldn't help anyone.
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Do you think saints had to pay out the remainder of his contract? Rugby players are not that well played to walk away from half a yer's salary. I'd be surprised if courbisero is back to be honest. It strikes me that he has lost a bit of love for the game.
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Do you think saints had to pay out the remainder of his contract? Rugby players are not that well played to walk away from half a yer's salary. I'd be surprised if courbisero is back to be honest. It strikes me that he has lost a bit of love for the game.
Probably irrelevant to the club, as said he was meant to be out for most of it anyway so will have been paid up by the insurance on him really. We'll see, he might decide that he's fed up of the game he might decide that he misses it and come back determined to be everything he could be. From a few people I know who've talked to him over the last few years he's always been very driven so I suspect he'll realise just hat he's missing and come back with the same determination he had a few years back.
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Great weekend for English rugby, 5 teams through, 3 homes quarter finals and a guaranteed English team in the final. On top of that the performances by saints, wasps and exeter were hugely encouraging and, despite me not being a fan, sarries deserve a huge amount of credit for 28 points, it was the easiest group but to win it so comprehensively is still impressive.
I'd give special mention to Harry Mallinder, 2 european games, 2 tries and 2 man of the match performances, he looks one hell of a talent, big, strong, very quick (easily his best attribute, he's got a great 'extra gear' as well), can pass, can kick, can tackle and runs good support lines he's got everything you want for a top class 12 so he'll be well worth keeping an eye on over the next year or 2. I suspect he'll be another to jump from U20 to the seniors, probably within a year or so.
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Great weekend for English rugby, 5 teams through, 3 homes quarter finals and a guaranteed English team in the final. On top of that the performances by saints, wasps and exeter were hugely encouraging and, despite me not being a fan, sarries deserve a huge amount of credit for 28 points, it was the easiest group but to win it so comprehensively is still impressive.
I'd give special mention to Harry Mallinder, 2 european games, 2 tries and 2 man of the match performances, he looks one hell of a talent, big, strong, very quick (easily his best attribute, he's got a great 'extra gear' as well), can pass, can kick, can tackle and runs good support lines he's got everything you want for a top class 12 so he'll be well worth keeping an eye on over the next year or 2. I suspect he'll be another to jump from U20 to the seniors, probably within a year or so.
I don't know much about peanut-hugging but since Wasps moved to the Ricoh I've been a couple of times, the latest time being Saturday.
Despite not having a scooby what's going on most of the time I find it's genuinely exciting, Wasps do a tremendous job of the "match day experience" and tickets for the two games I've been (both European Cup games, one against the current European Champions) have averaged £18.
Oh and it's quite nice to go to a sporting event and see the team you want to win, actually win!
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Wasps have done a fantastic job of trying to get the community to buy in to the club, I've heard loads of good things and yes the ticket prices are great for most rugby matches.
As far as not knowing what's going on but finding it exciting that's exactly the point for teams to play good rugby rather than traditional Northern Hemisphere rugby, seeing 3-4 players run strong lines to open a gap so someone skins a couple on the outside is inherently exciting, watching the ball get kicked into the sky and then a bunch of big bastards have a scrap over it requires a deeper appreciation of the game. That's why I like Wasps, Exeter and Bath and don't like teams like Sarries and Tigers. Saints are normally another side who like to get the ball into the backs but they've been rubbish at that this year.
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Ahem, Gloucester!
Perfect 6 in the group. Defending our title. Bring on the Dragons.
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Yes, credit to gloucester as well, once again proving that the bottom half of the prem is a long way ahead of the equivalent in the rabo and pro 14 (I don't mean that to sound sarcastic before anyone gets frustrated with me). Their performances in that competition over the last couple of seasons show exactly why I think English rugby is in such a strong place, no other country has the depth of talent and competition we do. 9 teams out of 12 qualified and 6 of them won their groups, only Bath (in a horrific group), Newcastle and Worcester (newly promoted and concentrating on the league) haven't made it out of their groups. You'd have to hope that there is a real chance of a double but Racing do look a very strong side and I wouldn't write off Toulon even though they're not up to their previous standards.
However, to sour the positives in English rugby Sarries are once again proving that they're a football-esque blight on the league - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35400355 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35400355) - so over the salary cap and their wages go up again, completely unmanageable debts and the smug twat at the top comes out with this shit:
Chairman Nigel Wray said having a smaller squad and "finishing 11th" was one obvious way to cut the debt.
