Aviva Premiership - Round 18

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Table




Fixtures



Sat 26th Mar 16

15:15 Saracens  v  Exeter Chiefs BT Sport
The weekend starts with the top two teams in the league facing off. After some poor performances during the 6Ns that has seen the current champions lose 3 times to fellow play-off contenders, twice at home, you suspect they will be welcoming back quite a few of their 6Ns players. Hopefully BillyV will get a rest, but after some disastrous performances from Nils Mordt we will surely see Owen Farrell rushed straight back in. Exeter are unlikely to risk Jack Nowell on the artificial pitch in Barnet and will have a tough decision over whether LCD's open field prowess will be needed ahead of Yeandle's far superior lineout skills.
Should they lose Saracens could well drop to 3rd spot, and if for no other reason I feel they will just be too resolute and grind out the win

17:30 Gloucester Rugby  v   Bath Rugby
Gloucester seem to veer from the sublime to the ridiculous this season, while Bath are still struggling to get out of neutral. If Bath can rediscover any sort of form they should win, but the chances of that happening seem as slight as ISIS winning the Nobel Peace prize. Instead I suspect we will see a feisty, error ridden encounter - maybe with several cards flourished by the ref


17:30 Worcester Warriors  v   London Irish BT Sport
Should Worcester win this game, they can probably start planning for next season in the Premiership. London Irish need to build on last week's win to keep the pressure on Falcons and to bring Worcester back into the relegation mix. Question is whether LI can cope with the high levels of physicality that Wuss bring to the pitch. I am not sure they can.


Sun 27th Mar 16

13:00 Sale Sharks  v   Leicester Tigers BT Sport
Sale will wish to do the double of Tigers, while the visitors will be desperate to put that woeful defeat behind them.

15:00 Newcastle Falcons  v   Wasps
If Wasps play anywhere near their potential, Falcons will continue to look nervously over their shoulders at LI.

15:15 Northampton Saints  v  Harlequins BT Sport
Probably a little early to suggest that the loser of this game will fall out of play-off contention, but the season is approaching it's climax. Saints results recently have perhaps been despite performance levels, but their form is on an upturn. Quins however are still failing to convince they will pull out of their mid-season malaise.

Heaf wrote:

Heaf wrote:again dropping the ball at the critical point 

AND AGAIN FFS!

So close again but let down at the last moment.

How many 3 pointers have LI turned down now 

Heaf wrote:

Heaf wrote:again dropping the ball at the critical point 

AND AGAIN FFS!

As an Edinburgh fan I can totally sympathise with the frustration at watching your team repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot! Irish players clearly feeling the pressure of the relegation battle, one sniff of some clear space and they panic and drop the ball

stub wrote:

Heaf wrote:

Heaf wrote:again dropping the ball at the critical point 

AND AGAIN FFS!

So close again but let down at the last moment.

Again - so typical but those 2 were worse than usual ...

And now we pay the price for not taking the points when on offer ...

Who's the geriatric AR that can't spot a crooked line-out when asked by the ref ... throw from 6m and caught before the 5m line ..

Shoving and pulling the player without the ball OK too now it seems ... hmmm

Quit the whining will you, it's clear Irish only have themselves to blame . Throwing balls into touch, missing tackles, rubbish at the breakdown.

Yes they have themselves to blame - don't deny that - but the officials shouldn't be making basic errors too ...

PS you missed dropping the ball with the try line beckoning ...

Penalty for that?!

I think the commentary team were looking at the wrong tackle - the one on Narrway they were showing wasn't the late one ...

But finally they kick for goal - why the f didn't they do that before ..

nathan wrote:Quit the whining will you, it's clear Irish only have themselves to blame . Throwing balls into touch, missing tackles, rubbish at the breakdown.

Please tell me you're saying that ironically Nathan!

At at risk of whinging why no penalty for not retreating out of the 10 when that kick went straight up?

PS followed by another stupid penalty given away

That was a comedy of errors from Irish. They looked the more threatening team but they were their own worst enemy. Credit to Worcester's defence though, stood up to pressure pretty well

Heaf wrote:At at risk of whinging why no penalty for not retreating out of the 10 when that kick went straight up?

Why worry about the risk now! Lol

Hard luck Irish - apart from the obvious boost to Worcester I take no pleasure from that. Dour match.

nathan wrote:

Heaf wrote:At at risk of whinging why no penalty for not retreating out of the 10 when that kick went straight up?

Why worry about the risk now! Lol

Actually that's the least of my worries

Heaf wrote:

nathan wrote:

Heaf wrote:At at risk of whinging why no penalty for not retreating out of the 10 when that kick went straight up?

Why worry about the risk now! Lol

Actually that's the least of my worries

Hehe, I only joke with you and hope Irish pull it off.

The most frustrating part is the butchered opportunities - not just the dropped balls when almost certain tries were likely but the spurned kicks at goal ...

Three tries to nil ! Bath will take that and Ford's kicking aside, that was almost encouraging.
Saracens next Friday night at the Rec will however be a stern test and probably too far at the moment unless Attwood, Hooper & Auterac make an appearance.

Tough to take watching us beat ourselves tonight. Basics absolutely appalling. the two butchered 2 on 1's were criminal.

Yep - wonder if it may have been different had Lewie been on the wing, or if we would still have botched it ... still wouldn't have helped spurning all those kicks at goal however.

Good to see you not having a go at the officials Heaf lol.

Decent point for Irish, keeps you within touching distance. Makes our game a bit of an 8 pointer and possibly winner takes all!

