Aviva Premiership - Round 13

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Fixtures

Fri 19th Feb 16
19:45 Harlequins  v   Leicester Tigers BT Sport

Sat 20th Feb 16
15:00 Saracens  v   Gloucester Rugby
15:00 Worcester Warriors  v   Sale Sharks
15:15 Bath Rugby  v   Wasps BT Sport

Sun 21st Feb 16
15:00 London Irish  v   Exeter Chiefs BT Sport
15:00 Newcastle Falcons Falcons  v   Northampton Saints

yappysnap wrote:Leicester could be in some trouble after that documentary...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-3456463/Leicester-Tigers-face-fine-TV-documentary-shows-Richard-Cockerill-hiding-Manu-Tuilagi-s-return-injury.html

Very silly from Cockerill

We will pay the fine, and then point out a number of other teams who routinely play around with their teams.

LondonTiger wrote:You play us this weekend, so a guaranteed 4pts to help the relegation fight.

Yeah, because you lose so often at Welford Road.

All I'm looking for this weekend s for us to front up better than we have been doing away from home and keep the game close. If we pinch a losing bonus point I'll be very happy and if we somehow pull of a win I will be absolutely delirious.

Hey we lost our last match at home, while you won your last match at WR.

You've lost 3 on the bounce haven't you? I cannot see Cockers allowing a 4th on the trot. The reality for us is that of our next three games, Bath (a) is our best chance of nicking a win. We need to just make sure we are in touch still after those 3 games, as then we have Gloucester (h), Worcester (a), Sale (h), which are all winnable games and we will hopefully have some players back by then.

I hope Irish do it...Im not a big Wuss fan...much prefer them to go down.

But theres still plenty of games...whilst we have really helped ourselves over the last 4 games...we aren't out of it yet.

Newcastle will be safe fairly soon if they keep playing as they are. In fact, based on the run-in I think they will finish above Bath.

I shouldn't have re-watched the game this morning. Some of the refereeing is incompetent at best. The scrum penalty they make it 7-6 from just before the break is laughable. Even the commentary team are mystified by it. Absolute joke. I'm scared to watch the second half as I suspect it may just annoy me further.

Sorry, I just cannot bite my tongue having watched the game back. We have just been absolutely shafted by one of the most inept displays of refereeing I have ever seen. 16 points Chiefs got from not even debatable calls. Absolutely blatantly incorrect decisions which leave me wondering what the referee and his assistants were actually watching.

To be fair, Topsy's try was pretty dodgy. Ripped the ball after the Exeter player was on the floor.

That's borderline. had hands on while he was still upright and that went to the TMO and was given.

I'm talking about blatant issues.

Penalty at the scrum on the stroke of half time to make it 7-6, Ben Moon hits the deck first, ref lets them continue, then pings us for hitting the deck. Even the commentary team were mystified.

Penalty after the break to make it 10-9, Waldrom comes in from the side, so much so that he is behind our player who is trying to steal the ball. Waldrom clears him and he puts his hands on the ground, penalty to them.

Their try, the ball goes to TBC, who goes to kick. One of their players shoves Naz, completely off the ball causing him to stumble in front of TBC's kick which then hits him, they gather and go through a number of phases and score. I won't even bring Moray Lows block on one of our players into it, as for me it wasn't a block, albeit Austin healey on comms said it was. The only thing with it is how was it any different to Jebb's 'block' which saw a try ruled out against Worcester.

Scrum penalty to make it 22-15, Tomas Francis is pointing across the pitch before the ball even comes into the scrum, drives across and Court gets pinged for switching his bind, which he has to do because Francis isn't driving straight.

Absolute joke. I have posted the footage on twitter, and tagged Premiership rugby in, as it's fecking inept from the officials.

It's all well and good saying these things even themselves out over the season, but they don't.

LondonTiger wrote:

yappysnap wrote:Leicester could be in some trouble after that documentary...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-3456463/Leicester-Tigers-face-fine-TV-documentary-shows-Richard-Cockerill-hiding-Manu-Tuilagi-s-return-injury.html

Very silly from Cockerill

We will pay the fine, and then point out a number of other teams who routinely play around with their teams.

They'll consider it worth the fine for Manu to be able to return without the media hounding him. Add to that Goneva pulled out off the bench for that game and hasn't played since so they could point to that as a genuine injury change.

Ozzy it wasn't the ref you should be angry at, it's your own team's performance.

The first Irish try should have been chalked off for a blatant obstruction. The 2nd Irish try could have been ruled out too but you got the benefit of the doubt.

I am not saying the ref was good but I felt his poor decisions evened themselves out.

Ultimately the reason LI lost is because you couldn't get out of your own half in the 2nd half. That wasn't all down to penalties against you. Your kicking was poor.