"But that would send out a terrible message to players that we weren't ambitious and would hardly attract sponsors," he added.
"We have a very well-known brand which is of considerable value and must be nurtured."
So running up debts to attract new players and sponsors which will increase turnover but necessitate further debts to keep everyone happy and they can't see that at some point the league will have had enough of letting them ignore the cap at which point they're going to be fucked, they're basically man utd with a different ball and the sooner they fuck off to oblivion the better.
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Aye.
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Whats the cap? Are they proven to be above it, last I read they had claimed they were within the magic number. Does the article confirm otherwise?
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The cap is £5.6m - broken into £100k for the academy, £400k extra for 2 'unlisted' players (basically this is so they can stop players leaving to go to france) and the rest as the main salary cap. There are a whole bunch of other clauses though and Sarries in particular have been accused of 'playing' the numbers of the clauses to give their wage bill an air of legitimacy. In truth the concensus is that for the season that was investigated £5.4m on playing staff and £2m-ish on other staff so a total bill of £6.5-7m in the accounts is in line with expectations. For that season Saints reported £6.8m for example, Sarries reported £8.1m, that's a big difference.
The suggestion therefore is that for them to be legitimately within the cap (that they've publicly opposed and the chairman is on record of calling a farce) they'd need to be paying their admin staff 25-30% above the London average and there is little evidence to support that.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/premiership/11982510/Premiership-rugby-salary-cap-cover-up-is-a-scandal-which-cheats-fans.html - so to sum up, commercial payments were agreed instead of punishments and the only clubs that didn't then break the confidentiality agreements and outright state they were innocent were Leicester and Sarries (with Bath choosing to mislead and point out that they were within the cap for 14/15 when the investigation was on 13/14). That all this came along with rumours of coercion and bullying suggests that the majority of the clubs weren't particularly happy to have some clubs clearly ignoring the laws and being given a green light from the league.
There's nothing concrete but it's a safe guess to suggest Sarries aren't playing by the rules.
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Wasps have done a fantastic job of trying to get the community to buy in to the club, I've heard loads of good things and yes the ticket prices are great for most rugby matches.
Good to see all that Land Rover money is not being wasted.
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The seeding in the Challenge cup is a joke. Glos win 6/6 and are ranked behind Harlequins in 5/6.
Also if an away team wins a QF they will have home country advantage against the 1st or 2nd ranked teams. They must be drunk.
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The seeding in the Challenge cup is a joke. Glos win 6/6 and are ranked behind Harlequins in 5/6.
Also if an away team wins a QF they will have home country advantage against the 1st or 2nd ranked teams. They must be drunk.
I guess that's based on reuslts over the last few years where quins have been up towards the top end of the league, I agree it's strange though, I just put all those rankings down to the same false maths which sees side like Mexico often sneak into the top5 in the football rankings despite losing pretty much any time they play anyone else in the top 10-12 (out of interest it's Chile who are currently occupying a spot far in advance of their ability and are ranked 5th).
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I think the theory is that there should be a reward if you win away in the quarters against a higher ranked team. Stoll seems daft mind.
On the seedings, I don't know how they work. Is it points accrued? If not, and there is some odd coefficient thing, Gloucester have every reason to be miffed that they are holders and won every group game, and aren't top seeds.
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On the seedings, I don't know how they work. Is it points accrued? If not, and there is some odd coefficient thing, Gloucester have every reason to be miffed that they are holders and won every group game, and aren't top seeds.
I assume the seedings are the same as for the Champions Cup - group winners, ordered by number of points accrued, followed by group runners up ordered by number of points accrued.
Despite winning a game more Gloucester still only got 25 points, the same as Quins, and given Quins won all their games with a bonus point their points difference is much better than Gloucester's, hence the higher seeding.
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And that would make sense. I was more responding to Lovejoy and how his bemusement left me questioning how it works.
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On the seedings, I don't know how they work. Is it points accrued? If not, and there is some odd coefficient thing, Gloucester have every reason to be miffed that they are holders and won every group game, and aren't top seeds.
I assume the seedings are the same as for the Champions Cup - group winners, ordered by number of points accrued, followed by group runners up ordered by number of points accrued.
