Premiership Round 7

Beats working I guess

Friday
Gloucester Exeter Chiefs 19:45

Saturday - all 15:00
Bath Wasps
London Irish Bristol
Northampton Saints Leicester Tigers
Worcester Warriors Sale

Sunday (very tasty) 15:00
Harlequins Saracens

Gloucester - Exeter

Gloucester: Woodward; Rees-Zammit, Harris, Twelvetrees, Carreras; Hastings, Meehan; Rapava-Ruskin, Singleton, Balmain, Clarke, Davidson, Ackermann, Ludlow (capt), Morgan.

Replacements: Socino, Elrington, Gotovtsev, Thomas, Clement, Chapman, Evans, Moyle.

Exeter: Hogg; Nowell, Hendrickson, Devoto, Cordero; H Skinner, Maunder; Hepburn, Yeandle (capt), Williams, Witty, Lonsdale, S Skinner, Armand, Capstick.

Replacements: Burrows, Moon, Iosefa-Scott, Tshiunza, Tuima, Hidaglo-Clyne, J Simmonds, Whitten.

Ah im looking forward to Sundays game.
Im going to edge a Sarries win...i think they are slowly looking like the machine we know they are.

Saints v Tigers game could be entertaining aswell mind...

Am I right in thinking the England players are not available? That would probably skew the Quins Sarries game towards North London's finest

lostinwales wrote:Am I right in thinking the England players are not available? That would probably skew the Quins Sarries game towards North London's finest

That's a good question. One week before the Internationals, I would think you are right. It seems (unless I missed something) that Exeter's England players are not in the posted line-up.

doctor_grey wrote:

lostinwales wrote:Am I right in thinking the England players are not available? That would probably skew the Quins Sarries game towards North London's finest

That's a good question.  One week before the Internationals, I would think you are right.  It seems (unless I missed something) that Exeter's England players are not in the posted line-up.    

May missing from Gloucester too

The BBC don't have any other teams up at the time I am posting this

lostinwales wrote:Am I right in thinking the England players are not available? That would probably skew the Quins Sarries game towards North London's finest

It probably does - but Quins look to be getting Lewies and Louw back, which will make quite a big difference, and neither side will have their preferred fly half. The scrum could be a lottery as both teams have vulnerable looseheads versus much stronger tightheads.

Harlequins Starting XV
1. Santiago Garcia Botta
2. Jack Walker
3. Will Collier
4. Hugh Tizard
5. Dino Lamb
6. James Chisholm
7. Jack Kenningham
8. Tom Lawday
9. Danny Care – Captain
10. Tommy Allan
11. Cadan Murley
12. Andre Esterhuizen
13. Luke Northmore
14. Louis Lynagh
15. Tyrone Green

Impact Players
16. Sam Riley
17. Simon Kerrod
18. Wilco Louw
19. Stephan Lewies
20. Luke Wallace
21. Scott Steele
22. Will Edwards
23. Huw Jones

It's a good side and a strong bench considering who we are missing - but it's worrying that we seem to be totally reliant on Botta on the loosehead side (Kerrod and Louw are both tightheads).

No England internationals this week. Bit is a shame that one of the biggest rivalries in the season happens now but should still be good.

STARTING XV
15 Freddie Burns [81]
14 Harry Potter [20]
13 Matías Moroni [19]
12 Dan Kelly [24]
11 Nemani Nadolo [21]
10 George Ford (c) [111]
9 Richard Wigglesworth [18]
1 Francois van Wyk [3]
2 Julián Montoya (vc) [9]
3 Dan Cole [270]
4 Harry Wells [130]
5 Eli Snyman [4]
6 Ollie Chessum [12]
7 Marco van Staden [3]
8 Jasper Wiese [22]
REPLACEMENTS
16 Tom Cowan-Dickie [2]
17 Nephi Leatigaga [47]
18 Joe Heyes [76]
19 Calum Green [65]
20 Tommy Reffell [52]
21 Jack van Poortvliet [25]
22 Bryce Hegarty *
23 Kini Murimurivalu [24]
* denotes Leicester Tigers debut
SAINTS XV: 15 Rory Hutchinson, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Alex Waller (c), 2 Sam Matavesi, 3 Ehren Painter, 4 David Ribbans, 5 Api Ratuniyarawa, 6 Tom Wood, 7 Teimana Harrison, 8 Juarno Augustus
SAINTS REPLACEMENTS: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Alex Moon, 20 Alex Coles, 21 Frank Lomani, 22 James Grayson, 23 Tom Litchfield

I'd guess that Tigers will look to frustrate and physically get on top of Saints in the first half and then open up and play on the second. I suspect Saints will use their quite hefty pack in the first half to try and gain parity but unleash their backs so that Tigers have to start chasing the game and they can counter attack. Two less than ideal fullbacks as well so this could go either way in the scoring stakes either high or quite low.