Exeter dominated territory and possession. The better team won.

Terrifies me that I agree with Beshocked

Paice is a liability for LI. His yellow card was stupid. On a team warning and dropping a maul right in the middle of the park was not what was needed. Isn't he now the most yellow carded player in prem history?

Agree Paice was foolish.

Yup 19 YCs I think.

4 or 5 more than Grewcock who was joint 2nd. BT sport showed the stats.

Though strangely Exeter didn't do well in the two 10 minute periods vs 14 men.

Not exactly the only side to not perform well vs 14 men either....

Rob baxter having a moan http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35631859

Who's the fat bald bloke?

formerly known as Sam wrote:Paice is a liability for LI. His yellow card was stupid. On a team warning and dropping a maul right in the middle of the park was not what was needed. Isn't he now the most yellow carded player in prem history?

Actually think that was one of the less stupid yellows I've seen him pick up. Maul had splintered and was heading towards him unnaposed. He had could either join or wave it through. When he did join he crumpled, as you would when hit by four or five blokes. If anything McCusker (think it was him) should have picked up the yellow for joining from the side just before.

HammerofThunor wrote:Who's the fat bald bloke?

While the description fits, not me guv.

LondonTiger wrote:Rob baxter having a moan  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35631859

Just seen that somewhere else. Fantastic. It's pretty disingenuous having a moan like that when Exeter seemed far more interested in mauling and scrumming for pens all game. No problem with that as it's part of the game and was working, but let's not pretend they spent the game trying to put any pace on the ball.

Margin_Walker wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:Rob baxter having a moan  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35631859

Just seen that somewhere else. Fantastic. It's pretty disingenuous having a moan like that when Exeter seemed far more interested in mauling and scrumming for pens all game. No problem with that as it's part of the game and was working, but let's not pretend they spent the game trying to put any pace on the ball.

Well perhaps that points to the tactic employed by LI as working!

Baxter conveniently fails to mention why the said fat, bald man was on the touchline, but that wouldn't paint his team in a particularly shining light!

Oo, tell more!!

Maybe had his players not verbally abused the ball boys and girls (children) all through the first half, to the point they were warned at half time by an RFU official about their conduct, then we wouldn't have had to place club officials on each of the touchline in the second half solely to ensure the kids were not subjected to further abuse.

Baxter has got some front to be honest. I have always liked him but he is taking the urine here.

Not sure what this is all about but surely from an Exeter perspective, they've won move on. Taking the time to slate the opposition for supposed underhand tactics in rugby (that game where everyone cheats or tries to), after a win is just pathetic IMO.

Ozzy3213 wrote:Maybe had his players not verbally abused the ball boys and girls (children) all through the first half, to the point they were warned at half time by an RFU official about their conduct, then we wouldn't have had to place club officials on each of the touchline in the second half solely to ensure the kids were not subjected to further abuse.

Baxter has got some front to be honest.  I have always liked him but he is taking the urine here.

Haven't read or heard that anywhere, I'd suspect it would be out in the public by now. Who's your source?

LondonTiger wrote:

HammerofThunor wrote:Who's the fat bald bloke?

While the description fits, not me guv.

me either

https://youtu.be/Zj4LsiObDrw

Goode's banter with Barnes from the weekend.

Schalk Brits gets a week holiday for punching Nick Wood.

Ozzy3213 wrote:That's borderline.  had hands on while he was still upright and that went to the TMO and was given.  

I'm talking about blatant issues.  

Penalty at the scrum on the stroke of half time to make it 7-6, Ben Moon hits the deck first, ref lets them continue, then pings us for hitting the deck.  Even the commentary team were mystified.

Penalty after the break to make it 10-9, Waldrom comes in from the side, so much so that he is behind our player who is trying to steal the ball.  Waldrom clears him and he puts his hands on the ground, penalty to them.

Their try, the ball goes to TBC, who goes to kick.  One of their players shoves Naz, completely off the ball causing him to stumble in front of TBC's kick which then hits him, they gather and go through a number of phases and score.  I won't even bring Moray Lows block on one of our players into it, as for me it wasn't a block, albeit Austin healey on comms said it was.  The only thing with it is how was it any different to Jebb's 'block' which saw a try ruled out against Worcester.

Scrum penalty to make it 22-15, Tomas Francis is pointing across the pitch before the ball even comes into the scrum, drives across and Court gets pinged for switching his bind, which he has to do because Francis isn't driving straight.

Absolute joke.  I have posted the footage on twitter, and tagged Premiership rugby in, as it's fecking inept from the officials.  

It's all well and good saying these things even themselves out over the season, but they don't.  

Hi Ozzy, still think if we go down it will be for no other reason than we're not good enough? I still think things like this and bad luck with injuries, back-stabbers etc play a part too ...