Despite winning a game more Gloucester still only got 25 points, the same as Quins, and given Quins won all their games with a bonus point their points difference is much better than Gloucester's, hence the higher seeding.
I'm not sure why but I was convinced that gloucester had 26 points hence I got drawn into it as well.
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It's bullshit that a team can win 5 and be ahead of a team winning 6, bps or not. First criteria should be wins then take in the bps to spot thereafter.
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I quite like the bonus point rule. It gives teams a reason to attack and keeps the games interesting even when it's obvious who's going to win.
And as a spectator I'd rather a team is rewarded for twatting 4 out of 6 teams say, whilst losing the other two trying, rather than teams who scrape through with 5 wins.
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I agree, the BP rule is key to keeping rugby exciting because teams that are losing will keep going to try to get a losing bonus point and the team in the lead will push for a fourth try. you know it's been a good game if one team gets 5 points and the other gets 2 for example.
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The mistake from Botica at the end of the quins vs saints game is up there with the worst you'll ever see on a rugby pitch:
http://sport.bt.com/tries/saints-claim-stunning-last-play-win-over-quins-91364038615684
So gets the ball in the dead bal lzone after the clock has gone over 80 which gives him the option to:
Touch it down
Kick or throw out directly behind himself
kick to the shorter side with no regard for distance
instead he kicks to the far wing and tries to make as much distance as possible. It's almost as if he had no idea that the clock was gone but given the clock had a second left when the scrum started that's pretty shocking communication through to him if it's the case. Lovely hands from Mallinder in the middle of the move afterwards though, he really does look like he could be a world class 12.
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Bath 11-15 Glos.
No matter what happens in the wider world this season, it's still one to remember.
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The mistake from Botica at the end of the quins vs saints game is up there with the worst you'll ever see on a rugby pitch:
http://sport.bt.com/tries/saints-claim-stunning-last-play-win-over-quins-91364038615684
So gets the ball in the dead bal lzone after the clock has gone over 80 which gives him the option to:
Touch it down
Kick or throw out directly behind himself
kick to the shorter side with no regard for distance
instead he kicks to the far wing and tries to make as much distance as possible. It's almost as if he had no idea that the clock was gone but given the clock had a second left when the scrum started that's pretty shocking communication through to him if it's the case. Lovely hands from Mallinder in the middle of the move afterwards though, he really does look like he could be a world class 12.
Gomersall did the same thing there for Glos vs Harlequins about 10 years ago. Quins got a penalty 50 metres out in horrendous storm conditions which of course they kicked. It's still with me that one. Bet Gomersall has forgotten it though.
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The new puritans want to ban contact rugby in schools now.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/12179548/Ban-contact-rugby-in-schools-say-health-experts.html
Allyson Pollock needs to be fired. She constantly oversteps her health remit and wades into social and cultural engineering. Horrible killjoy woman. She was so sneering on the news this morning.
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The new puritans want to ban contact rugby in schools now.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/12179548/Ban-contact-rugby-in-schools-say-health-experts.html
Allyson Pollock needs to be fired. She constantly oversteps her health remit and wades into social and cultural engineering. Horrible killjoy woman. She was so sneering on the news this morning.
The real issue here is that this will just cause more problems. Banning tackling will not reduce injuries, it just shifts them when people are bigger and stronger and bad technique is more of a problem, I suspect that if this goes through in 8-10years there will be lots of noise about how dangerous rugby is because of the number of players being seriously hurt at colts level. They should be investing (as the RFU is trying to) in getting far more teachers to become qualified coaches, that way tackling technique is covered early and the 'duty of care' principle is applied from the offset.
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Reasons I dislike Sarries #3728:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35743821
They encourage bullshit like this. I'd bene trying really hard not to bitch about it but what a bunch of cnuts. Shame on Irish for going along with the sideshow as well.
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Reasons I dislike Sarries #3728:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35743821
They encourage bullshit like this. I'd bene trying really hard not to bitch about it but what a bunch of cnuts. Shame on Irish for going along with the sideshow as well.
I think you might have that about face. It's an Irish home game, it's them trying to tap their diaspora.
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I wouldn't be so sure, sarries have been talking about games like this for a few years, I'd put money on them planting the idea and doing most of the work to set it up once it was agreed.