I count at least 7 England internationals in that lineup - though none of them current...

And Saracens:

1 Mako Vunipola
2 Tom Woolstencroft
3 Vincent Koch
4 Nick Isiekwe
5 Tim Swinson
6 Andy Christie
7 Jackson Wray (c)
8 Billy Vunipola
9 Ivan van Zyl
10 Alex Lozowski
11 Sean Maitland
12 Nick Tompkins
13 Dom Morris
14 Alex Lewington
15 Alex Goode (c)

Replacements:

16 Ethan Lewis
17 Eroni Mawi
18 Marco Riccioni
19 Theo McFarland
20 Ben Earl
21 Aled Davies
22 Rotimi Segun
23 Elliott Obatoyinbo

Sarries have the edge in the pack, I think, but if Quins can get enough quick ball then I think they have the more potent backline. Allan is not Smith, but he can still get the line moving, and Quins have the players out wide to exploit it.

Hows Dan Kelly doing this season?

Poorfour wrote:I count at least 7 England internationals in that lineup - though none of them current...

Ha yes but I would have liked to see Freeman Vs Steward and Lawes Vs Martin. Could have been some fun head to heads.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Hows Dan Kelly doing this season?

Same as last season. Put in a stellar defensive shift last week to keep the massive Sale centres quiet. Double figures for tackles and none missed. Has shown his immaturity in getting pulled out the line for the Atkinson try Vs Glaws and then getting a couple of weeks ban for following into the Sarries player on the floor at the end of the game that the TMO didn't spot but citing commissioner did.

He's still only 20 so won't be the finished article yet but is coming along nicely. One for after the next world cup most likely. He's got all the attributes just needs to polish then up a bit and add some more experience.

Bath Wasps

Bath: De Glanville; Rokoduguni, Clark, Ojomoh, Muir; Bailey, Fox; Boyce, du Toit, Rae, McNally (capt), Williams, de Carpentier, Reid, Bayliss

Replacements: Dunn, Schoeman, Jonker, Richards, Mergian, Green, Cipriani, Joseph

Wasps: Watson; Kibirige, Le Bourgeois, Gopperth, Bassett; Umaga, Robson; Hislop, Oghre, Toomaga-Allen, Fifita, Stooke, Shields (capt), Young, T Willis

Replacements: van Vuuren, Nearchou, Millar-Mills, Cardall, Carr, Porter, McHenry, Crossdale

Saints side for the EMD

15 Rory Hutchinson
14 Courtnall Skosan
13 Matt Proctor
12 Fraser Dingwall
11 Tom Collins
10 Dan Biggar
9 Alex Mitchell

1 Alex Waller (c)
2 Sam Matavesi
3 Ehren Painter
4 David Ribbans
5 Api Ratuniyarawa
6 Tom Wood
7 Teimana Harrison
8 Juarno Augustus

Replacements:
16 Mike Haywood
17 Nick Auterac
18 Paul Hill
19 Alex Moon
20 Alex Coles
21 Frank Lomani
22 James Grayson
23 Tom Litchfield

Lets make it 8 out of 10, COME ON YOU SAINTS!!!!!!!

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:Saints side for the EMD

15 Rory Hutchinson
14 Courtnall Skosan
13 Matt Proctor
12 Fraser Dingwall
11 Tom Collins
10 Dan Biggar
9 Alex Mitchell

1 Alex Waller (c)
2 Sam Matavesi
3 Ehren Painter
4 David Ribbans
5 Api Ratuniyarawa
6 Tom Wood
7 Teimana Harrison
8 Juarno Augustus

Replacements:
16 Mike Haywood
17 Nick Auterac
18 Paul Hill
19 Alex Moon
20 Alex Coles
21 Frank Lomani
22 James Grayson
23 Tom Litchfield

Lets make it 8 out of 10, COME ON YOU SAINTS!!!!!!!

Hutchinson at 15?????

Yep Hutchinson Vs Burns in the 15s that aren't really 15s battle.

Tuala was not considered for selection, presumably injured and with Freeman and Furbank camping in Jersey, not too many choices left, Grayson possibly, but he is on the bench and with Furbank away, no other 10 cover.

LI - Brizzle

A year ago this would have been a very different proposition

London Irish: Parton, Stokes, Rona, Van Rensburg, Hassell-Collins, Jackson, Phipps, Goodrick-Clarke, Willemse, Hoskins, Mafi, Simmons, Rogerson (capt), Curtis-Harris, Tuisue.

Replacements:Creevy, Dell, Van der Merwe, Nott, Cooke, White, Hepetema, Rowe.

Bristol: Piutau, Morahan, Bates, O'Conor, Fricker, Sheedy, Uren, Thomas, Kerr, Afoa, Attwood (co-capt), Joyce, Jeffries, Heenan (co-capt), Harding.