I'd take a LBP at home to an inform Wasps today. It'll keep us with a bit of a gap but I'm not counting my chickens!

Wasps have been deadly since about November haven't they?

Not sure how they're not higher, I guess a lot of the teams in the Prem can thank them making signings late and being a bit ropey at key times.

London Irish look like they've almost given up now, feel sorry for guys like Narroway who obviously care and are giving their all, but others just seem to be going through the motions (badly). As an aside hows Skivington getting on? I always rated him as a good physical lock, and if Irish do go down I wonder if he'd like to move a proper London club...

I didn't see the game but surely Irish can't be giving up?? They've got a lot to fight for, they're only 5 points from not being bottom.

Are you mistaking a lack of effort for a lack of quality? We get this with Falcons a fair bit

There's no lack of effort from any of our players. In fact that's part of the problem. They are busting a gut out there and as a result appear unable to stay calm and composed at key moments. The two botched 2 on 1's that would have resulted in run ins under the posts are a clear example. Cowan and Hearn are both experienced internationals who under pressure of where we are in the league were unable to catch a simple pass. That's not down to lack of effort, that's down to lack of mental strength.

Anyone think that if Farrell keeps up the form he showed today EJ might re-think who wears the 10 shirt.

I only saw the middle 60 minutes, but he looked brilliant in attack, just his same stupid self in defence, another high tackle. He is going to start getting yellows soon as no ref will believe it is accidental, just too many of them.

LI should have won that game. Turning down three pointers was aft. Dropping the two certain tries though was unforgivable. Amateur sides should be finishing those.

Farrell fits the Sarries style completely. When they fire he's in his element and really shines. The make up of the midfield will be interesting this summer. Slade and Manu will hopefully be fully fit by then and that will create a nice selection headache.

Farrel, Slade, Manu would be interesting. Good mix of all attributes and everyone sort of in the right position.

formerly known as Sam wrote:LI should have won that game. Turning down three pointers was aft. Dropping the two certain tries though was unforgivable. Amateur sides should be finishing those.

Farrell fits the Sarries style completely. When they fire he's in his element and really shines. The make up of the midfield will be interesting this summer. Slade and Manu will hopefully be fully fit by then and that will create a nice selection headache.

Yep that's what makes it so frustrating - a perfect opportunity to put more pressure on Falcons lost.

yappysnap wrote:Farrel, Slade, Manu would be interesting. Good mix of all attributes and everyone sort of in the right position.

Agree, has the right feel to it.  Hopefully we get to see this combo in the summer.  


Didn't see any Rugby yesterday as I made my return to the pitch after a couple of shoulder surgeries in the autumn and a couple of months ago (surprised this was not reported in the news this morning).  Sounds like LI gave it a go, but made some bad decisions and weren't clinical enough.  Shame.  

So relegation is basically down to LI and Newcastle since Worcester seem basically safe now.  What has all of a sudden turned them into a solid side?  A month or so ago, they were not playing so well.  What is this - three or four wins in a row?

doctor_grey wrote:

yappysnap wrote:Farrel, Slade, Manu would be interesting. Good mix of all attributes and everyone sort of in the right position.

Agree, has the right feel to it.  Hopefully we get to see this combo in the summer.  


Didn't see any Rugby yesterday as I made my return to the pitch after a couple of shoulder surgeries in the autumn and a couple of months ago (surprised this was not reported in the news this morning).  Sounds like LI gave it a go, but made some bad decisions and weren't clinical enough.  Shame.  

So relegation is basically down to LI and Newcastle since Worcester seem basically safe now.  What has all of a sudden turned them into a solid side?  A month or so ago, they were not playing so well.  What is this - three or four wins in a row?

4 wins in a row doc - a club record at this level.

I think the arrival of Hougaard seems to have been the catalyst for the Worcester revival. It also seems that things have just a tipped a little in Worcester's favour too with things coming off that weren't in the first half of the season. I think this has also contributed to a bit more self belief which means wuss are trying things and rolling the dice a bit more. Discipline seems a bit better too. Whatever it is long may it last although with Exeter away next a losing bonus point would be a realistic target.

Btw doc - hope everything held together for your return to the game?!!

It shouldn't of been a try, but hey. We move on.

Surely you're not saying the officials got it wrong 

Heaf wrote:Surely you're not saying the officials got it wrong 

When he says it post after post for 3 pages you can have a go....until then sssshhhhhh

Manu is pretty strong i guess.

Why rush him like that TBH.

Just having a laugh - to be fair I think Tigers should have had a PT when the maul was pulled down 10 mins in ...

Heaf wrote:Surely you're not saying the officials got it wrong 

Lol, I'm trying my hardest to not to post any moans.

Only seen the last 15 minutes and thought he was in touch, but I suppose that's what home advantage is all about

Only messing Heaf...you can say all you want against those pesky Tigers fans.

No worries - it's all good humoured

I'm running behind on about 20 mins in so far but as mentioned I think Sale were lucky to get away without a PT early on ...

Sgt_Pooly wrote:

Heaf wrote:Surely you're not saying the officials got it wrong 

When he says it post after post for 3 pages you can have a go....until then sssshhhhhh

Leaving for a wedding in 10 minutes so I'll spare you guys.

You need to get your priorities sorted

Heaf wrote:You need to get your priorities sorted

Tell me about it!

Just got to the Sale try - bit of a man sausage-up by Burns missing touch from the pen ... didn't spot a foot in touch tbh

Maybe the back injury was affecting him - bad luck

Genova should have scored though - Tigers should really be winning this