On topic, wasps were superb again today and totally dismantled the tigers defence, lost George Smith to what looked like a sickener though.
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Just watching the highlights from the weekend, some magnificent rugby from Wasps. Glorious stuff.
That boy Walker from Quins has got some serious gas too.
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Just watching the highlights from the weekend, some magnificent rugby from Wasps. Glorious stuff.
That boy Walker from Quins has got some serious gas too.
Dan Robson is probably the form player in the league right now and he, Smith and Hughes have got Wasps playing on another level, i've been singing his praises as an international 9 for a few years but it's always been because he had all the tools to be great, right now he's proving it. Can pass off the floor from either hand, has an excellent kicking game (he played 10 for a long time and it shows) has bags of pace and is a very smart player. With the time he's being given by the breakdown work from the other 2 he's just bossing things and picking gaps at will. Wasps have been truly brilliant for about 3 months now and they're my outside bet for both the league and the champions cup, got a double on them a couple of weeks back at 75/1 which i thought was good odds considering how well they're playing, just depends if they can keep it up for another 11 games.
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I wouldn't be so sure, sarries have been talking about games like this for a few years, I'd put money on them planting the idea and doing most of the work to set it up once it was agreed.
On topic, wasps were superb again today and totally dismantled the tigers defence, lost George Smith to what looked like a sickener though.
Struggling to see how you can criticise Saracens for playing one away game at a strange venue, then in the next breath state your enjoyment of a win for a club who have completely abandoned their home for every home match.
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I wouldn't be so sure, sarries have been talking about games like this for a few years, I'd put money on them planting the idea and doing most of the work to set it up once it was agreed.
On topic, wasps were superb again today and totally dismantled the tigers defence, lost George Smith to what looked like a sickener though.
Struggling to see how you can criticise Saracens for playing one away game at a strange venue, then in the next breath state your enjoyment of a win for a club who have completely abandoned their home for every home match.
Let it go, wasps haven't ever had a real 'home'. They formed in North London with no ground using public and rented pitches, moved to Sudbury (near Ipswich) in the 20s but then they weren't allowed to use that ground when the game turned professional so they partnered with QPR before moving to Wycombe. They then spent years trying to find somewhere in or around London before giving up and taking the Ricoh at an absolute steal. I'm not supporting them, just saying they've already had to move twice in the last 20 years so it's not like they have a well established local fan base who are massively disadvantaged by this move.
Given they were financially crippled (and within weeks of winding up) I don't have a problem with them taking action to save the club even if the specific route they took isn't something I'd condone.
It's nothing like Sarries who are purposely expanding their debts and are pushing for 'showcase' fixtures in an attempt to become the man utd of rugby with followers all over the world. Wasps moved to ensure the club survived, Sarries are risking the survival of the club to become a 'brand'.
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The game in Joisey is a home game for Reading Irish
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Sale vs Tigers, suspended for 15 mins because of lightning and now sale leading by 7 with 5 minutes to go. The difference right now is a worldy solo try by cips.
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The new puritans want to ban contact rugby in schools now.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/12179548/Ban-contact-rugby-in-schools-say-health-experts.html
Allyson Pollock needs to be fired. She constantly oversteps her health remit and wades into social and cultural engineering. Horrible killjoy woman. She was so sneering on the news this morning.
The real issue here is that this will just cause more problems. Banning tackling will not reduce injuries, it just shifts them when people are bigger and stronger and bad technique is more of a problem, I suspect that if this goes through in 8-10years there will be lots of noise about how dangerous rugby is because of the number of players being seriously hurt at colts level. They should be investing (as the RFU is trying to) in getting far more teachers to become qualified coaches, that way tackling technique is covered early and the 'duty of care' principle is applied from the offset.
Only just seen this, ridiculous nanny state bollocks.
The governing body and education authorities would be far better off adopting the Aussie method of weight groups rather than age groups for this stage of rugby education.
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Saints win at home to quins, some lovely tries and Harrison was imperious again, he's the best 7 in the league right now and has got to be pushing for a call up to England, controlled the breakdown today.
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Saints win at home to quins, some lovely tries and Harrison was imperious again, he's the best 7 in the league right now and has got to be pushing for a call up to England, controlled the breakdown today.
Given the MOM too. Fully deserved. He's been playing well all season in a not fully functioning Saints team.