Replacements:Thacker, Lahiff, Armstrong, Hawkins, Thomas, Whiteley, Lloyd, Leiua.

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:Tuala was not considered for selection, presumably injured and with Freeman and Furbank camping in Jersey, not too many choices left, Grayson possibly, but he is on the bench and with Furbank away, no other 10 cover.

Unbelievable. I think it’s a plot. Evil Eddie Jones is conspiring against Saints. With one full back injured, he steals our other two.

Tigers bring the intensity and force Saints into errors. Saints look dangerous but are struggling to put enough phases together. Tigers lead 27-5 at half time. Second half could be explosive given Saints need to score tries and Tigers have a pretty dynamic bench.

Bloody BT Sport online kept taking me to Tigers v Sarries recording when I clicked on the link for this match - finally found a way around to get to the right match - sounds like I missed an eventful first half

Biggar off at half time. Big blow for Saints.

Tigers need to wake up here.

They were very good in the first 35 minutes but finished and started each half a bit sleepily.

Smart from Mitchell. The defence is folding round so he immediately cuts back against the grain. Good finish.

Dumb from Wiese as well. Down to 13.

I'd get Leatigaga and Reffell on early for some impact here.

Maybe Ford should move to scrum-half

Wow. That is just so good from Ford.

Saints just don't seem to be able to do anything right at the moment ...

As a Tigers fan I would say this but there's a lot of pressure from the Tigers defence to force the mistakes. Adding van Staden to the pack and Sinfield's aggressive league style systems to the coaching has produced a suffocating defence.

To a degree yes of course, but for the bit of the match I've seen Saints have been a bit sloppy too ...

Ford was epic in that second half. To go to the Gardens and hammer Saints like that is a very handy result.

JvP intercept to pass the half century!

I'd say a TBP but convincing loss for Saints and a TBP win for Tigers is a fair result in the table after a game in which neither side were perfect but Tigers were much better.

The Tigers bench were superb I thought. A really big impact when Saints were just starting to apply the pressure.

Skosan looks a really good find for Saints.

Big win for Tigers....

And Wuss beat Sale?!

Some result for Tigers, going from strength to strength! Ford pulling the strings during the AI is just plain unfair.

Yep. England's loss is Tigers gain. Ford was superb. The 50-22 from deep in his own 22 in the first half was exceptional awareness and execution. Then the management during the sin bin periods and the drop goal. Just brilliant.

Next week with Montoya, van Staden, Wiese and Moroni also missing will be a challenge though. Especially if Liebenberg is out long term. The mark of really good club sides is winning when well below full strength. Our availability so far this season has been really good. Depending on England selection we could be very depleted against Bath.

Fair play to Bristol today. Played us off the park to be fair.
Irish just weren’t in the game.

Disappointing after the win at Exeter.

We go again next weekend. (Although tough away to Saracens).

king_carlos wrote:Yep. England's loss is Tigers gain. Ford was superb. The 50-22 from deep in his own 22 in the first half was exceptional awareness and execution.

https://www.ruck.co.uk/watch-incredible-george-ford-kick-against-northampton-goes-viral/?fbclid=IwAR3jAw7aftPATLoLpVe--cVz4ntAbEqA7-wdrV030HQfDFpNJLvO6LCET2s

In case you want to see it again

And the Fordy drop goal

https://mobile.twitter.com/btsportrugby/status/1454470671686328328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1454470671686328328%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.premiershiprugby.com%2Fmatch20report%2Fmatch-report-northampton-saints-26-55-leicester-tigers

Nice try by Quins even if two of the passes looked a bit suspect ...

And another one ...

Lewington blows a 2nd sitter ... think a few harsh words may be going his way at the break.

Poor decision by CMK there - pen the wrong way

Greens been class hasn't he.

Superb

Not sure how Saracens have come away with this.

How many kicks at goal did Quins pass up?

They'll be massively disappointed - looked like they were heading for 5 points but came away with just 1 ...

No 7&1/2 wrote:Not sure how Saracens have come away with this.

They took the points when on offer.

Exiledinborders wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Not sure how Saracens have come away with this.

They took the points when on offer.

And yet it swung in the end of Harlequins trying to take the points from a kick missing and then pens.

Sometimes you have to judge on the tactics given and not assume a positive outcome the other way as demonstration of a mistake. Like Robshaw in the world cup, would Farrel have kicked it?

No 7&1/2 wrote:

Exiledinborders wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Not sure how Saracens have come away with this.

They took the points when on offer.

And yet it swung in the end of Harlequins trying to take the points from a kick missing and then pens.

Sometimes you have to judge on the tactics given and not assume a positive outcome the other way as demonstration of a mistake. Like Robshaw in the world cup, would Farrel have kicked it?

Interesting hearing big Whitelock after the Kiwi game...where the Kiwis did take a few kicks. The scoreboard building up puts pressure on the opposition.