Heaf

I have had a moan about the referee this week as it was a truly attrocious performance, as commented upon on Rugby Tonight on Monday, but overall, yes, if we go down it will be because we haven't been good enough.

The referee didn't stop us beating a seriously understrength Tigers team on the opening day, our inability to finish chances did. Nor did a referee cause our complete capitulation from a winning position at half time against Gloucester, and neither did one cause Brendan McKibbin to have a complete brain fart against Bath and get red carded. Those are the games where we have shot ourselves in the foot and failed to get the points needed to stay up, as they were all very winnable but for our own failings. Had we been better (nothing to do with referees) that would be an additional 12 points we'd have whcih would see us sat above Bath and 7 points clear of Worcester who would be bottom.

The fact is though, we were not good enough.

We got humped by the ref on Sunday, but we don't know what the outcome would have been had he got even half his decisions correct, we may have won, but we may still have lost.

Hi Ozzy,

I get what you're saying about our deficiencies but despite all those I think we still may have been good enough to stay up without the other factors I mentioned ... but you're right we'll never know if we end up going down whether those factors made the crucial difference.

Cheers

Heaf

I really think the whole Goode fiasco threw the club at the start of the season too, look at the effect he's had on Newcastle, I'm sure the coaches at Irish were planning on having that kind of experience for their pretty raw team. And when he suddenly left last minute it probably threw a big spanner in the works.

Just another small hiccup that adds up to make a poor season. It's never just one thing.

Didn't Goode offer to back and fulfil his contract though Yappy...so he could still have been at Irish.

May well have Geordie.

I get the feeling there were major toys thrown out of prams and Poopie fits thrown by both sides.

Good to see him doing well with you boys anyway though.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Didn't Goode offer to back and fulfil his contract though Yappy...so he could still have been at Irish.

That's what Goode said, but Delaney said that they just got a call from Goode's agent in December saying he was joining Newcastle.

To be honest, even if there was an offer to come back to Irish, relations had probably broken down by that point and I doubt it would have been taken up. Obviously had a big impact on the season, but they would be the first to be keen to play it down.

LondonTiger wrote:Schalk Brits gets a week holiday for punching Nick Wood.

3 weeks not 1.

3 bans for Saracens players this season. Not good.

Need to sort out their discipline.

Strange to get so many bans when their doing so well Beshocked, usually bans and poor behaviour are to do with teams not being successful and players getting angry.

What were the other bans for?

One was Ashton's gouge, and the other was a dangerous tackle by a fattie, can't remember which one

Margin_Walker wrote:

GeordieFalcon wrote:Didn't Goode offer to back and fulfil his contract though Yappy...so he could still have been at Irish.

That's what Goode said, but Delaney said that they just got a call from Goode's agent in December saying he was joining Newcastle.

To be honest, even if there was an offer to come back to Irish, relations had probably broken down by that point and I doubt it would have been taken up. Obviously had a big impact on the season, but they would be the first to be keen to play it down.

And Goode is even quoted as saying he would only come out of retirement for Deano - of course that could be a misquote ...

Bambam it was penalty machine Rhys Gill.

Yappysnap I think Brits ban came from being overly fired up. After the hammering to Wasps a response was needed, perhaps that contributed.

Didn't see the Gill incident but he's a silly player. Ashton and Farrell are also daft players too. Farrell Jr has got away with quite a bit, Ashton in contrast hasn't. If Farrell gets a punishment I can imagine the spotlight will fall on him more and he'll get scrutinised more.

Generally when you see people being pinged it's normally the same people. There's a reason for that.

beshocked wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:Schalk Brits gets a week holiday for punching Nick Wood.

3 weeks not 1.

3 bans for Saracens players this season. Not good.

Need to sort out their discipline.

I saw that McCall had defended Britz' actions after the match and thought, "here we go, he's trying to defend the indefensible".

But actually, after I'd seen the incident replayed, I have to say that McCall was pretty much right. Wood went over the top and pinned Britz on his back to the floor, with his knee bent the wrong way and all of Wood's weight on it. You can see that Britz is in a lot of discomfort and he tried to move Wood initially. After getting no response, he punched Wood. Its a natural and human reaction to a frightening and painful moment.

Britz isn't a dirty player, he's one of the nicest blokes in the game, its out of character and I can side with McCall on this one.

On the other hand, I wish someone would run that one-eyed mouth piece Sanderson over. His pitch side interviews are condescending and ungracious.

Brits is the one who threw a punch at Farrell isn't he?

No 7&1/2 wrote:Brits is the one who threw a punch at Farrell isn't he?

He did - when playing for SA v Lions a few years back.

To be fair, who doesn't want to punch Farrell (either of them?).