In fact yesterday was probably the first time I have enjoyed watching Saints for a while, much more expansive. It was a cracking games and huge credit to Saints with their less heralded players keeping Brown, Roberts and Care particularly quiet.
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Just watching the highlights from the weekend and I don't think even the harshest Saracens critic could call that display boring. According to the newspaper reports Farrell on fire in his first game at 10 for weeks.
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Just watching the highlights from the weekend and I don't think even the harshest Saracens critic could call that display boring. According to the newspaper reports Farrell on fire in his first game at 10 for weeks.
Sarries can be a good team to watch because they've got a very good squad but it's not what they're setup to do. It's a bit McLeish-ian get the defence right and hope that the team use that structure to make stuff happen.
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Sale out but a few bits of brilliance from cipriani again today, the work for the Sam James try is a thing of beauty, fantastic offload. On top of that he made the montpellier winger look a complete mug for the first try, I really do want to see him get some gametime for England, he's a class above any other 10 in the country.
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He'll have fun next season at Wasps, they'll be great to watch.
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Watching this one in the pub as I don't have BT. As an Exeter Uni boy, I have to support the visitors I'm afraid.
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Slide of the century!
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Brilliant chip by Robson - game on
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oh my, that wasps try (by Hallai) is just stunning, the breaks by Daly and Wade in the build up were brilliant.
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What a match!
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Fair play - some kick to win it.
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What a game, both teams deserve huge respect here.
Brilliant kick from Gopperth at the end, that's some serious pressure to kick one like that.
The try at the end was another example of why I like Daly, he 'stalled' the exeter backline by just holding on to it for that extra second, that meant Piutau could score himself rather than going out to Wade, which gave them a much easier conversion.
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bit of a harsh yellow against sarries there but it was a pathetic challenge. Good game so far, Harrison is looking very good again. Poor mistake by Elliott to miss out on the try though.
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52 mins in, 1 point between them and it really wouldn't be flattering Saints if the lead was closer to 15-20 points, it always worries me when a game is like this.
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Sarries playing rubbish but getting no favours from ref either
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The saints injuries are proving the difference now, so many back row players out meant that they couldn't afford to lose Nutley.
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Wind is a big factor also.
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Wasps v Saracens will be helluva game. Still pissed off that I missed out on tickets to the final by seconds.
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I think the sheer number of players saints had missing was the main thing, Brookes, Hartley, Wood, Gibson, Dickson and North would've all started and Ethan Waller, Fisher, Clark, Dickinson, Wilson and Tuala would all be in the mix for the 23 as well.
Having the squad stretched to the full when you're playing away at one of the best sides in europe is always going to make it a tough ask. As I said earlier at half time the gap should've been 15-20 and then the slight weakness of the bench wouldn't have been such a big problem, missed kicks, dropping one over the line and the subsequent kicks to the corner trying to push the scoreboard all meant saints didn't have the points they deserved after a superb first half.
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Wasps v Saracens will be helluva game. Still pissed off that I missed out on tickets to the final by seconds.
Agreed, Wasps are in fantastic form and will punish Sarries if they're not on the money.
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I talk a lot about liking Burrell because his running lines are the best of anyone we have. Watch the try Saints have just scored (on 24mins, Harrison with the finish). You won't see/have seen a better break from a centre all season. The commentators have named Harrison as a genuine England contender as well, I think I got there 2-3 months before them.
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As I hit to post it Burrell throws a blind pass off the floor which leads to an interception and simple try for Goneva, which also highlights why he isn't an England regular.
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That's very harsh on Farrell. Robson slipped, that tackle would have been at chest height. Hope he's okay.
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I'm not sure, from some views it looks an accident from others it looks malicious, a yellow seems fair.
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Leicester have dropped the ball every single time they've entered the Racing 22. It's unbelievable, but somehow they're still in this game.
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Are Leicester playing in Nottingham because of the building work at Welford Road or because Leicester City's game was switched to the Sunday ?
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It's Home Country advantage not Home advantage and the EPCR choose the venue.
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That's very harsh on Farrell. Robson slipped, that tackle would have been at chest height. Hope he's okay.
I'm not sure, from some views it looks an accident from others it looks malicious, a yellow seems fair.
