2014/15 English Premiership

Discussion in 'Rugby Union Discussion' started by Alex Mediocre MBE, Sep 2, 2014.

  1. The Boy Brumby ZJ Brumby

    The merger was over a decade ago so it's possible they've been promoted several times since they reformed.
     
  2. BoyBlunder BOY Blunder

    A quick wiki shows they got promoted 7 times in 10 seasons to get to the Championship. Quite impressive that
     
  3. Madness B Morganpola

    Bath vs Sarries should tell us a lot about the rest of the season will pan out. Hopefully Ford has learnt from being shutdown by Sarries last season
     
  4. The Boy Brumby ZJ Brumby

    Good win for a Bath then.

    Another try for Eastmond too. Makes me wonder what they're going to be doing with their new arrival from Souths.

    Could yet see big Sam in the back row.
     
  5. Howe JHF Howe

    No. 8 the best place for him in my book so long as he can adjust his defence to close quarters. Has a sick hand off.
     
  6. Howe JHF Howe

    Thorn, Bai and Rizzo getting their first Tigers appearances today. Pack can't be any worse than last week anyway but it's nice to see some experience in there at least.
     
  7. Howe JHF Howe

  8. The Boy Brumby ZJ Brumby

    Big Sam reportedly bust a cheekbone in yer Bunnies' GF win, so his long heralded union bow will doubtless be delayed for a few weeks.
     
  9. Alex Mediocre MBE A Mediocre

    I just knew Newcastle would break their duck against Exe. FFS we'd be 2nd in the table if we'd won!

    Watching it on the Bet365 stream was like watching a supermarket cheap brand TV. Zero razmataz. Just a bloke telling you what's happening.
     
  10. Bobrad Bitty B Smith

    Didn't get to see it. What's your assessment of Exeter's performance?
     
  11. Alex Mediocre MBE A Mediocre

    Fairly error-strewn, more handling errors than the weather allowed for, fell off too many tackles and wandered a bit aimlessly from side to side in attack. Also Steenson missed three conversions into the wind in the first half and he and Slade couldn't really kick for territory. Slade's performance was a bit sub-par given his recent form. I think he missed having Hill at 12. Still last minute defence kept us away from a potential BP win.

    Having said that Newcastle were good value for their win. Their whole pack fronted up. Ally Hogg was massive. Dom Barrow showed a lot of promise I thought. Socino had a good day at 10. Not sure he's the Gopperth-like kicker they've been after, but if they want to play a running game he's looking good (especially with destructive runners like Sinoti and Tuilagi outside him). It may turn out to be a false dawn but I reckon Falcons have a lot more than LW this season.
     
  12. Bobrad Bitty B Smith

    Seen the highlights now. Couple of very good (perhaps lucky?) offloads from Tiesi and Tait leading directly to tries.
     
  13. Alex Mediocre MBE A Mediocre

    Well you put yourself in a position to use your luck I suppose.

    I saw a stat which said Exe made 99 tackles and missed 27 - Newcastle made 198 and missed 28! Also thought (not now!) Cato looked pretty good - as good as some of the other England wing hopefuls (if that's not damning with faint praise).
     
  14. BoyBlunder BOY Blunder

    How's Slade going at 13?
     
  15. Alex Mediocre MBE A Mediocre

    Excellent in 4 games, made a few mistakes yesterday but he had Hill playing inside him for the first 4 games and they've played together since U16s. Ian Whitten (who's been playing wing due to a number of injuries so far this season) started at 12 and I don't think it really worked for some reason.
     
  16. BoyBlunder BOY Blunder

    I'd have thought moving Slade to 12 would have made more sense given he's a natural distributor. Someone who can play on the wing is surely better suited to 13 too
     
  17. Alex Mediocre MBE A Mediocre

    Normally Whitten would'be played there (OC) but we had a complete disaster of an injury list on the wing at the beginning of the season. Whitten was the most versatile back we had left and it didn't make sense to move Hill or Slade to wing. Could Hill play OC? Probably. But given the way Hill and Slade have played so far this season I'm guessing the payoff wasn't considered enough to go down that route.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2014
  18. Madness B Morganpola

    Enough about relegation contenders and mid table sides....:)

    I was very impressed with Bath, in fact would be tempted to say the whole back line would be the form pick for England (-scrum half and the orange one). When winter comes they have the pack and Fords tactical kicking to pressure other teams. Top 3 for me!
     
  19. Bobrad Bitty B Smith

    I still fear that Eastmond will be one of those who tears it up in the Prem, but is either never trusted or never able to make the next step.

    As far as Slade and Hill go, I like my centres that way around, but it will handicap them both for England contention.
     
  20. BoyBlunder BOY Blunder

    If you can play 10 and 13 then you can definitely play 12 so I'm not sure Henry's got much to worry about in that regard. Dunno if you guys read Greenwood's column suggesting Slade should be picked at 12 in the autumn or not - I posted it in the other thread. I personally would love it if he got a look in soon
     

Share This Page