Coming back to this now there are videos online -
It's a very tough call - I still think a yellow is the right decision though, it was just too reckless to be allowed to go unpunished. This is one of my biggest issues with Farrell, in his mind he thinks he can be an enforcer in areas like that but his technique isn't good enough to reign in his natural aggression. If you watch Lawes (who is the best in the world at this) he hits like a truck but it's safe, controlled and his tackling technique is impeccable, Farrell all too often gets it wrong and hurts either himself or the opponent, he's been very lucky to get away with tackles worse than this one in the past but he needs to grow up now and stop trying to prove to the world how tough he is.
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Farrell has been cited for that tackle now. I suspect nothing will come of it but I can understand why they're taking a look and I suspect he'll get a warning to be a bit more sensible going forward.
Marler has also been cited and I suspect he'll get a ban - http://www.worldrugbyvids.com/index.php/2016/04/22/joe-marler-kicks-heguy-in-face/ - given he's got previous for petulance I suspect he'll get a few weeks.
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Whilst I'm linking videos, have any of you seen the 'tackle' in the air from the super rugby on Friday, if ever you need to explain to some why making contact with someone in the air is ridiculously dangerous just show them this - http://www.rugbydump.com/2016/04/5049/jason-emery-suspended-for-4-weeks-for-dangerous-challenge-on-wille-le-roux
Thankfully he did get up and carry on playing and they had a bit a 'bro' moment on twitter afterwards so there's no hard feelings but I've been on a pitch where something very similar happened and the guy broke his collar bone and cracked 2 vertebrae in his neck, there's just no excusing this one, it's clearly a complete accident and even still it's a 4 week ban, any intent and you'd be looking at 20 weeks.
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Saints v Bath was a good game, saints winning 15-14 having been 14-0 down at HT.
By their usual standards the Saints have had a pretty average season, however they've blooded a load of youngsters, Harrison (MOTM again), Malinder and Jamie Elliot all look the business. That talent should allow them to spend some cash on some big hitters like Picamoles (already signed) and hopefully a decent fly half.
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Harrison will rightly be the player of the season for saints, i think he's got a good shout for the overall league award as well, was superb again today. I'll be very upset if he doesn't tour and get at least a 1 game at 7.
Mallinder is a top prospect but he really needs to nail down a position, he's been too much of a utility player so far and it shows.
Barnes was his usual self in a saints game, 3-4 ropey decisions, failing to give Auterac a clear yellow was top of the list.
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Nowell ripping Quins to shreds today. Three tries and God knows how many line breaks. Some performance.
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He's a fantastic winger who will just get better. I still believe that Nowell on the right, May on the Left and Watson at 15 is the best back 3 for England but their insistence on letting Brown and seemingly Goode have yet another go at 15 means we've not had a chance to see it. Wade and Yarde should be with the tour as well.
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He's a fantastic winger who will just get better. I still believe that Nowell on the right, May on the Left and Watson at 15 is the best back 3 for England but their insistence on letting Brown and seemingly Goode have yet another go at 15 means we've not had a chance to see it. Wade and Yarde should be with the tour as well.
Wasn't at all impressed with Yarde today, particularly when turning and defending, and while I never rated Goode before, he has been absolutely outstanding for Saracens all season, but otherwise I agree.
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He's a fantastic winger who will just get better. I still believe that Nowell on the right, May on the Left and Watson at 15 is the best back 3 for England but their insistence on letting Brown and seemingly Goode have yet another go at 15 means we've not had a chance to see it. Wade and Yarde should be with the tour as well.
Wasn't at all impressed with Yarde today, particularly when turning and defending, and while I never rated Goode before, he has been absolutely outstanding for Saracens all season, but otherwise I agree.
I agree on Yarde today, but he is still very young and he can be devestating, I'd like to keep him around the group. Goode is a difficult one, he's 28 and has had 19 games and he's done nothing in them to justify his selection ahead of the likes of Foden. My concern is that this will be just another tour (and subsequent autumn) where he does nothing of note and we lose more games where a long term option could be getting settled.
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Harrison will rightly be the player of the season for saints, i think he's got a good shout for the overall league award as well, was superb again today. I'll be very upset if he doesn't tour and get at least a 1 game at 7.
Mallinder is a top prospect but he really needs to nail down a position, he's been too much of a utility player so far and it shows.
Barnes was his usual self in a saints game, 3-4 ropey decisions, failing to give Auterac a clear yellow was top of the list.
Malinder was both sublime and ridiculous for Saints yesterday. Not convinced full-back is his position. Devastating runner though and seems to play with his head-up, even in contact.
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As voted by the players, the nominations for player of the year (club rugby):
Andy Goode – Newcastle Falcons
Nathan Hughes – Wasps Rugby
Charles Piutau – Wasps Rugby
George Smith – Wasps Rugby
Thomas Waldrom – Exeter Chiefs
Not one Saracens player and notably Andy Goode who played something like 300 minutes all season. What's that all about?
BBC radio talked about it yesterday before the matches and the experts all said it was odd (i.e. the players had colluded) but offered no explanation beyond 'people don't like saracens'/jealousy.
The obvious elephant in the room is the salary cap but no expert offered that as their conspiracy theory.
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Nathan Hughes for me from the list but I'd have had Kruis, Itoje and Chudley in the vote ahead Goode, Piutau and Waldrom.
Hughes becomes eligible for England this summer so next season we could have an England backrow of 6. Vunipola, 7. Harrison, 8. Hughes and Clifford on the bench, that's a frightening prospect, they're all massive, all fast, all have good hands, Add in Itoje, Launchbury, Mako V, George, Hill and Brookes and that's some frightening mobility we can bring into play, with the rest of the pack options providing the solid base for the line out and scrum.
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Saracens were immense today. Itoji, Barrit, Kruis, Wrigglesworth all absolutely immense.
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Saracens were immense today. Itoji, Barrit, Kruis, Wrigglesworth all absolutely immense.
They did but it was a terrible game for a final, the conditions were the main problem though because they played entirely into the sarries default plan of kicking long and being super aggressive in defence high up the pitch. If Carter had been fit it might have been a different story though.
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It wasn't the spectacle for the neutral, these finals rarely are.
Racing had their chances second half, 95% possession for a 10 minute spell resulted in just 3 points.
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What a terrible advert for the game of rugby, dire. Mike Philips is now toast.
I was called a Saracen c*** by an aggressive Queens fan on Friday. I hVe never been so insulted in all my life .......Saracens (!)
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It wasn't the spectacle for the neutral, these finals rarely are.
Racing had their chances second half, 95% possession for a 10 minute spell resulted in just 3 points.
They're normally cagey but they're rarely so error-strewn, the weather was terrible and (along with the injury Carter was carrying into it) that meant the chance of it not being a typical sarries grind was very slim, losing their 9 early in the first half was the last thing Racing needed.
Fair play to Sarries, they're effective and they have a handful of fantastic players but for me they're just a rugby version of Chelsea so I'll never be a fan, and watching them do it in such a dull way won't help.
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Boring boring Sarries ;)
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They've played well today, Tigers really have no place in the playoffs this year though, they're a long way behind the other 3.
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Pissing down in Exeter. Got to favour the Chiefs you would think.
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Good luck Exeter.
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This has been a much better game, two very closely matched sides.
Chudley is very lucky to still be on the pitch, the kick to the head of Launchbury is a definite red for me and I suspect he'll be cited and banned for it. Exeter have been borderline offside from pretty much every breakdown and closing the gap at the line as well and I think giving a penalty try and a yellow at the end of the half is a little harsh. I've seen 20-30 incidents like that during the season and that's the first one where they've had a double punishment. I think all in the fans have been loud and intimidating and they've got in the refs head a little.
Still been a very good game given the conditions though.
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My local team v my alma mater. Win win.
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I think Sarries will win th efinal comfortably and it will be in a large part because Exeter without Chudley aren't the same team and I really can't see him avoiding a ban.
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So Chudley has started but Sarries looking comfortable anyway, terrible first half from Exeter, look like the 'event' has got to them.
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A little bit of absolute brilliance from Ashton to make the winning try for Goode, it's that awareness that makes Ashton such a good winger.
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I do think Jones is wrong when he says Ashton isn't one of the top three wingers in the country.
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Ashton was one good pass away from a try about four times today too. I don't understand why he's not on the tour.
Having said that, how brilliant is Nowell.
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Ashton was one good pass away from a try about four times today too. I don't understand why he's not on the tour.
Having said that, how brilliant is Nowell.
Nowell was brilliant today, even with him being on the losing side I'd have made him man of the match. His try was a brilliant finish.